Samsung fails to fix Galaxy S26 Ultra “red screen” issue
Samsung released an update that was supposed to fix the reddish spot on the screens of Galaxy S26 Ultra smartphones, but it has not yet fully resolved the issue.
Red spot on the display
The first widespread complaints about the Galaxy S26 Ultra display emerged in the summer. Smartphone owners noticed a rectangular red or purple area approximately in the center of the screen. The defect was particularly visible on white or light gray backgrounds at high brightness.
One unusual aspect of the problem is that it may be absent on new smartphones and only appear after two to three months of use.
Samsung reviewed the complaints and stated that the issue was not caused by OLED panel burn-in or physical damage. The company linked the color shift to incorrect color optimization and display calibration.
Before the broader fix was released, owners of affected devices in South Korea were offered free software calibration at service centers.
Samsung released a fix
On August 26, Samsung began rolling out update S948NKSU4AZHJ with the August security patch for the Galaxy S26 Ultra in South Korea. Along with other fixes, the update included changes intended to correct color reproduction on affected displays.
Users do not need to run the calibration separately. After installing the update, the necessary changes are applied automatically.
However, initial reports showed that the results vary from device to device. For some owners, the reddish area has indeed become significantly less noticeable, while others claim that the spot remains.
How the fix works
Additional details emerged on August 29. One Galaxy S26 Ultra owner conducted a series of measurements on the affected display and compared the results before and after the update.
Based on the measurements, the central area of the screen appears darker and shifted toward a purple hue due to reduced brightness of the green subpixels. The green channel has a particularly strong influence on the overall brightness and color balance of the image.
After installing the August patch, the relative brightness of the green subpixels in the central area increases. As a result, the reddish-purple spot becomes less noticeable.
This may explain why the software fix does not help everyone equally. The patch can compensate for the difference in color reproduction, but there is no confirmation yet that it eliminates the original cause of the change in display characteristics. The test author plans to continue monitoring the device to determine whether the issue progresses over time and whether smartphones from later production batches behave differently.
Reports of dots appeared after calibration
At the same time, another problem emerged. Some Galaxy S26 Ultra owners report small dots appearing primarily in the upper part of the display after color correction.
Such reports come both from users who installed the August update and from smartphone owners who previously underwent software calibration at a service center.
The number of such cases is currently small. Furthermore, no direct link between the calibration and the appearance of the dots has been established. It is possible that owners began noticing existing panel characteristics only after inspecting their screens more closely.
As of August 31, Samsung has not publicly linked the appearance of the dots to the released fix.
Privacy Display may be involved
The Galaxy S26 Ultra differs from other models in the series by featuring the new Privacy Display technology. It is built directly into the display and limits image visibility when viewed from the side.
The screen uses different types of pixels and controls the direction of emitted light. In normal mode, the image remains visible at wide viewing angles, while enabling Privacy Display makes the content significantly harder to see from the side.
The Galaxy S26 Ultra is the only model in the lineup with such a display, so after the first complaints appeared, users began to associate the problem with its new design. Samsung, however, continues to insist that the initial reddish spot is related to color calibration settings rather than a hardware defect in the panel.
The issue has not been fully fixed yet
The August update improved the situation on at least some Galaxy S26 Ultra devices, but it is still too early to speak of a complete fix. Recent measurements indicate that the update uses software compensation to correct the color balance, while some users still see a reddish area even after applying the patch.
Additional questions have been raised by reports of dots appearing after calibration. However, such reports remain limited, and Samsung has not confirmed that they represent a separate issue.
Owners of the Galaxy S26 Ultra who continue to experience a noticeable color shift or other display defects after installing the update should contact an official service center for a display inspection.
