Develop Bugs

[HOWTO] Reproduce screen issue (updated 3x results of detailed testing) some phones

Update
Feedback from many users of Samsung Galaxy S II phones appears to suggest that the display calibration problem is prevalent mostly in Qualcom based units. These include models from:
1. T-Mobile USA
2. AT&T Skyrocket
3. Telus Canada
4. Rogers Canada
The Exynos based Samsung Galaxy S II phones are known to be calibrated considerably better. These include models from:
1. Sprint
2. AT&T (non-Skyrocket model)
3. International version
End update
Many people are complaining about the quality of their T-Mobile SGSII displays. I noticed the problems myself and decided to perform some detailed testing.
Here is how you can reproduce the simple test:
Download the blobs.jpg to your phone. A copy of blobs.jpg is attached here. Or simply point the browser on your phone to: http://cheema.com/blobs.jpg Tap and hold the dark gray rectangle and then select "Save image" from the menu. Note that it is not entirely black. It is dark grey. Testing with a black screen gives you false hope that your display is good.
Turn off automatic brightness and dial down the brightness all the way to make it as dark as possible. Go to Home->Settings->Display->Brightness.
Open up the "Gallery" application and locate the blobs.jpg in the download folder and view it in a mostly dark room.
At this point you'll probably see a greenish display with vertical lines and dots all over. If you see this you have what some of us call a bad/non-calibrated display. Based on the data I have seen so far, I think that all T-Mobile Galaxy S II owners suffer from this. Most people believe they have a good display because they do not have a the equivalent Sprint phone to compare with.
Results of detailed testing of T-Mobile SGSII screen
I performed the detailed tests with a total of 4 units. 2 from T-Mobile and 2 from Sprint. I set all phones to identical brightness level (lowest) and proceeded to run a few screen tests.
1. Blobs test
For this test I used Gallery application to display the blobs.jpg file attached here. [Click the pictures to see the full size versions]
I slowed the camera shutter down good bit so that I could see details that are not be visible to the naked eye. One thing was pretty clear, the Sprint phones (#1 and #3) had imperfections too. Lines and blobs. This made me think that perhaps all Super Amoled displays have them. However the reason nobody sees them on Sprint phones is because their displays are properly calibrated with correct contrast, saturation and color temperature values.
This is pretty close to what you see with a naked eye:
2. Reading test
For this test, I simply loaded up a web page that I was reading earlier and found difficult to read on T-Mobile SGSII. http://alexzambelli.com/blog/2009/02/10/smooth-streaming-architecture/
This was the deal breaker for me. Click on the image above for the full size and the compare the last 2 phones. This problem cannot be fixed by cranking up brightness. As that brightens up the text too. And you want the text to stay black and sharp for good contrast.
3. Picture test
For this test, I grabbed a picture from Flickr and displayed it on all phones.
For this test, you probably should look at the larger shot, before drawing any conclusions. The smaller picture simply does not show enough detail.
While none of the phones in the picture test show entirely correct colors, the Sprint phones do a commendable job. "T-Mobile 2", goes off the deep end and shows the tree to be mostly green, when in reality it is mostly yellow.
4. Front camera test
For this test, all 4 phones were switched to front camera and the camera settings were reset to default. I then put the phones down on a table and took a picture with my Canon 60D. By now I was not expecting any miracles and I did not get any.
T-Mobile units continued to show that they were not loved by their creators. On a side note, I am beginning to think that the T-Mobile units may also have something wrong with the front cameras. I'll have to set aside some time to perform detailed front camera testing for comparison with the Sprint phone.
Conclusion
In an earlier post I stated my belief that all T-Mobile SGSII phones have screen problems that do not exist in the Sprint version. These tests with additional units back up that belief. There is no good way to explain the consistent bad performance of T-Mobile phones when compared to the Sprint phones. While we do find the lines and blobs present in the Sprint phones too, their presence is inconsequential. Proper calibration of the display masks these lines and blobs. The T-Mobile phones unfortunately suffer from incorrect display calibration. Some are much worse than the others. Many will continue to claim that their T-Mobile phones do not suffer from the same problems as the two units I tested here. While statements like "My phone looks OK to me" are well and good for the individual user, they are not scientific. I invite any skeptic to find a Sprint SGS2 and put their T-Mobile unit next to it and run these tests. And then come back and show us the results. I would genuinely be surprised and happy if any T-Mobile SGSII phone out there behaves differently from the ones I tested.
I do not know if the incorrect calibration can be fixed with a software update. I hope that it can be. It would certainly save an otherwise awesome phone.
I would be open to trying a different test with all 4 of these phones and compare output. Let me know if you have a specific test in mind. In the meantime, I will probably run a few more tests and will update this post with new data, as it comes in. I will also be happy to update this post, once anybody finds solid evidence of a single T-Mobile SGSII phone with a good display.
My hope with this post is that we raise awareness of the issue so that people building and shipping these phones wake up and fix the problem. If we continue to pretend that the problem does not exist, then it most certainly will not get fixed.
FYI: article on engadget http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/08/t-mobile-galaxy-s-ii-screen-issues-have-some-seeing-poorly-rend/

