How to fix Samsung Galaxy A5 screen flickering, green flickering display on low brightness problem? [Troubleshooting Guide]

Emerging among the most common issues in Samsung Galaxy series devices including the Galaxy A5 is on screen flickering. Prior reports have claimed that their Galaxy handsets often showed this symptom in which the display flickers in random green color or lines when screen brightness set to a lower level than the average. While others thought of this as a hardware defect, some have claimed that it’s a software issue that most likely requires an official fix patch from Samsung devs. The thing is that you may need to wait for several days or weeks for the fix patch to arrive in a form of minor firmware update. And you wouldn’t want to wait that long would you? If that is so, then you need to find some other options including the methods that are emphasized in this content.

If ever you are having trouble with this same issue on your Galaxy A5 smartphone and that waiting is not an option for you, you then can try some workarounds to rectify the problem on your end temporarily or permanently. Read on and get help in identifying the underlying cause and then attempt to fix your Samsung Galaxy A5’s flickering display.

But before we actually move on to our troubleshooting, if you have other issues with your phone, then visit our Galaxy A5 troubleshooting page as we’ve already addressed some of the most common problems with this device. In case you need more help with your problem, fill up our Android issues questionnaire and hit submit to contact us.

What causes your Galaxy A5 screen to flicker?

Aside from what most people found to be the main trigger which is reducing the screen brightness, there are still other factors that can trigger the phone’s screen to flicker. As much as possible, try to rule a damaged hardware from the possible culprits. But if there were prior instances that might have inflicted physical or liquid damage to your device, particularly on the display circuit components, then that must be considered. Unfortunately, screen flickering problems that are tied to hardware damage would already require service as remedy. Should this be the case on your end, your best option is to take your device to an authorized service center for hardware assessment and repair. Otherwise, attempt to determine the possible trigger.

Screen flickering issue is associated with software malfunctions usually get resolved by performing some workarounds. But your chance of obtaining quick and ultimate solution is higher if you could pinpoint the root cause. And this is what you should do first. To help you isolate the problem, try to think of what has happened before the onset of the problem. For example, did your Galaxy A5 screen start to flicker after making some changes to the display settings or options other than the brightness level? Or did it begin to occur after installing a new app, contents, or Android update? Prior actions are usually the trigger so that is what you need to find out first. Among the possible triggers for you to consider would include but not limited to rogue apps, corrupted files like photos and videos, broken segments or files in the SD card, and software bugs. Once you’ve successfully dealt with the culprit, you’ll finally find the remedy.

Practical workarounds for screen flickering problem on your Galaxy A5

If you couldn’t get to determine the underlying cause and that you are certain that the flickering issue on your Galaxy A5 is not associated with any type of hardware damage, then you can just go ahead and try every applicable solution and workaround individually and then see which among them is able to fix your device.

Below are generic solutions and suggested workarounds you may consider among your options. Should you wish to troubleshoot the problem right now, don’t forget to backup your data beforehand. It is possible that the problem might have been triggered by complex bugs that would often require more advanced procedures including system resets. And that could mean wiping out all your critical data stored on your phone’s internal storage. Proceed whenever you’re all set.

Adjust or increase screen brightness (temporary solution)

Many of those who have experienced screen flickering issues on their Samsung Galaxy devices have determined that the problem is triggered when reducing the screen brightness below the average level. Turning off auto-brightness features has also done wonders to some so you might as well consider giving it a try on your end then see what happens. For starters, here’s how to adjust screen brightness from your Galaxy A5 notification panel:

Swipe your fingers from the top to the bottom of the screen to open the Quick Settings Panel.
Touch and drag the brightness adjustment slider to the right to increase the screen brightness.
If Auto is selected from the given options, your device will automatically adjust the display brightness based on your environment. Auto is selected by default and can be modified by removing the check from the Auto box. Doing so will let you adjust the screen brightness manually according to your preferences and remain in that level even when the device is restarted.
Alternatively, you can use the Galaxy A5 settings menu to adjust the screen brightness to a higher level. To do so, tap Apps from the Home screen, then navigate to Settings-> Display-> then drag the Brightness slider to the right to brighten the screen.

Remove SD card

As mentioned earlier, some cases of screen flickering and other display issues in Galaxy devices have been linked to a faulty SD card. It turned out that the display functions are likewise get affected when some contents or SD card segments get corrupted. To rule this out from the possible causes, try to remove the SD card (if you have one inserted in your phone) then see if that will fix the problem. Before you remove the SD card, be sure to power off your device completely. You may need to use an ejector tool to pop the SD card out from the tray, if needed. When the SD card has been removed, turn your phone back on then use it without an SD card inserted. Try to reduce the screen brightness to a lower level than the average and then see if the screen would still flicker. Some people have found remedy from removing the SD card and hopefully, you too can get the same positive result from doing so.

Install Android firmware update

If the problem is triggered by some tough bugs that might have infiltrated and wrecked the phone’s display functions, then a software update might be able to rid them off the system and resolve the underlying cause. Thus, if you haven’t already, check and see if a software update is available for your device.

To do so, head over to your phone Apps-> Settings-> General-> About device menu. Usually you’ll see a notification if an update is available. If there is, backup your phone then follow the onscreen instructions to proceed with the software update download and installation.

If none of these will work, then continue with the following solutions and workarounds.

Potential solutions to screen flickering and other display issues related to software malfunctions

First method: Reboot or Force reboot

A restart (soft reset) and force restart work by turning your device off and then back on without affecting any data stored on the internal storage. It works the same when removing and reinserting the battery in other Android devices (with removable batteries). Minor issues transpiring randomly in mobile devices like your Galaxy A5 are likely resolved by a simple reboot. In the case where the device becomes unresponsive due to an app malfunction or software glitch, a force reboot would be an alternative solution. Both of these restart methods are safe as they won’t affect your data. So if this is the first time you notice your Galaxy A5 display to flicker, then most likely it is just a random issue that is triggered by some minor glitches on the phone system. If you haven’t already, try to restart or force restart your device then see if that will fix the flickering display.

