Wycliffe

Q: Screen Flicker with External Monitor

I have a brand new MBP 17 inch running 2.3GHz i7 with 8GB RAM.

When I connect my 24 inch Apple Cinema Display, I get constant flickering and the screen trying to re-size on the Cinema Display (the display for the laptop is unaffected). Not sure if this is being caused by Thunderbolt (it is the same port now as what you would use to connect an external monitor in previous Macs) or not, but this is an annoying issue.

Anyone else having this problem? Apple are you listening?

17" MacBook 2.3GHz i7, Mac OS X (10.6.6)

Posted on Mar 11, 2011 4:15 AM

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Q: Screen Flicker with External Monitor

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  • by Allison Sheridan,

    Allison Sheridan Allison Sheridan Jun 28, 2011 6:11 AM in response to Heronymo
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Jun 28, 2011 6:11 AM in response to Heronymo

    Confirmed, Heronymo is right, applied the firmware update and almost immediately upon rebooting, my 24" Cinema Display attached via Thunderbolt did the sideways wiggle of the bottom 1/4 of the screen.

     

    I've been trying to be the patient one on this thread, "yes apple knows about it", "yes, apple is working on it", "yes they'll get a fix to us" but you know what? I'm really really sick of a $3000 computer and a $900 monitor blinking on and off and shifting to the side.

     

    FIX THIS APPLE!!!

  • by Heronymo,

    Heronymo Heronymo Jun 28, 2011 10:14 AM in response to Wycliffe
    Level 1 (67 points)
    Jun 28, 2011 10:14 AM in response to Wycliffe

    Just curious... Has anyone tried an external display under Windows? I don't even know if that port works under Windows but perhaps it's worth testing. I'll do this when I get home later under Bootcamp with Windows 7.

     

    I doubt I'll see any difference, it's probably the firmware that needs to be updated and not the OS.

  • by David Stelly,

    David Stelly David Stelly Jun 30, 2011 8:11 AM in response to Heronymo
    Level 1 (25 points)
    Jun 30, 2011 8:11 AM in response to Heronymo

    This seems not to be a Thunderbolt issue but something Apple has inadvertently created in its new OS release.

     

    Just an observation here, using a MBPro15":  by lowering the external monitor resolution from 1900x1200 to 1600x1200 (lose a lot of "real estate", of course) eliminates flicker on my Cinema Display.  This suggest overload, but it's a new problem, to something that APPLE HAS INADVERTENTLY CREATED for those of use who rely extensively on external monitors (I use two, one a the office and one at my home, too). 

     

    Model Name:          MacBook Pro

      Model Identifier:          MacBookPro6,2

      Processor Name:          Intel Core i7

      Processor Speed:          2.66 GHz

      Number Of Processors:          1

      Total Number Of Cores:          2

      L2 Cache (per core):          256 KB

      L3 Cache:          4 MB

      Memory:          4 GB

      Processor Interconnect Speed:          4.8 GT/s

      Boot ROM Version:          MBP61.0057.B0C

      SMC Version (system):          1.58f16

      Serial Number (system):          W80513NCAGZ

      Hardware UUID:          989D3FC0-AAC8-5729-8C21-D7268A0FE0EC

     

    Intel HD Graphics:

     

      Chipset Model:          Intel HD Graphics

      Type:          GPU

      Bus:          Built-In

      VRAM (Total):          288 MB

      Vendor:          Intel (0x8086)

      Device ID:          0x0046

      Revision ID:          0x0018

      gMux Version:          1.9.21

      Displays:

    Display Connector:

      Status:          No Display Connected  -----> NOT SURE WHY THIS IS STATED ..... A DISPLAY IS CONNECTED (USING IT NOW)

     

    Thunderbolt:          No hardware was found.

  • by David Stelly,

    David Stelly David Stelly Jun 30, 2011 8:16 AM in response to David Stelly
    Level 1 (25 points)
    Jun 30, 2011 8:16 AM in response to David Stelly

    Interestingly, after setting the display to 1600x1200 and then 1600x 1000, I went back to 1900x1200, and the flickering ceased.  This might also provide temporary relief to others, and a clue to APPLE about where to look for a solution.

     

    DS

  • by Heronymo,

    Heronymo Heronymo Jun 30, 2011 8:17 AM in response to David Stelly
    Level 1 (67 points)
    Jun 30, 2011 8:17 AM in response to David Stelly

    Interesting. I'll have to try this at home. My max external resolution is 1080p since I'm using a TV, but I'll try setting it to a lower setting and see what happens.

  • by debito,

    debito debito Jun 30, 2011 8:30 AM in response to David Stelly
    Level 1 (60 points)
    Jun 30, 2011 8:30 AM in response to David Stelly

    I notice that the amount of flicker changes at different resolutions, but it's not until I go all the way down to 1024x768 that it disappears completely. Interestingly, at that resolution, the refresh rate was 75 Hz, higher than all the other resolutions (60 Hz).

