From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Screen's gone nuts, no control, forced restart is no fix.
Never dropped, no water, hardly used at all, no service
center within a parsec, the best that 20 minutes of
help-chat could do was was to give me a link to go open
an online account. I go there with TOR brwser and it's
'access denied'. FUCKING OUTRAGEOUS!


--- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

bad sector <forgetski@_INVALID.net> wrote:

Screen's gone nuts, no control, forced restart is no fix.
Never dropped, no water, hardly used at all, no service
center within a parsec, the best that 20 minutes of
help-chat could do was was to give me a link to go open
an online account. I go there with TOR brwser and it's
'access denied'. FUCKING OUTRAGEOUS!

Just because you want to be anonymous via Tor doesn't mean a website has
to accept your terms. Their property, their terms. You are a user, not
an owner. All Tor exit nodes have been mapped. Same for VPN exit
nodes. Any website can use the mapping to blacklist visitors using Tor
or VPN. Try not hiding to see if they then accept your connection.

Restart does not reset the phone. If you have malicious or untoward
apps, they can still load on the restart, especially if configured as a
service or a sticky app. The OS will reload those should you try to use
an app killer: you use the app killer to force stop and unload other
apps, but some apps reappear, because that is how they are defined.

Some apps allow the Google platform codebase to spew ads, and that means
the app may end up showing fullscreen ads that obliterate the phone's
screens making the phone unusable until the fullscreen ad is exited.
The app authors indemnify themselves claiming it isn't their code
showing obstructing fullscreen ads yet they are the pipe that spews that
crap. I consider as malware any app that permits fullscreen ads.

Clicking on the "X" close button in a fullscreen ad can run a script, so
the untoward app could proceed to do more shit on your phone when you
try to close it. Use the Back nav button on the phone to get out a
fullscreen ad, if the Back nav button is still accessible.

Have you yet tried a factory reset? That is not a restart. A reset may
be your only remaining available troubleshooting step. I came close to
doing a reset on my phone until I discovered the app that was fucking up
the usability of my phone. I was able to disable it, clear its cache
and data, and uninstall it. My phone was usable again. Ever since then
I've been much more cautious what apps I install on my phone. Too bad
there is something akin to VMware Player or Virtualbox in which to test
apps while isolated inside a virtual machine (and without rooting).

No mention of the brand and model of your phone. If it has a
user-serviceable battery, maybe it's about time to replace it. All
batteries are chemical, and chemicals that change state will wear out.
Do you eventually see 100% when you leave the phone plugged into power,
and try to use the phone while it is still plugged in? If you're stuck
with a phone with a non-user serviceable battery (it is permanent, and
requires dismantling to replace, and possibly some soldering, and
damages adhesives and the butyl seal), you'll eventually have to replace
an old phone. You didn't mention how old is your phone, but then the
battery could be older than how long you have owned it (i.e., the
battery's age is based on the manufacture date, not the purchase date).

According to https://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_z_flip5-12252.php,
the Flip5 was released in August 2023, so the battery could be about
2-1/2 years old no matter when you bought it. That should not be too
old for the battery, but aging also depends on the number of charging
cycles. Can you see the battery charge level (just an indicator, not
very accurate, since it is based on voltage, and not Coloumbs) either
during a startup screen, on a lock screen, or whenever the screen has
gone "nuts" (whatever that means)?
--- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

On 2/6/26 5:49 PM, VanguardLH wrote:

bad sector <forgetski@_INVALID.net> wrote:

Screen's gone nuts, no control, forced restart is no fix.
Never dropped, no water, hardly used at all, no service
center within a parsec, the best that 20 minutes of
help-chat could do was was to give me a link to go open
an online account. I go there with TOR brwser and it's
'access denied'. FUCKING OUTRAGEOUS!

Just because you want to be anonymous via Tor doesn't mean a website has
to accept your terms. Their property, their terms. You are a user, not
an owner. All Tor exit nodes have been mapped. Same for VPN exit
nodes. Any website can use the mapping to blacklist visitors using Tor
or VPN. Try not hiding to see if they then accept your connection.

attempt #4

Thanks for chiming in, I posted a response yesterday but somehow it
doesn't show on my reader (happens regularly with T-Bird & giganews).
There is no problem with the connection if I'm not using TOR but I
resent being snooped on 7/24 by the scum of the earth that wants to know everything about everyone without their permission. It begins with all
my traffic (with the very people whose table my money puts food on and
who should consider my being willing to talk to them at all even via
just TOR a vital privilege) being routed through google, the mother of
all scums of the earth. Yes, of course it's their money and their
property, but it's my money. If everyone exercised the full power of
their purchasing money we would live in a different world. I was quite
willing to provide serial number and all other such data to which they
do have a right as well as an even bigger need but I consider this
behavior the insult on top of the injury of having $1000 book-end in my
hands after only a year.

