Flicker is a condition where the light shines inconsistently, with both bright and dim light. However, our eyes may not be able to perceive much difference. If we live in light with flickering for a long time, it can cause eye strain or eye fatigue.

Is your iPhone or Android phone screen flickering? If so, there is no need to panic or despair. In this article, there are some tips that you can try to stop your phone screen from flickering.

1. Reboot your phone

Restarting your phone may sound simple, but it’s often an effective temporary fix. Doing so stops any non-system applications (from manufacturers other than the operating system developer) that are running and may be causing the screen flickering issue. Here’s how to do it:

• 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 either volume button, then drag the slider to power off.

In both cases, once the device is off, press and hold the Power button again to turn it back on. Check if your smartphone now fixes the screen flickering issue. If it does, then the application you downloaded prior to the screen flickering issue may be the problem. If you don’t really need it, we recommend that you delete the app. If that doesn’t work, proceed to the next step.

2. Disable Adaptive Brightness

The adaptive brightness feature on your phone automatically adjusts the screen brightness based on the light sensor data. However, issues with this feature can sometimes cause unexpected issues such as screen flickering.

You can try disabling the adaptive brightness to see if that fixes the problem. This feature is found under:
Settings > Display > Adaptive brightness on Android
and Settings > Display & Brightness on iOS

On Android, you can try resetting the adaptive brightness feature by following these steps:

• Go to your phone’s Settings
• Tap Apps & notifications or Apps
• Scroll down the list to find and tap Device Health Services
• Then tap Storage > Clear data > Clear all data and select OK to confirm.

3. Turn off night lights or blue light filters

Have you enabled the Night Light feature on your Android or iPhone? If you have it enabled, it can cause the screen to flicker. You can temporarily turn it off to see if that helps.

On Android, you can go to Settings > Display and turn off the Night Light toggle. Keep in mind that the feature has a different name on different phones. For example, if you have a Samsung Galaxy phone, it will be labeled Eye Comfort Shield in the display settings.

If you have an iPhone, go to Settings > Display & Brightness > Night Shift and turn off the Scheduled toggle. Also, if you use a third-party blue light filter app on your phone, make sure to disable or uninstall it.

4. Disable Hardware Overlays (Android only)

When rendering graphics, your phone dynamically determines whether the CPU or GPU should handle this task. While this transition is usually smooth, damaged or old phones may experience issues with screen composition (overlays).

There may be a slight delay between tasks when the phone has nothing to display, which can cause flickering. To avoid this issue, you can try disabling the hardware overlays on your phone. To do so, you will need to enable the developer options first, using the following steps:

1. Go to Settings > System > About phone. On Samsung phones, go to About phone > Software information.
2. Tap the Build number repeatedly (it should take about seven times) until you see the message “You are now a developer!”.

Now go back to your phone’s settings and scroll down to the bottom to tap Developer options. Then scroll down to find Disable HW overlays and enable it. Note that this will consume additional power, as disabling the overlays will force the phone to use the GPU rendering.

5. Check for software updates

Your display issues could be due to a messed up or outdated software build. If so, updating your phone to the latest version should help a lot.

• 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.

6. Boot into safe mode (Android only)

Safe Mode is a useful feature on Android that allows you to use your phone without using third-party apps and services. Booting your phone into Safe Mode can help you identify if a third-party app or process is causing the display to flicker. Here’s how to do it:

1. Press and hold the Side button.
2. Press and hold the Power button on the screen until you get the Safe Mode prompt.
3. Tap the green check mark. Your phone will then restart in Safe Mode.

However to boot into Safe Mode may vary depending on different Android brands. If your phone screen isn’t flickering in Safe Mode, then one of your third-party apps might be causing the problem. In that case, try uninstalling your recently installed apps one by one and then restart your phone to exit Safe Mode.

7. Factory Reset your phone

If your phone screen keeps flickering 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 bringing it back to good condition like new. However, before proceeding, back up your Android or backup your iPhone.

• How to factory reset an Android phone

1. Go to Settings > System > Advanced. On Samsung phones, go to Settings > General management.
2. Tap Reset and select the Factory data reset option.
3. Tap Reset and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process.

• How to factory reset an iPhone

1. Go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone.
2. Tap Erase All Content and Settings and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the reset of your iPhone.

Get your phone checked by a professional

A faulty phone screen can be caused by a hardware failure, so if the previous solutions don’t work, try visiting your phone manufacturer’s service center to have your device checked. There could be a significant cost involved in repairing or replacing it, depending on what’s wrong with your device.

Your phone plays a crucial role in your daily life, so it’s important that it works flawlessly. Hopefully, one of the tips above will help you fix the underlying issue and get things back to normal.

Source : lifewire