What to do if your Galaxy S10 screen has discoloration | screen showing colors, dead pixels or cracked

Are you wondering what you can do if your Galaxy S10 screen has discoloration? We got you covered on that one. Learn how to troubleshoot the problem with this guide.

What to do if your Galaxy S10 screen has discoloration | screen showing colors, dead pixels or cracked

If your Galaxy S10 screen has discoloration and you don’t know where to start troubleshooting it, follow our suggestions below. There are a number of things that you might do to identify the reason for your particular problem so be sure to do the troubleshooting steps in the order given here.

S10 screen has discoloration fix #1: Check the extent of damage

Your Galaxy S10’s display is one of the reliable parts. It’s designed to be abused because it does not only function to show images but also as a gateway to the system as well as the way to navigate the software. Samsung Galaxy devices have high quality screens and they can continue working for years. Despite high quality design and materials though, the screen can also break easily if you accidentally drop or hit it with hard object. In many cases, the main reason for screen problems is not software-related but physical damage. If your Galaxy S10 screen has discoloration or showing abnormal colors after dropping it, there are important things that you must check right away.

The first one is to know whether or not the digitizer is still good. It is the transparent layer on top of the screen that senses your finger touches. If your S10 has become unresponsive to touches, the digitizer is most likely damaged. Try to continue with the troubleshooting below to confirm it. If it won’t get fixed by the subsequent troubleshooting steps below, repair may be needed.

Another thing to consider when dealing with screen discoloration issue is to see if there’s crack on the screen. Even a tiny crack can be serious for a sensitive electronic device like your S10. Discoloration can result from physical damage to the AMOLED monitor, one of the major components of the screen assembly. This is the part that shows images. If discoloration is severe and affects how images are being shown, screen replacement is the least that can be done for your phone.

Depending on the severity of the problem, you may or may not be able to create a backup of your personal data. If digitizer is functional and the screen still displays images, make sure to save your photos, videos, documents, etc. to your computer or to another device right away. Do this before your screen fails completely.

S10 screen has discoloration fix #2: Forced reboot

If your S10’s screen started showing discoloration even when you did nothing that may have caused physical damage, it can be due to a minor, temporary bug. Bugs of these types may go away after restarting the device so that’s exactly what you want to do next. Here’s how to do that:

1. Press and hold the Power + Volume Down buttons for approximately 10 seconds or until the device power cycles. Allow several seconds for the Maintenance Boot Mode screen to appear.
2. From the Maintenance Boot Mode screen, select Normal Boot. You can use the volume buttons to cycle through the available options and the lower left button (below the volume buttons) to select. Wait for up to 90 seconds for the reset to complete.

S10 screen has discoloration fix #3: Disconnect accessories

If your S10 screen still has discoloration, try to disconnect accessories like SIM card/s, SD card, external case, etc. Some Samsung Galaxy users in the past were able to fix unexplained discoloration on their screens by doing this step. If nothing changes, just skip this suggestion and proceed to the next.

S10 screen has discoloration fix #4: Check for rogue apps

Another good troubleshooting that you can do at this stage is to check if the cause of the problem is a bad app. Some poorly coded apps may interfere with Android and some functions. To check, restart your S10 to safe mode and see if the screen works normally. If it does, then that means you have an app problem. If this problem started to occur right after installing a particular third party app, delete it and check if it resolves the problem. If nothing changes though, continue narrowing down the suspect apps.

First, you want to restart to safe mode. Here’s how:

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.
8. Let your S8 run in this mode for several hours and check for the problem.

To know which app is causing a problem, follow these steps:

1. Boot to safe mode.
2. Check for the problem.
3. Once you’ve confirmed that a third party app is to blame, you can start uninstalling apps individually. We suggest that you begin with the most recent ones you added.
4. After you uninstall an app, restart the phone to normal mode and check for the problem.
5. If your S10 still refuses to power back on, repeat steps 1-4.

S10 screen has discoloration fix #5: Factory reset

If your S10 screen still has discoloration and nothing changes on safe mode, the next troubleshooting step is to wipe it. Doing this return all software settings to their factory defaults. If the reason for the problem is software-related, factory reset will most likely help.

Below are the two ways to factory reset your device:

Method 1: How to hard reset on Samsung Galaxy S10 via Settings Menu

1. Create a backup of your personal data and remove your Google account.
2. Open Settings app.
3. Scroll to and tap General management.
4. Tap Reset.
5. Select Factory data reset from the given options.
6. Read the information then tap Reset to continue.
7. Tap Delete All to confirm action.

Method 2: How to hard reset on Samsung Galaxy S10 using hardware buttons

1. If possible, create a backup of your personal data ahead of time. If your problem prevents you from doing that, then simply skip this step.
2. Also, you want to make sure that you remove your Google account. If your problem prevents you from doing that, then simply skip this step.
3. Turn off the device. This is important. If you can’t turn it off, you’ll never be able to boot to Recovery Mode. If you are not able to shut the device off regularly via the Power button, wait until the phone’s battery is drained. Then, charge the phone for 30 minutes before booting to Recovery Mode.
4. Press and hold the Volume Up button and the Bixby button at the same time.
5. While still holding the Volume Up and Bixby keys, press and hold the Power button.
6. The Recovery screen menu will now appear. When you see this, release the buttons.
7. Use the Volume Down button until you are highlighting ‘Wipe data/factory reset.’
8. Press the Power button to select ‘Wipe data/factory reset.’
9. Use Volume Down to highlight Yes.
10. Press the Power button to confirm factory reset.

S10 screen has discoloration fix #6: Send the phone in

If screen discoloration persists after wiping the device with factory reset, that’s a confirmation of a physical problem. This usually occurs after dropping the device causing permanent damage to the hardware. If your Galaxy S10 is still within coverage of screen insurance, make sure to make use of it right away. Visit your local Samsung Service Center as early as possible to have the screen fixed. If there’s no more screen insurance on the device, repair cost is usually passed on the owner so that means you’ll most likely spend upwards of $200. Breaking the screen by dropping it or hitting the device by an object is considered misuse so that automatically voids the standard 1-year warranty. Still, repair by Samsung is the best option that you can do at this stage.

S10 screen has discoloration fix #7: Let independent shop repair the device

If you can’t send your phone to an official Samsung Service Center, then bringing the device to a third party shop is the next best thing to do. Keep in mind though that Samsung considers repairs by independent technician as tampering of hardware. This means that if you’ll decide to bring the device to Samsung later on, they will no longer accept request for repair even if you’ll pay them for it.

S10 screen has discoloration fix #8: DIY repair

Many people usually tries do-it-yourself repair to save money on repair. While it’s doable, a lot of these amateurs end up causing more problems than fixing the main one. If you are confident that you can follow instructions and has the right tools to do it, then visit YouTube and find good videos that can help you walk through the repair process. Do it at your own risk!

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