Just tried it and my screen looks fine. Looks like the phone on the right.

You're right man I never noticed but I see what you're saying. When you pull the notification bar down its not really black it is grey. Same thing in the browser when you hit the menu button, the menu that appears has a grey background color instead of pitch black.

LP_sk8er said:
Just tried it and my screen looks fine. Looks like the phone on the right.
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Click to collapse
Very interesting. You followed all three steps I listed above and looked at the result in a dark room?

But then again I just downloaded a plain black wallpaper ( hate to say this but like the iPhone 2 g black background) and its pitch black!!! So I guess it's a minor software issue ( or not?) I don't know.

barondebxl said:
You're right man I never noticed but I see what you're saying. When you pull the notification bar down its not really black it is grey. Same thing in the browser when you hit the menu button, the menu that appears has a grey background color instead of pitch black.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not sure I follow. The pulled-down notification area is not really supposed to be black. It is grey. However I do see lines in it, in a dark room, if I turn the display brightness all the way. Something I do not see on the Sprint units.

I love this. People will find ANYTHING to complain about, even if the phone is perfectly designed.
This phone has the clearest & most vibrant screen of any phone I have ever had. It crushes all other phones I have ever owned and makes my coworkers iPhone 4 and 4s screen look sub-par.
You can complain all you want but what do you expect to happen? T-Mobile sure as hell is not going to do anything. And getting it replaced with another one clearly isn't going to make a difference. Unless you plan on switching to Sprint (terrible idea) then I suggest you forget about it and move on to care about things that actually matter.

cheema said:
I posted the earlier thread, comparing a T-Mobile Galaxy S II with the Sprint equivalent here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1320163
I posted a couple of pictures comparing the screen performance. There was a bunch of confusion from people who said that their phones do not look like that. I suspect that they haven't really tested their phones the correct way. Here is what you have to do:
Download the blobs.jpg to your phone. Note that it is not entirely black. It is dark grey. Looking at a black screen tells you nothing. A copy of blobs.jpg is attached here. Or simply point browser the browser on your phone to: http://cheema.com/blobs.jpg Tap and hold the dark gray rectangle and then select "Save image" from the menu.
Go to Home->Settings->Display->Brightness. Turn off automatic brightness and dial down the brightness all the way to make it as dark as possible.
Open up the "Gallery" application and locate the blobs.jpg in the download folder and view it in a mostly dark room.
At this point you'll probably see a greenish display with ugly lines and dots all over. If you see this you have what some of us call a bad display. Based on the data I have seen so far, I think that all T-Mobile Galaxy S II owners suffers from this. Most people believe they have a good display because they do not have a the equivalent Sprint phone to compare with. If they did, they would notice the following:
T-Mobile units have bad contrast. This is specifically bad if you are reading a lot of text. On T-Mobile units, the white backgrounds appear to have a blue tint to them. For most websites and apps, this works OK. But for some that do not use a plain white background, it makes readability much worse.
Colors in pictures are washed out. See my previous post, linked above, for an example.
I am not planning to return the phone at this time as I do not believe there are any T-Mobile GSII phones out there with good displays. I'll suffer through the bad display with the hope that Samsung fixes this issue with a software update. It is very likely that they messed up color/contrast/saturation settings that can be fixed in software. I also think that Sprint units have these lines and dots too. However we do not see them because Sprint displays are setup correctly.
Note: The attached photo shows T-Mobile GSII on the left and the Sprint version on the right. Both are running Gallery software showing the same exact image: blobs.jpg (attached).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tested this out....downloaded that image and set brightness to 0 and opened the image in a dark room....i can see it was not pure black or a little shade but no dots or visible lines. I'm not sure if it should display completely dark colour but it's not bad for me.

