This app is a life saver for anyone who suffers from "invisible" screen flickering caused by PWM backlight control. Most AMOLED displays control lower than 100% display brightness by PWM. This method is extremely easy to implement, but can cause eye strain and headaches for sensitive people. DC dimming is rare as it is hard to implement without sacrificing color accuracy. This is where OLED Saver comes in handy.
How to use:
- turn off system adaptive brightness
- install the app, allow permissions it requests and enable the service
- set minimum screen brightness to 255 if you want to have the safest value (guaranteed to have zero flickering). After further testing, values as low as 96 seems to be still safe - but test it with your phone to be sure.
- minimise the ongoing notification to hide it from lockscreen
- turn on automatic brightness change from the notification ("A")
- remove OLED Saver from battery optimizations
In some rare cases you will need to suspend the service from notification (while taking screenshots for example, app installer might need it disabled too).
If you have Tasker and root access, you can toggle the service to force 100% brightness automatically. I'm using 100% while viewing videos/pictures and taking photos.
Start service
Code:
am startservice org.js.oledsaver/.MainService
Stop service (this will remove also notification)
Code:
am stopservice org.js.oledsaver/.MainService
So far I haven't found any negative point while using this app, just wish it was included in the AOSP code so we could still use adaptive brightness. Anyway, give it a try and share your experience.
I used to have some trouble watching text on this display under certain light conditions.
I don't know if it is just a placebo effect, but since I've installed this app, I don't feel any discomfort anymore.
I also can't see any difference in picture quality.
pecholino said:
I used to have some trouble watching text on this display under certain light conditions.
I don't know if it is just a placebo effect, but since I've installed this app, I don't feel any discomfort anymore.
I also can't see any difference in picture quality.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can easily check if it's working with another phone's camera. People have different sensitivity to PWM flickering, from none to watering eyes. You are probably somewhere in between. Without the app, I had a slight feeling like something was pulling my eyes. As soon as I enabled the app, this sensation has been gone. My wife doesn't see/feel any difference, but I left it enabled for her anyway, just to be on the safe side.
Thanks a lot for introducing this app. It works.
However I encountered a problem. With this OLED Saver activated and using GCAM to take photos, it boosts the brightness to maximum. Then I went elsewhere like home screen or other app, the auto brightness seemed not working and kept the max. brightness.
Then I tried locking the screen and unlocking, the brightness went up or down randomly, or it worked in some particular patterns I don't know. Anyway, it can't keep the brightness I set previously.
Does anyone has any idea to remedy this? Thanks a lot.
CLS_phone said:
Thanks a lot for introducing this app. It works.
However I encountered a problem. With this OLED Saver activated and using GCAM to take photos, it boosts the brightness to maximum. Then I went elsewhere like home screen or other app, the auto brightness seemed not working and kept the max. brightness.
Then I tried locking the screen and unlocking, the brightness went up or down randomly, or it worked in some particular patterns I don't know. Anyway, it can't keep the brightness I set previously.
Does anyone has any idea to remedy this? Thanks a lot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which GCAM app do you use? I'll try it. In stock camera it doesn't behave this way.
Btw. I tried to contact the developer if he could add global intents so we could control OLED Saver with Tasker and without root, this should help in preventing this kind of behavior. No response so far though. If you are rooted you could use method mentioned in the first post.
Also I'm in touch with Velis Auto Brightness developer - this app offers much more features (customizable automatic brightness levels, apps exclusion and more) and has similar feature for OLED displays, but sadly it doesn't work on status/nav bar as of now. If he manages to use the same method as OLED Saver, we could switch to VAB app.
The GCAM version is 7.0.009.259843690.
Phone model is M1906F9SH (64G global version) with OE ROM.
Thank you.
CLS_phone said:
The GCAM version is 7.0.009.259843690.
Phone model is M1906F9SH (64G global version) with OE ROM.
Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you send me the link to the particular GCAM apk pls? Different authors might give slightly different results.
I'm not allowed to post link here, yet.
Please search this file name: PMGC_7.0.009_FinalBuild_V14.apk
It's what I've saved and installed.
CLS_phone said:
I'm not allowed to post link here, yet.
Please search this file name: PMGC_7.0.009_FinalBuild_V14.apk
It's what I've saved and installed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hm, I can't replicate this. I've installed GCAM, enabled max brightness for pictures (but it does nothing, as system brightness is at max already and real dimming is done with OLED Saver, which is not being controlled by GCAM). Moving to/from GCAM doesn't change anything. If I manually suspend OLED Saver from notification, GCAM shows max brightness correctly. On resume it returns to the expected behavior and dimmer display.
Yeah, sometimes I got what you described. Sometimes it rushes to very very bright, but sometimes it can be very dim...
I'll try reset it again and see how it goes. Thanks for your time.
CLS_phone said:
Yeah, sometimes I got what you described. Sometimes it rushes to very very bright, but sometimes it can be very dim...
I'll try reset it again and see how it goes. Thanks for your time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that I saw OLED Saver "crash" once while using the phone - brightness suddenly went to max and was controlled by system. Since I removed this app from battery optimizations, it seems to be stable. Though this does not explain rapid bright/dim changes.
