yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Galaxy S 4 General] Punkrulz24:
I'm not sure if I'm experiencing the same issues as everyone (or using the correct terminology) when it comes to my problem. I don't believe I have any smearing or bleeding effects on my phone. What I do see is when look at a dark photograph, it appears to be extremely poor quality. This really only occurs on the portions where there is black in the photograph. I consider it blotchy and low quality even though the photo itself is not. I've tested this by using my friends GS3 and the photo looks perfect on his phone, and horrible on mine. It's reminiscent of installing Windows XP without a video card driver, the extremely low color settings and resolution makes pictures look blotchy. Same thing on my phone.

I've gone ahead and ran the tweak to see if it would help, and I guess it does. The problem occurred the worst when the phone was at it's darkest which I kept to save battery, so I guess tweaking the contract (-15 right now) sort of hides the issue. Pictures still don't look great but at least I'm not seeing the blotchy effect.

Is this in fact the same problem everyone else is describing and I'm just not using the correct terminology? Or is this a different problem all together?

Signed, Noob.
[Galaxy S 4 General] bala_gamer:
looks like you are having red pixel issue, update to the latest firmware
[Galaxy S 4 General] Punkrulz24:
Odd, wasn't thinking about the red pixel causing the issue with black in photos I look at. I attempted to check firmware status and it appears that it's up to date. This is an AT&T Samsung Galaxy S4. I believe the model is the I337?
[Galaxy S 4 General] yogeshpote:
[MENTION=228377]Bala[/MENTION] I am having the same problem with my screen, i am planning to return the phone and get DOA from service center, should you advise that as this seems to be mass problem and do you thing this is hardware problem and Samsung gonna fix this with update or we have to stay with such bug. Please advise.

Thanks
[Galaxy S 4 General] seltaeb:
All phones suffer from the issue. I don't think you'll get a replacement that doesn't have the issue.

Whether or not it's a hardware or software issue, Samsung will probably 'fix' it either by fixing the firmware or by fixing it using Bala's technique.
[Galaxy S 4 General] SV3NNER:
Have the values red green and blue at 0, only contrast @ -5. works great here.
[Galaxy S 4 General] superioor:
Sweet! Love you for this. I got my phone just 4 days ago and I have this issue. I also have some yellow tint when it's supposed to be white and some weird lag. Should I replace my device? Can I DOA?
[Galaxy S 4 General] occtec:
Yes you can, I get the purple/pink tint as well as the blurred vision with white text on black background. Took it in to place of purchase replicated the problem, they spoke to Samsung rep who acknowledged there is a fault. I get a brand new replacement in a few days as Samsung have a 30 day doa period. Samsung have acknowledged that there are devices out there that have issues with display and that this issue is hardware related.
[Galaxy S 4 General] superioor:
So it's confirmed that it's hardware related by Samsung? Was unsure to DOA when everyone thinks it's software related. Will go back to the store and replace mine aswell just in case. Sucks that we are getting "punished" with lack of build quality by being the first to place the orders. :rolleyes:

Have been using HTC since HTC Hero, and now when I finally switch to Samsung, this happens. But I guess all brands have their issues! :confused:
[Galaxy S 4 General] chippyuk:
I would be very surprised if this is correct (not doubting you were told this) Firstly I very much doubt Samsung would actually admit to there being a fault. Assume the rep did not see the phone and perhaps how they described it made it seem different to what is actually is. Secondly, every phone has either the smearing or the pinky blacks it is the way the display works. I have seen around 15 phones all with the issue and none without.

Reading though your post, it appears you had both issues together, perhaps this is why they acknowledged a fault with your phone. Everyone else seems to just have either or issue which would probably not come down to a hardware fault.

However if they are acknowledging a fault then this is pretty interesting as they will pretty much have to replace every handset out there.
[Galaxy S 4 General] deathnotice01:
i'd doubt it's hardware related,

if it was then logically a software temp fix (like this one) shouldn't have worked,

but it seemed to have reduced the smearing to a amount where it appears non-intrusive to the user experience.
[Galaxy S 4 General] Punkrulz24:
At&t released an ota update that I just installed. I'm not sure if its wishful thinking, my eyes playing tricks on me, or true but it appears my display oxides have been slightly corrected. I had a video I made of a hockey game on my TV. Previously everything around the TV was pixelated as if the resolution was really low. Watching the same video after the update it appears less pixelated... it does have more of a fuzzy feel where this was but it does seem to be an improvement. Can anyone else confirm?
[Galaxy S 4 General] jntdroid:
The T-Mobile OTA seems to have helped as well. It's still there, but less obvious - to where I'd never notice if this hadn't come up already.
[Galaxy S 4 General] Schnuerschuh007:
What version do you have now??
[Galaxy S 4 General] Hippoman13:
The AT&T update has made my red-subpixel problem worse.
[Galaxy S 4 General] Punkrulz24:
Build number is listed as I337UCUAMDL.