followed the steps. I do not have this problem. Guess i'm one of the lucky ones
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA App

barondebxl said:
But then again I just downloaded a plain black wallpaper ( hate to say this but like the iPhone 2 g black background) and its pitch black!!! So I guess it's a minor software issue ( or not?) I don't know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you read and follow step 1 in my original post? It specifically says that blob.png is not black.
If you do not follow the steps, you are very likely to not see the problem.

cheema said:
Did you read and follow step 1 in my original post? It specifically says that blob.png is not black.
If you do not follow the steps, you are very likely to not see the problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it might help if you upload the full size image
the attachment in the 1st post is too small to be of any use

I fulled the OP's instructions and got the same (poor) results that he did. Note to others trying this: you have to do it in a dark room, otherwise you won't see it.
Very strange that Sprint's panel, at least, looks way better.

I have the issue as well. And im all about dark colors on my phone and notice it often. However, oh well...its not enough to return it. Love the phone and I know im usually over picky.

sn0warmy said:
I love this. People will find ANYTHING to complain about, even if the phone is perfectly designed.
This phone has the clearest & most vibrant screen of any phone I have ever had. It crushes all other phones I have ever owned and makes my coworkers iPhone 4 and 4s screen look sub-par.
You can complain all you want but what do you expect to happen? T-Mobile sure as hell is not going to do anything. And getting it replaced with another one clearly isn't going to make a difference. Unless you plan on switching to Sprint (terrible idea) then I suggest you forget about it and move on to care about things that actually matter.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well the thing is its not perfectly designed, the gs2 is advertized with amoled which should be crisp and sexy and if every has that blurry screen problem then they have the right to bring it up. Better to speak than to be a lil b*tch and keep quiet speaking up brings awareness and therefore hopefully a fix for the phone
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App

cheema said:
Did you read and follow step 1 in my original post? It specifically says that blob.png is not black.
If you do not follow the steps, you are very likely to not see the problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you own a SGS 2 from Tmobile? Or you own a Sprint galaxy S 2?
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium

cheema said:
Did you read and follow step 1 in my original post? It specifically says that blob.png is not black.
If you do not follow the steps, you are very likely to not see the problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then why even worry about it?

parusia said:
Do you own a SGS 2 from Tmobile? Or you own a Sprint galaxy S 2?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the T-Mobile version. Wife has the Sprint version.

sn0warmy said:
Then why even worry about it?
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Click to collapse
Most people cannot, but unfortunately I can. All the time. Specially when reading text on some websites. I read a lot of documentation on my phone.
As you can see in the attachment in the original post, the Sprint version does not suffer from the poor screen. My hope is to raise awareness of the issue and have Samsung fix the problem quickly.

AllGamer said:
it might help if you upload the full size image
the attachment in the 1st post is too small to be of any use
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The forum software does not let me post large picture attachments. But I have made one available here: http://cheema.com/blobs-comparison-large.jpg

Are people reporting this to anyone? Tmobile, samsung?
I was just thinking. Could this be why we never got the same screen contrast app like the sprint verison and at&t version have?? That might have made it even more visible.

Anyone else's gnex have these weird "blotches" on a totally black screen?

I had to up the contrast quite a bit for what I am talking about to show up in a photo, but you can see it here: http://i.imgur.com/TLYe4.jpg
When my screen is totally black, there are 2 "blotches" of the screen that are darker than the rest. They are not image defects, as it happens on any totally black screen.
I like this phone, but all these screen issues are annoying!

what rom kernel?

zephiK said:
what rom kernel?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Completely stock Android 4.0.2
EDIT: Because you look like you know what you're talking about, I might as well ask you another question here
If I follow these instructions to flash 4.0.4 yakju on my phone currently running 4.0.2 yakjuux, must I be rooted, or will unlocking the bootloader be enough to upgrade?

