yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] trenzterra:
Well I got a replacement screen today, fingers crossed but no bright/dead pixels so far.

In any case, the new one still has the colour banding issue. :( Anyone else experience this? I find this far more annoying than whatever smearing issue you guys are facing.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] greenhorngreen:
Had an S3 before switching to S4 .. I did had issues with the rest of the guys here about the screen .. i'm very happy what the OTA did for my phone.. also have the exynos 5 version .. my ota was about 144mb .. I was expecting OTA will still have the screen issues, but to my surprise the blacks are much better and NO RED TINT! even on low contrast i don't see any smearing anymore.. and I can now watch movies without any black and gray issues..the purple hue doesn't really bother me anymore .. the black are more important.. Cheers! :cool:
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Beefheart:
Is there any way to force the OTA update on a phone that has been modified? It refuses to do it at the moment.

EDIT - also, what version are people now on after the OTA that has solved the smudge issue?
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] DanteSSS333:
Yes, just flash a stock firmware and then reset your phone (wipe Data and Cache). OTA works again after that.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Beefheart:
Sorry, I should have said apart from that. I don't really want to have to reflash stock although I will if I have to.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] greenhorngreen:
This OTA update I have below have solved my screen issues.. except the the purple hue, which i really don't mind :D

BASEBAND VERSION IS I9500XXUAMDK and BUILD NUMBER JDQ39.I9500ZSUAMEI , around 144mb
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Beefheart:
Unfortunately for my area (I9505 UK BTU) that update is not available as of yet.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] btemtd:
What the hell is Purple Hue?????? You mean Purple Smear??

I have never heard of any purple hue , I only have the smear issue
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] inolvidable:
Not sure either:p. I can only say:

- my first S4 : ghosting in general + purple smear = I could not bear it

- my GT-I9500: purple smear without ghosting = enjoyable experience

¡¡So say we all!! from my GT-I9500
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] greenhorngreen:
My bad I may have mixed up the words. The "purple hue" is when the contrast is low and when you try to scroll up or down on the settings screen you will see purplish like color on the lines/ letter and boxes to activate or deactivate some features :o
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Captivatedguy7:
That's the smearing issue. :)
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] greg2126:
Can anyone else confirm an OTA update has resolved the smearing issue? I really want to buy an s4 but this bug I know, will drive me crazy.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] omias:
Good !!! :D

Seems to be 100% software issue :good:

Waiting for my OTA update :fingers-crossed:
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] inolvidable:
Just to clarify : the OTA did not fix all my screen problems. I still suffer (badly) the smearing issue but without the global ghosting I had in my previous GT-I9505 and without the red tint over the blacks I had when I first bought my GT-I9500

¡¡So say we all!! from my GT-I9500
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ramon.nmgn:
I can confirm that this is a software issue.

I never had this problem, but since i installed a custom kernel (10 min ago), the problem appeared.

So definitely a software issue.

Verstuurd van mijn GT-I9505 met Tapatalk
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] kultus:
ofcourse its SW relating issue, on MDM with kernel 3.4.0-43xxxx I had only stucked red subpixels problem and after update to 3.4.0-526204 kernel, red tint on black background disappeared and smearing efect appeared...after used some rooted ROMs red tint returned as root process reverted the kernel to 43xxxx. because there is impossible to root 526204 kernel for now...so now Im stucked on unrooted MDM 3.4.0-526204 as smearing is better than loose of pure black which is visible everywhere!
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Mantis64:
I just got an OTA update to I9505XXUAME2 but the smearing issue is still very much present.

Bothers me even in movies with dark/grey scenes.

"Filter your screen" app helps somewhat but it's far from perfect.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Niczo:
It seems strange to me why they didn't just use a similar on/off configuration of the subpixels as with previous AMOLED devices. Something tells me this isn't a simple issue, in that there seems to be a huge discrepancy in the response times between subpixels on a hardware level. In the earlier kernels the red subpixel was "permanently lit", as in the red hue problem. Now that it's not we have the ghosting, which seems to be all about the red subpixel lighting up too late, if I'm not mistaken.

What's to say this isn't the final and only tradeoff? If the red subpixel has to stay quite visibly lit to offer a decent response time, it means the other two subpixels have to be lit appropriately as well when representing black, in order to get rid of both the red hue and the ghosting. Maybe Samsung tried that and figured complete blackness and ghosting is preferable to cloud-grey. Maybe it's 10 times worse than on the S3 (which has all pixels prelit on black), and they are hoping not too many people will notice. Only my paranoia-fueled theory, just saying...
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] wlolc:
I got the smearing issue when I updated the ME1 from kies...I prefer the red pixels on but have no choice....