I'm not sure if this really fixed anything for me now. The video I made earlier looks slightly better, but the picture I use as my test looks about the same which is really bad. I wish there was a way I could show you guys accurately.
[Galaxy S 4 General] droidrob:
I think I understand where you're coming from. The thing that I noticed was this: When I look at a completely dark black screen, the blacks are perfect, no dead pixels or blotchy patches, but when I took a picture in complete darkness I noticed what looked like a white pixel that stayed on, as well as some blotchy patches. When I took another picture, there was again a white pixel that seemed to stay on, as well as the patches again.

Could you perhaps try taking a picture in complete darkness and see what happens then?
[Galaxy S 4 General] chalid:
Samsung might have changed to absolute blacks not for visual purposes, but for battery life. The Full HD display with more pixels is surely draining the battery, so keeping the display on-times as low as possible will help improving the battery life. They just made a compromise.
[Galaxy S 4 General] lou_pams:
Temp Fix Setting for while retaining black

I set mine to + 6 on green and rest untouched. Works perfect to me. Black remains black (not darkest grey). Anyone try it.
[Galaxy S 4 General] Punkrulz24:
Droid,

I was able to use my digi-cam to take the picture to the best of my ability. The picture is close to what the screen actually looks like. The oranges are brighter in the picture than they are the phone, however the blotches and overall picture quality looks about right... if anything it really accentuates the problem.

I'm also uploading the original photo too. Yes, it looks a touch fuzzy because it was a photo taken in the dark... but the display on the phone is WAY lower quality than the actual picture. If I come across more that are good tests I'll take more pics.

Original:

Galaxy S4:
[Galaxy S 4 General] dannyyyyy:
This seriously better be fixed in the next update.
[Galaxy S 4 General] saywhatt:
Hello there. I have posted a link to this thread to the [INDEX][i9505] MODS & FIXES thread for easy user navigation.
[Galaxy S 4 General] bruzski:
screen adjuster works perfect but makes my s4 bit slow an stuttery :(

Send from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
[Galaxy S 4 General] ricomoz:
is there any way to get rid of the icon on status bar while screen adjuster is running?

nice tip thanks btw

SOLVED:

just unticked Receive Notifications of that app in application manager
[Galaxy S 4 General] Alberto96:
Delete
[Galaxy S 4 General] JoeTorran:
Does anyone else notice a loss in performance when using the RGB fix?

I have noticed it stutters going through the apps and home screens.

However when using method 2 (the contrast edit) I see no performance hit at all
[Galaxy S 4 General] Elganja:
or just go to the options of screen adjuster... can also check to start it on boot

I'm using -7 on contrast and it appears to fix all my smearing
[Galaxy S 4 General] tonovcp:
+1 :D
[Galaxy S 4 General] soulzero:
I can confirm method 1 lags the whole phone. Method 2 is much better.
[Galaxy S 4 General] devourerx:
Question?

i used this app and works well, however is there any way to hide the icon that prompts on the status bar when its active? Thank You.

EDIT: sorry found it :)

Originally Posted by ricomoz

is there any way to get rid of the icon on status bar while screen adjuster is running?

nice tip thanks btw

SOLVED:

just unticked Receive Notifications of that app in application manager
[Galaxy S 4 General] ilprofessore:
That is hardware problem?
[Galaxy S 4 General] x.Orville.x:
Why sammy it's taking to long to fix this phone ??
[Galaxy S 4 General] bala_gamer:
to be frank, my got adjusted with the smearing stuffs :D, even if i dont use screen adjuster i couldnt feel that much of a difference.
[Galaxy S 4 General] DjeMBeY:
SMEARING issue is gone with the latest XXUBMEA (I9505)!!