I have these too. Even at exact location. But i notice it only at totally dark room.

maybe if you still have your trial period you can return it and get another one? ... ive never noticed these but those issues seem very minor
i know if you flash a kernel with colorcontrol you might be able to tune it to the way you like it.

zephiK said:
maybe if you still have your trial period you can return it and get another one? ... ive never noticed these but those issues seem very minor
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ehh, I'm with WIND mobile here and they tend to just exchange your phone with one that someone else has returned. I am probably just gonna deal with it. It's certainly not noticeable in every day use, it's just something I noticed while looking at my screen last night in the dark.

As a workaround, you can change your wallpaper so its not dark dark dark

blackdesp said:
I have these too. Even at exact location. But i notice it only at totally dark room.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm gonna assume it's just a defect that shows up in super low light then.
Lots of QC issues with this phone it seems. How Samsung AND Google OK'd it is beyond me, lol.
Oh well, it's better than a lot of crap out there, so I will stick with it for a few years.

Matt08642 said:
I'm gonna assume it's just a defect that shows up in super low light then.
Lots of QC issues with this phone it seems. How Samsung AND Google OK'd it is beyond me, lol.
Oh well, it's better than a lot of crap out there, so I will stick with it for a few years.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google only does the software. Samsung does the hardware.
If anything blame Samsung. There is always a chance of a defect when it comes to production.
But yeah.. it'll have updates from Google and dev support.

Matt08642 said:
I'm gonna assume it's just a defect that shows up in super low light then.
Lots of QC issues with this phone it seems. How Samsung AND Google OK'd it is beyond me, lol.
Oh well, it's better than a lot of crap out there, so I will stick with it for a few years.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
we have to suffer for these issues as early adopters for 720p super amoled screens. I think these are not QC issues. These are the known issues for a still developing technology.

blackdesp said:
we have to suffer for these issues as early adopters for 720p super amoled screens. I think these are not QC issues. These are the known issues for a still developing technology.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If future gen screens are free of these problems I'll definitely still be all for them

that is a common manufacture defect of amoled screens not just our 720p screens. theres people on the razr forums complaining of this too and motorola said its a manufacturing defect that affects lots of amoled screens. i suspect lots of people have this problem just that they dont notice since you cant see them under normal use.
i have these black splotches too but can only see them when i put a black screen in a dark room, never see them when i use normally or watching videos.

neotekz said:
that is a common manufacture defect of amoled screens not just our 720p screens. theres people on the razr forums complaining of this too and motorola said its a manufacturing defect that affects lots of amoled screens. i suspect lots of people have this problem just that they dont notice since you cant see them under normal use.
i have these black splotches too but can only see them when i put a black screen in a dark room, never see them when i use normally or watching videos.
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I'm interested in what causes this problem. Any links to info/causes?
EDIT: So many things about this phone have made me want to take it back, but then I realize I already have the best phone on the best carrier in Canada! I hate the lack of selection here, lol.

Matt08642 said:
I'm interested in what causes this problem. Any links to info/causes?
EDIT: So many things about this phone have made me want to take it back, but then I realize I already have the best phone on the best carrier in Canada! I hate the lack of selection here, lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you have the best phone anywhere, not just canada. other phones might be better at certain things but overall the nexus is still the best until the htc one s or gs3 comes out. You are going to find problems with any phone out there most are a lot worst than the ones on the nexus.
i dunno about Wind being the best carrier in canada though...lol i was pretty close to switching to them but just didnt want to deal with all the roaming stuff.

neotekz said:
you have the best phone anywhere, not just canada. other phones might be better at certain things but overall the nexus is still the best until the htc one s or gs3 comes out. You are going to find problems with any phone out there most are a lot worst than the ones on the nexus.
i dunno about Wind being the best carrier in canada though...lol i was pretty close to switching to them but just didnt want to deal with all the roaming stuff.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I mean best carrier in the sense that everything is unlimited. I rarely ever leave the city so it's good for me.
I am currently in customer service hell. They sent me a full month's bill after 7 days of service, and I can't get a straight answer as to why. Tried calling their service center and was hung up on 3 times in a row.

