Software update

Software update bug causes serious issues with Galaxy S20 series displays

April 15, 2022
Michael C. McNeely
Based on posts found on Reddit, Twitterand Samsung Customer Forums, it seems that some of those who are still using a Galaxy S20 series phone are experiencing display issues on their devices. Some of these screens display thin pink or green vertical lines. Some of these posts note that the issue occurred immediately after a software update, while others pointed out that the lines started appearing after their phone’s warranty expired.
While some messages from device owners are recent, others date back to 2021. In July last year, we told you that Galaxy S20 screen issues started to appear after about a year of use. At that time, one of the issues was a “green/white flicker” appearing on the phone screen. At least one Galaxy S20 owner had their screen repaired by Samsung, but nine months later, those with the problem may no longer have any warranty protection and will have to pay out of pocket for any screen repairs.

Some Samsung Galaxy S20 Owners Are Reporting Their Devices Display Fails

If Samsung tried to pin the blame on the owner of the phone and say that some sort of physical damage from a fall was causing the problem, a user could point to the large number of identical complaints found on the aforementioned forums for show that too many Galaxy S20 users are reporting the exact same problem as the problem is due to negligence or accident on the part of the owners of the device.

Some Galaxy S20 series owners are luckier than others. A Reddit user using the handle bananabanana9876 said: “Mine is only over a month old so it’s still under warranty. I took it (to a) Samsung service shop and they said they don’t have a part spare available, so they’d give me a full refund. I’m lucky (or unlucky) I guess.” The same Reddit follower suggested that Galaxy S20 users refrain from installing software updates on their Galaxy S20 handsets.

The Samsung customer forum is full of complaints from Galaxy S20 series owners, with some explaining how the problem with their screen came out of nowhere. According to a Galaxy S20 owner who calls himself Hrufine on the Samsung community forum, “I never thought this would happen to my phone. But yes, today all of a sudden while watching YouTube, a green line appeared in the middle of the screen vertical. It was white for a while then turned green.”

He adds, “I don’t know what to do with that unwanted exynos 990 heated phone now. At least the screen was good, but now that phone is worthless. Samsung should own this problem.”

Galaxy S20 lineup software updates seem to have triggered this issue

Messages posted as recently as last Tuesday, April 12, appear on the Samsung community board. And at least one user has posted that their phone has two vertical lines on their phone. He also states that the problem started after a software update (which seems to be a similar factor found in many posts) and that a factory reset did not help, which must be alarming for those who hope for a solution to this problem.

One of our loyal readers using the name phone head, posted a comment on our story from last July that we mentioned earlier in this article. He wrote just four days ago that a vertical line appeared on the left side of his Galaxy S20+ screen. He also had a problem with the screen of his Galaxy Note 9 following a software update.

He said he was going to discontinue his Galaxy S21 Ultra and said he would no longer deal with any Samsung devices. So far there is no response from Samsung and if we hear from the company we will pass on the response.

If you own a Galaxy S20 series handset and are having an issue with the display of the device, please leave us a comment in the box below. Let us know what steps you took to repair the screen or to get a replacement from Samsung.