If your Galaxy S24 screen feels worse lately, welcome to the club

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So, you’ve been using your Galaxy S24 or S24+ for the past two years, and you’re starting to notice that the screen smudges more easily. You’re not imagining things. Your phone’s display really has become more susceptible to fingerprints.



How do I know? As a Galaxy S24+ user myself, I’m in the same boat as you, assuming you’ve been using your phone without a screen protector.



It’s not that the screen is constantly greasy, but it does feel harder to keep clean and fingerprint-free than it used to. So what’s going on?



In short, no, Samsung’s S24 displays aren’t defective. And yes, there’s a reason for this and even a few potential fixes.



Why is this happening?



The culprit is the oleophobic coating. This factory-applied layer helps the display repel oils and makes fingerprints easier to wipe off.



The catch is that oleophobic coatings don’t last forever. Their lifespan is usually around two years at most. Unless you crack the screen, the glass itself will always outlive the coating on top of it.



As that oil-repellent layer wears down, the display becomes easier to smudge, harder to clean, and less pleasant to use. Swiping can even start to feel slightly sticky.




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Although annoying, this is normal and expected in the smartphone world. The issue is not limited to Samsung phones. Oleophobic coatings wear off across the entire smartphone industry, and two years is about what you can realistically expect.



So if you bought your Galaxy S24 or S24+ at launch two years ago, the timing checks out. Like me, you’re probably starting to feel the limits of this technical reality.



How can you fix the oleophobic coating?



There are a couple of ways to deal with this issue if you can't ignore it.



The most expensive option is upgrading your phone, but replacing a perfectly good device just because the coating is worn out feels like overkill. Unless I'd have other reasons to upgrade, this wouldn't be my first choice.



More sensible alternatives include replacing the screen, applying a screen protector, or reapplying the oleophobic coating. And since the Galaxy S24 is two years old, the latter two solutions might require third-party interventions.



Reapplying the oleophobic coating is usually the cheapest fix, though it does require a bit of patience. You can DIY, and iFixit has a solid guide if you want to try restoring your Galaxy S24's screen yourself.



On a final note, if you own the Galaxy S24 Ultra with the anti-reflective display, things may be a bit more complicated. Anti-reflective smartphone screens (like Gorilla Armor) are still relatively new, and the Galaxy S24 Ultra was Samsung’s first to use this type of panel.



Because of that, there isn’t much information on whether reapplying an oleophobic coating to the S24 Ultra’s display is safe. Proceed at your own risk.






The post If your Galaxy S24 screen feels worse lately, welcome to the club appeared first on SamMobile.



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