Maybe some of you already read that in the apple thread, but for those who have problems with their android maybe try out this:

"Well guys, I've found a real solution. However, you have to be rooted. There's an app called pimp my rom, it's very useful. If you open it and go to tweaks, enable and disable features, you should see a surface dithering option. Check it and reboot. Bam! No more problems with screen flickering."

a month later

Hi i'm new here in this forum. If i find time i will post my story in the welcome thread later 🙂. I really don't know that much as some of the guys here when it comes to technology . This is why i have one question regarding the dithering on Android phones. To disable the hw overlay + force gpu rendering really helped me alot with my galaxy s5, but working on windows laptops and macbooks, still gives me strained, red eyes and headaches after a short amount of time. Because the trick with the hw overlays worked for me, does this mean the dithering on windows and apple OS is bothering me? Or is it the screen flicker that i just can't stand for a long time anymore? All i know is that this problem started after a month of using a macbook pro retina :/.
Thanks for your help guys.

Welcome!
Unfortunately, what is causing symptoms is difficult and at the moment, seems to be varying among people.
Have you checked to see if the windows or mac computer flicker at all? A common trick is with a video camera. Isolating problematic stuff is important.

Personally, I stayed away from potential symptomatic devices until symptoms cleared, then individually checked them for flickering with a camera and whether I started to get headaches or not (they generally happen within a minute or so for me).

To disable the hw overlay + force gpu rendering really helped me alot with my galaxy s5

I wonder what changed by forcing gpu rendering. Did it stop dithering?

I cite the the user soundstar3 from the apple led thread here:

"Have you ever experienced the issue with your s3 where you see faint lines going across the screen? I have, and it's an issue that is well documented. I can tell you from experience, it's annoying. Many people have said turning off hw overlays in developer options solves the problem. The sad thing is, it only minimizes the issue and you have to select the option again whenever you reboot. Not only that, the gpu is stuck doing the work which adds lag to the the phone. Well guys, I've found a real solution. However, you have to be rooted. There's an app called pimp my rom, it's very useful. If you open it and go to tweaks, enable and disable features, you should see a surface dithering option. Check it and reboot. Bam! No more problems with screen flickering. I have been able to confirm this on a few s3 devices that this does indeed solve the issue. If you have ever experienced this problem, please try my solution. I hope this helps!"

So i'm not sure if its the dithering or the screen flicker, that i was able to deactivate this way.
I hope that it's the flicker because it seems to be way easier to buy a flicker free screen/laptop than to find a solution for dithering on macbooks or windows laptops.

List the specifications of your devices please.

Everyone is different. In fact I use a 2015 Macbook Pro with AMD graphics I am typing this on right now. No problems.

Wow. Nice to here, that the android workaround helped you.

Well currently no one is sure about what the eyestrain reallly causes so its a pitty that I can't give you an answer.

I use an 5 years old Asus Laptop with Windows 7, Intel Core i5 430M and AMD HD 6370M graphics card. It strains my eyes after a while but i can work with it. Whole different story with the 13" Macbook Pro Retina (2014)... It gives me instant eye strain, dry eyes and nausea and all problems started by using it.

    Would be interesting if the new Macbook Pro with AMD graphics would have a different effect on me.

    Artis Do you know if your Asus laptop is CCFL or LED backlit, and if it uses PWM?

    a month later

    Phones that uses SuperAmoled display technology like Samsung phones (S3, S4, Note series etc) are known to use PWM and has screen flickering. Here is a video of screen flickering on a Samsung S4.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZvLdKe7LNM

    Has anyone tried this surface dithering root solution on a samsung phone? Does it completely eliminate the screen flickering? and more importantly, do you still get eye strain when using the phone after using this solution?

    I have avoided Samsung phones for years because they give me eye strain due to the screen flickering. If this solution works, then I might consider getting a Samsung phone again.

    I haven't tried this "surface dithering" tweak, but no amount of hardware overlay tweaking in developer options will solve the PWM (obviously) I think OP is talking about color flickering, which is different from PWM.

    However I was looking through source code of kernel for various phones I know to use PWM (GalaxyS6,Nexus6P, etc.) and may know a way to adjust frequency. Hard to tell what PWM function controls what (backlight, vibrator, etc.) as all those depend on PWM.

    3 years later

    I wanted to come up with this thread again. However it seems that the mentionend app development has stopped in 2015.
    Maybe I can turn my Galaxy S7 into an usable device with such a trick.

      10 months later
      5 days later

      NotAlone

      Hi, I gave up this idea because I somehow managed to get used to the Galaxy S7. But I also had to do a lot of eye exercises with this smartphone.

        5 days later

        NotAlone

        Looking at the Screen with my Prism Flipper. I've glasses with + and - prism and I am changing the prism every 10seconds.

          2 months later

          Harrison

          That thing of the prism flipper is interesting. I am now doing many kinds of eye exercises with an optometrist because one of my eyes work more than the other. I really don't have hope on this exercises because my sensibility to eyestrain is so high I can only use eReaders.

          I suppose you could look for certain time to certain phones and computers before those exercices. Does it improves drastically with the flipper exercise?

          2 years later
          dev