The situation when the smartphone display suddenly turns black and white can cause panic in any owner Samsung Galaxy. The device appears to be broken or there has been a critical system failure. However, in the vast majority of cases, this is only an activated energy saving function or a special accessibility mode that turned on accidentally when you pressed the volume buttons or through the quick access panel.
You can restore a full-color image on the screen Android in a matter of seconds if you know where to look for the right switch. The interface One UIinstalled on modern models has many visualization settings, and sometimes the user himself, without knowing it, changes the screen profile. We will analyze all possible reasons for the disappearance of colors and provide step-by-step guide for eliminating them.
Do not rush to re-flashing or contacting a service center. Most often, the problem is solved using software methods inside the settings menu. Read the following sections carefully to determine which mode is turning your screen grayscale and disable it.
Checking Sleep mode and power saving
The most common cause of screen discoloration is activating Bedtime mode or advanced power saving. This feature is designed to prepare the user for sleep by reducing eye strain and battery consumption. When it is enabled, the system forces the interface to monochrome mode.
To check this, lower the notification shade twice to see all the quick settings tiles. Look for the moon or bed icon. If it is highlighted with an active color, it means the mode is enabled. Clicking on this tile will instantly return the usual colors to your display Galaxy.
If the tile is not in quick access, you need to go deeper into the settings. Go to menu Settings → Digital balance and parental controls → Sleep mode. Here you will see a switch that controls the schedule and activity of the feature. Make sure the slider is in the “Off” position.
It is also worth checking the battery settings. In the section Settings → Device maintenance → Battery find the item “Energy saving mode”. Sometimes, when the battery is critically low, the phone automatically activates the most strict mode, which disables not only color, but also background processes.
⚠️ Attention: If you use third-party applications to save battery (Clean Master, DU Battery and analogues), check their settings. They may have their own Night Mode profiles that override the Android system settings.
Accessibility and monochrome settings
The system Android has powerful tools for people with limited vision or cognitive disabilities. One of these functions is “Visibility Enhancement” or “Color Correction”. Accidentally enabling this option turns the entire screen black and white, regardless of the battery level.
To disable this feature, go to section Settings → Accessibility → Improved visibility. Here you need to find the “Color Correction” or “Shades of Gray” item. If the switch is active, the system applies the filter to the entire image. Turn it off to restore normal color reproduction.
In some firmware versions One UI this option may be hidden in the “Color and Tint” subsection. If you see an active filter there, reset the settings to Default. This action will remove any overlaid color filters that may distort the perception of the picture.
Use the Bixby or Google Assistant voice assistant, saying “Turn off grayscale” if you cannot find the setting visually on a black and white screen.
Another possible reason is the “High Contrast Fonts” or “Invert Colors” function. Although inversion usually changes black to white, when combined with some design themes it can appear as a loss of color. Check the section Settings → Accessibility → Improved visibility → Color inversion and make sure that the function is disabled.
Diagnostics through the engineering menu and screen tests
If the software settings are ok, but the screen still remains faded or black and white, the problem may lie in the hardware or display calibration. In smartphones Samsung there is a hidden service menu for diagnosing equipment. It is accessed through a code in the Phone application.
Open the calling application and enter the combination #0#. Immediately after entering the last digit, a diagnostic menu with a grid of buttons will open. Find the button labeled Red, Green and Blue. By clicking on them in turn, you can check whether the matrix displays pure colors.
#0#If the colors appear bright and saturated when you click on the buttons, it means that the display is physically working, and the problem is definitely in the software or theme settings. If, even in test mode, the colors are dull or absent, this may indicate damage to the cable or the matrix itself.
☑️ Screen diagnostics
This menu also contains a test for the sensor and other components. Do not press the button Touch unnecessarily unless you plan to test the screen response, as this may throw off the calibration in rare cases. For our task, a visual check of the color channels is sufficient.
The influence of themes and Always On Display
Sometimes users themselves install themes from the store Galaxy Store, which by default use a black and white palette for style or to save energy on AMOLED screens. Such themes can change not only icons, but also system colors, the notification shade and the settings menu.
To exclude this factor, go to Settings → Wallpaper and style → Themes. Select a standard theme Samsung One UI Home or any other color theme from the presets. Applying the default theme will reset all visual modifications made by third-party developers.
The feature Always On Display (Always on screen) is worth mentioning. In some cases, users confuse a black and white image on the locked screen with a breakdown. In fact, in standby mode, many clocks and widgets are displayed in monochrome specifically so as not to burn out pixels and save battery.
| Operating mode | Expected screen behavior | User action |
|---|---|---|
| Active use | Full color image | Check color settings |
| Standby mode (AOD) | Black and white clock/icons | Normal, does not require correction |
| Mode reading | Warm shades, reduced blue | Disable in screen settings |
| Energy saving | Monochrome, disable animations | Charge the device or turn it off mode |
If the colors do not return after changing the theme, the problem is not in the visual design. However, frequently changing themes can lead to caching of interface errors, so resetting the theme is an important diagnostic step.
Resetting settings and updating software
When simple switches do not help, it is worth thinking about deeper system failures. The display settings may have become corrupted due to a failed update or an application conflict. In this case, resetting all settings to factory values will help, but without deleting personal data.
Go to Settings → General settings → Reset → Reset all settings. Please note: this item does not delete your photos, contacts or applications, it only returns the system parameters (sound, screen, network, bluetooth) to the “out of the box” state. This is safe and often solves strange problems with the interface.
What to do if resetting the settings did not help?
If even a full reset does not return the colors, try updating the firmware via Smart Switch on your computer. Sometimes only a clean flashing helps, but this requires a backup copy of the data.
Also check for system updates. Go to Settings → Software Update → Download and Install. Engineers Samsung regularly release patches that fix bugs in the display and screen drivers. Installing the latest version of the software may automatically resolve the error.
⚠️ Attention: Before performing a hard reset, be sure to back up all important files to the cloud or on your computer, as this process will delete all information from the device.
Hardware faults and repairs
If none of the software methods worked, and the test #0# showed the absence of colors even in the service menu, a hardware failure is likely. This could be a failure of the display controller, damage to the cable after a fall or moisture, or degradation of the AMOLED matrix itself.
In such cases, independent repair is not recommended, since the screens of modern flagships are very fragile and difficult to replace. Unqualified intervention may damage other components, such as the battery or motherboard. Galaxy S And Note very fragile and difficult to replace. Unskilled intervention may damage other components such as the battery or motherboard.
Contact an authorized service center for professional diagnostics. Technicians use special equipment to check the voltage at the display contacts and will be able to accurately tell whether the screen can be repaired or requires a complete module replacement.
If the test colors (#0#) are displayed normally, then the problem is 100% software. If the test is also black and white, this is a hardware failure.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
Why does the screen turn black and white only at night?
Most likely, you have a schedule set up for the “Sleep” or “Digital Balance” mode. Check the settings in the section Digital balance → Sleep mode and disable automatic scheduled switching on.
Can a virus turn the screen black and white?
The direct impact of viruses on screen drivers is rare. Most often, this is the result of installing a malicious application that has changed accessibility settings or applied a color filter.
Does black and white mode affect battery life?
Yes, on screens like AMOLED displaying black colors requires less power than color pixels. Therefore, monochrome mode really helps to slightly extend the operating time of your smartphone on a single charge.
How to quickly turn on and off monochrome mode?
The fastest way is to add the “Sleep Mode” or “Grayscale” tile (if available in your software version) to the quick settings panel. You can also configure the mode to be turned on by three presses of the power button in the accessibility menu.