The phone screen flickering phenomenon on your smartphone is not a very cool experience. For people with sensitive eyesight, it can disturb them and cause eye problems. Having a working display is pretty much linked to the proper use of your smartphone, which is why we are going to show you what to do if your phone screen is flickering or shaking.
Why is my Phone Screen Flickering or Shaking?
Your phone screen flickering problem is usually a result of a software problem, though it can also be a hardware problem.
Software Issues
Software issues causing flickering in your smartphone is usually as a result of an app needing a higher resolution than what your phone’s GPU can provide. Usually, your smartphone’s Graphics Processing Unit is the component of your smartphone that processes and renders images on your phone.
But there are times that some apps or videos might need a higher resolution, and this is where the problems arise. In times when apps or videos need to be rendered with a higher resolution than what your GPU can provide, the rendering is usually done via an encoder from your Central Processing Unit. Mobile screen flickering then happens when your phone oscillates between using the GPU and the CPU encoder.
Hardware Issues
Hardware issues with your smartphone that can cause phone screen flickering usually have to do with the LCD panel itself. There could be a faulty connection with the LCD panel itself, or the screen connector could be faulty.
How Do I Stop my Screen from Shaking or Flickering?
There are a number of ways to stop this frankly annoying problem from repeating itself.
If Flickering Appears in Video Call- It May be Internet Speed Issue
During a video call, the quality of the video is usually dependent on the signal strength of the network. A strong network will mean a near seamless transmission, and both audio and voice capabilities will be fully engaged.
This is the reverse with a bad network. Remember, graphics are rendered via your phone's GPU. With a bad network, the graphics aren't exactly 'flowing' for your GPU to accurately render them, and this constant breakage is what causes flickering. The only antidote to this problem is to get connected to a faster network.
Restart your device
Doing this can help refresh your phone's components, especially if the phone is flickering not so seriously. Sometimes, your phone's processor might have too much to do and transmit to the GPU, and that can also cause phone screen flashing.
Restarting your device also helps clear off memory sapping background processes.
Clear cache (Android only)
Clearing your phone's cache can also help to stop the phone screen flickering or blinking. Just like an app cache, your phone's system cache is a storage of data that your phone needs to boot up and work properly.
If data associated with your phone's GPU is corrupted or isn't being processed properly, flickering will occur. In this case, clearing the cache will solve the problem.
To clear the cache of your phone, follow the following steps;
- Power down your phone
- Press and hold down the volume down button and the power button till your phone comes back on (check your phone's manufacturer's website to check the particular combination to get into recovery mode)
- The phone will ask for a PIN/password, enter your lock screen PIN/password
- Navigate to find a 'Clear cache' or 'Wipe cache' option.
- Once you've selected the option, you will get a prompt reconfirming your decision. Once you confirm, the cache is cleared. This decision can't be overridden.
- Use the reboot option on the recovery mode screen to power up your device and boot it back into the Android OS.
Boot In Safe Mode (Android only)
Booting your smartphone in safe mode is also another option to try and stop phone screen flickering or shaking problem. Take note, booting in safe mode won't help 'cure' the flickering. It is just to help you find out if the screen still flickers or not. If it doesn't, then it means the flickering is caused by a software glitch.
To boot your Android phone in safe mode, use the following steps;
- Press and hold down the power button until the power off option appears.
- Tap and hold it and wait for your device to go off.
- When your phone screen comes back on, you'll be prompted to allow your phone boot in safe mode. Tap 'OK' and wait for the phone to boot up in safe mode.
If flickering happens when using any application- remove the application and check
In the course of using your phone, if your phone screen is flickering or shaking, then it's very possible that it's that application causing the glitching.
Uninstall the application and check your screen's performance afterward. If it doesn't flicker, the application was responsible for the shaking. If it does, check out our other fixes.
Check Settings for Display- Reset Display Setting and Check
The flickering of your phone's screen might also be caused by unexpected bugs in your phone's brightness settings. The usual culprit is the auto-brightness setting.
Normally, the setting is used to automatically alter the screen's brightness based on data from the screen's light sensors.
But sometimes, there might be a hardware issue or a software glitch resulting from either a recent update or the software being out of date. Either of this will cause flickering and shaking for your screen.
Disabling the option and resetting your display settings from the Settings option on your phone is the only way around this.
Visit the Service Center if the phone is Flickering All the Time
If the phone screen flickering or glitching persists after you've tried all the previous fixes, then it's likely to be a hardware issue that can only be resolved by professionals.
Find out about a service center close to you and take your device there. For Infinix, Itel and Tecno users, you can find the nearest Carcare center close to you.
