How to fix a Samsung Galaxy S8 with screen flickering issue [Troubleshooting Guide]

For each hardware in your Samsung Galaxy S8, there’s always a service or group of services and processes that are running in the background to make them work they way they should. So, when the screen in this beautiful phone starts flickering, we cannot immediately say it’s an issue with the display panel. We’ve seen a lot of cases in the past wherein the flickering screen is caused by an app that requires high resolution and the phone was having a difficult time rendering the request. So, it resulted to a screen flickering issue. For that specific case, uninstalling the app will fix the problem.

Samsung Galaxy S8 screen flickering issue

The point is, we need to know what the problem really is and what causes it. In troubleshooting, cause and effect will always matter because most of the times what we can see are already the results or effects of what’s really going on inside the phone. It could be the screen flickering issue is due to a defective battery or a serious firmware issue that needs to be addressed immediately. We have to rule out one possibility after another until we can pinpoint what it’s all about. This way, we can try to formulate a solution that might fix the problem and prevent it from coming back again in the future.

So, if you own this phone and are currently bugged by a screen flickering issue, then continue reading below as this post may be able to help you.

But before anything else, if you’re currently experiencing different issues with your phone, then I suggest you visit our Samsung Galaxy S8 troubleshooting page for we’ve already started providing support to our readers who own this device. We understand your phone is still brand new and it should work perfectly without a hitch but not even Samsung can guarantee there won’t be any problems. What we do here is provide help to our readers the best we can so if we haven’t published posts about your concern, feel free to contact us by filling up our Android issues questionnaire.

What to do if your Galaxy S8 screen starts flickering

Problem: “I hope you can help me guys because I’m really worried about my new phone. It’s a Galaxy S8 I bought a week ago. The problem is that the screen is turning on and off randomly but the turning on and off happens in a very fast succession that I can’t even count how many times it turns on and off. I have no idea what happened to it but I’m sure it never got wet nor dropped. Should go back to the store and have their technician take a look at this or is there something I can do to fix this problem?

Troubleshooting: If you’re a Galaxy S8 owner and you’re currently experiencing the screen flickering issue, then you’re not the only one. Many have actually encountered this problem and it seems like Samsung has to do something about it. There were, however, cases wherein the screen flickering is caused by some factors other than a hardware problem. That’s why, it’s always worth a shot trying to troubleshoot it, after all, there’s nothing to lose. If the phone is really defective, then Samsung is obliged to replace it. So, before you send it back, here’s what I suggest you do (don’t worry, it would only take a few minutes)…

Step 1: Reboot your phone in Safe mode

This is only for observation purposes and does not fix the problem. While in Safe mode, all third-party apps are temporarily disabled, so if one or some of them is causing the problem, then the screen shouldn’t be flickering while your Galaxy S8 is in this state:

  1. Turn the device off.
  2. Press and hold the Power key past the model name screen.
  3. When “SAMSUNG” appears on the screen, release the Power key.
  4. Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
  5. Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
  6. Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
  7. Release the Volume down key when you see Safe Mode.

Step 2: Find, reset and/or uninstall suspected apps

Assuming the screen flickering issue gets fixed in safe mode, then it means one or some of the apps has something to do with the problem. You need to look for that app, reset it and if that won’t work, you have to uninstall it.

How to reset an app on your Galaxy S8

  1. From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
  2. Tap Settings > Apps.
  3. Tap the desired application in the default list or tap 3 dots icon > Show system apps to display pre-installed apps.
  4. Tap Storage.
  5. Tap Clear cache.
  6. Tap Clear data and then tap OK.

How to uninstall an app from your Galaxy S8

  1. From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
  2. Tap Settings > Apps.
  3. Tap the desired application in the default list or tap 3 dots icon > Show system apps to display pre-installed apps.
  4. Tap the desired application.
  5. Tap Uninstall.
  6. Tap Uninstall again to confirm.

However, if the screen is still flickering while in safe mode, then you have to move on to the next step.

