The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra has the best display in the business.
This story was updated on April 22nd. Update below.
Samsung Galaxy users are complaining about a new display problem, which has suddenly appeared after the April security patch that is currently rolling out.
Spotted by Android Authority, Galaxy owners are reporting that a green line is permanently displayed on the screen after the update. The Galaxy S21 series of phones appear to be among those most impacted, particularly the Galaxy S21 Ultra and S21 FE models. But, according to SamMobile, other devices, such as the Galaxy Z Flip 3, Galaxy M21 and Galaxy M52 5G have been affected too.
Users aren’t reporting any touch input or functionality problems, but the green line could mean a broken display panel, which potentially means an expensive fix. Repair expert Ricky Panesar, founder of iCorrect.co.uk, told me that this looks like a hardware issue.
“This looks like OLED damage, but it doesn’t make sense that it’s happening after a software update. OLED screens with green tints have previously been resolved through software updates in older Samsung and Apple smartphones. But I’m yet to see a manufacturer resolve a green line fault like this with a patch.” Panesar explained.
Panesar is referring to display issues in smartphones released in 2020 and 2021 by Samsung, Apple, Motorola and OnePlus. All of which had suffered complaints from owners about green tinted displays. At the time, Panesar told me that this was likely down to the quality of screen materials, which might have been impacted by manufacturing delays related to the pandemic. Check my video about that below.
But this fault is different. It’s a distracting line on the screen rather than a subtly different hue that takes over the whole display, and the exact cause is proving hard to pin down. Some users have found that the green line has emerged immediately after installing a software update, while others have found that it just cropped up randomly after heavy usage, and persists after a reboot.
This isn’t the Samsung's first rodeo. Back in July 2023 the company offered free screen replacements following complaints that the Galaxy S20 and Note 20 were displaying green and pink lines.
Over on Reddit, users have taken to describing it as a “known issue” across several threads, most of which have been posted in the last year. Galaxy S21 users on Samsung’s support forums have also posted about the display problem. I checked with Samsung if it’s aware of the green line display problem and I will update this story if I get a response.
Update April 22nd: Samsung India is offering free screen replacements for phones that are blighted with the green line display bug, according to Tarun Vats on X. Vats spoke with Samsung support, which told him that the company will replace displays for owners of the Galaxy S20, S21, Note 20 and S22 ranges.
According to the messages, this is a one time replacement and the device must have been bought in the last three years. Samsung will also replace the battery and replacement kit for affected users, which is the same deal it offered to Indian users last year, who also struggled with the green line problem. It looks like Indian Galaxy smartphone owners have until April 30th to get their free replacement, but there’s no word from Samsung if this offer will be extended to users in other countries.
This is a long running issue and there doesn’t appear to be a software solution for it, as evidenced by the fact that Samsung India is willing to offer free hardware repairs. We’ll have to see if Samsung extends this offer to more affected users.