  • by Heronymo,

    Heronymo Heronymo Jun 30, 2011 8:31 AM in response to debito
    Level 1 (67 points)
    Jun 30, 2011 8:31 AM in response to debito

    Hmm so looks like, as David said, that it's some sort of overload problem. Higher res = more power (or otherwise) output?.

     

    I really hope Apple fixes this soon.

  • by debito,

    debito debito Jul 1, 2011 9:44 AM in response to Heronymo
    Level 1 (60 points)
    Jul 1, 2011 9:44 AM in response to Heronymo

    I tried switching from DVI to VGA using a displayport to VGA adapter, but that didn't help. And the monitor's native resolution (1920x1200) was not available under VGA.

  • by Menlo Park Matt,

    Menlo Park Matt Menlo Park Matt Jul 1, 2011 9:35 PM in response to Allison Sheridan
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 1, 2011 9:35 PM in response to Allison Sheridan

    New iMac 27 inch user here with the Apple 24 inch external display having the same issue.  I really hoped that last firmware was going to fix it, but it seems worse.  I buy Apple stuff to avoid this kind of issue.  Grrr.

     

    Come to think of it, I have never needed to post anything here before.

     

    If Apple Customer Care is reading this thread please let us know this is being fixed ASAP! 

  • by Allison Sheridan,

    Allison Sheridan Allison Sheridan Jul 1, 2011 10:50 PM in response to Menlo Park Matt
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Jul 1, 2011 10:50 PM in response to Menlo Park Matt

    could I ask everyone here to call AppleCare to report the issue?  When I called (twice and one genius bar appt) they acknowledged the problem, but if everyone here also called perhaps it would get more attention?

     

    Complaining to each other is comforting but perhaps calling apple would be more helpful?

     

    I'm considering my 3rd call....

  • by Heronymo,

    Heronymo Heronymo Jul 2, 2011 7:58 AM in response to Allison Sheridan
    Level 1 (67 points)
    Jul 2, 2011 7:58 AM in response to Allison Sheridan

    Good idea! I'll do that today. I called them initially, but they just directed me to the Genius Bar, which had no solution for me either. I'll call them back and tell them it's sitll not working properly.

     

    Perhaps we should also fill out bug reports on the feedback pages to cover all the channels.

     

    MacBook Pro

    http://www.apple.com/feedback/macbookpro.html

     

    iMac

    http://www.apple.com/feedback/imac.html

  • by Heronymo,

    Heronymo Heronymo Jul 2, 2011 8:34 AM in response to Heronymo
    Level 1 (67 points)
    Jul 2, 2011 8:34 AM in response to Heronymo

    Actually I should also add that the Genius Bar tried connecting my MacBook Pro to a TV they had (which apparently isn't 1080p according to the Genius there) but they were unable to replicate the problem. They used the cable I bought too, so it's not a cable problem.

     

    I'm going to try connecting it to another TV downstairs and see what happens... but either way, it's clear the problem still exists for some external displays and TVs.

  • by debito,

    debito debito Jul 2, 2011 8:35 AM in response to Allison Sheridan
    Level 1 (60 points)
    Jul 2, 2011 8:35 AM in response to Allison Sheridan

    I called Apple last week and the person I spoke with had no clue, and just said "sorry I can't help you; check with your monitor manufacturer to see if there is a driver update" because I don't have an Apple display.

     

    I'm going to bring the whole kit and caboodle to the Genius bar tomorrow. I'm interested to see what will happen if I try a different display, adapter or maybe even the dual-link adapter.

     

    I don't have a problem using a 20-inch display from the same manufacturer; just the 24-in. So I have a feeling this is related to higher resolutions or maybe HD.

  • by tritoon,

    tritoon tritoon Jul 7, 2011 12:16 PM in response to Wycliffe
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 7, 2011 12:16 PM in response to Wycliffe

    I have same issue, i am with Macbook Pro 2011 17 inch, and with Dell U3011 and the screen flickering all the time, but less with low resolutions, plz Apple fix this issue.

  • by debito,

    debito debito Jul 7, 2011 1:07 PM in response to debito
    Level 1 (60 points)
    Jul 7, 2011 1:07 PM in response to debito

    Oh, I forgot to update this thread.

     

    I took my MBP and 24 in Sceptre monitor and adapter to the Apple Store and had the Genius Bar look at it.

     

    Using my setup -> flicker

    Switched to using store's adapter -> flicker

    Switched to store's 27-in Cinema Display -> no flicker

     

    Finally, we tried my monitor and a DUAL-LINK adapter and ... NO FLICKER.

     

    So, I ordered a non-Apple dual-link adapter for about $65 and now I am happily using my monitor.

     

    If you're desperate to get your setup working, I recommend trying that. Granted, this should NOT be necessary, and I'm hoping it will get fixed eventually, but for the time being I didn't mind spending the money to get an immediate working solution.

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