Restart does not reset the phone. If you have malicious or untoward
apps, they can still load on the restart, especially if configured as a service or a sticky app. The OS will reload those should you try to use
an app killer: you use the app killer to force stop and unload other
apps, but some apps reappear, because that is how they are defined.

Some apps allow the Google platform codebase to spew ads, and that means
the app may end up showing fullscreen ads that obliterate the phone's
screens making the phone unusable until the fullscreen ad is exited.
The app authors indemnify themselves claiming it isn't their code
showing obstructing fullscreen ads yet they are the pipe that spews that crap. I consider as malware any app that permits fullscreen ads.

There are very few apps on my phone as I regularly do a factory reset
and fumigation routine, tolerating only the essentials that "I" need
aboard. The phone has really been doing very little beside being a wifi hot-spot and my *safety* company when on the road or especially in my
tractors in unreachable/dangerous places. I've made on average about a
dozen calls per month with it in this role so it's been unused for all
intent and purpose.

Clicking on the "X" close button in a fullscreen ad can run a script, so
the untoward app could proceed to do more shit on your phone when you
try to close it. Use the Back nav button on the phone to get out a fullscreen ad, if the Back nav button is still accessible.

The display is messed up, totally unresponsive to any touch maneuver. At
first it was an almost normal one but I could not swipe on it. Then it
started to also show a partial vertical beige bar in the top half that
has become wider and reminds me of a camera view somehow. The cover
didslay seems ok but does not respond to anything either. All I can do
is a forced restart with the hard switches on the side and that doesn't
change anything at all.

Have you yet tried a factory reset? That is not a restart. A reset may
be your only remaining available troubleshooting step. I came close to
doing a reset on my phone until I discovered the app that was fucking up
the usability of my phone. I was able to disable it, clear its cache
and data, and uninstall it. My phone was usable again. Ever since then
I've been much more cautious what apps I install on my phone. Too bad
there is something akin to VMware Player or Virtualbox in which to test
apps while isolated inside a virtual machine (and without rooting).

At this point I don't know what's the problem. One local techie uses
only Motorola and laughed me out of his shop when I showed him my new purchase. Another one less local @ 50km fixes phones so I'll be in touch
with him on Monday. Even if it gets repaired it's going to the
flea-market, for 'safety equippment' I will not put up with crap.

No mention of the brand and model of your phone. If it has a user-serviceable battery, maybe it's about time to replace it. All
batteries are chemical, and chemicals that change state will wear out.
Do you eventually see 100% when you leave the phone plugged into power,
and try to use the phone while it is still plugged in? If you're stuck
with a phone with a non-user serviceable battery (it is permanent, and requires dismantling to replace, and possibly some soldering, and
damages adhesives and the butyl seal), you'll eventually have to replace
an old phone. You didn't mention how old is your phone, but then the
battery could be older than how long you have owned it (i.e., the
battery's age is based on the manufacture date, not the purchase date).

It's Samsung Galaxy Z-Flip-5 about 14 months old. The battery is OK,
shows charged up to 100%. Dropped maybe thrice from about two feet,
never saw so much as a drop of of water, but I had noticed some color
change (like partial contact film separation) in the narrow ribbon
joining the screens (should've dumped it immediately).

According to https://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_z_flip5-12252.php,
the Flip5 was released in August 2023, so the battery could be about
2-1/2 years old no matter when you bought it. That should not be too
old for the battery, but aging also depends on the number of charging
cycles. Can you see the battery charge level (just an indicator, not
very accurate, since it is based on voltage, and not Coloumbs) either
during a startup screen, on a lock screen, or whenever the screen has
gone "nuts" (whatever that means)

The battery has been ok, but it's all moot now, my next one is Motorola.
--- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

On 2/6/26 5:05 PM, bad sector wrote:

Screen's gone nuts, no control, forced restart is no fix.
Never dropped, no water, hardly used at all, no service
center within a parsec, the best that 20 minutes of
help-chat could do was was to give me a link to go open
an online account. I go there with TOR brwser and it's
'access denied'. FUCKING OUTRAGEOUS!

https://imgur.com/a/pCNo6ZT
--- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

bad sector <forgetski@_INVALID.net> wrote:

VanguardLH wrote:

No mention of the brand and model of your phone. If it has a
user-serviceable battery, maybe it's about time to replace it. All
batteries are chemical, and chemicals that change state will wear out.
Do you eventually see 100% when you leave the phone plugged into power,
and try to use the phone while it is still plugged in? If you're stuck
with a phone with a non-user serviceable battery (it is permanent, and
requires dismantling to replace, and possibly some soldering, and
damages adhesives and the butyl seal), you'll eventually have to replace
an old phone. You didn't mention how old is your phone, but then the
battery could be older than how long you have owned it (i.e., the
battery's age is based on the manufacture date, not the purchase date).

