Adaptive refresh-rate lag in video streaming S22 Ultra (Exynos).

[S22UltraStillLags]

Hi all,

I know this was a known "bug" about year ago, that streaming video media was laggy and stuttering (FPS drops) when the adaptive refresh rate turned on under motion smoothness in settings. It is the most noticeable when playing high resolution 4K HEVC video on all video players, even with hardware encoding enabled. Switching the phone to static 60hz eventually eliminates the lag problem, but I guess this shouldn`t be the right solution to make such a compromise like this for a flagship phone... 

Another thing is that I have become aware of this anomaly not long ago with the latest Android 13 including the current 1 January 2023 update. I did a fresh clean install back in late October, so I`m quite sure this error is not coming from any malfunctions of the earlier Android version but might be one of the updates could cause it however, this is just my guessing.

I also can confirm that this bug occurs on my wife`s S22 Ultra phone as well (same Android version and update), exactly the same symptoms so we are quite sure that something is definitely not right in the current operating system we use, as this video playback lag happens in safe mode as well, therefore not the third party apps are the source  of the problem. Another interesting thing is, that when I asked other people in another forum who has this same mobile phone, they don`t have any lag issues at all when adaptive refresh rate turned on. Very weird.

Samsung, please investigate this, and issue an update please so I can finally use my phone`s all features with full of consistency. Thank you.

I have already contacted the Samsung`s support team in Samsung Members app and sent my system info as well, so hopefully someone is going to look into this. 

I`m very disappointed after one year of this phone`s released, and I still have to struggle with such issues like this.

[Glenntech]

Have to say that my S22 Ultra plays video perfectly as well.
Only issue I get is with a dodgy Internet connection at times.

Have you tried Clearing the Partition Cache on the phones?

When you go into battery and device care
More Battery Settings
You can increase the processing speed for high demand videos. Think it's set to optimised as normal.

Might have to book in and get your phone checked over.
Though you say both the phones are the same

[S22UltraStillLags]

Yes, I already have tried clearing the partition cache, it didn`t help.

I have also tried different processing speeds under more battery settings, none of them helped.

I`d happy to bring it to the repair centre as my phone is still under warranty. However, would the engineer actually test my phone with 4k hevc .mkv test video if I kindly ask him/her? to reproduce the lags.

Though you say both the phones are the same - Yes, this is the thing when I think maybe something with the new software is not optimized properly to the hardware (both exynos chipsets)

As I mentioned before, the only thing I managed to get rid of the video playback when I changed the Motion Smoothness from adaptive to static 60hz... This was a known issue about a year ago for many users.

[nalfylatino]

Many people will tell you on here 'it's because of Exynos!' or tell you to do things that have absolutely no bearing on the issue you are having. I, like you, have a S22 phone (S22 Plus, Exynos). I actually owned the S22 Ultra about a year ago when it came out and I noticed the exact same thing you are talking about.

It seems the problem lies with the implementation of the adaptive refresh rate technology of these phones. These panels can change their refresh rate at a whim in order to save battery. The problem lies with the fact that these phones cannot achieve the change of refresh rate smoothly enough so when you scroll through your UI, you will get stutters quite regularly as the panel is constantly changing the refresh rate. You can see this by going to the developer options and turning on Show FPS. 

As an example, I noticed when I play movies though Amazon Prime/Netflix, movies stutter a lot and it does not seem smooth. My wife owns a S21 FE and this does not happen on that phone as the refresh rate is not adaptive on that phone. After a lot of trouble shooting I found the only way to run movies smoothly through apps was to cap the fps to 60hz by turning off adaptive refresh rate.

What I am trying right now is using a mod which enables 120hz pretty much all the time (except some apps have their own refresh rate hardcoded). Everything in the phone is as smooth as my wifes S21 FE and I cannot emphasize enough how Samsung have completely neglected this issue so long!

I sold my S22 Ultra last April, and I have only just bought a S22 Plus only to be greeted by this exact same issue! It's unbelievable that Samsung is burying their head under the sand and not addressing this issue. I actually think the problem lies within the hardware itself and it's limitations, hence why the problem is still there. 

But what can you do? This company will never listen, and if they do, please pay more attention to customers.

[S22UltraStillLags]

Interesting & I also have checked the fps with gpu watch and noticed the anomaly with adaptive refresh rate. When i checked the Galaxy MaxHz i noticed that the phone was jumping from the movie 24hz to maximum 120hz in every 10-15 seconds and that was exactly the point when the lag happens.

That mod you mentioned i assume it's probably the Galaxy MaxHz which does actually help. I noticed the best way to do this is the pre-app settings and use static refresh rate for the videoplayer /netflix etc.. then leave the rest of the apps default on adaptive. Problem is then solved.

What I don't understand is if this is a general issue with this adaptive refresh rate technology as you wrote, then how on earth does someone else haven't got this lag issue at all with this exact same mobile phone? 🤷🏻

[nalfylatino]

Yeah I think the problem lies on how the problem is perceived.

Many people won't notice the problem because they simply won't care or they don't notice it. I can tell you one thing outright though, I have tried 4 different S22 devices (even my wifes S22 Ultra) and they have all had the same annoying refresh rate issues when it is set to adaptive. They had it since the beginning and Samsung has never bothered to fix it because it costs them money and we know corporate greed.

I use an app called SetEdit now (or you can still use the app I mentioned), all the time now on my S22 Plus, the battery hit is negligible and in a weird way I would say I am getting better screen on time as I am suspecting the adaptive refresh rate uses up slightly more battery as its constantly having to process more data as in when to change refresh rate, and it is obviously a huge problem when it is interfering with our media. It could be placebo but this is my opinion.

Whatever the case, if this isn't solved with the S23 lineup, It wouldn't really surprise me as it is Samsung. I will leave it at that.

[S22UltraStillLags]

Well, yes this is pretty sad that Samsung didn`t release a finished tested/optimized product, I guess there was a huge pressure on the software developers/engineers to finish this phone until the deadline. I don`t complain nowadays, as I`ve found a workaround on the above mentioned Galaxy MaxHz app, but the good news is my wife will receive the new S23 Ultra in almost a week, which I will test for this very reason how the phone handles 4k HEVC .mkv files, I`ll let you all know. 

[S22UltraStillLags]

I've just tried the same .mkv video (4k HEVC) on my wife's S23 Ultra and it has the same issue (freshly installed system). I haven't tested Netflix yet.