Happy Days!!
[Galaxy S 4 General] noideaforusername:
:good::good::good:

Hope it'll come soon to the i9500 variant too :fingers-crossed:
[Galaxy S 4 General] DocRambone:
No, the latest 9505 fw only reduces the smearing. Its still there if you look closely.
[Galaxy S 4 General] bala_gamer:
in the name of fixing smearing did samsung lit the black pixels instead? can you check on that?
[Galaxy S 4 General] bala_gamer:
what about the status of black pixels, with smearing issue the pixels got completely turned off when showing black colors, is it still the same? lets hope samsung didnt made any compromise on the black levels
[Galaxy S 4 General] vick33:
I downloaded a black jpg gone into a pitch black room but the brightness to the max and if someone would pointed a gun at my head i would not been able to tell that the phone is in someone elses hand and 1cm from my face:) so the blacks are 100% black.

before the update at minumum brightness the smearing made the text unreadable during scrolling. now it is ok if you look realy close you see a little colos shift at the edge of the blue bands in the menus, but if they would have released the phone with this firmware i think noone would ever noticed:) The white texts are 100% readable inmenus during scrolling before the update they were a purlple mush
[Galaxy S 4 General] czar22:
i used #1 method

#2 method

and still nothing

same issue
[Galaxy S 4 General] mashaal95:
[MENTION=3877923]bala_gamer[/MENTION] any idea as to how to remove screen smearing using perseus kernel? :)
[Galaxy S 4 General] AndreiLux:
I doubt he does.

echo 4 > /sys/class/misc/mdnie/hook_control/scr_black_red

echo 4 > /sys/class/misc/mdnie/hook_control/scr_black_green

echo 4 > /sys/class/misc/mdnie/hook_control/scr_black_blue

Will give a 1.56% grey on blacks and removes all smearing. You need to set digital brightness reduction to 0 though since I didn't plan for this use-case and it negates the above "fix".
[Galaxy S 4 General] gdonanthony:
how to apply this in Stweak ? sorry im just a newbie
[Galaxy S 4 General] bala_gamer:
goto stweaks ,

1. enable register hook

2. set digital brightness reduction to 0.

3. goto the location andrei mentioned, open those files and replace the value by 4

put it in a init.d script if you want those values after a reboot.

[MENTION=4167023]AndreiLux[/MENTION]

thanks for the tip, can you tell me the difference between this and the tweak done via screen adjuster? both looks almost similar to my eyes
[Galaxy S 4 General] AndreiLux:
One is software and causes battery drain and applies to all colours if you want it or not, and the other is hardware, costs nothing and targets only black.
[Galaxy S 4 General] bala_gamer:
Can you expose those values via sweaks, just like you did for white so that we don't need to use any init. D scripts.

Edit: added a zip file in the OP for init.d script until the values are exposed in stweaks :)
[Galaxy S 4 General] iede:
[MENTION=3877923]bala_gamer[/MENTION]

Thanks for your new fix! :D

I've been using the screen adjuster method to get rid of smearing issue. But latest Samsung ROM has a greyish blackground which is very poor in AMOLED display. With this fix, now I can get rid of smearing issue and have my pitch black in stock apps.

Thanks mate :good:

EDIT:

also bala, do you notice the greenish tint if we play video from gallery? so all videos will have greenish tint on it. This happens also before XXUMEA ROM when keyboard pops out (latest rom doesn't have this issue when keyboard pops out).

Hope we can have fix for this issue too :)
[Galaxy S 4 General] rlorange:
[MENTION=346281]Andrei[/MENTION] is your Mdnie code specific to the exynyos platform? Since the screens between the i9500 and i9505 are presumably the same could your code be easily ported to a i9505?

If you could help achieve this us I9505 users would love to use your smearing issue fix... The first real fix anyone has come up with.

Thanks, ktoonz in particular is keen to implement your sys file interface in his kernel.
[Galaxy S 4 General] AndreiLux:
The Qualcomm versions have an external mDNIe LITE engine, it basically does the same thing but they're not directly compatible. Someone needs to change the hook to properly hook into the register value pairs in the data sequence and then just change the effect mappings. Shouldn't bee to complicated for somebody who knows what he's doing, the mDNIe controls really aren't that complex of a thing.
[Galaxy S 4 General] rlorange:
I've made a very simple overlay app which fixes the Smear nicely enjoy :)

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2372357

[APP][FIX]Smear Fix V1.1>>ALL SGS4 devices<<
[Galaxy S 4 General] mssaleh:
I guess we have a true fix after all. I wonder if Samsung would embrace it in their stock ROMs. XDA geniuses here would not get paid and some lazy Samsung engineers will get their salary as usual, but at least all GS4 users will be able to use their devices in bed before going to sleep (as it is the most common scenario affected by this problem)
[Galaxy S 4 General] dragon135:
It is not true fix, just workaround. You sacrifice full black with darkest gray.

