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Samsung Tablets hit with screen “oil slick” issues

Right on the heel of the release of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the Samsung Galaxy S WiFi 5.0 in the Philippines, we received a couple of reports of an “oil slick” problem appearing on the screen of the tablets.

This problem has been reported in other countries before and was documented earlier here and here.

The “oil slick” or “Newton ring” is some sort of liquid blotch that appears on the screen as shown in the photo below:

The issue appears to be caused by heat from the device and becomes worse with prolonged use.

We got some customers sending us emails about this issue. This one is for the Galaxy Tab 10.1:

Have you heard of the oil slick or newton ring issue on the Galaxy 10.1 which was released about a week ago? I’ve seen a number of reports about it since July from other countries. I got a unit during the launching and I found out that I have the same issue, in addition to a dead pixel. – Macjune

Here’s another one:

Currently, the “oil slick” is about 3.5″ long by 0.5″ wide. For the first unit I got last Sunday (21 Aug) from GB5, I only discovered the problem on Tuesday (23 Aug) when I removed the original “plastic” cover. It’s almost the same size right now.

The replacement (second) unit I received last Tuesday evening doesn’t have the “oil slick” problem when they released it to me. However, the next day after just a few hours of use, the problem re-appeared starting at the center and expands to the left and right of the screen. It slowly increased its length from just 0.5″ to 3.5″ now.

The problem is quite annoying if you’re running an app with white or black background or if the LCD is off. However, the performance of the tab is not affected somewhat. Although there are apps that I installed which seems the tab is not responding to touch like the Pumpkins vs Monsters and sometimes even using the Android Market app. – Edwin

These could have been isolated issues and may happen to a small batch of units shipped to the Philippines so we’ve sought comment from Samsung Philippines about this. Will update once we get official word.

Update: Samsung Philippines responded to our inquiry and admitted that they are aware of the issue:

Samsung Electronics Philippines Corporation is aware of limited number of customers who have experienced “watermarks” appearing on the screen of their GALAXY Tab 10.1. Affected customers are encouraged to contact the Samsung customer service center at 5805777 to receive further assistance. Samsung is committed to providing a high-quality experience for its mobile users and fulfilling our complete commitment to customer satisfaction.

We received a few more comments from people affected with the same issues on their tablets since we posted this story. I suggest contacting Samsung on the number provided above.

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Avatar for Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

97 Responses

  1. Avatar for Simon Simon says:

    I put mine in the fridge for 10 mins and the oil slick which was quite large disappeared and has NOT returned some 3 weeks later after daily use.Fantastic Tab 10.1

  2. Avatar for thursday thursday says:

    hi.. how about the sim card slot issue for the 10.1 – do you have any idea how much for replacement?

  3. Avatar for ariana ariana says:

    Hola tengo un lg arena y se me cayo al piso y se me rompio la pantalla queria saber cuanto esta el repuesto y si se consegue? espero una respuesta

  4. Avatar for Nigel Nigel says:

    I now have the same problem with my Galaxy Tab 10.1 after about two months.

    Purchased in South Africa.

  5. Avatar for Lucy Lucy says:

    i have a problem with my samsung tab 10.1 as well, i bought it in singapore sometime september this year (2011).

    my unit now is not working. it suddenly stopped for somne reason. i was trying to open it but it won’t work ;-(

    don’t how to handle it because i bought it abroad and suppose it has an international warranty.

    can pls somebody try to help with this? i’m just kinda freaking out!!! pls help! pls email me latorresphotogr****@****.***!

    thank you!

  6. Avatar for Claude Claude says:

    Like all of you, I have the same problem. Here, in Canada, Samsung won’t admit that there is a problem, even if it’s all over the world and the Web.

    First time I send my tablet to repair, the only thing they did was : cleaning. Yeah, thanks. And it took 2 weeks.

    A couple of days later, the tablet had the same problem. I wanted to get another one or a refund. Samsung refused. They told me that as long as the problem is not in their database, there is no problem. I must be hallucinating.

    It’s been another 2 weeks now. I still have no news from the repair service.

    They say they might replace the tablet after it was sent at least 3 times to repair. Great…

    I loved my Galaxy Tab. But maybe I should have bought an iPad.

  7. Avatar for cedarman cedarman says:

    there seems to be an inherent manufacturing defect in the screen of the Samsung galaxy tab 10.1, in that it develops an oily slick / newton rings( just google newton rings oil slick galaxy tabs and you will see the extent of the defect ) ,when the tablet has been used for approximately a week , this does not affect all the tablets but around 45-60 pct. are affected , I have written to Samsung uk asking for a change under warranty , they have refused saying that because I bought the tablet overseas they cannot repair it .
    I may understand some of that , if it was a warranty claim , however as a manufacturing defect this becomes too much ! , I am NOW trying to assemble as many people as possible to mount a legal case against Samsung uk , as they are refusing to repair any tablet that was bought outside their territory and they have known about that defect for a while now
    if anyone is interested please let me know and I will send you my pm
    Thks

  8. Avatar for Terry Terry says:

    My Galaxy Tab has the same issue – bought 8/1/2011 from Best Buy. I thought it was the screen protector at first, but found it to be this issue. Called Samsung, and they sent me a UPS label to mail it in for repair/replacement. They said they were aware of the issue. Apparently, unless you call in and want it fixed, there isn’t going to be a recall.

    • Avatar for Teo Teo says:

      Hi Terry,
      Where do you live? I bought mine from Best Buy too and I live here in the Philippines. What number did you call? Did you include your receipt? I also hope that Samsung sends me a UPS label so I could send my tab back to them for a replacement. Hope you reply soon!

  9. Avatar for joey joey says:

    can someone please inform us if this defect is specific to a particular batch or set of batches? im planning to buy one soon and this worries me a lot.

    thanks.

    • Avatar for Jepoy Jepoy says:

      Only the first batch is affected by the newton rings. Almost all units sold at G5 prelaunch are affected.

  10. Avatar for joey joey says:

    jepoy, would they replace your unit even if you don’t have any receipt, like what Apple does?

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