Struggling to deal with Samsung Galaxy S20 FE display problems? You are finally here. We get you covered with all possible fixes.
Why does the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE have a bad screen?
The Samsung Company has been steadily introducing devices into the budget flagship market. The Samsung S20 Fan Edition (FE) looks like the best possible product to fit these low-cost market criteria. However, the budget Samsung phone model has a critical touchscreen error where the display can be unresponsive and act erratically.
The phone started selling in early October, and shortly after the users detected the annoying bug. The main problem lies in the sensitivity of the touchscreen. The display is either too reactive to swipes, and gestures such as zoom in and out are not reactive enough.
Some buyers complain about phantom touches where the screen reacts without any interaction from the user. Another set of consumers relayed issues regarding the pinch-to-zoom being slow, and about scrolling behaving jittery.
Most of the problems and bugs that arise after a smartphone’s release is addressed through firmware updates. Nonetheless, Samsung has failed to solve this problem with the latest firmware updates. Instead of focusing on fixing the only issue affecting the near-perfect Samsung Galaxy S20 FE, they have delivered three patches that fail to address the complication.
The first firmware update (G78xxXXU1ATJ1) came out 10 days after the first complaints. It was supposed to fix the oversensitive screen and phantom touches.
The second update (G78xxXXU1ATJ5) was released a few days later. It was designed to better the touchscreen responsiveness. While this update managed to fix the phantom touch for the majority of users, it didn’t address other vital errors: Sensitivity input and jittery scrolling.
The last and third update to date (G781BXXU1ATK1) was released at the beginning of November meant to fix the screen’s sensitivity. It has solved the jittery scrolling for the most part, and many buyers mentioned how the sensitivity input has improved greatly. But, the whole problem is far from fixed.
The majority of the Samsung S20 FE affected phones belong to the Snapdragon 865 models. A reason for this could be that this model, is using a distinct module for the display digitizer from the Exynos 990 models. And the Snapdragon 865 might have a faulty one. Yet Samsung hasn’t acknowledged that the issues are due to hardware malfunctioning.
There is no certainty whether the root of the problem is the hardware or software since Samsung has yet to give a satisfactory solution. The inexperience of the company in the budget flagship market is palpable when considering these kinds of inexpensive devices.
It is a shame that the Samsung S20 FE has been acquiring such a bad reputation over a potentially easy-to-solve issue.
There is a chance that the issue escaped the Samsung Quality Control team due to the odd working conditions experienced by many companies recently because of social distancing. But, those who benefit from high-quality flagship devices are keen on Samsung to bring the A-game into solving this situation. Whether the solution is a firmware update or monetary compensation to the buyers.
How to fix the Samsung S20 FE screen problem?
Quick Fix 1:
Step 1: Power off the phone.
Step 2: Clean the touchscreen carefully.
Step 3: Reboot the device.
Quick Fix 2:
Step 1: Turn off the device, hold the power button if the display doesn’t respond.
Step 2: Take off the back cover.
Step 3: Remove the SIM and the Memory Card.
Step 4: Reboot the phone and check if the problem is fixed.
Advanced Fix:
The advanced fix could mean waiting for the best Samsung update in order to delete the bug completely. For now, that update hasn’t been released but in the meantime, the issues can be alleviated with the three updates released until now. Installing the three is important, as each addressed and fixed a different issue.
Update 1: (G78xxXXU1ATJ1)
Update 2: (G78xxXXU1ATJ5)
Update 3: (G781BXXU1ATK1)
Please, note that the updates are different and depend on the country and region.
Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE?
The retail price of the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE is currently $699. While that’s a nice price for a great device, the touchscreen problem reduces significantly the usability of the device.
If we compare the prices between the S20 FE and its expensive counterpart the S20, we can notice that the $100 difference seems insignificant in front of the screen complications. For $799, we can own an outstanding Samsung Galaxy S20. What’s better? The S20 has a more appealing design with glass at the back and overall better quality.
In short, don’t buy the Samsung S20 FE. Avoid the headache and buy up, any of the higher tier models.
