Samsung Galaxy S20 Series users are most likely aware that their phone supports 120 Hz refresh rate mode. However, there is a decent chance that some of them – maybe you – same – do not recognize that the AMOLED panel used by the Galaxy 20 is, in reality, capable of a refresh rate other than 60 Hz and 120 Hz, namely 48 Hz and 96 Hz.
What is the refresh rate?
The refresh rate controls the number of times the display refreshes in one second. For example, a display with a refresh rate of 120 Hz means that it can refresh up to 120 times per second, while the display 60 Hz, 60 times. A better refresh rate means a smoother experience.
A higher refresh rate comes at a price, however: it uses more autonomy. In the past, some users have worried that the power hunger of 120Hz mode was just too much. If possible, they want to achieve the perfect middle ground, a 90 Hz mode widely regarded as the ideal balance between convenience and battery durability.
Fortunately, the perfect middle ground exists, although it is not officially supported by Samsung. As mentioned earlier, according to XDA Developers, the AMOLED screen of all models in the Galaxy S20 series supports four different refresh rates: 48 Hz, 60 Hz, 96 Hz and 120 Hz. In addition, these phones also have HD + (1600 x 720) alongside those officially announced, namely FHD + (2400 × 1080) and WQHD + (3200 × 1440).
Some bad news
For those looking to take advantage of the hidden refresh rate mode to get the best performance possible, prepare to be disappointed. Similar to 120 Hz, the 96 Hz mode cannot be applied at the highest resolution available: WQHD +. WQHD + can only handle 60 Hz as the maximum refresh rate. You will have to settle for FHD + to have 96Hz.
Some good news
Of course, this won’t affect people who want to save battery power, and it doesn’t necessarily sacrifice the user experience too much. For the most part, a refresh rate of 96 Hz at FHD + resolution (2400 × 1080) is considered to be fairly close to equilibria. Getting this operational mode by Samsung standards is no simple task, for whatever reason.
Well, that doesn’t mean there is no easy way to do it, however.
How to control the refresh rate for Samsung Galaxy S20 (with ease)
Official support for 96Hz mode (or 48Hz for that matter) is nonexistent. Fortunately, a developer of the SatySatsZB alias has already created a handy app that lets you easily and more freely control the refresh rate. The application is called S20 refresh rate controller.
This awesome, but simple app is very useful because you won’t need to get your hands dirty using a PC to execute the necessary ADB commands. This is something that you should normally do to activate the hidden mode.
To start using this app, follow these steps:
- Set the phone resolution to the resolution you want. FHD + (2400 × 1080) is what people use the most.
- Download the S20 refresh rate controller from XDA Laboratories. The app is not from the Play Store, so you need to activate Install from unknown sources from the Configuration application on your phone.
- Once the app is downloaded, open it, then tap the Set 96Hz for 96Hz mode.
That’s all! No tedious and annoying steps are required to flexibly control the refresh rate of your phone. Shortcuts for switching between modes are also accessible from the Quick Settings menu.
As simple as it has been, using the more complicated ADB commands gives you more freedom. For example, suppose you want to apply 48 Hz mode, because you legitimately want to conserve battery power. You don’t really care about performance. The 48 Hz option is not available via the S20 Refresh Rate Controller application. Using ADB is the only option.
How to control the refresh rate for Samsung Galaxy S20 (the hard way)
Setting the desired refresh rate using the shell command from a PC using ADB is generally the ideal method in this type of situation. Android Debug Bridge (ADB) lets you control your Android device via USB from a PC to copy files, install or uninstall applications, change settings and much more.
Some initial steps must be put in place. You don’t have to make the hard effort, just recognize what you need to do.
- First, activate Developer options.
If you have not already done so, open the Application Settings. Then go to About the phone > Software information and press the “build number” 7 times in a row. If prompted, also enter your PIN code. Now you will be able to activate developer settings from the Settings app. - Then under Developer Options, light up USB debugging so you can change your phone from a PC via USB.
- On your PC, download compressed ADB binaries. Extract the content to an easy-to-find directory, on your desktop, for example.
- Open the command prompt or terminal in the ABD folder where you place the ADB binaries.
If you’re using Windows 10, this can be done by simply pressing and holding the Shift key while right-clicking in the folder. - Then select Open the command window / Powershell here. For macOS and Linux users, you may need to use the CD to get where you want. In my case, to access the same folder as above, I have to type this on the terminal: cd f: / download / platform-tools
- Connect your Samsung phone to your computer using a USB cable.
- Return to terminal / PowerShell, type adb devices, and click Enter. An authentication prompt will most likely appear on your phone to request authorization, press To allow/Okay. Replay adb devices to verify that your phone is properly connected.
- Finally, type and run the following commands:adb shell settings set peak_refresh_rate 96.0
adb shell settings set the system min_refresh_rate 96.0
Intuitively, you can say that the above commands tell the phone to change the refresh rate to 96 Hz. To get 48 Hz, replace the number with 48.0. Otherwise, you can also do 60.0 or 120.0.
Conclusion
Congratulations! Now you can control the possible refresh rate for the panel. use This site to test your newly adapted refresh rate to see the difference!