Screen flickering on your Nothing Phone (2) is a jarring problem that can turn a smooth experience into a frustrating one. You might see the display flash, pulse, or show erratic horizontal lines. This is often a software hiccup, but it can sometimes point to a deeper issue. Let's get it sorted.
Force Restart Your Phone
This is the universal first step for any weird Android behavior, including a flickering screen. Just press and hold the Power button
Disable Adaptive Brightness
Nothing OS uses your phone's light sensor to automatically adjust screen brightness. If that sensor gets confused or there's a software bug, it can cause the brightness to jump around, creating a flicker effect. Head to Settings > Display > Adaptive brightness and turn the toggle off. After that, manually set your preferred brightness level using the slider in the same menu.
Check for a Software Update
Nothing regularly releases updates for Nothing OS that include bug fixes and performance improvements. A display flicker issue could have already been patched in a recent update. Go to Settings > System > System update and tap 'Check for update'. Install any available update and see if it resolves the problem.
Boot Into Safe Mode
If the flickering started after installing a new app, that app could be the culprit. Booting into Safe Mode temporarily disables all third-party apps. To enter Safe Mode, press and hold the power button until the power menu appears, then long-press the 'Power off' option on your screen. Tap 'OK' when prompted to reboot to Safe Mode.
If the screen is stable in Safe Mode, you know a downloaded app is causing the trouble. Restart normally to exit Safe Mode, then uninstall apps you recently added one by one until the flickering stops.
Adjust the Screen Refresh Rate
The Phone (2) has a dynamic 120Hz display. Sometimes, the software switching between refresh rates can cause a subtle stutter or flicker, especially in certain apps. You can try locking it to a single rate. Go to Settings > Display > Refresh rate and select either 'Standard' (60Hz) or 'High' (120Hz). See if the flickering improves on either setting.
Reset App Preferences or Specific Display Settings
You don't have to reset your entire phone right away. First, try resetting just the app preferences. This resets permissions, notifications, and default apps without deleting any data. Go to Settings > System > Reset options > Reset app preferences.
If that doesn't help, you can try resetting display-related settings. Navigate to Settings > Display, tap the three-dot menu in the top right, and look for an option like 'Reset' or 'Restore default settings'. This will revert your brightness, font size, and other visual settings back to factory defaults.
Inspect for Physical Damage
If the flickering began after a drop or impact, the issue is likely hardware. Look closely at the screen for any new cracks, even hairline ones, or areas where the display shows unusual colors or pressure marks. The Phone (2) uses Gorilla Glass 5, which can be prone to scratches and may not absorb impacts as well as newer glass types.
Internal damage, like a loose display connector, can also cause flickering. In my experience, if the flicker changes when you gently flex the phone or press on certain parts of the screen, it's a strong indicator of a hardware connection problem.
Perform a Factory Reset
This is the last resort software fix. Before you begin, ensure all your important data is backed up to Google Drive or another service. Then, go to Settings > System > Reset options > Erase all data (factory reset). Follow the prompts to completely wipe the phone.
After the reset, set the phone up as new without restoring a backup immediately. If the flickering is gone on a fresh system, it was a software corruption. If it persists, the problem is almost certainly a hardware fault that will require service.