After OxygenOS 9.0.3 I did a clean flash back to PA 7.3.1. No Wifi. What finally fixed it was flashing OxygenOS 5.0.8 and then clean flashing PA again.
Much cleaner output on PA. It's hard to describe.
Usable Smartphones?
@degen @KM I thought I would get Android Marshmallow to start with. I had not realized OnePlus come with a customized OS! I get it dithers like Android?
I read the manufacturer is Chinese. Wonder why most items on eBay ship from US or UK, and do not deliver to Asia. I finally found an Asian seller, right after wasting money on the iPhone 6s :-(
AGI Their OxygenOS is just a slightly customized Android ROM. I could use their Marshmallow, which is Android 6.0, and also their Android 7.0, but then they changed something in 7.1 which triggers eye strain. And somehow it made its way into LineageOS and other custom ROMs, but not Paranoid Android 7.3.1 (which is Android 7.1). We don't know what it is, could be dithering or something else nobody thought of yet. But I think it can be triggered if you change the color profile, for example to sRGB. Or if you change colors via apps or system setting sliders.
Detailed installation instructions should be somewhere in this thread where @degen asked to unlock his device.
KM you could downgrade at any time.
Is this a difference to Android? A factory reset did not restore the original OS version on my phone.
I just checked (stupidly, late) and the phone I was lent last year is an Iphone 6. Displays are the same but the 6s has a different platform (I assume the GPU plays a role when it comes to graphics). I had slipped on that, even if, to be honest, I have no clue anymore why I am unable to use any smartphone.
https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=6378&idPhone2=7242
AGI Is this a difference to Android? A factory reset did not restore the original OS version on my phone.
No, it's all Android and just a few differences in settings or some dialogues. With an unlocked boot loader, you have pretty much full write access to the partitions, and can downgrade to any OS and OS version, which is much better than a "factory reset" button and something which Apple would never allow. And unlocking is officially supported by OnePlus and just a few clicks away. It's not hidden from the user like on Samsung devices, for example.
4 days later
Hi
My smartphone usable nexus 4 LG g2 LG g4 LG g5
Smartphone test issue galaxy s7, htc-u11, Huawei mate pro 10, p20, mate 20, xiaomi mi mix 2s, pocophone F1, mi 9 se, Sony Xperia xz2, LG g7 and pixel 3
I m desesperate my g5 is die.... I think to test LG G6 or LG v20 or stop to use smartphone
Sorry for my bad english
Can anyone else confirm that LG G5 was ok for them? I can get one pretty cheaply here, and it's two years newer than the HTC One M8's I keep recycling, and I could stay on Android...
- Edited
I am so glad I am not alone but this is a very concerning issue for all of us. 2.5 months ago, I upgraded to a Galaxy S10 and started to have horrible eye strain and headaches. I have never experienced this before. I thought I was crazy to think it could correlate with the phone so I didn't do any research. I got desperate and went to the optometrist but after researching PWM decided that was my problem. I came from a Galaxy S8 which I had for years with no issue (it also has PWM; just a bit higher than the S10) so I wondered if there was some PWM threshold I was okay in. Anyway, last week, I went and bought the LG G7 ThinQ, thinking the LCD display would solve my problem. NOPE! I also spent a day using my work iPhone 8 (LCD) and it felt like death for my eyes. I am in the same boat as you guys but I am not as techy and have an old computer so I am not sure I could make changes to the phone to downgrade the OS to see if that helps. I think I will test my friends Galaxy S8 today to see if going back to that phone helps at all. I don't remember what OS I was using on my S8 a few months ago.
This is a profoundly expensive problem and I am at my wits end trying to solve it. I am so stressed out with eye strain, headaches, and neck tension that I want to cry. My quality of life has decreased a lot since getting a new phone. I may just have to get a basic "dumb phone" because I cannot afford to keep buying phones! But I need GPS and whatnot...
If my friend's S8 works, I will buy it from him but if it doesn't, how old should I go? Is there a way to prevent the OS from updating? I am sure that has been answered somewhere in this thread.
Edit: I don't know how to tag this as introduction. But I am 28 and live in the US. I work in research. I use computers daily but my issue began in the first part of April 2019.
laur5446 You can still get S8's new with a fresh battery, which would last you a long time. If you just recently got rid of it, and weren't taking steps to prevent it from updating, odds are you tolerated that screen very well all the way up to Android Oreo, maybe even Pie, so I wouldn't be concerned with the Android OS level on that device (for you! for a lot of us it matters). If I were in your shoes, that'd be my course of action. Sell the S10 (for big money), buy a new S8 outright, and stick with that for 2 years to ride out your contract.
laur5446 Sorry to hear that. I tested an S10 in a shop a few months ago. I played around for 5-10 minutes, mostly using an app to make funny images out of selfies. No reading, nothing requiring concentration and focusing. I left the shop and within 30 minutes I felt sick. I had to go straight to bed. It was an horrible and scaring experience.