---------- Post added at 06:33 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:29 AM ----------

An interesting thing, every time I boot the device it's OK without any smearing.. but right after a single touch of the power button, the smearing appears...so it seems to be a careless error of Samsung...
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] greenhorngreen:
Just to confirm.. the OTA Update that i have fixed my dark/grey tones.. in movies and in pictures or just browsing screen .. I had the same issues with you guys regarding the screen.. the blacks and the greys that I know have are much deeper and crisp.. since we are in diff. regions we may have diff updates as well
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] PLUG313:
I actually read they had the white backgrounds because they were supposed to have an LCD screen with the S4 so the whites would look better, but it's all just rumors I guess. I'm just crossing my fingers this isn't a big deal and doesn't happen on every S4 screen x:
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] DanteSSS333:
Doesnt happen on every display, hmm, I have yet to see a Galaxy S4 without this issue, so its inherent to the display of the S4. Just watch some youtube vids of any S4 review/walkthrough, they all have the same issue...

If Samsung doesnt do sth about this, they will loose their reputation quickly.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] JmJ17:
Does anybody have this problem with a white unit? Perhaps the rumors of black units problems is related with this...
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ixon2001:
This is one of the reason i never be an early adopter again, to many probs and bugs on launch, gonna wait a few months now before putting £500+ on a S4 until most of the probs are sorted.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] AVF Jay:
Unfortunately I can't live with this issue and I'm going to return this handset.

I wish i didn't let things bother me, but it does.

Obviously I haven't tested every single s4 out there lol, but every single demo unit I've seen in stores has this issue, and I don't think they are all faulty.

As someone said I'm pretty sure every s4 has this issue but not everyone can see it, has noticed it, or cares about it.

I came across it by accident, and at first thought it was part of the software, but when you look closer you can tell that it's like buying a crap tv with awful smearing and motion blur.

Viewing angles are still as bad as ever too with whites in particular changing tone when the screen tilts slightly.

Amoled has issues like all technology whether it be lcd, plasma etc but it just seems that every time samsung release a new product with amoled there are new issues.

Maybe I just didn't spot them but I don't remember the original samsung galaxy having that many issues but it was a long time ago now.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Stevemeister:
Samsung has a lot of work to do on the firmware. Lots of graphical glitches and hickups.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] DanteSSS333:
I also think about returning it. Do you know of any smartphone which gets close to the S4 in terms of features? I have to buy a new one, my SGS2 just doesnt quite cut it anymore (though it has no ghosting effect lol).
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] PLUG313:
if I wasn't getting the S4, I think I'd go with the xperia Z or the Note II

because those are the only really good ones available in my country atm.

that Optimus G Pro is good too, and the Padfone Infinity.

those are my favorite phones at the moment, not really digging the HTC One tbh lol
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] MopHeadGeek:
can anyone with a rooted device see it happening to them then we will no if its software or hardware as my galaxy s4 comes next week and i really hope its just a software update because the launch event you dont see them ghosting
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] DanteSSS333:
The LG isnt sold in my country, the Padfone would be a waste since I already got an Android tablet (Transformer Infinity), the Note 2 is too big. The Xperia Z would be a possible choice, though its hardware is a bit weak. But thanks for the listing :)
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] AVF Jay:
I'm tempted to go back to the s3.

Apart from the screen resolution and a few features that I won't use such as "air gestures" the s3 does everything I need.

It is cheaper too.

In terms of a phone that is close to the s4 in spec then the htc one comes close to the quad core s4.

But I'd rather have the s3 I think.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] reverepats:
I noticed this as soon as I got the hone yesterday. I first noticed it in Tapatalk. So right now in this bread, if I hold down and scroll up and down, I can see the lettering change color. I would say, that it's gonna be even device. I wish I didn't discover this thread haha. Cause its all I see now as well lol. But Ahh well.

---------- Post added at 07:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:17 PM ----------

Mine is white as well. So.... I'm gonna do a brief review and send it to Sammy CS. Not sure what the out come will be, but I'm keeping the device. I'm anal about this stuff, but I'm liking the S4 a lot. So let's see what Sammy thinks.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] MopHeadGeek:
Can anyone with an s4 see this problem with full screen brightness and watching 1080p videos on YouTube or browsing the Facebook or twitter app and bait gaming as this is what I mainly do not gonna be looking at many black backgrounds

Have you tried turning off all the bloat where features and anything not need and going into the secret menu to see if any things faulty
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] joelvn:
I have this same problem, it isn't really bugging me though. I can live with it.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] AMDPOWERFIST:
Hi all,

I currently do not have my S4, its being shipped as we speak.

I had a similar issue with some applications on my S2 a while back.

I was told by a developer to go into the device settings and turn on "Force GPU Rendering" this can help with stuff like artifacting or glitches with the screen. As i do not have my handset yet, i cannot test this, but i am sure one of you can and report back if this works? Assuming the menu is still able to be accessed without a custom ROM/Kernel combo.