It's Samsung Galaxy Z-Flip-5 about 14 months old. The battery is OK,
shows charged up to 100%. Dropped maybe thrice from about two feet,
never saw so much as a drop of of water, but I had noticed some color
change (like partial contact film separation) in the narrow ribbon
joining the screens (should've dumped it immediately).

I've read about that artifact at the folding seam in the display where
it gets discolored, or is obvious there is a defect there. As I recall,
it was due to a film on top of the display, something like a screen
protector, which fatigued due to the bending, and peeled or bubbled away
from the glass for the phone's screen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhjUmhdVZ1s

With the phone's screen insensitive to your touch, and because you noted
the film has deteriorated at the fold, I'd suggest peeling off the
protective film to see the phone becomes responsive again. If touch
works on the screen after removing the film, I wouldn't bother applying
a new film, but that's my preference (see below).

I've tried screen protectors. Never bothered with the plastic ones,
just the hardened glass ones (which, of course, cannot be used on a
folding display). The plastic ones have too much friction. I ended up
getting rid of them. Even with the glass ones, there was more friction
than the glass display in the phone. The protectors added distance
between my finger and the screen which affected sensitivity, so tapping, dragging, and other gestures were less sensitive requiring me to redo
the gestures.

Also, screen protectors aren't really needed. If plastic, they're
softer than the phone's screen, so they get scratched easily. If glass,
the idea is to prevent the phone's screen from getting scratched.
However, glass has a higher Moh (hardness) than steel, so your keys in
the same pocket as the phone won't be scratching the glass on your
phone. It is the silica in the lint in your pocket that scratches the
phone's screen. I've never seen anyone carrying diamonds in their
pockets.

However, I don't carry my phone in a pocket. I use a belt holster for
the phone. Whether front or rear pocket, I don't want to torque the
phone by twisting it in my pocket when I bend. I don't want to sit on
the phone in a rear pocket. I don't want to put bending pressure on the
phone when I sit with it in a front pocket. When I had an old RAZR (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Motorola_RAZR_V3i_01.JPG), it was very small, fit in a front pocket, and wasn't subject to any
bending pressure when squatting or sitting. Alas, it went dead when the
FCC decided to repurpose the 2G band. The RAZR came out years later,
but was an overpriced retro phone which Motorola eventually replaced
with a Galaxy Flip equivalent. I might get a cheap $20 flip phone to
have on hand when I'm mowing, painting, or otherwise working where all I
want is a phone, not a portable toy computer.

Since then the phones I've had are large and flat, so they would get
torqued when stowed in a pocket. I also don't have to dig into a pocket
to extract a phone when it is much easier to extract from a holster on
my belt. I'm a guy, so I wear pants, and they all can use belts. For
women, a belt holster is not always compatible with their apparel (i.e.,
their outfit doesn't use a belt). In years of using a belt holster, my
phone screens have never gotten scratched, and I haven't used a screen protector on them for nearly a decade.
--- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

bad sector <forgetski@_INVALID.net> wrote:

On 2/6/26 5:05 PM, bad sector wrote:

Screen's gone nuts, no control, forced restart is no fix.
Never dropped, no water, hardly used at all, no service
center within a parsec, the best that 20 minutes of
help-chat could do was was to give me a link to go open
an online account. I go there with TOR brwser and it's
'access denied'. FUCKING OUTRAGEOUS!

https://imgur.com/a/pCNo6ZT

The bubble at the folding seam is due to the plastic film as a screen protector. You don't need it. The glass screen of the phone is harder
than keys, or anything else you have in your pocket, but not the silica
in lint in your pocket. Pockets are not designed for carrying phones.

The screen damage looks to be due to thermal stress. Do you leave your
phone sitting in your car up on the dash during the hot summer? Do you
shove the phone into a pants pocket after its been sitting in a sub-zero
car for hours? Could also be due to pressure damage. Press on an
AMOLED screen, and you'll notice color changes depending on how strong
is the glass layer atop the display.

AMOLED is not always a better choice than LCD. AMOLED is more brittle
at higher temperature extremes. AMOLED is more susceptible to burn-in
(aka differential aging). While contrast is better, visual acuity
(sharpness) is worse. Color accuracy, gamma, and greyscale are not
better with AMOLED. AMOLEDs adjust brightness via PWM (Pulse Width
Modulation) flickering which can lead to eyestrain and headaches.
Samsung's AMOLED flickers at 240 Hz compared to LCDs that flicker at
2000 Hz. OLED meanss organic light emitting diode. Anything organic is
more susceptible to temperature extremes.