Sent from my GT-I9500
[Galaxy S 4 General] Alberto96:
Samsung should fix something in Display driver or firmware. We cant always use workaround for all samsung "fails".
[Galaxy S 4 General] noideaforusername:
Samsung wants to make us think, unlike other companies that tells you when, what and how to do :silly:
[Galaxy S 4 General] kondronaute:
I am using the last perseus kernel with fix smearing , i use the fix in this post and the result is better for me ! when you scroll the text is very clear without any smearing its fantastic ! the difference with and without the is indisputable :cool:
[Galaxy S 4 General] mark00777:
Cheers for all the fixes guys. I am using the 25-07 CM 10.1 nightly for i9505. Adjusting RGB values in screen adjuster seems to work well here. Why choose values of 5 though. Are lower values going to mean the pixels can still turn completely off with black images? Are values of 1 not sufficient?

Whats the best tool / app to really exaggerate the smear issue?

I can slightly see it sometimes when scrolling with black backgrounds, but would love one true exxageration of the issue to really test whats the best workaround of all those mentioned in this thread.

Althought we lose full pixel-off black with these workarounds, the resulting images can actually therefore appear to have more contrast when scrolling as the black smear is no longer a smear, it can be pure white (or whatever the intended color was supposed to be instead of a dark grey trail). For that reason I don't mind sacrificing pure off black to get the best workaround out there.
[Galaxy S 4 General] MopHeadGeek:
The new update Samsung has just pushed out fixes the smearing and you keep deep blacks
[Galaxy S 4 General] FireWall123:
What FW ? Am on omega v10 , and the smearing issue is still present but not in settings .

Vocaloid fan? Check out this thread!

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2376692
[Galaxy S 4 General] JoeTorran:
Are there any hardware level fixes for i9505?

This issue is extremely visible for me and extremely noticeable.

I don't like using the app as I notice a performance decrease, it might just be me though.

EDIT: For example, with screen adjuster enabled, I lose 30fps on games, and the FPS is already quite low rendering them unplayable.
[Galaxy S 4 General] rlorange:
Use my app its light weight
[Galaxy S 4 General] aliendna999:
hello

i have s4 i9505, what is this "smearing" issue you are talking about?

i have not this on my phone so im curious, and the OP didnt say at all what the issue was, just the fix. lol.

so please tell me the issue
[Galaxy S 4 General] nm8:
I am on MGA firmware now and the smearing is not very prominent now. But it can be easily seen with and app called TV catchup. Once installed, scroll through the list of programs and you will see smearing/ purple fringing.
[Galaxy S 4 General] aliendna999:
hellooo

i ask pls What Is the Smearing issue

someone tell me plz kk:eek:
[Galaxy S 4 General] bala_gamer:
One post above yours
[Galaxy S 4 General] aliendna999:
no sir you must be drunk, i dont see any description of issue there.

just "scroll through the list of programs and you will see smearing/ purple fringing."

But i dont understand.

I dont know what im looking for. I dont see this on my phone. I have no clue what is talking about.

This is why i ask, cus im curious :D
[Galaxy S 4 General] andymihail:
You can easily see it in low light, like at night when in bed, try to read something in feedly with black background and scroll the text. You will see how black color overlaps the text. Or on Facebook for example, scroll, look at the photos and you will see a purple shade following the photo while in motion.

The problem is due to the fact that the pixels are shutting down to show real black. One fix is to use gray instead of pure black.
[Galaxy S 4 General] aliendna999:
I cannot see this at all on my phone.

Could you show a screenshot or something please so i know what to look for :)

i dont have feedly or facebook

is there any stock app i can use to check it please
[Galaxy S 4 General] paddylaz:
It's pretty easy to see, the settings menus are now a dark grey instead of the jet black it used to be. In other words it now looks like how blacks look on an iphone, not an amoled device.

It sucks.
[Galaxy S 4 General] andymihail:
I doubt you will see it in stock apps if you use a new firmware, since this issue has been "fixed" by Samsung.

Basically on any app with real black background and white text or white background and dark photos while scrolling you will see the Smearing.

Not something to worry about, is just the way the technology of this display works.