From my understanding, it's due to pixel pre-charging and/or bad threshold calibration. All of the pixels are kept on just a tiny amount even on black screens to produce smoother a smoother display. It takes a lot longer to turn on an LED from rest than to just bump up the brightness a bit. The LED subpixels are held just above their on/off threshold to give relatively deep blacks with smooth light/dark transitions. In theory this works, because it assumes that each LED is perfectly calibrated and they all have an exact on/off threshold. In reality though, we know that no two LEDs are the same. Some have higher thresholds and some have lower than others. This equates to some deadspots and some bright patches on black screens.
Then again, it could just be a badly manufactured screen or some other issue.
Also, some people say that they never saw anything like pre-charging on other OLED screens like on the GSII, but that's because the GSII has a much lower resolution. The Nexus has a much higher resolution, which means a lot more pixels to push, which means there's a lot more light coming out of black screens. That's what gives some Nexus screens that LCD-Backlight look when in dark rooms. That's a non-issue.

[Q] Lumia 900, and this is what i got... =)

Hi all.
Over the weekend i finally got myself the Lumia 900 cyan (got it at Saturn, in Germany), really happy now (wife has the 800). This is what was installed.
Os version: 7.10.8779.8
FM: 2175.2101.8779.12201
Radio software: 2.1.75.20
I think i got it with Tango installed right? i now can add multiple images and video to mms.
It runs smooth as barry white in silky pants, love it!

yeah, every other Lumia 900 around the world is getting Tango but the US version.

eortizr said:
yeah, every other Lumia 900 around the world is getting Tango but the US version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you know if this includes us Canucks here in Canada?

yiannisthegreek said:
Do you know if this includes us Canucks here in Canada?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Doubt it... Us "Canucks" are still waiting for the purple screen fix

Zhariak said:
Doubt it... Us "Canucks" are still waiting for the purple screen fix
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Click to collapse
Well thats just stupid... We are a different country from the US so should'nt we also be getting the Tango update?
As for the purple screen fix... I can live with it for now. With my screen set to Medium brightness I dont even see it at all anymore...

yiannisthegreek said:
Well thats just stupid... We are a different country from the US so should'nt we also be getting the Tango update?
As for the purple screen fix... I can live with it for now. With my screen set to Medium brightness I dont even see it at all anymore...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can live with it on medium too, I just hate waking up middle of night to check phone and have my eyes nuked by the brightnes.
Also, annoyed as **** with the touch modifications that Nokia made which are screwing up my WP7 experience... I wish they would turn the de-celeration back to default!

Zhariak said:
I can live with it on medium too, I just hate waking up middle of night to check phone and have my eyes nuked by the brightnes.
Also, annoyed as **** with the touch modifications that Nokia made which are screwing up my WP7 experience... I wish they would turn the de-celeration back to default!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you mean exactly? I had an HTC HD7 last year but only for a while so Im not sure if I get what you mean as I have nothing to compare it (my Lumia 900) to...

yiannisthegreek said:
What do you mean exactly? I had an HTC HD7 last year but only for a while so Im not sure if I get what you mean as I have nothing to compare it (my Lumia 900) to...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On my Samsung focus, the scrolling was fluid, touch responsiveness was immediate... Loved it...
Both my Focus and Lumia 900 have same tiles on home screen, focus: one flick and I scroll all to bottom, on Lumia I have to flick 3-4 times since they have their de-celeration value cranked up...
Another thing to, the L900 doesn't register contact immediate with the touchscreen, and is delayed in following your actions as well.

Zhariak said:
Doubt it... Us "Canucks" are still waiting for the purple screen fix
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tweeted Nokia Canada to see what's the latest news on this. Let's hope they tweet back.

Lucky for me, they have the tango pre-install in malaysia as well, but the phone have to be send back for repair due to front camera distortion in the 1st week of purchase still waiting for the service center to call me for collection...

[Q] Anyone having camera issues?