This looks very useful but what is it doing exactly? Is it running the screen at max brightness at all time and using some kind of overlay to dim the screen? Isn't that bad for battery life?
Sent from my G6 using Tapatalk
barth2 said:
This looks very useful but what is it doing exactly? Is it running the screen at max brightness at all time and using some kind of overlay to dim the screen? Isn't that bad for battery life?
Sent from my G6 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, as you said, running HW brightness at max and putting a translucent overlay over the screen. It's basically SW implementation of DC dimming. It has a small artifacts with very low brightness, especially on grey colors, but otherwise no issues. Impact on battery should be negligible (OLED displays work different than LCD). Here is a nice article with links to more information at the end https://blog.elcomsoft.com/2019/11/...e-11-pro-and-pro-max-google-pixel-4-and-4-xl/
_mysiak_ said:
Yes, as you said, running HW brightness at max and putting a translucent overlay over the screen. It's basically SW implementation of DC dimming. It has a small artifacts with very low brightness, especially on grey colors, but otherwise no issues. Impact on battery should be negligible (OLED displays work different than LCD). Here is a nice article with links to more information at the end https://blog.elcomsoft.com/2019/11/...e-11-pro-and-pro-max-google-pixel-4-and-4-xl/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Has anyone used a high speed cam to determine at which brightness level the a3 flickers, or is it all level below 100%
Sent from my G6 using Tapatalk
barth2 said:
Has anyone used a high speed cam to determine at which brightness level the a3 flickers, or is it all level below 100%
Sent from my G6 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I̶ ̶u̶s̶e̶d̶ ̶o̶n̶l̶y̶ ̶c̶a̶m̶e̶r̶a̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶a̶n̶o̶t̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶p̶h̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶s̶e̶e̶m̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶f̶l̶i̶c̶k̶e̶r̶ ̶s̶t̶o̶p̶s̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶v̶i̶s̶i̶b̶l̶e̶ ̶a̶t̶ ̶a̶b̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶l̶e̶v̶e̶l̶ ̶2̶2̶0̶ ̶f̶r̶o̶m̶ ̶2̶5̶5̶,̶ ̶b̶u̶t̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶f̶a̶r̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶I̶ ̶k̶n̶o̶w̶,̶ ̶p̶r̶e̶t̶t̶y̶ ̶m̶u̶c̶h̶ ̶a̶l̶l̶ ̶S̶a̶m̶s̶u̶n̶g̶ ̶A̶M̶O̶L̶E̶D̶ ̶d̶i̶s̶p̶l̶a̶y̶s̶ ̶u̶s̶e̶ ̶P̶W̶M̶ ̶a̶t̶ ̶a̶n̶y̶ ̶l̶e̶v̶e̶l̶ ̶b̶e̶l̶o̶w̶ ̶1̶0̶0̶%̶,̶ ̶s̶o̶ ̶i̶t̶'̶s̶ ̶s̶a̶f̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶a̶s̶s̶u̶m̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶M̶i̶ ̶A̶3̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶n̶o̶ ̶d̶i̶f̶f̶e̶r̶e̶n̶t̶.̶
Edit: actually PWM seems to kick in at 80% brightness and below.
Hi _mysiak_,
I changed to some other version of GCAM (without the max brightness view finder) and then this OLED Saver App is working fine afterwards. Thank you.
Then I found, when in very dim setting, occasionally, the white color (now it's actually gray) seems not stable. It could be fluctuating from neutral gray to warmer. Not intrusive, though. Do you see that?
CLS_phone said:
Hi _mysiak_,
I changed to some other version of GCAM (without the max brightness view finder) and then this OLED Saver App is working fine afterwards. Thank you.
Then I found, when in very dim setting, occasionally, the white color (now it's actually gray) seems not stable. It could be fluctuating from neutral gray to warmer. Not intrusive, though. Do you see that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I noticed that "slow flickering/artifacts" as well. I believe it's the side effect of DC dimming method and probably one of the reasons why it's not so widely used. From what I read, Samsung AMOLED panels are designed to be used with PWM dimming, so we probably can't avoid it with very low brightness. If it's too disturbing, I just move the OLED Saver brightness slider a bit higher (it stops completely at roughly 40% brightness). Using pitch black themes in apps helps too. Not a perfect solution but definitely better than PWM
Btw. it's the same for any app using translucent overlays, I tried a couple of them and at similar brightness, all behave the same.
barth2 said:
Has anyone used a high speed cam to determine at which brightness level the a3 flickers, or is it all level below 100%
Sent from my G6 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It seems to be at 80% and below. 81-82% and above should be safe.
CLS_phone said:
Hi _mysiak_,
I changed to some other version of GCAM (without the max brightness view finder) and then this OLED Saver App is working fine afterwards. Thank you.
Then I found, when in very dim setting, occasionally, the white color (now it's actually gray) seems not stable. It could be fluctuating from neutral gray to warmer. Not intrusive, though. Do you see that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try to change the "basic physical brightness" to value 96, artifacts don't disappear completely, but I don't notice them so often.