What did the optometrist say? Do you wear glasses?
What about the iPhone 8? Could you use it before the S10? If that is the case, bear in mind that, after getting triggered, symptoms may last pretty long, especially if you keep using electronic devices, even "good" ones.
Last week I tested an iPhone 6s for 20 minutes. It took me three days to fully recover, and it was not pleasant because I had to work all the time in front of PC and laptop with the horrible consequences left by the iPhone.
Gurm Good advice. I am returning the LG G7 today and will buy an S8 and hope I can use it like I did before this started happening. I tried to test my friend's yesterday but my eyes were still hurting from the day before so I couldn't tell. If the S8 doesn't work, I will be at a loss--as it makes sense, as you said, for it to be okay if it was okay before.
AGI It is really comforting knowing there are others who have this same experience. It sounds crazy when I tell people I know that I am convinced it's due to the phone screens. I do wear glasses. She said my prescription changed a little bit (which happens every couple of years--nothing out of the ordinary) and she did some testing and added prism to my prescription due to a "convergence inefficiency". Basically, things go double if they are really close to my face. I have had that issue forever, though, and I honestly thought everyone had the same experience. So I do not think that is related to this. I have not yet got new lenses but I also plan to get the Eyezen blue light filtering lenses; the optometrist said she is not convinced yet that those are helpful. She said she does not know why this eye strain would come out of nowhere and suggested I go to vision therapy if the lenses don't make a difference. It was not until after the appointment I found so much information on PWM and on here regarding potential OS issues. And you are correct; it seems to take days to recover from the symptoms. The day I used the iPhone 8 all day, my eyes were not fully recovered from the day before and by the end of the day, I was in so much more pain. It is weird, though, now that you mention it...I got the S10 at the beginning of April AND work upgraded my work iPhone from an older model to an 8 late in April. The previous iPhone I seemed to be able to use with no issue--but I rarely use my work phone, anyway. This is all so confusing. I will report back once I spend some time with the S8 which was usable before all of this started. I will be at a loss if for some reason it is no longer usable. I worry we are doing serious damage to our eyes!
The best iPhone experience I had was iPhone 7 Plus on iOS 10.
Has anyone tried OnePlus 3T? It seems to have the same screen as the OnePlus 3 so I was wondering if it's the same level of tolerability. Also, what would you say is the best iteration of Paranoid Android to go back to?
HNamethorpe
I had the same thought, 3T is a newer model with the display specs of OnePlus 3 and costs pretty much the same. However, I had a bad experience with the iPhone 6s. I preferred that to an iPhone 6, and the visual experience was terrible despite screens are nominally identical.
So I ordered a OnePlus 3 (I have not received it yet). I want to see if what works for others on this forum works for me too. I do not take it for granted, as so far the only AMOLED which did not put me to bed is the iPhone XS, and I am quite terrified at the idea of another useless purchase.
I can't answer on Paranoid Android. I never used it. I got that the latest version was judged fine by "trustworthy" users, and it is not going to be updated further.
So on Sunday, I got a Galaxy S8 which is what I had before I started having problems. I had tried hard to limit screen time over the weekend to have fresh eyes for the new S8. Monday after work I could tell I was still having some issues (I could feel my eyes twitching in a way and the pressure building) but they were less severe. Today, I want to cry...the pressure and the eye strain is so very bad. This is SO bizarre. In theory, I should not have these issues if I went back to the phone I had before the problems started. I fear there is no solution now. I can't really afford to go buy another phone but I wish I could try the iPhone 7 as @degen recommended. Maybe I can will a used one to buy and try.
I found a thread posted by @martin re: his experience with vision therapy. I was diagnosed with convergence inefficiency this month and have yet to switch to prism lenses as she prescribed but I sure hope that helps. I am deviating from the purpose of this thread about phones but if anyone has any ideas why the S8 worked and now doesn't, I'd be interested in your thoughts! It has Android 8 as the OS which is what I assume I had before (but cannot confirm).
My Moto G4 Plus is dying, so back to the grind of trying smartphones. I will be trying a Samsung A20, Samsung J4+, and a Chinese knock off phone (cant recall the brand) over the next few days. I will report back