Display issues in mobile devices like screen flickering can be attributed to software errors or hardware damage. The latter could be the underlying cause if there were previous instances of hard falls or liquid exposure on the device. But if the screen flickering problem suddenly occurs, then it could be due to a system malfunction. Bad apps, faulty update, and incorrect display settings are usually among the common triggers for software-related display errors. Considering that the problem is tied to software errors, there are a few workarounds you can try on to troubleshoot and fix it on your end. The methods I’ve highlighted below can be utilized when dealing with screen flickering problem on a particular Samsung handset, which is the Galaxy Note 8. Feel free to refer to these workarounds whenever you need more help in fixing the annoying flickering display.
Before going further, if you found this post because you were trying to find a solution to your problem, then try to visit our Galaxy Note 8 troubleshooting page as we’ve already addressed most of the commonly reported issues with the phone. We’ve already provided solutions to some of the problems reported by our readers so try to find issues that are similar with yours and use the solutions we suggested. If they don’t work for you and if you need further assistance, fill up our Android issues questionnaire and hit submit.
First solution: Restart your phone.
For first instances, your phone screen may be flickering because of random software glitches. And in that case, the issue can potentially be resolved by restarting your device or soft reset. This should clear any minor software errors that might have caused your display to suddenly act oddly. A soft reset or device restart can be done in two way depending on what state your device is. If your phone is still able to respond properly, you can do the usual restart with these steps:
- Press and hold the Power button for a few seconds until the Power off prompt appears.
- Tap the Restart option.
- Tap Restart again to confirm.
- Give your phone up to 90 seconds to complete the restart process.
Meanwhile, if your phone is frozen or not responding, you can perform a soft reset using the hardware keys instead. And here’s how it’s done:
- Press and hold the Power button and Volume Down button simultaneously for up to 45 seconds.
- Release both buttons when the phone power cycles.
No data will be deleted from either methods so there’s no need for backups.
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Second solution: Quit all background apps.
Background apps can go rogue when they crash and when this happens, certain functions including display rendering may also become affected or stopped working as intended. Although it offers an advantage to keep your apps running in the background especially for multitasking purposes, there are times when you really have to quit them. To make sure that none of your background apps is trigger your display to flicker at some point, force them to close with these steps:
- Press the Recent apps key located on the bottom left corner of the screen. Doing so will show up a list of your recently used apps.
- To close an individual app, tap the app from the list and drag it to the left or right. Alternatively, you can just tap the X.
- To close all recent apps at once, tap the option to Clear All instead.
After clearing all background apps, restart your phone to apply the new changes and to refresh the phone’s internal memory.
Third solution: Manage display settings.
Some people who have encountered a similar issue in which their Galaxy Note 8 screen starts to flicker have found out that screen brightness has something to do with it. Others have it that the screen would flicker if the display is set to too high while others at some other level. To make sure this is not causing your phone to act the same, try to manage the display settings and adjust the screen brightness. Here’s how to access and manage display settings, particularly screen brightness on your Samsung Galaxy Note 8:
- Open the notification panel by dragging the status bar downwards.
- Next, drag the notification panel downwards.
- Then tap the arrow next to the brightness adjustment bar.
- If you want to show the controls on top, tap the switch to Show Control on top.
- Tap Done when you’re finished modifying display settings.
Restart your phone then see if that fixes the flickering display.
Fourth solution: Boot your phone into safe mode.
If configuring the screen brightness settings doesn’t help, you can proceed with diagnosing apps. Some third-party apps can be the culprit especially when they get corrupted or contain some malware that might have ruined your phone’s screen functions. Booting in safe mode will disable all third-party apps so it would be easier for you to determine if the screen flickering problem is isolated to a downloaded app or not. Here’s how to enable safe mode on your Galaxy Note 8:
- Turn your phone off.
- Then press and hold the Power button past the model name screen.
- When the Samsung logo appears, release the Power button.
- Immediately after releasing the Power button, press and hold the Volume Down key.
- Keep holding the Volume Down key until the phone finishes restarting.
- By then you should see the Safe Mode badge at the bottom left corner of the screen. At this point, you can release the Volume Down key.
If the screen doesn’t flicker while in safe mode, then it’s apparently due to some bad apps. Now you can try uninstalling individual apps starting from the most recent app you’ve downloaded before your phone screen started to flicker. Don’t forget to reboot and test your device after removing an app to know when the problem is gone.
Fifth solution: Perform a master reset.
A master reset or factory data reset can be regarded as the last option if none of the given solutions is able to fix the problem and that your Note 8 screen flickering issue persists. It might be due to a more complex error in the phone system like bug-triggered firmware crashes that caused you this problem. And the only way to clear these errors is a full system reset. But it’s also worth noting that this reset will result to data loss as it will wipe everything out from your phone system including your personal information, customized settings, downloaded apps and files. That said, creating a backup would be necessary. If you’re willing to take a chance in this method, then back up your files and follow these steps to proceed with a master reset.
- Press the Volume Up, Home (Bixby), and Power buttons simultaneously for a few seconds.
- When the Android logo appears, release all buttons and wait for the Android recovery menu options to display.
- From the Android recovery menu, press the Volume Down key several times to highlight or select wipe data/factory reset option.
- Then press the Power button to confirm selection.
- Press the Volume Down key until Yes — delete all user data is highlighted.
- Then press the Power button to confirm select. This will instigate the master reset.
- When the reset is finished, the Reboot system now option is highlighted.
- Press the Power button to restart your phone.
Alternatively, you can reset your Note 8 through settings. Here’s how:
- Swipe up on an empty spot from the Home screen to open the Apps tray.
- Tap Settings.
- Go to Cloud and accounts.
- Tap Backup and restore. Doing so will allow you to create a backup of your important data before wiping them all.
- After creating backups, go back to the Settings menu.
- Tap General Management.
- Scroll to and tap Reset.
- Then select Factory data reset from the given options.
- Tap Reset to continue.
- If prompted, enter your credentials.
- Tap Continue.
- Then tap Delete all to confirm reset.
Wait until your phone completes the reset and restarts. By then you can proceed with the initial setup process.
Service option
A damaged screen component on your Galaxy Note 8 might be the underlying cause of the problem. In this case, none of the aforementioned solutions can fix the issue because what your phone needs is service. Having said that, you will need to take your device to a nearby service center and have it diagnosed by an authorized technician instead. Any found damaged component will then be taken care of properly to get your phone back up and running smoothly.
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