Samsung S20 + Green Lines on Display Issue - Resolved

[whats-in-a-name]

Yes you read it right.......its resolved.

Please note that this is a long post/blog with some steps that will need patience and perseverance.

Phone Details : Samsung S20 + Model SM-G985F running latest Android as per version and Auto Updates enabled.

Warranty : Out Of Warranty as i had bought the phone in November 2020.

Phone Condition : Excellent, as i am using a Samsung Hard Shell case for the phone since Day 1. It also had the original screen protector film that came Out of the Box. No case of damage. No case of water damage.

Other Connected Devices : Samsung Watch Galaxy Active 2 (with LTE enabled). Samsung Buds Live.

Problem Definition : Green Line/Lines suddenly appeared on my S20+ on July 8th, 2022 while i was not doing anything on the phone. When i saw my phone in the late evening, i suddenly saw a green straight line running from the bottom to top on my display on the right half. Tried to turn the display on/off, but did not resolve. Restart of phone also did bot resolve the issue. In appx. an hour the 2nd green line appeared, again bottom to top, in the left half of the display. Now I was really worried.......

Steps I followed :

1. Day 1 July 8th 2022 - After issue occurred, on the same day went to check online for any solutions, but none were there. Checked Forum and was pretty astonished to see multiple users complaining of this issue and the Samsung responses initially.
2. Day 1 July 8th 2022 - Contacted Samsung Support on WhatsApp late evening. The Support executive asked me to visit the Service Center. I argued with him (basis the various forum posts) that I am not going to the Service Center just to be told that this is a display issue and since phone is OOW, i will have to pay for screen change etc. I clearly mentioned that there is no damage or issue that i have caused that has suddenly caused these green lines to appear. The executive told me that this issue is a known issue now for S20+ and has been notified through a specific bulletin to the Service Centers and they shall inspect my phone and then perform the next steps. After reconfirming a few times, i decided that i shall goto the Service Center.
3. Day 2 July 9th 2022 - I called up the nearest Samsung Service Center (P3 Technologies at Marathalli in Bangalore). I had very little hopes of anyone picking up or trying to give me a resolution/direction on the phone. This is where the things change.......My call was answered and I was immediately transferred to a senior service personnel who asked me to reconfirm what the issue is. I told him about the model S20+, green lines issue and the Service Bulletin that the WhatsApp Support person told me of. He told me that he shall need to inspect the phone and asked me to come down with my phone, bill etc. I kept telling him that this is an issue caused by the SW upgrade and i shall not pay anything to rectify it as it is not my fault. He patiently asked me to come to the Service Center.
4. Day 2, July 9th 2022 - I reached the Service Center in the afternoon and asked for the person who had spoken to me on phone. I was immediately taken to his desk and he told me that multiple cases had come so far with this issue. He told me that the process is that he shall need to inspect my phone and run some diagnostics basically to see if there is any physical/water or other damage that has caused this issue. If all is ok in that step, he shall need to raise an approval request and order for 3 parts for replacement - A) The Screen B) The Battery C) The River Kit used for IP68 Screen replacement. I was a little confused on why the battery needs to be replaced but he told me that it is required to be replaced. I politely told him that i will not pay for this as it is not my fault. He continued with the physical inspection of my phone and was amazed to see that the phone was in such great condition after nearly 1.5yrs of usage. He ran some more tests and came back to tell me that he is forwarding my case for free of charge approval in an out of warranty scenario as the handset is perfectly ok. He clearly told me that it is a 2-3 day process and he will assist me in all possible ways however cannot promise of the approval. He also said that he shall order for the parts right away in order to save time. I was very impressed in the way he was handling my issue unlike what i had read on the reviews online for Service Center visits for this issue earlier/few months ago. He requested me to take the phone backup completely, wipe the phone by factory reset and remove SIM and SD Card. He updated me that now we can use Samsung Smart Switch application and take a complete backup on the laptop for the phone.
5. Day 3 July 10th 2022 - Over the weekend I took my entire phone backup (except SD Card), also backed up Whatsapp on Google Cloud.
6. Day 4 July 11th 2022 - Went to Service Center to give my phone and get acknowledgement. Phone was inspected again and taken for repair. I was told by the Service Personnel that 1 part has arrived, 2 are in transit. Approval process status shall be known by 1-2 days. I also checked and was informed that Screen Cost is INR15500, Battery is INR3500.
7. Day 5 July 12th 2022 - I made a followup call around 4pm and was told that 2 parts are in 1 is in transit, expected tomorrow. Approval process was still pending.
8. Day 6 July 13th 2022 - Got a call from Service Center at 330pm, all parts were replaced and the repair and quality check was completed. Phone was ready for pickup. I asked the most important question, do i need to pay anything......the answer was....."If you want us to deliver your handset home, the drop only service charges shall apply which are INR99".......I said yes for the delivery and INR 99 charges.
9. Day 6 July 13th 2022 - Phone was delivered at 6pm to my house, very nicely packed, i opened to see it and it was completely perfect. I started Restoring the phone from Backup. It took appx. 30 minutes to restore from Smart Switch (Backup file was 10GB). Then the tedious process of logging into Google Account and all apps started which took another 2hrs. I deleted Whatsapp app which was restored from the backup. Did that as that would otherwise have restored my 6 days old Whatsapp Chats from local backup. Reinstalled Whatsapp and then restored from latest July 13th 2022 Google Drive Whatsapp backup. The Phone Backup had even done a backup for my Galaxy Watch Active 2 and that was also reset and restored automatically. The LTE setup(on the watch) was also automatically restored with Airtel.

Important takeaways :

1. Ensure that your phone is not physically damaged/screen etc. or has water damage. Chances are with those the approval for free of charge replacement might be hindered.
2. Show your ownership by way or Bill/Box etc. Also show that you are equally concerned and have taken steps/invested to ensure you phone is protected and not misused, your handling of phone has been great.
3. Let the Service Personnel follow the process.
4. While the overall pain of migrating and using a standby phone for 6 days was very frustrating as we have completely become "Slaves to the Device" bcz we use the phone for everything now from as basic as allowing visitors on MyGate, Ordering food from Swiggy to work related activities like using Zoom for Work relates meetings....and everything in between :) ) I think this episode reconfirmed to me that my decision to stick with a premium brand Samsung was correct and it restored/cemented my trust in the Brand, that if things go wrong, they have the people, processes and resources to correct these.
5. A lot of you might think, i got lucky and not all might get this treatment......I think i would still say, give it a try atleast.
6. Lastly, the most important takeaway is for Samsung.....they need to look into their processes for OTA updates to ensure that these type of issues do not further cause issues to Customers and their Service Teams.

PS. A special thank you for the Service Personnel at P3 Technologies Samsung Mobile Service Center at Marathalli, Bangalore for their excellent support extended to me during this issue for resolution.

[vivek1989]

Congrats

[shulabh]

Thanks, for your time on writting the whole scenario. You are one of the customer who believes in customer support of Samsung. I thought many of customers like us make belief on Samsung.

[whats-in-a-name]

Thanks Shulabh for going through the long post. Hopefully now more people should be able to push for getting resolution

[CODM6567]

Nicely written.
And congratulations 🎊

[whats-in-a-name]

Thanks.....hope to have more people getting the fix now

[venkyk966]

Congratulations

[ѵօϲɑӀ4ӀօϲɑӀ]

Glad to hear that.
(Not about the issue, but the solution 😂😂)

[whats-in-a-name]

😂 yes.....thanks for the clarification.....on a serious note, I hope everyone gets this solution

[ѵօϲɑӀ4ӀօϲɑӀ]

Me too .