How to Fix Samsung Screen Flickering After an Update?

After a One UI or security update, the Samsung Galaxy display shows brief flashes or pulses even though the phone still responds normally.

What you see may be flashes across Home and Settings, pulsing only at low brightness, a glitch inside one app, or moving dark bands only in Camera. Those symptoms look similar, but they do not come from the same place.

An update can leave temporary system data behind, change how an app draws to the screen, or expose a brightness or refresh-rate conflict. It can also arrive around the same time that a damaged OLED panel or display connection begins to fail.

The timing is useful, but it does not prove that the update caused a hardware problem.

Match the flicker to the closest pattern before changing anything:

1. Restart Once and Compare the Places That Flicker

A restart is useful here because it reloads the display services and app processes that were active during or after the update. More importantly, the test afterward tells you whether the fault belongs to one app, charging, or the whole display.

Skip this method if the phone is visibly cracked, swollen, or too hot to handle safely; power it off and arrange service.

If the phone is also shutting down and starting again by itself, that is a different symptom; follow the checks in our Samsung phone restarting guide instead of treating every black screen as flicker.

1. Press and hold the Side key, or open the power menu from the Quick panel.
2. Tap Restart.
3. After the phone starts, compare the lock screen, Home screen, Settings, and the app where the problem is easiest to see.

   

4. If the screen flickers while charging, unplug it and test again. If the flicker stops, inspect the cable and try a compatible Samsung charger before changing display settings.

2. Check Whether the Flicker Stops in Safe Mode

A downloaded app can keep using an overlay, accessibility service, or display effect after One UI has changed.

Safe Mode starts the phone without downloaded apps, which separates that interference from a fault that remains in Samsung’s own software or the display. Samsung’s current screen-flicker guidance uses the same distinction.

Use this only when flicker affects more than one normal app or returns repeatedly; a problem confined to one app belongs in Method 4.

1. Open the power menu.
2. Touch and hold Power off until Safe mode appears.
3. Tap Safe mode and wait for the phone to restart.
4. Use the phone long enough to check the Home screen, Settings, scrolling, and charging if charging was part of the original pattern.

   

5. If the flicker stops, restart normally and remove recently installed or updated apps one at a time. Start with screen dimmers, launchers, themes, overlays, accessibility tools, cleaners, and video or screen-recording apps.

If the screen works normally in Safe Mode, remove recent display-related apps after restarting normally. If it still flickers there, leave installed apps alone and continue to the next method below.

3. Test Brightness and Refresh Rate One Setting at a Time

Some Galaxy displays pulse only when brightness is low or when the refresh rate changes. Changing one control at a time separates a display-setting interaction from a fault that ignores those settings.

Do not use higher brightness as a permanent repair. It is a short test, and it cannot correct a damaged panel.

1. Open Settings > Display.
2. Turn off Adaptive brightness, then move the brightness slider above the level where the flicker normally appears.

   

3. Test the phone before changing another option. If nothing changes, turn off Eye Comfort Shield.
4. Open Motion smoothness and switch to the other available setting, such as Standard instead of Adaptive. Tap Apply.

   

5. Restore any setting that made no difference so you know which change actually affected the screen.

If the screen only becomes darker and brighter without flashing or lines, the problem may be automatic dimming rather than flicker; our Android screen-dimming guide covers the heat, power-saving, and sensor causes behind that behavior.

If the screen works normally after one display change, keep that setting temporarily. If the flicker still appears, restore changes that had no effect and continue to the next method below.

4. Repair the Affected App When the Rest of One UI Is Stable

One app can fail when its video, animation, or overlay code no longer agrees with the updated One UI version. Updating or reinstalling it rebuilds that app’s local files while leaving the rest of the phone alone.

1. Open the Google Play Store or Galaxy Store and install any update for the affected app.
2. Restart the phone and test the app again.
3. If it still flickers, uninstall the app, restart once, and reinstall its current store version.

   

4. If the app still flickers after reinstalling while other apps remain stable, report it to the app developer and wait for a compatibility update.

A one-app failure does not justify a factory reset. Continue below only if the flicker also appears elsewhere on the phone.