Cheers
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] joelvn:
I already got that turned on and it makes no difference. I did notice that I only have it when my phone is at lowest brightness. Any higher and it doesn't happen anymore :)
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] AMDPOWERFIST:
ah ok

then this has to be a software issue, not a hardware issue.

I would assume the brightness being at its lowest, means that it turns the pixel off - refresh rate would be (currently) too slow to turn on for fast reaction speeds. And the increase in brightness turns the pixel from OFF to ON but with only minimal power.

I am sure it will be rectified in an upcoming update.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] MopHeadGeek:
So it does not happen at all with brightness turned up to full or halfway ?
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] joelvn:
Nope it doesn't. Or at least not for me.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] robotohshs:
Is still does for me.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] kultus:
did somebody try new Wanams ROM on Adam's kernel, if the issue is still present on this ROM? THX
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] pezlomd:
Yes I have had both! Wth is w that flicker? I try to reproduce again but couldnt
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Solar_:
Maybe a bit off-topic, but what's the name of the case that you're wearing in the video?
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] JihadSquad:
Just a question, is this happening on anyone's carrier branded model that isn't I9505? Like att or sprint. Maybe Verizon could be holding onto theirs because of this.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] atir usman butt:
Screen smearing fixed. Kernel-gt-i9500-mbc-i9500xxuamde-1365755329 use that kernel.

SCREEN SMEARING FIXED. KERNEL-GT-I9500-MBC-I9500XXUAMDE-1365755329 USE THAT GERMAN KERNEL........BE HAPPY......just flash woth odin,,,,,,,,,
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] greg2126:
So the global ghosting is now gone? This is good news. Is the smearing present anywhere else besides the settings and contacts app?

Any non-touchwiz apps for example?
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] inolvidable:
- Global ghosting: I'm no expert, but from a subjective point of view definitely yes. I could not bear sliding through news in black themed Feedly with my GT-I9505 while it feels snappier and pleasant now in the GT-I9500. It is as if refresh/frame rate was higher now

- Smearing: Present in images and videos, but all played with stock apps. In Feedly for example I can also see it but since it moves snappier is now a minor issue for everyday use. I have also seen it in YouTube app videos.

In one sentence: visible smearing that takes less time to disappear than before, and no more blurry white letters over black background as they move

Edit: now there is a "normal" blurring over the moving text, but I can read it easily while before small letters completely disappeared (covered in black) doing so

¡¡So say we all!! from my GT-I9500
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] kultus:
Are you saying that smearing efect is gone and you dont have problems with stucked red subpixels on black background as well? And what about blacks are they as deep as before? Because SGS4 has the best blacks I ever saw (had also SGS2 and SGS3)
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] atir usman butt:
Screen smearing fixed. Kernel-gt-i9500-mbc-i9500xxuamde-1365755329 use that kernel.

SCREEN SMEARING FIXED. KERNEL-GT-I9500-MBC-I9500XXUAMDE-1365755329 USE THAT GERMAN KERNEL........BE HAPPY......just flash woth odin,,,,,,,,,

---------- Post added at 05:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:08 PM ----------

at i9500 yes afcourse black is black purple smearing also fixed...dont want to root just downlaod that kernel and flash with odin,,,,,,,,,,enjoyyyy,,,,,
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] btemtd:
Can anyone confirm???? has this fixed the smearing issue?

I want a fix for the I9505
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] kultus:
yes but is the black 100% black not like on SGS3 and SGS2 where there was some minimal light? because now I have 100% black in total dark bathroom and I cant see the display borders when kaloer clock is ON...THX anywas I have to wait for i9505 fix
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] atir usman butt:
i confirmed that for i9500 screen smearing fixed :laugh:
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] btemtd:
Ok anyone else but you?

I need atleast 3 people confirming it before I can officially convince myself lol
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] atir usman butt:
As u wish i do that experiment first
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Bosstazem:
Sorry dude..but it doesn't fix my issues, my screen still smearing and have hue change with keyboard. This is f'ing annoying I hope these are software issues. Honestly I feel really better when I knew i'm not face this problem alone.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] HellRoot:
I have tried two custom kernels for my GT- i9505... and they have had different issues regarding this screen issue.

Adamkernel is not as bad as stock... so i will stick with this.. but maybe it is kernel related as i see a big difference in the kernels... hope they will fix it somehow though...

:)
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] atir usman butt:
Dude its only for gt-i9500
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Bosstazem:
It's awkward when I get to my local shop to change my phone but every s4 at the shop seem to have this problem. I still wonder is there anyone who doesn't have these issues at all.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] atir usman butt:
I attatched kernel also in previous post .

