Screen flickering on your Fairphone 5 is distracting and can make the phone hard to use. The display might flash, blink, or show horizontal lines intermittently. This can be caused by software glitches, display settings, or hardware issues. Here's how to fix it.
Restart Your Fairphone 5
A simple restart can fix temporary display glitches. Press and hold the Power button for about 10 seconds until the device powers off and restarts. If the flickering started recently, this often resolves it immediately. For a more forceful restart, you can also power down, remove the back cover, and briefly take the battery out before reinserting it.
Disable Adaptive Brightness
Android's Adaptive Brightness adjusts your screen based on ambient light, and a malfunctioning sensor can cause flickering. Go to Settings > Display > Adaptive brightness and toggle it off. Then manually set your brightness using the slider in the same menu. I've seen this fix work for a lot of random screen issues.
Check for a Software Update
Display bugs are regularly fixed in Android updates. Fairphone promises 8+ years of software support, so patches are frequent. Go to Settings > System > System update and install any available update. They have addressed various performance and display issues in past releases for the Fairphone 5.
Close All Background Apps
A rogue or poorly optimized app can cause display issues. Swipe up from the bottom and hold to open the recent apps view. Swipe up on each app to close it. Then check if the flickering continues. If it stops, reopen apps one by one to identify the culprit. Some apps may not be fully optimized for the Fairphone 5's specific hardware.
Boot in Safe Mode
Safe Mode disables all third-party apps. If the flickering stops in Safe Mode, you know a downloaded app is causing the problem. To enter Safe Mode, press and hold the power button until the power menu appears. Then tap and hold the Power off option until you see a prompt to reboot to Safe Mode. Tap OK.
Your phone will restart with "Safe Mode" in the corner. Use it for a bit to see if the flickering is gone. To exit, just restart your phone normally.
Reset App Preferences
This resets permissions, background restrictions, and other app settings without deleting any app data. It can fix conflicts causing display problems. Go to Settings > Apps > See all apps > Menu (three dots) > Reset app preferences. Tap Reset. You'll need to re-grant permissions to apps as you use them again.
Check Your Refresh Rate Setting
The Fairphone 5 has a display that can run at different refresh rates. A software hiccup with this setting can sometimes cause flicker. Go to Settings > Display > Refresh rate. Try switching between the available options (like 60Hz and 90Hz) to see if one setting is stable. Leave it on the one that doesn't flicker.
Reset All Settings
This resets all system settings like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and display configurations to factory defaults without touching your personal data. Go to Settings > System > Reset options > Reset all settings. Confirm and enter your PIN if prompted. After the phone reboots, reconfigure your display brightness and other preferences.
Inspect for Physical or Modular Issues
The Fairphone 5's modular design means internal connections can potentially be disturbed. If the flickering started after you replaced a module or dropped the phone, the display cable might be slightly loose. Power off the phone, remove the back cover, and ensure the battery and any other accessible modules are seated firmly in their connectors.
Also, look for any cracks, pressure marks, or color distortion on the screen itself. Physical damage would require a screen replacement, which is a user-serviceable part you can order from Fairphone.
Perform a Factory Reset
If all else fails, back up your important data and perform a factory reset. This erases everything and reinstalls the OS from scratch. Go to Settings > System > Reset options > Erase all data (factory reset). If the flickering stops after the reset, the issue was software-related. If it persists on a completely fresh phone, it points to a hardware problem.
