Phone screens of many users hit by mysterious vertical lines

Phone repair stores have been flooded with hundreds of customer queries in recent months about mysterious vertical green, white or pink lines on phone screens in models as recent as those launched in 2022.

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Some customers said the seemingly permanent lines appeared after a software update, while others told repair shops that their screen began to glitch after they dropped their device.

Most queries were for devices made from 2020 onwards, including phones from Samsung, Oppo, OnePlus and Apple.

"It has been a growing trend since curved screens and more advanced screens became more common in phones," said repair shop Mister Mobile's founder Alan Tan, 34.

There are seven Mister Mobile outlets here repairing some 5,000 electronic devices monthly, and Mr Tan said he has received at least 200 of such queries in the first two weeks of November alone.

The problem typically boils down to faulty connection points that link a screen to a motherboard, said Mr Tan, whose team examined the faulty circuits under a microscope to understand the issue.

Modern phones today have more linkages than before to support bigger panels, higher refresh rates for a smoother scrolling screen, or even curved panels. The more connection points in a compact chassis, the higher the chance that one can be dislodged or torn over time, said Mr Tan.