Green or Pink Line on Your Samsung Screen: Causes and Fixes

What causes the line?

Galaxy phones use OLED panels, where each row and column of pixels is driven through very thin connections. A drop, pressure, heat or moisture can damage one of those connections, which shows up as a single colored line. Less often, a software or display driver problem causes similar symptoms.

The screenshot test

Take a screenshot and look at it on another device, or send it to yourself. If the line appears in the screenshot, the problem is in software. If the screenshot looks clean, the line is in the physical display panel.

Things to try first

1. Restart the phone.
2. Install any pending software updates in Settings > Software update.
3. Boot into Safe Mode to rule out a third-party app.
4. Lower the brightness and check whether the line changes or fades.

If the line survives all of these and doesn't show in screenshots, it's a hardware fault and won't go away on its own.

Will the line spread?

Sometimes one line stays the same for months. Often it's followed by more lines, flickering or touch problems in that area. If you also see a crack or black ink-like spots, the panel is failing and should be replaced soon.

Check manufacturer programs first

Samsung has at times offered display programs for specific models with line issues. If your Galaxy is relatively new and wasn't dropped, check with Samsung before paying for a repair.

Fixing it

When the panel is damaged, the fix is a new screen assembly. On many Galaxy models the screen comes attached to the frame, which is why the price varies a lot between models. We confirm your exact model and give you the price at the free diagnostic. See our Samsung screen repair page, or Samsung phone repair for other problems. Other Android brands are covered on our Android repair page.