Screen flickering issues can be a sign of a hardware problem, but sometimes it’s not that serious. There are times when apps can cause the screen to flicker and firmware issues can also cause the same symptoms. There are Samsung Galaxy Note 9 owners who are complaining about the screen flickering issue on their devices so we need to tackle this issue.
In this post, I will walk you through troubleshooting your Note 9 with a screen flickering issue. We will try to consider every possibility and rule them out one by one until we can determine what the problem really is and hopefully fix it. So, if you are one of the owners of this amazing phone and are currently facing the screen flickering issue, then continue reading as this article may be able to help you one way or another.
Before we go any further, if you’re looking for a solution to a problem with your phone, try browsing our Galaxy Note 9 Help Guides page to see if we support your device. If your phone is on the list of our supported devices, visit the troubleshooting page and search for similar issues. Feel free to use our solutions and workarounds.
Troubleshooting Galaxy Note 9 with screen flickering issue
What you need to do with this problem is to rule out all possibilities that might indicate that the screen flickering issue with your phone is just due to software glitches by apps or the firmware. At the end of this troubleshooting guide, if the problem continues to bug you, rest assured that the problem is with the hardware. And that’s when you need to bring the phone back to the store or local shop to have it checked by a technician. But for that, here are the things you need to do:
First solution: Make sure this isn’t just due to a minor firmware glitch
You should start troubleshooting your phone by doing the forced restart. This simulated battery removal will tell you right away if the problem is due to a minor firmware glitch because if it is, the screen flickering issue will go away once the phone reboots. Here’s how to do it:
- Press and hold the volume down button and don’t release it yet.
- Press and hold the volume button and also press and hold the power key.
- Press and hold both keys together for 15 seconds or until the Galaxy Note 9 logo appears on the screen.
- After the phone reboots, try to see if the screen flickering is gone. If it persisted, proceed to the next procedure.
Second solution: Run your phone in safe mode
By running your Note 9 in safe mode, you are temporarily disabling all third-party applications that may have also contributed to the occurrence of this problem. If the screen does not flicker while your phone is in safe mode, that means there is a third-party app causing the problem. Here’s how to reboot your device in safe mode:
- Press and hold the Power key until the options appear.
- Tap and hold the Disable option until it changes to Safe Mode.
- Tap the Safe Mode icon to reboot your device.
- Once the reboot is successful, you will see “Safe Mode” in the lower-left corner of the screen.
- Assuming the screen doesn’t flicker while your Note 9 is in safe mode, follow these steps to find the cause of the problem and finally fix it.
- Reboot your phone normally to boot in standard mode.
- Remember the apps you installed around the time the phone screen started flickering.
- If you already have an app in mind, swipe down from the top of the screen to pull down the notification shade.
- Tap the Settings icon in the top right corner.
- Scroll to and then tap Apps.
- Locate and tap the suspicious app.
- Tap Storage.
- Tap Clear data and tap OK to confirm.
- Tap the back key once and then tap Delete.
- Confirm that you want to remove the app from your phone.
- On the other hand, if the flickering occurs even in safe mode, then it’s time to troubleshoot the firmware.
Third solution: Reset all settings to fix screen flickering
Personally, I have encountered all sorts of performance and hardware issues in the past simply because I changed some settings on my phone. If you’re like me who likes to experiment with some settings, you should do this procedure before moving on to the next one, as it may be due to one setting you changed:
- Swipe down from the top of the screen to pull down the notification shade.
- Tap the Settings icon in the top right corner.
- Scroll to and tap General management.
- Touch Reset.
- Tap Reset settings.
- Tap the Reset Settings button.
- If prompted, enter your PIN, password, or pattern.
- Finally, tap Reset.
If the problem persists after this, then try the next procedure.
Fourth solution: Wipe cache partition to fix screen flickering
When the system cache gets corrupted, performance issues can occur including the screen flickering issue. Therefore, it is best to delete the old cache so that it will be replaced with a new one. Don’t worry, you won’t lose any of your important files and data if you’ve done this.
- Switch off the device.
- Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
- When the Galaxy Note 9 logo appears, release all three keys.
- Your Galaxy Note 9 keeps booting into recovery mode. Once you see a black screen with blue and yellow texts, move on to the next step.
- Press the Volume Down key several times to highlight the wipe cache partition.
- Press the Power key to select.
- Press the Volume Down key to highlight yes, and press the Power key to select.
- When the wipe cache partition is complete, System Reboot will now be highlighted.
- Press the power button to restart the device.
Fifth solution: Backup your files and reset your phone
After deleting the system cache and the screen flickering issue it remained time to do the master reset. It is quite effective at fixing all sorts of firmware issues so if this problem started happening for no apparent reason, a reset might be all you need to get your phone back to normal. However, make sure to backup your important files and data as they will be deleted. After that, delete your Google account so you don’t get locked out. Once done, follow these steps to reset your phone:
- Switch off the device.
- Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
- Release all three keys when the Galaxy S10+ logo is displayed.
- Your Galaxy S10 Plus keeps booting into recovery mode. Once you see a black screen with blue and yellow texts, move on to the next step.
- Press the Volume down key several times to highlight ‘wipe data/factory reset.
- Press the power button to select.
- Press the Volume Down key until ‘Yes’ is highlighted.
- Press the power button to select and start the master reset.
- When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ will be highlighted.
- Press the power button to restart the device.
If the screen continues to flicker after the reset, then it’s time to take the phone to the local store or Samsung Experience store and have it checked by a technician.
I hope we were able to help you troubleshoot your Samsung Galaxy Note 9 with the screen flickering issue. We’d appreciate it if you’d help us spread the word, so please share this post if you found it helpful. Thank you so much for reading!
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