Level 96 in OLED Saver corresponds to HW brightness level 82%, which seems to be still free of PWM.
Thanks for the tip.
It's really works. Thanks for the tip ???
Hello, I was using the holey light app on my S10.
I understand that holey light no longer works on Android 11.
I just got an S21 Ultra.
Which app (free or paid) can do the same?
I want a permanent black screen (even on a new notification, no AOD, no clock) with only the edge of the camera illuminated.
If possible the application using as little battery as possible.
Thank you all.
Hey, I use AodNotify. Works good for me.
Goodlock is supposed to release a new app soon called "LED dot star":
New goodlock modules for one ui 3.0
Samsung is bringing new Good Lock modules with One UI 3.0 for always-on display, gestures, and screen capture Samsung’s Good Lock is the most used app by Galaxy users to customize their phones with their own creativity. The Good Lock brings a bunch of impressive modules and apps to...
r2.community.samsung.com
AodNotify I agree is the best
destz0r said:
Goodlock is supposed to release a new app soon called "LED dot star":
New goodlock modules for one ui 3.0
Samsung is bringing new Good Lock modules with One UI 3.0 for always-on display, gestures, and screen capture Samsung’s Good Lock is the most used app by Galaxy users to customize their phones with their own creativity. The Good Lock brings a bunch of impressive modules and apps to...
r2.community.samsung.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But its region locked I cant find it
oae08 said:
But its region locked I cant find it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It would not be a bad idea to go on that link, log in and post your demand to make good lock available for all the countries. Even if there are others who posted the same, add your voice to them.
oae08 said:
But its region locked I cant find it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If goodlock isnt available in your region, you can use finelock or nicelock. That's how I do it
destz0r said:
If goodlock isnt available in your region, you can use finelock or nicelock. That's how I do it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are they the same? I think they are different
I don't want the aod to show up when a notification comes in, or the aod to be a black screen (I believe that was the trick with holey light).
Are you sure that aodnotify can display a totally black screen (no aod no clock) just the light notification and that it only disappears if I erase it or read it
oae08 said:
Are they the same? I think they are different
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nicelock & finelock are two different apps which do exactly the same thing. so you can choose which one you use. i personally use finelock
inferno2 said:
I don't want the aod to show up when a notification comes in, or the aod to be a black screen (I believe that was the trick with holey light).
Are you sure that aodnotify can display a totally black screen (no aod no clock) just the light notification and that it only disappears if I erase it or read it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Edit: Actually, looks like its just a black screen, because the fingerprint sensor also turns on
Hello everyone,so yesterday i recieved my new S20FE from my service provider. At first glance it seems to be a decent device. Anyway,while setting up the phone,i found that the "white balance" controls under the display settings,dont appear to be changing any colour aspects of my screen at all. No matter how i adjust the Red,Green and Blue control sliders,the the screen remains exactly the same.
Am i doing something wrong,or have i missed something? When compared to my Sony Xperia XZ2 which also has white balance controls that actually work,i may add. The Samsungs screen appears very dull and the whites are more of a cream tone than actual white,which frustrates me. Has anyone else had issues with the colour adjustment on their S20FE and is there a way to get my whites from cream to actual white?
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
@Trace.Oneil I have the 5G snapdragon version and tested Vivid screen mode today. it was so garish that had to try adjusting the RGB values underneath. that too made ZERO DIFFERENCE on my phone.
I quickly went back to natural.
PS, I can't remember much about it but I've heard there's a 3rd screen mode that's hidden and can be activated with ADB. maybe look that up.
How to Enable Hidden Screen Modes in Samsung Galaxy S20 (Natural, Vivid, Cinema, Photo and Basic) - Techtrickz
The Dynamic AMOLED display on Samsung Galaxy smartphones provides the best visual experience in any lighting condition. And on the latest Galaxy phones, there are two screen modes – Vivid and Natural – under the display settings menu to choose for the best visual experience. But, did you know...
techtrickz.com
3mel said:
How to Enable Hidden Screen Modes in Samsung Galaxy S20 (Natural, Vivid, Cinema, Photo and Basic) - Techtrickz
The Dynamic AMOLED display on Samsung Galaxy smartphones provides the best visual experience in any lighting condition. And on the latest Galaxy phones, there are two screen modes – Vivid and Natural – under the display settings menu to choose for the best visual experience. But, did you know...
techtrickz.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks,i actually found that online and gave it a try. Although there are some differences between the modes,the RGB sliders still dont work with any of them so you cant fine-tune your screen to your preferred colour settings which is a total waste. Why even include it in the software build if it does'nt work.
I was wondering if the other modes take too much power and that's why they were hidden.
maybe that could apply to the slider ?
3mel said:
I was wondering if the other modes take too much power and that's why they were hidden.
maybe that could apply to the slider ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I doubt it would be a power issue. The mode to me that is the most intense with colour,is Vivid and that is not hidden. I think Samsung forgot about the RGB settings to be honest,and that is probably why they dont work.