To restart your Galaxy A5, simply press and hold the Power button until it power cycles. If it’s not responding, do a force reboot by pressing and holding the Volume Down button and the Power button for about 20 seconds.

This will perform a simulated battery disconnect on your device and gives it a clean fresh start. Wait until your phone boots up completely then observe your phone’s screen behaviour.

Second method: Boot into Safe Mode

Booting into safe mode can help you diagnose and determine whether the screen flickering problem is triggered by some bad apps you have recently installed on your Galaxy A5. All third-party apps and services are bypassed or temporarily disabled in Safe Mode thus it will be easier for you to isolate whether or not the problem is caused by a third-party app or stock app. If your Galaxy A5 screen does not flicker while running in safe mode, then it implies that a third-party app is the trigger. In this case, you will need to remove the suspected app from your device as resolution. But if the problem persists while running your phone in Safe Mode, then most likely it’s a hardware issue or some serious system malfunction that requires more advanced solutions. Here’s how to enter Safe Mode on your Galaxy A5:

Make sure that your phone is completely powered off then proceed with the next steps.
Press and hold the Volume Down key.
While continuously holding down the Volume Down key, press the Power key shortly to power up your phone.
The device will then power up in Safe Mode. Swipe on the screen.
When you see the Safe Mode label on the bottom left corner of the screen, release the Volume Down key. You are now in Safe Mode.
Tap Apps to start diagnosing apps in safe mode.
Tap Settings.
Scroll down to and then tap on Application Manager.
Navigate to the Downloaded section then tap on a recently downloaded app you suspect may be causing an issue. Once you see the app details on the screen, tap on Uninstall.

If you suspect that any of the apps installed on your SD card is the culprit, scroll across to SD card section then repeat the same process.

After uninstalling suspected apps, restart your phone and check if the problem has been resolved. If the problem persists, repeat the same process by uninstalling the next apps you suspect are causing the problem until the problem is resolved. Otherwise, try the next applicable solutions.

Third method: Clear app cache and data

If the screen flickering occurs only when using a specific app on your phone, then that means the problem is isolated to that application. It could be due to some corrupted files that are stored as an app’s cache. As remedy, you can clear the app’s cache and data. Doing so wipes out cache files including corrupted ones that caused conflict.

Tap Apps from the Home screen.
Tap Settings.
Tap Applications.
Swipe through the available apps then tap the application you want to clear the cache.
Tap Storage.
Tap on Clear Cache to clear the cache.
To clear data from the app, tap Clear Data then tap Delete to confirm action.

Please note though that clearing the application data will reset the app to default settings. All user preferences and personal settings including saved bookmarks and passwords will be deleted.

Fourth method: Enter Recovery Mode and wipe cache partition

Recovery mode is a native feature among Android devices. Booting into recovery mode does not require unlocking of the bootloader to carry out necessary system functions like implementing software update and wiping data or cache partition. Wiping cache will erase all temporary files that are stored as cache in the system partition while wiping data option erase all data and resets your device to factory settings. Wiping the cache partition might be necessary if the screen flickering problem is triggered by some cached files that get corrupted and caused conflict to the system functions, particularly with the display. Should you wish to take your chances in this method, then here’s how to enter recovery mode and wipe cache partition on your Galaxy A5:

Power off your device completely.
Press and hold the Power, Home and Volume Up buttons simultaneously for a few seconds.
When the Samsung logo appears, release the Power button.
When the Android logo appears, release the Home and Volume Up buttons at once.
When the Android Recovery menu is displayed, press the Volume Down button to navigate to the menu options then highlight or select Wipe Cache Partition.
Press the Power button to confirm selection.
Wait until your phone is done wiping the cache partition. When it’s finished, it will prompt you with the Reboot system now option.
Press the Power button to confirm selection and reboot your device.

If this won’t help, then consider your last resort which is a factory reset.

Last resort: Factory reset/Master reset

A factory reset or master reset wipes all data from your device. Should the problem be triggered by some tough bugs dwelling in the main system structure, then that should likewise be eradicated in the process. Major system issues are usually resolved by a complete reset on the device so you might as well consider this among your last possible option. Just make sure everything is backed up before you start. You can perform a factory reset through the Settings menu of your Galaxy A5 or by entering recovery mode. Here’s how:

To factory reset through your phone Settings, navigate to Apps-> Settings-> Backup and reset-> Factory reset-> Reset device-> then tap Erase everything to confirm action.

To factory reset through recovery mode, follow these steps:

Power off your device.
Press and hold the Volume Up, Home, and Power buttons simultaneously for a few seconds then release all buttons when the Samsung logo appears.
When the Recovery Mode menu is displayed, press the Volume button to navigate to and select/highlight Wipe data/factory reset option.
Then press the Power button to confirm selection.
Press the Volume button to highlight or select Yes — delete all user data option the press the Power button to confirm.
Select Reboot system now option to reset and restart your device.

Check to see if the screen flickering problem is fixed after the reset. If the problem persists, consider seeking more help.

Seek Further Assistance

So you’ve exerted all your efforts and tried every possible solution there is but to no avail. If that is so, then you have to escalate the problem already. Apparently, there’s nothing more you can do on your end that could remedy your Galaxy A5’s flickering display. So at this point, contact your device carrier or Samsung Support for other recommendations. If calling technical support is not your option, then you can just take a trip to an authorized service center and have a technician diagnose your phone for any possible signs of hardware damage and if necessary, have it repaired.