Pink tint smearing fixed .

---------- Post added at 08:47 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:44 PM ----------

Just flash my attatched kernel at i9500 it works for me and that also kernel and software issue.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] DOVahFeyN:
I got mine last Saturday from 'Globe' and returned it on Monday because of the ghosting issue and pinkish issue when at low brightness. I never had the sound issue at all but I'm interested to know if you've tested you're unit at the lowest setting possible setting to verify if the smudging / ghosting issue is gone.

Can you also fill me in on the sound issues you're talking about so I can test my unit when I get it back? Thanks!
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Bosstazem:
Do you have screen's hue change when open keyboard in any apps, It's noticable when adjust screen to low brightness.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] omias:
can I use this kernel on I9500UBUAMDK (rooted) ???? :rolleyes:
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] atir usman butt:
Yes u can but ur phone will unrooted bcs its stock kernel
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] btemtd:
@ atir usman butt

As you can see above ^^ He flashed the the FW u posted and as you can see the smearing issue still remains....

OFFICIALLY = NOT FIXED I don't get why you claimed it was fixed when so far no one else has
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] kultus:
want to report smearing efect on Wanams latest lite ROM with Adam kernel...but at least i have ROM with root and pure blacks!
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] atir usman butt:
Mine fixed dude not firmware its kernel
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] kultus:
thats right its kernel related!!!
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] atir usman butt:
Look no mattr if u r any latest firmware .just flash that kernel i attached with my previous post

---------- Post added at 10:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:36 PM ----------

Its for GT-I9500
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Bosstazem:
I just flashed a custom rooted kernel from cofface. So smearing is still with me maybe i just have to wait for further update from samsung. (This rooted kernel already contain update1)
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] atir usman butt:
If u r at stock rom...flash that kernel i mentioned above attatched file also automaticaly unrooted ur phone
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] atir usman butt:
any body notice that s4 at every reboot home screen looks very sharp and crispy after some seconds it looks some change screen resolutions
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Spix:
Sorry, but video is not uploaded by me so I can't say anything about case
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] eyecon82:
That has to do with auto contrast settings in the settings button for display

---------- Post added at 04:10 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:09 AM ----------

Again, due to auto contrast being on in display settings
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] armedking:
That sharpnes isseu I noticed I posted I here couple week or 2 ago .. first I thought someting wrong with my s4 but I checked others in stores all the same and checked my older s3 and s2 they have it too its something samsung did .. they emplemented it I think in some core apps one of them the gallery take screenshot of you homescreen and look at it in the gallery it wil apear verry sharp more then on you homescreen the icons wil look almost 3d and when you return to homescreen looks blurry compared too the screenshot you lookd at in the gallery. Strange but it is what it is
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] bala_gamer:
Yes, I second that, didn't noticed when you pmed me a while back
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Obagleyfreer:
Can people check to see if their screens change hue when toggling keyboard on and off, I'm surprised more people aren't mentioning this! It is horrible. And it has nothing to do with display settings. I have all auto adjust features of and no matter what screen mode I choose it still happens.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] hmillhouse:
Confirmed.. Display set to Standard, and without auto tone adjustment.

Turns from a pinky white to a more yellow shade.

The screen also flickers in the process...
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Obagleyfreer:
Yup I get exactly the same thing. It's really noticeable in the play store when you click in the search bar it brings up your recent searches then if you click back to remove the keyboard it changes hue, click search bar again and it changes back.

I just want to work out if it's on every handset or if it's just a select few.

If your on low brightness in a dim room it's REALLY noticeable. I'm currently arguing with my retail store about getting a refund.

For me there are way to many issues for a $1150NZD phone!
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] eyecon82:
I've been trying to replicate this issue, I notice some change but nothing that's really noticeable or annoying
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Obagleyfreer:
I use my phone the most in the evenings and the lighting in the room is dim.

Believe me, on low brightness in a dim room it's very noticeable.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ziphnor:
Not that more reportings are really necessary wrt. to the purple smear, but i am also having this problem with my 9505 (MDM). In settings with auto-brightness or less than 50% brightness it is very evident (in fact i found this thread because i was trying to find out if it my phone was broken). With low brightness i can get the grey header in the settings menu (ie "Connect and share") to become pretty much 50% purple by scrolling at the appropriate speed. It is very noticeable, and the grey divider lines pretty much become invisible. I do have pure blacks when viewed in a dark room.

What i don't get is why the problem seems to disappear completely (or enough so that i can't see it any more) at maximum brightness? I mean the the black pixels are just as black at full brightness as far as i can tell from my little dark room test.

I have tried reading a lot of this thread, but i am still uncertain as to whether there is any indication whether this will be fixable or any response from Samsung. Its pretty hard to decide whether to just send the phone back, or try an RMA etc.