Hi,
I was testing out the camera on our two note 4s last night. I took pictures of the exact same scene and compared them. Turns out that there is a pretty big gap between the quality of the pictures taken. On one phone, the pictures appear brighter and clearer. On the other, the pictures seem more yellowish and dark. I've attached images to show what I'm talking about. Anyone else with this issue? I can't decide whether I need to swap the phone out.

I swapped my phone out for other reasons. I was having issues with the top of the screen being a bit pink. The camera in the new phone is exactly the same as the old phone. It's like my wife's phone is shooting pics at a slightly cooler temperature. Wish that was adjustable. Her pictures are also clearer. It's like they are using two different sensors. Oh well, that's life I guess. I probably won't use the camera all that much, and there are so many other things that I do like about the thing.

Hi,
I have noticed the same issue..Today I went to best buy to compare the pictures from best buy note 4. I could see the little difference, exactly same issues with the color as posted by you. Did you exchange the phone? the best buy guy told me to try resetting the phone but I dont think it will work.

vibs1601 said:
Hi,
I have noticed the same issue..Today I went to best buy to compare the pictures from best buy note 4. I could see the little difference, exactly same issues with the color as posted by you. Did you exchange the phone? the best buy guy told me to try resetting the phone but I dont think it will work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I exchanged once, but for screen issues. I had a screen that was a bit pink on the top and green on the bottom. My current screen is a bit uneven on the lighting, but good enough. I know that perfect screens on any device are exceedingly rare.
I don't think that I'll exchange it again, unless there's something else wrong with it. I have until Saturday to decide.
If you do reset the phone and it works, please let me know. That solution just seems like something that they say to get rid of people who are complaining. I can't see it doing anything at all. But hey, what do I know.
If it is something widespread, maybe it's something that can be remedied with a software update in the future. Is there any way that I can check which camera sensors are on the two phones? Maybe they're different.

I will see tomorrow and reset at best buy only so that I can compare. The difference is little so wondering should I exchange or not as I still have time. I clicked the pic from their cam and transferred to my phone and I could see the difference.

vibs1601 said:
I will see tomorrow and reset at best buy only so that I can compare. The difference is little so wondering should I exchange or not as I still have time. I clicked the pic from their cam and transferred to my phone and I could see the difference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The difference is why I'm wondering if there is more than one sensor in use in these phones. I see no difference at all in photos that are well lit. It's only on pics that are taken in lower light that the difference comes out.
I doubt that I'd exchange for this reason. So far, everything else about the phone is seems fine. And I already exchanged once, and ended up with the exact same camera issue.

Went to best buy today and compared with their phones. Over there I could see very little difference between different phones so did not exchange it. I think its software issue and hoping it will be fine with the update.

vibs1601 said:
Went to best buy today and compared with their phones. Over there I could see very little difference between different phones so did not exchange it. I think its software issue and hoping it will be fine with the update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hoping that you're right. From all of the talk, I was expecting some wonder camera. So far, I've been unimpressed. Outdoor shots are nice enough, but indoor is strictly hit or miss for me.

I thought I was the only person that thought this.. I have a similar post with the same problem. Verizon guy says they would to have to send it in and etc. I just exchanged it for the turbo, I wasn't to happy either with his attitude. Its definitely a problem no one is addressing.
Sent from my DROID TURBO 64 GB

If I was having a problem with a 1000 doller phone you better bet you're sweet @$$ I'd be takin it back!

Yes, the camera is not great. Indoor shots are poor and I phone is much better. The reason I did not exchange it because I did not want to get a new phone if it has same camera. This is first time I am using samsung, hoping the note 4 will be amazing. Its slow than my previous phone (HTC, Iphone) but has lot of functions. Only good part is I got this phone for 99$ as I got 200$ rebate for my very old phone. I hope phone will become faster after getting android Lollipop.

vibs1601 said:
Yes, the camera is not great. Indoor shots are poor and I phone is much better. The reason I did not exchange it because I did not want to get a new phone if it has same camera. This is first time I am using samsung, hoping the note 4 will be amazing. Its slow than my previous phone (HTC, Iphone) but has lot of functions. Only good part is I got this phone for 99$ as I got 200$ rebate for my very old phone. I hope phone will become faster after getting android Lollipop.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same. I actually did exchange my first one for other reasons, and the camera was exactly the same. Other than some minor screen issues, the phone is fine. I don't want to risk exchanging it for something worse. I only have three days until my 14 days is up, so if I get something with other issues, I am stuck.
I am hoping that this is something that they can remedy with a software fix. If not, I guess I can always send it to Samsung as a warranty claim.