Step 3: Reboot your phone in Recovery mode and wipe cache partition

This step is still worth a shot since I personally know two cases wherein the screen flickering problem got fixed by wiping the cache partition. This procedure will delete all temporary files created by the system. These files are called caches and they’re often used to make the performance even better. When they’re corrupted, however, they will cause performance related concerns.

It’s still worth a shot as it might fix the problem. Sending the phone back may take weeks before you can actually receive the replacement unit. So, you should try these steps:

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
  4. Press the Volume down key several times to highlight “wipe cache partition.”
  5. Press the Power key to select.
  6. Press the Volume down key to highlight “yes” and press the Power key to select.
  7. When the wipe cache partition is complete, “Reboot system now” is highlighted.
  8. Press the Power key to restart the device.

If the screen still flickers after this, then the next step is the last procedure you need to do prior to sending the phone back.

Step 4: Perform the Master Reset on your Galaxy S8

This will rule out the possibility that the problem is caused by a firmware issue but aside from that, this will delete all your personal information, which is necessary before you actually send your phone back. But before the reset, if you have important files and data on your phone, make sure to create a backup as they will be deleted and can no longer be restored. And if possible, disable the Factory Reset Protection so you won’t be locked out of your phone after the reset especially if you don’t know your Google ID and password.

How to disable FRP on Galaxy S8 before reset

  1. From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
  2. Tap Settings > Cloud and accounts.
  3. Tap Accounts.
  4. Tap Google.
  5. Tap on your Google ID email address if multiple accounts are setup. If you have multiple accounts setup, you will need to repeat these steps for each account.
  6. Tap 3 dot icon.
  7. Tap Remove account.
  8. Tap REMOVE ACCOUNT.

How to reset your Galaxy S8

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the green Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
  4. Press the Volume down key several times to highlight “wipe data / factory reset.
  5. Press Power button to select.
  6. Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
  7. Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
  8. When the master reset is complete, “Reboot system now” is highlighted.
  9. Press the Power key to restart the device.

Alternatively, you can also reset your phone from the Settings menu…

  1. From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
  2. Tap Settings > Cloud and accounts.
  3. Tap Backup and restore.
  4. If desired, tap Back up my data to move the slider to ON or OFF.
  5. If desired, tap Restore to move the slider to ON or OFF.
  6. Tap the back button to the Settings menu and tap General Management > Reset > Factory data reset.
  7. Tap Reset.
  8. If you have screen lock turned on, enter your credentials.
  9. Tap Continue.
  10. Tap Delete all.

After all this and the problem still persists, then send the phone back. You’ve done everything you can to do avail, now, it’s Samsung’s turn to address the problem.

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5 thoughts on “How to fix a Samsung Galaxy S8 with screen flickering issue [Troubleshooting Guide]”

  1. I am having the same issue with my S8 plus screen flickering and screen not working at alll Tmobile not trying to help me and Insurance wants me to pay $175 to have replaced . This has happen with my last 3 samsungs s6 edge and s6 Edge plus . I guess I need to go to Apple. To many issue with Samsung

  2. My screen is completely green. I can’t see anything on it not even the Samsung logo. For $800 this is the biggest piece of shit phone I have ever owned. Wish I would have read all the reviews on this piece of garbage before I spent money on it. Just over a month old and can’t even use it. Samsung better do something because TMobile sure is not helping.

  3. Hello, I just wanted to share my experience with this bug/glitch and how I fixed it. The very next day after I bought the s8+, it started to present the flickering screen error, after a lot (I really meant a lot) of testing, either in safe mode or not, the problem persisted. a few days later I had a hunch with the network connection, and now I can confirm this problem shows up whenever the cell phone tries to connect to the gsm network, as the options in network selection are lte/wcdma/gsm in the settings, this was a kickback.. so after looking a little in the play store I found an app that allows you to select/force any type of network. After downloading it, I just selected lte/wcdma and now works perfectly.
    I did select several times just the gsm network just to be sure this was the bug/glitch trigger, and indeed it is. the app itself is 4g switcher. Feel free to ask any other Q’s.

  4. Hi, My screen started to flicker green approx 1 week ago. I only noticed this a couple of times. Then tonight it just went green and stayed green. Please help

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