Buying a used phone is always a gamble. It might work fine now but you never know what gremlins it must be hiding. When they do surface, you could be on the hook for expensive repairs, particularly if the devices are out of warranty.
If you're in the market for a used Samsung phone, it might be best to avoid the models that have the display green line issue. Samsung has been offering free display replacements in select markets but there's a time limit on that offer. If you get caught outside that window, you'll have to pay for the costly display replacement yourself.
We first heard about the display green line issue on some Samsung phones last year. Users reported seeing unusual green lines on their device's display. What was particularly confusing was the fact that these lines didn't appear because people dropped their phones or bumped something sharp on the display. The lines appeared after a software update.
The issue seems to plague Samsung devices that have Super AMOLED displays. There have even been similar reports about phones from other companies that use Samsung displays in their devices. It's unclear precisely what's causing the issue. Samsung hasn't shed much light on it, even though it has offered free display replacements.
Galaxy S20, S21, S22, and Note 20 series are most affected
The display green line issue affects the Galaxy S20, Galaxy S21, and Galaxy S22 series as well as the Galaxy Note 20 series. Any model from these lineups could develop the problem, but that's not to say it most certainly will. The affected units are still few and far between when you consider that Samsung has sold tens of millions of units across all of these product lines.
Nevertheless, if you're going to buy a used Samsung phone, it would be best to steer clear of these models if you don't want to deal with a potential problem with the display later on. Samsung's free one-time display replacement offer for out of warranty devices ends on April 30, 2024, anyway, so don't count on a free fix beyond that.
