Here's How To Enable Samsung Galaxy S20's Hidden 96Hz Display Mode

One of the standout features of the Galaxy S20 lineup is the ability to run the display at a buttery smooth 120Hz. It is also a point of criticism—Samsung felt it best to limit the high refresh rate to 2400x1080 (FHD+), and limiting the refresh rate to 60Hz at the maximum resolution of 3200x1440 (WQHD+), presumably to preserve battery life. Wouldn't it be nice if there was at least a 90Hz refresh rate option at the maximum resolution? Well, there is...sort of.

Owners of a Galaxy S20 handset who want to take matters into their own hands can enable a hidden 96Hz refresh rate at 3200x1440. Why 96Hz instead of 90Hz? Good question, and one I don't have an answer for, unfortunately. It hardly matters, though—the bigger point it, there is an intermediary refresh rate option for those who want it.

Doing this does not require rooting your phone, but there are several steps involved. Let's get to it.

To start with, you need to enable Developer Options. You can find this setting on your Galaxy S20 phone by doing to Settings > About phone > Software Information, then tapping on Build number seven consecutive times.

Once you have done this, a Developer Settings menu will show up in Settings. Tap it to enable USB Debugging.

Next, connect your handset to your PC and, if you have not already, install Android Debugging (ADB). There are a bunch of tutorials for this on the web. From there, you need to run two shell commands...

That should do the trick. If you want to test this out, head over to testufo.com to verify your phone is running at 96Hz.

If you would rather skip the hassle of entering shell commands, a senior member of XDA Developers has made available a handy app that adds a pair of Quick Setting tiles so you can toggle between the refresh rate options. You can download the app at XDA Labs.