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How to fix Galaxy S8 when screen retains an image that won’t go away (screen image or burn-in)

The #GalaxyS8 may be an obvious electronics masterpiece but it’s not perfect. It still uses a screen technology that can suffer from occasional hiccups, one of which is the main topic in this article. We hope you’ll find this post helpful.

Problem #1: Galaxy S8 screen retains an images that won’t go away (screen image or burn-in)

Hey guys. I have a Samsung S8 and recently im having the most annoying issue! I think it’s a feature not a bug but i can’t seem to come up with accurate enough search terms to find online how to turn it off. it seems to have just started since a recent update. Basically, when my phone is asleep on the table/charging or whatever, the screen is black but it shows, very faintly, white icons for notifications at the top, so there might be a battery charging symbol or a gmail icon with a couple numbers if i’ve received some emails. it’s like an Always on Display with just notifications, but it is definitely not the AOD because i know what that is, and this isn’t it. in fact, when i turn on the AOD this glitch seems to go away, but i don’t like the AOD for various reasons. for ages this has been fine but this week ive started getting this, yeah, weird black screen with faint notifications.

When i lock my phone, the screen goes black and the battery charging LED comes on (if its on charge) but then within seconds, the LED turns off and the faint notifications rear their ugly head. i wouldn’t mind so much but when i then press a button to wake up my phone, instead of going to my lock screen, it returns to the true black screen with LED light on. i then have to press unlock a second time to bring myself to the lock screen, before i can finally enter my pin and unlock the phone i hope that’s enough info for you to help me. What’s goin on!?!?! Thanks in advance, notified and confused. — Jesse Miles

Solution: Hi Jesse. We would like to think your S8 is suffering from a phenomenon called screen image retention although it’s also possible that it may have an early stage of screen burn-in issue.

Image retention is a temporary screen scenario where an image remains or persists for some time even after you’ve changed the image with something entirely different. This can happen from time to time but it should not last long enough to become a nuisance. If it does, then you most probably have screen burn-in issue, a more severe form. Screen burn-in retains a static image even after the device has been turned off so it can be described as a permanent image retention. Samsung and other screen makers have greatly reduced the chances of this issue from occuring (in fact, it’s occurence on Samsung Galaxy devices is rare) but there may be some unique circumstances in your case that might have allowed this to develop.

In order to prevent screen burn-in from settling in, even when using Always On Display, Samsung prevents images and AOD from remaining in the same position for too long. This is, in fact, a common tactic for hardware makers to prevent this issue from occuring.

If your S8 has screen burn-in issue, the only effective way to fix it is by screen or phone replacement. If the image on the screen remains even when you turn off the phone, you’ll have to bring the device to Samsung so they can repair or replace it.

However, if this occurrence only started recently and appears to come and go, you need to do some software troubleshooting to see if you can fix it on your level.

Clear the cache partition

Android uses separate partitions to operate efficiently. Sometimes, the system cache, which is used by the operating system to load apps quickly, can get corrupted. If that happens, all sorts of issues may occur. Update and app installations are the usual causes for system cache corruption. To check if this is the case, follow the steps below:

  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 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.

Observe in safe mode

There’s a very slim chance that a third party app may be to blame in this case but nevertheless, we want you to check if the issue will go away when you boot the device to safe mode. In this mode, all third party apps will be blocked so if your concern won’t happen, you can bet one of your apps is behind it.

To boot to safe mode:

  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. Uninstall apps that are causing a problem.

Factory reset

A drastic option no doubt but we think you need to do this before sending the device to Samsung. We know for a fact that your issue won’t occur if the software is reset to its defaults. If the problem is due to a software bug, factory reset should help. Otherwise, it’s definitely a hardware issue and you must tap Samsung’s expertise to deal with it.

In the meantime, here are the steps to factory reset your S8:

  1. Back up data on the internal memory. If you have signed into a Google account on the device, you have activated Anti-theft and will need your Google credentials to finish the Master reset.
  2. From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
  3. Tap Settings > Cloud and accounts.
  4. Tap Backup and restore.
  5. If desired, tap Back up my data to move the slider to ON or OFF.
  6. If desired, tap Restore to move the slider to ON or OFF.
  7. Tap the back button to the Settings menu and tap General Management > Reset > Factory data reset.
  8. Tap Reset device.
  9. If you have screen lock turned on, enter your credentials.
  10. Tap Continue.
  11. Tap Delete all.

Problem #2: Galaxy S8 Facebook Messenger app won’t send messages right away after an update

Hi. I just realised I only recently installed the Oreo update (but I think my issue started a little after this so could be unrelated). Essentially, when I connect to internet (same issue for both wifi and data) my phone stays connected however, (using messenger as an example because it shows me) on messenger it will say at the top with an orange banner “waiting to connect” even though my wifi/data will show it’s connected continually throughout and isn’t disconnecting. After a while it will briefly reconnect and send my message but sometimes I need to keep refreshing it to try and make it request data to restore the connection. When I send messages on messenger 97% of the time they don’t send immediately and I have to wait for the internet to come back. (Have tried restarting phone and problem continued) Hope that was enough info!  — Sophie Burgess

Solution: Hi Sophie. If this issue occurs when both on mobile data and wifi, the following solutions may help:

Clear cache and data

The first thing that you should do in this case is to clear the cache, then data of the apps involved. Here’s how to do that:

  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 data and then tap OK.
  6. Tap Clear cache.
  7. Restart the phone and check for the problem.
  8. If the issue continues, repeat steps 1-4, hit CLEAR DATA button, then restart the phone and check for the problem.

Reset network settings

Resetting your device’s network settings can sometimes fix SMS and MMS issues. That’s because some bugs may be triggered by some configurations. By returning your device’s network settings to their factory state, you might actually be fixing the issue without resorting to unnecessary drastic solutions like factory reset.

To reset the network settings on your S8:

  1. Open Settings app.
  2. Tap General management.
  3. Tap Reset.
  4. Tap Reset network settings.
  5. Tap RESET SETTINGS button.
  6. Restart your S9 and check for the problem.

Factory reset

As a final troubleshooting step, you should attempt a factory reset (steps provided above) to return the software settings back to their untainted version.

 


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