Don't bother.
[Galaxy S 4 General] aliendna999:
i dont think we have same phone

i have the i9505, no smearing here :D

thanks for explain
[Galaxy S 4 General] paddylaz:
Sorry my mistake,

I'm explaining what the (not very satisfactory) fix looks like. (not the actual problem itself)

Apologies.
[Galaxy S 4 General] :
yes you do

heres what you need to be looking for

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNwCuufJuLM
[Galaxy S 4 General] aliendna999:
hmm.. i must be blind cus i dont see anything strange when i do that on my phone

that video didnt really show anything either cus it was out of focus, and a bit laggy was very hard to focus on a particular thing imo
[Galaxy S 4 General] gruuvin:
I can't see it! Please someone help me see it so I can be dissatisfied too!
[Galaxy S 4 General] :
not sure if you and the guy above are trolling but watch the video and watch the grey/blue rectangle watch how it moves all weirdly and it changes colors
[Galaxy S 4 General] negrobembon:
i never had the issue featured in that video, even before samsung added the dark grey background
[Galaxy S 4 General] fresxcv:
i installed perseus Kernel that support screen celebration but i dont know what to do next ?

you said goto screen tab

i dont know what that mean
[Galaxy S 4 General] iede:
- After installing perseus kernel, open STweaks apps

- go to screen tab

- check "Enable register hook" and "Enable master sequence"

- set smearing fix to 3 or 4

- for best results, install "black background mod" from OP

Hope it helps ;)
[Galaxy S 4 General] fresxcv:
thnx for fast reply i am trying right now
[Galaxy S 4 General] CyberT3:
I would like to know if I can install "black background mod" on my I9505?

I haven't used any fix for smearing cause I haven't noticed it (maybe I did but it didn't bother me). What bothers me is that since Samsung decided to "fix" that issue black backgrounds are no longer pure black and I would like to change that.
[Galaxy S 4 General] Pfeffernuss:
It worked just fine here on both TW as well as CM10.2 based Roms. Just make a Nandroid beforehand to be absolutely safe and sure :p
[Galaxy S 4 General] adrian_dh:
I did several updates via wi-fi and the smearing issue was almost fixed. But later i noticed that on some screens, the blacks are nor really black (Amoled screens should have perfect blacks). The issue is visible when you turn the brighness to full, go to a dark room and check the black levels on some screens (like 'My files' menu), the screen is not pitch black and you can see a grey tone.

Ive also noticed that, the notification panel has the deepest blacks and that black is not there on other screens.

Also, when you go to 'contacts' ive noticed that the search bar is perfectly black and the blacks below the search bar (behind the contacts list below the search bar) is not that black compared to the search bar.

I think this issue appeared after the smearing issue was fixed by samsung. This is ****,!, What's the pupose of having and Amoled display if it displays grey instead of black? Why cant samsung provide a proper fix !
[Galaxy S 4 General] Dextrosan:
You just made me laugh out loud!!! :D Good one!
[Galaxy S 4 General] rlorange:
That can't because it's a hardware limitation. True blacks switch the pixels off completely which triggers the Smearing at the hardware level

---------- Post added at 12:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:05 PM ----------

Classic!!
[Galaxy S 4 General] donalgodon:
There is no real fix for it, only a partial work around. It's a hardware limitation of the refresh or latency from total black (off) to any other color state (on) and what Samsung has done to ameliorate (not fix) the problem is simply taken true black (off) away from the user, at least in the Samsung specific components. Now, what you perceive as black is not pure black (off) but a compromise state that still looks reasonably black, but what makes the issue less obvious, since the pixels don't have to wake up from a total zero state.
[Galaxy S 4 General] rlorange:
Yes and all previous amoled screens prior to the S4 kept the pixels on for pure black so the work around is effectively bringing us back to S3 amoled technology
[Galaxy S 4 General] adrian_dh:
Have you guys noticed the issues i've mentioned?

1. Ive attached a screenshot of the 'My files' menu. The area below 'Documents' is emply its GREY! and its clearly visvible in a dark room in full brightness. Have you guys seen this?

2. Also, when you go to 'contacts' ive noticed that the search bar is perfectly black and the blacks below the search bar (behind the contacts list below the search bar) is not that black compared to the search bar.
[Galaxy S 4 General] Pfeffernuss:
Yes, that is the way they (Samsung) "fixed" the smearing issue. Nothing new, really?
[Galaxy S 4 General] ramsenn:
Got the same crap on my S5........ Is there a fix for it