5. Install Official Updates, Then Clear the System Cache if Available

A later Samsung patch can correct a display regression. Play Store and Galaxy Store updates also repair apps that no longer draw correctly after One UI changes.

Samsung’s post-update troubleshooting includes clearing the cache partition. This rebuilds temporary system data without erasing personal files.

Use the cache step only if Wipe cache partition actually appears in Recovery.

1. Open Settings > Software update > Download and install.
2. Install any available update, then update pending apps in both the Play Store and Galaxy Store.
3. Restart and test the screen before doing anything in Recovery.

   

4. Turn off the phone. Hold Volume Up and the Side/Power key until Android Recovery appears. If it does not open, connect the phone by USB to a powered computer and repeat. Button requirements vary by model.
5. If Wipe cache partition appears, select it with the Volume and Side/Power keys, confirm Yes, then choose Reboot system now. Some recent Galaxy builds no longer show this option; if it is absent, leave Recovery and continue without it.

If the screen behaves normally after the patch or cache rebuild, the problem was in the updated software state. If it still flickers outside Camera and in Safe Mode, continue below and capture useful diagnostics before considering a reset.

6. Check Camera-Only Bands Under Different Lighting

Camera banding happens when the camera records the rapid cycling of an LED or fluorescent light as moving dark lines. That does not mean the Galaxy display is failing.

Samsung also notes that Super Steady can produce black streaks under some artificial lighting because it uses a fast shutter.

Use this only when the bands are confined to Camera preview or recorded video. Flicker on Home or Settings needs the wider checks above.

1. Open Camera and switch to Video.
2. If Super Steady is on, turn it off.
3. Record a short clip under the same light, then test again in daylight or under a different light source.
4. If your model offers Pro Video, try a slower shutter speed when indoor lighting creates bands.

   

If Camera records normally under different lighting or with Super Steady off, the display does not need repair. If the flicker still appears on Home or Settings, continue to the next method below.

7. Use Samsung Members Before Erasing the Phone

Samsung Members can test available hardware functions and attach system logs to an error report. This is especially valuable after an update because Samsung can see the software build and the events around the flicker instead of receiving only a description.

Do not use Samsung Members to delay service when the phone is cracked, swollen, overheating, or exposed to liquid.

1. Reproduce the flicker once, if the screen is safe and usable enough to do so.
2. Open Samsung Members > Support > Phone diagnostics and run the available display, touch-screen, and full-device tests.
3. Record any failed result.
4. Open Error reports, choose the closest category, describe when the flicker began, attach a photo or video if useful, and keep Send system log data selected.

   

5. Send the report within about five minutes of reproducing the problem so the recent logs are included. Samsung documents the same diagnostics and reporting flow in its Galaxy diagnostics guide.

If diagnostics identifies a fault, back up the phone and arrange service. The same applies if the phone has cracks, liquid exposure, overheating, a lifting screen, dead touch areas, or a fixed colored line.

A normal result does not rule out an intermittent display fault, but it gives Samsung a cleaner software report.

8. Use One Clean Reset as the Last Software Test

A factory reset is justified only after the flicker survives Safe Mode, updates, and the non-destructive tests above. It removes apps and old settings, so the important result is whether the screen flickers before you restore a backup.

Do not use this step on a work or school-managed phone without the administrator’s approval. Device policy and managed data can change how the reset and setup behave.

1. Back up the Galaxy phone.
2. Open Settings > General management > Reset > Factory data reset.
3. Review the data that will be removed, then complete the reset using Samsung’s official factory-reset procedure.
4. During initial setup, test the lock screen, Home screen, Settings, low brightness, and scrolling before restoring apps or settings.

   

5. If the clean phone is stable, restore apps gradually so a returning conflict is easier to identify.
6. If it already flickers on the clean setup, stop repeating software resets and book an authorized Samsung inspection. Enable Maintenance mode first if the phone offers it.

If the clean setup works normally, old software or app data was involved. If the screen still flickers before anything is restored, the panel, display connection, power delivery, or firmware now needs Samsung inspection rather than another reset.