When is Samsung going to fix auto focus on the s20 Ultra in USA

Anyone have a timeline on when Samsung is going to fix their crap auto focus on the s20 Ultra? I have a 512gb which is out of stock everywhere but I don't want to be stuck with this garbage auto focus as I bought the phone for the camera and it's really bad like fix it or recall it bad. My guess is they will release something after the 15 days and it won't fix it and I will be stuck with garbage but whatever hopefully I get a high value on their fixed phone for trade in.

I too would like to know. However I am keeping mine as I have already traded in my iPhone 11 pro. I am just kinda stuck right now, and am just as frustrated that NO info is available for the snapdragon version. I am also unsure if my unlocked version will get it direct or if I will need to wait for it.

BetaMan10 said:
Anyone have a timeline on when Samsung is going to fix their crap auto focus on the s20 Ultra? I have a 512gb which is out of stock everywhere but I don't want to be stuck with this garbage auto focus as I bought the phone for the camera and it's really bad like fix it or recall it bad. My guess is they will release something after the 15 days and it won't fix it and I will be stuck with garbage but whatever hopefully I get a high value on their fixed phone for trade in.
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Nobody has a crystal ball and return it if your unhappy.

We're just gonna have to wait it out. Samsung is SLOW with their updates.

April update.

I've found a sort of fix . (For me anyway) I noticed when I was doing the hand swipe focus test (moving hand in front of sensor... Then moving when focuses and repeating).. and I noticed it was struggling until the little grey circle turned yellow from the "Shot Suggestion" feature... It looks like the phone is prioritizing getting a "good shot" to focusing... When I turned it off my focus sped up and seems to work instantly 99.5% of the time... Let me know if this works for any of you... Also I didn't read through the post so I don't know if this was posted or not.

BetaMan10 said:
Anyone have a timeline on when Samsung is going to fix their crap auto focus on the s20 Ultra? I have a 512gb which is out of stock everywhere but I don't want to be stuck with this garbage auto focus as I bought the phone for the camera and it's really bad like fix it or recall it bad. My guess is they will release something after the 15 days and it won't fix it and I will be stuck with garbage but whatever hopefully I get a high value on their fixed phone for trade in.
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Click to collapse
It can be made better to where it works really well in daytime brightness. But will never be very good in low light. Most likely Manual Focus will be needed for very low light situations. That is because the S20 and s20+ use Dual Pixel Auto Focus (DPAF) and the Ultra uses a Phase Detection Auto Focus (PDAF) which is good for fast auto focusing in bright situations like daytime but terrible in low light.

nique0201 said:
I've found a sort of fix . (For me anyway) I noticed when I was doing the hand swipe focus test (moving hand in front of sensor... Then moving when focuses and repeating).. and I noticed it was struggling until the little grey circle turned yellow from the "Shot Suggestion" feature... It looks like the phone is prioritizing getting a "good shot" to focusing... When I turned it off my focus sped up and seems to work instantly 99.5% of the time... Let me know if this works for any of you... Also I didn't read through the post so I don't know if this was posted or not.
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Shot suggestion was off by default on mine and I disabled scene optimizer as well.

Better question is why aren't the android sites or blogs picking up the auto focus/ camera story? Maybe a little more exposure will hurry Samsung to fix due to bad press.

HigherSensation said:
Better question is why aren't the android sites or blogs picking up the auto focus/ camera story? Maybe a little more exposure will hurry Samsung to fix due to bad press.
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I got Banned for pushing the issue in Samsung community. They obviously don't like the bad press.

Apparently Samsung has released a fix for Exynos variant https://www.sammobile.com/news/galaxy-s20-firmware-update-rolling-out-fix-camera-autofocus/

The only early review I saw that mentioned it was MKBHD and by that time my phone was already in transit heading to me.

