s25 Ultra - Severe Eye Strain - PWM Causing TLM

[FirebirdFormula]

Hello.  I recently swapped an s21 Ultra to an s25 Ultra.  I loved/love both phones, outside of the eye strain that the s25 Ultra is giving me.  Unfortunately I cannot use it for more than 2-3 minutes at a time without feeling the strain which then lingers for hours and interferes with sleep.  I have only ever experienced this with certain computer monitors, never with a mobile device.

The issue is referred to as temporal light modulation (which is often referenced as "flicker") theoretically caused by the use of pulse width modulation.  One can read about more users having this problem here.

This has created quite a headache (no pun) with the Verizon store as my s21 Ultra that I traded in is no longer available to me.  They're ordering me a new s21 Ultra and are going to be in touch this week.

I would really, really like to keep the s25 Ultra, outside of this, I love this phone and even with a trade-in, paid a premium for it as I did the s21 Ultra.  I am curious if there are any efforts or plans to address this or if anyone has any ideas.  I am a power user & all display options & developer options do not help.  

Thank you for your time.

[CCrystalpalace]

I've been playing around with a lot of settings that I didn't even know existed and downloaded one of the apps mentioned in this thread. I did not use the restores rate app as it's not free. I went from eye strain to feeling like I was going to be sick back to just eye strain. I have a few weeks before I have to return this phone but we will see what happens. 

[Members_FcKAVtq]

Hello,

People have written here that they will go back to their S24 ultra if the problem with S25 ultra persists. But I had this same problem with S24 ultra. I tried to force myself to get used to it, but it just got worse and I returned it. Now I have got S25 ultra and I have the same problem. I am thinking maybe it could be that our eyes and functions in our head regarding this, get used to the type of display we have been using for a while. Maybe that's the reason we feel like this when we change to  certain type of displays. Maybe we need accustoming time. Maybe. This time I am not forcing myself to use my new phone. I am using it just a little everyday (1-2 hours) and gradually increasing the time if comfortable throughout weeks to see if my body can get adapted. I have 1 month to return it if it doesn't work. 

[FirebirdFormula]

Hello, thanks for chiming in.

I would be very careful with this - I highly recommend listening to your body.  I've had a problem which produces identical results with certain flat panels for over 20 years - right now I'm typing to you on two older HP w2408h monitors - I specifically use these because they're glossy and this fixes it for me.  I actually stockpile glossy monitors because of this.  I can give the TLDR on this if you're interested.

Plan on testing a video tonight.

[FirebirdFormula]

JoeD24, all - today I had my fiance start up the phone, flip on the "show refresh rate" option, put on a youtube vid (which locked it in at 120hz) and hand the phone over to me.  I watched the vid directly and also just left it running facing me on my desk for approx. two hours.

I did not have an issue.  After this test, I closed the vid and navigated around the phone as though I was using it as my main device and the strain/"itch" kicked in after about 5-10 minutes.

Props to JoeD24 for the idea of running the test.

[AMAEnt]

Firebird - I've been reading through your thread here and I'm relieved that I'm not the only one experiencing this. However, I am sad for all of this that have this eye strain. I switched from the Note 10 Plus to the 25 Ultra by way of the 23 Ultra (Insurance replacement sent me the 23 for the Note 10). I noticed that when I was looking at the 25 in stores that I was experiencing eye strain and tingling. Sadly, they're telling me I have until Friday to return it, but I'm pretty sure that's what I'll be doing. I've lived with migraines for the last 30+ years and I use my phone for work as a freelancer for hours on end every single day. There's no way I can stare this 25 without becoming debilitated at some point. 

Has anyone gotten any further on troubleshooting or a workaround? I saw your test comment about watching the video for 2 hours but then browsing through your phone and the eye strain returning. There are other things I don't like about the 25 but eye strain is something I can't live with.

[FirebirdFormula]

Glad you chimed in AMAEnt, but of course it's unfortunate to hear others are having this prob.

No new developments here.  I'm hoping this thread or another I started on XDA gets some attention for a possible fix.  I am not holding my breath however as we're definitely in a minority.  I've got till the 6th to return this phone and who knows what battles we'll have with our returns...

[S25ULTRA_]

Hello. I am a user using S25 Ultra in Korea.

There are currently some S25 Ultra users in Korea who are complaining of eye pain and headaches.

I counted the number of people currently complaining of this symptom in the Korean Samsung smartphone community, and there are roughly 45 to 50 people.

In Korea, it is difficult to get a refund,

so people who are currently experiencing symptoms are forced to use it.

I am also experiencing this problem.

I thought about the reasons why eye pain and headaches occur.

Since Samsung Members in Korea said that the S25 Ultra PWM is 480HZ, the same as the S24 Ultra, it does not seem to be a PWM problem.

I am guessing that it is a LUMINANCE UNBALANCE problem on the front of the screen.

According to the S25ULTRA measurement data from the DXOMARK review site,

the LUMINANCE Uniformity is a mess.

Therefore, it seems that the light in a certain section of the screen is going back and forth, causing eye pain.

I uploaded this symptom to YouTube.

https://youtu.be/3tDcRl5sSJM

[Members_tkrwlqA]

Just bough an S25 ultra few days back. Cannot watch the screen for more than 5 minutes and my eyes are hurt.

Sending it back for refund.

[CCrystalpalace]

I dont know how much of this thread you read but I ended up following the advice of someone else by using the screen dimmer app. I turned the brightness up to right before it goes into the orange warning area, adjust the dimmer app to where i want it, and it helped. My phone is also set to adaptive display with adaptive color tone turned on. It has helped me tremendously. 

[CCrystalpalace]

I used the screen dimmer app that someone early on this thread mentioned and it has helped tremendously