Key Takeaways
- Features like auto-brightness, night light, and hardware overlays can sometimes cause screen flickering, so it’s a good idea to turn them off.
- If you have an Android phone, try booting into Safe Mode to check if a third-party app is causing the issue.
- You may have to factory reset your phone or take it to the repair shop if nothing else works.
Is your iPhone or Android phone’s display glitching? If so, there’s no need to panic or lose hope just yet. Here are some tips you can try to stop your phone’s display from flickering.
Reboot Your Phone
Restarting your phone may sound simple, but it’s often effective in fixing any temporary issues. Doing so will halt any active third-party background services and processes causing the display problem.
- If you have an Android, press and hold the power button, then select Restart.
- To restart an iPhone, press and hold the power button and one of the volume buttons, then drag the slider to turn it off.
In both cases, once the device is off, press and hold the power button again to power it back on.
Disable Auto-Brightness (Adaptive Brightness)
The auto-brightness (adaptive brightness) feature on your phone automatically adjusts the screen’s brightness based on light sensor data. However, issues with this feature can sometimes cause unexpected problems, like screen flickering.
You can try disabling auto-brightness to see if that resolves the issue. This feature is under Settings > Display > Adaptive brightness on Android and Settings > Display & Brightness on iOS.
On Android, you can also try resetting the adaptive brightness feature. To do so, use these steps:
- Head to your phone Settings.
- Tap on Apps & notifications or Apps.
- Scroll through the list to find and tap Device Health Services.
- Tap Storage > Clear data > Clear all data, then tap OK to confirm.
Turn Off the Night Light or Blue Light Filter
Have you enabled the Night Light feature on your Android or iPhone? If so, it could sometimes cause the display to flicker. You can temporarily turn this feature off to see if that helps.
On Android, you can head to Settings > Display and turn off the Night Light toggle. Note that this feature goes by different names on different phones. If you have a Samsung Galaxy phone, for instance, it will be labeled as Eye Comfort Shield in Display settings.
If you have an iPhone, head to Settings > Display & Brightness > Night Shift and turn off the Scheduled toggle. Additionally, if you’re using any third-party Blue Light filter app on your phone, make sure to disable or uninstall it.
Disable Hardware Overlays (Android Only)
When rendering graphics, your phone dynamically determines whether the CPU or GPU should handle the task. Although this transition is usually seamless, a damaged or aging phone may struggle with screen compositing (layering images).
There may be a minor delay between tasks when the phone has nothing to display, which may cause flickering. To avoid this, you can try disabling hardware overlays on your phone. To do so, you’ll first need to enable Developer Options using these steps:
- Go to Settings > System > About phone. On Samsung phones, go to About phone > Software information.
- Tap the Build number repeatedly (it should take around seven taps) until you see a message saying, “You are now a developer!”
Now, head back to your phone settings and scroll to the bottom to tap Developer options. Then, scroll down to find Disable HW overlays and toggle it on. Note that this will consume extra power since disabling overlays forces the phone to use GPU rendering.
Check for Software Updates
Your display problem might have been caused by a messy or outdated software build. If that’s the case, updating your phone to the latest version will most likely help.
- To check your software version on Android, go to Settings > System > System update.
- For iOS, go to Settings > General > Software Update. Download and install any pending updates and see if that fixes the problem.
Boot Into Safe Mode (Android Only)
Safe Mode is a useful feature on Android that allows you to use your phone without third-party apps and services. Booting your phone into Safe Mode can help you identify whether a third-party app or process is causing the display to flicker.
To boot your Android phone into Safe Mode:
- Press and hold the side key.
- Long-press Power Off on the screen until you get the Safe Mode prompt.
- Tap the green checkmark, and your phone will restart in Safe Mode.
Note that booting into Safe Mode may vary on different Android skins. If your phone’s display does not flicker in Safe Mode, one of your third-party apps is likely causing the issue. In that case, consider uninstalling recently installed apps individually and then restart your phone to exit Safe Mode.
Factory Reset Your Phone
If your phone’s display continues to flicker even in Safe Mode, you can perform a factory reset on your smartphone. This will erase all data and restore your phone to its factory settings, effectively making it as good as new. However, before proceeding, back up your Android or back up your iPhone.
To factory reset an Android phone:
- Go to Settings > System > Advanced. On a Samsung phone, go to Settings > General management.
- Tap Reset and select the Factory data reset option.
- Hit Reset and follow the on-screen prompts to finish the process.
If you have an iPhone, you can use these steps to reset it:
- Head to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone.
- Tap Erase All Content and Settings and follow the on-screen prompts to finish resetting your iPhone.
Get Your Phone Checked by a Professional
A glitching phone screen may be caused by a hardware failure. So, if none of the previous solutions work, consider visiting your phone manufacturer’s service center to have your device checked. Depending on the issue, there may be significant costs involved for repair or replacement.
Your phone plays a crucial role in your daily life, so it’s important that it functions flawlessly. Hopefully, one of the tips above has helped you resolve the underlying issue and restore things to normal.