Am so disappointed with Samsung i always buy the Galaxy/Note phone yearly and am doubtful i will continue.how can Samsung release such a god damn camera this horrible?? I have literally taken 0 good photos with this piece of **** phone. Every god damn photo I take seems like it was take with a phone from 15years ago. Am surprised no one has sued the crap out of them most people have already used up the 15 days return period or traded in an phone for credit and are stuck with this 1.4k piece of crap phone with no concrete info if or when it will be fixed.

nique0201 said:
I've found a sort of fix . (For me anyway) I noticed when I was doing the hand swipe focus test (moving hand in front of sensor... Then moving when focuses and repeating).. and I noticed it was struggling until the little grey circle turned yellow from the "Shot Suggestion" feature... It looks like the phone is prioritizing getting a "good shot" to focusing... When I turned it off my focus sped up and seems to work instantly 99.5% of the time... Let me know if this works for any of you... Also I didn't read through the post so I don't know if this was posted or not.
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Click to collapse
Zirox said:
Am so disappointed with Samsung i always buy the Galaxy/Note phone yearly and am doubtful i will continue.how can Samsung release such a god damn camera this horrible?? I have literally taken 0 good photos with this piece of **** phone. Every god damn photo I take seems like it was take with a phone from 15years ago. Am surprised no one has sued the crap out of them most people have already used up the 15 days return period or traded in an phone for credit and are stuck with this 1.4k piece of crap phone with no concrete info if or when it will be fixed.
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Tell us how you really feel....Nobody forced you to buy it and why didnt you return it within the 15 days then?

Man, have some patience. This is a minor issue which only affects a small amount of people. Relax.

There is going to be an update in the next few days. https://www.androidcentral.com/late...errer=https://www.google.com&amp_tf=From %1$s

Commies said:
Man, have some patience. This is a minor issue which only affects a small amount of people. Relax.
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Seems to me it's pretty much across the board, not just on a small amount of people.
I cancelled an Ultra 512GB due to the many problems discussed in multiple places about the phone. If they ever fix it, I'll reconsider a purchase; but it has to be fixed first.
---------- Post added at 06:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:17 PM ----------
chronos7 said:
There is going to be an update in the next few days. https://www.androidcentral.com/late...errer=https://www.google.com&amp_tf=From %1$s
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But not yet for the Qualcomm phones.

DUTCH Van Atlanta said:
Seems to me it's pretty much across the board, not just on a small amount of people.
I cancelled an Ultra 512GB due to the many problems discussed in multiple places about the phone. If they ever fix it, I'll reconsider a purchase; but it has to be fixed first.
---------- Post added at 06:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:17 PM ----------
But not yet for the Qualcomm phones.
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It's not across the board. Not a single person I know (including myself) who bought the phone is having the issues. Just a select few online.

nique0201 said:
I've found a sort of fix . (For me anyway) I noticed when I was doing the hand swipe focus test (moving hand in front of sensor... Then moving when focuses and repeating).. and I noticed it was struggling until the little grey circle turned yellow from the "Shot Suggestion" feature... It looks like the phone is prioritizing getting a "good shot" to focusing... When I turned it off my focus sped up and seems to work instantly 99.5% of the time... Let me know if this works for any of you... Also I didn't read through the post so I don't know if this was posted or not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Zirox said:
Am so disappointed with Samsung i always buy the Galaxy/Note phone yearly and am doubtful i will continue.how can Samsung release such a god damn camera this horrible?? I have literally taken 0 good photos with this piece of **** phone. Every god damn photo I take seems like it was take with a phone from 15years ago. Am surprised no one has sued the crap out of them most people have already used up the 15 days return period or traded in an phone for credit and are stuck with this 1.4k piece of crap phone with no concrete info if or when it will be fixed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Commies said:
It's not across the board. Not a single person I know (including myself) who bought the phone is having the issues. Just a select few online.
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Click to collapse
Thta's not accurate, the auto-focus is unusable on anything close.

shollywood said:
Thta's not accurate, the auto-focus is unusable on anything close.
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Maybe for you. It's fine for me and everyone I know with Snapdragon. My point isn't that it's not happening. It's that it's not happening to the majority of people and even if it was, it's not something that would be considered high priority.