Cranking up the brightness degrades the screen faster, but what you show
is not due to normal aging.

https://www.displaymodule.com/blogs/knowledge/what-is-the-lifespan-of-an-amoled-screen-and-how-does-it-compare-to-other-types-of-displays

Phone makers know users typically discard their old phones after 5
years, or less, so AMOLED users typically don't see [much of] the
degradation of the AMOLED display, and the reduction in brightness over
time is gradual making it less obvious as the user get accustomed to the incremental change.

The bubbling at the folding seam is the film pulling away from the
glass. Remove the film. Whether you put another on the glass is your
choice, but I wouldn't bother (see my other reply). With the film
removed, run your finger over the glass to see if you can feel any
cracks in the glass.

If you get another phone, don't get a foldable one of any brand. Those
have a high rate of failure in the display. AMOLEDs need tender care,
and foldable screens will fail. Replacing the display is quite the
difficult task.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyBgIlxP_yI
--- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

On 2/7/26 1:25 PM, VanguardLH wrote:

bad sector <forgetski@_INVALID.net> wrote:

On 2/6/26 5:05 PM, bad sector wrote:

Screen's gone nuts, no control, forced restart is no fix.
Never dropped, no water, hardly used at all, no service
center within a parsec, the best that 20 minutes of
help-chat could do was was to give me a link to go open
an online account. I go there with TOR brwser and it's
'access denied'. FUCKING OUTRAGEOUS!

https://imgur.com/a/pCNo6ZT

The bubble at the folding seam is due to the plastic film as a screen protector. You don't need it. The glass screen of the phone is harder
than keys, or anything else you have in your pocket, but not the silica
in lint in your pocket. Pockets are not designed for carrying phones.

I removed the plastic protection but the single full size layer
underneath it feels like plastic too, could be like a polarizing layer.
No change as far as behavior goes. The external screen seems to work OK.

The screen damage looks to be due to thermal stress. Do you leave your
phone sitting in your car up on the dash during the hot summer? Do you
shove the phone into a pants pocket after its been sitting in a sub-zero
car for hours? Could also be due to pressure damage. Press on an
AMOLED screen, and you'll notice color changes depending on how strong
is the glass layer atop the display.

AMOLED is not always a better choice than LCD. AMOLED is more brittle
at higher temperature extremes. AMOLED is more susceptible to burn-in
(aka differential aging). While contrast is better, visual acuity (sharpness) is worse. Color accuracy, gamma, and greyscale are not
better with AMOLED. AMOLEDs adjust brightness via PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) flickering which can lead to eyestrain and headaches.
Samsung's AMOLED flickers at 240 Hz compared to LCDs that flicker at
2000 Hz. OLED meanss organic light emitting diode. Anything organic is
more susceptible to temperature extremes.

Cranking up the brightness degrades the screen faster, but what you show
is not due to normal aging.

https://www.displaymodule.com/blogs/knowledge/what-is-the-lifespan-of-an-amoled-screen-and-how-does-it-compare-to-other-types-of-displays

Phone makers know users typically discard their old phones after 5
years, or less, so AMOLED users typically don't see [much of] the
degradation of the AMOLED display, and the reduction in brightness over
time is gradual making it less obvious as the user get accustomed to the incremental change.

The bubbling at the folding seam is the film pulling away from the
glass. Remove the film. Whether you put another on the glass is your choice, but I wouldn't bother (see my other reply). With the film
removed, run your finger over the glass to see if you can feel any
cracks in the glass.

If you get another phone, don't get a foldable one of any brand. Those
have a high rate of failure in the display. AMOLEDs need tender care,
and foldable screens will fail. Replacing the display is quite the
difficult task.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyBgIlxP_yI

Interesting video, I could try it if my life depended on it which it
doesn't. That 'kit' he bought is basicaly 90% of the phone.

Thanks for both replies and the link, my next one will only be a flip
model if it's a basic one with real buttons.
--- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

On 2/6/26 5:05 PM, bad sector wrote:

Screen's gone nuts, no control, forced restart is no fix.
Never dropped, no water, hardly used at all, no service
center within a parsec, the best that 20 minutes of
help-chat could do was was to give me a link to go open
an online account. I go there with TOR brwser and it's
'access denied'. FUCKING OUTRAGEOUS!

Phone was totalled, got a Motorola g 2025 instead, the only provider I
have offered only one dumb-flipper and it's an unknown make running
Linux so I declined (on account of the make). The next one WILL be such.


--- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2