Tim Hassett

Q: Thunderbolt Display Flickering Epidemic - Extensive Testing

I've personally spent about 400 miles of driving back and forth to my closest Apple Store, hours and hours of time, and multiple repairs on this issue.  I then replaced all of my hardware!  Add that to the various threads on this topic that total over about 500,000 views, and it's clear there's an issue here.  I'll try to keep this post pithy, with the facts here at the top.

 

This problem started with a 1.5 year old 15" Retina MacBook Pro and Thunderbolt Display.  I now have a brand new Apple Thunderbolt Display AND brand new 15" MacBook Pro - AND HAVE THE SAME FLICKERING PROBLEM!

 

 

Steps Taken

 

  1. Many, many phone calls to AppleCare.  No clear "yes we've seen this before and know how to fix" type of response.
  2. Many visits to the closest repair facility to me, which is the Genius Bar at an Apple Retail store.  Again, I worked with about a half a dozen people there, and no one reported "yes, we've seen this and know how to fix this.".
  3. After replacing the LED panel, I drove 40 miles back home, plugged in the display, and it was totally dead.
  4. After driving BACK to the Apple Store, they told me they would have to try another repair.  As I was leaving, the Manager asked me if I was okay, I explained my issue, and in an awesome show of understanding, he replaced my display right there.
  5. I took a brand new Thunderbolt Display home, and I STILL had the flicker problem.
  6. In a second act of desperation, I bought a BRAND NEW 15" Retina MacBook Pro!!  (going to sell my 2012 model to a friend)

 

After ALL of this, I'm sitting here with 100% new Apple hardware and the display still flickers!  This is maddening.  I've made no OS X setting changes.  Everything is 100% factory default new, and my Thunderbolt Display has flickered about 20 times, and is now totally dark.  (as I've typed this) 

 

 

Other Notes

 

  • A very basic setup.  Just my 15" MacBook Pro and Thunderbolt Display.  I keep the Mac lid open and use both screens in extended mode. 
  • My MacBook Pro resolution is set to "scaled" at the "looks like 1680 x 1050" option.  But I've tried the recommended option as well.
  • I've replaced the MagSafe connector.  (I've read some posts that a bad connector was the theoretical culprit)
  • Display flickers and goes dark, but the USB ports still work.  (I have a wired Apple USB keyboard plugged into it.)
  • The display resolution settings are factory default. 
  • I've tried adjusting brightness settings, spaces settings, and arrangement settings.  Nothing works.
  • I've tried Apple's recommended SMC reset and PMU reset procedures.  No changes.
  • This all started when I upgraded to Mavericks.  I really think this could be the issue. 

 

 

Anyone have any other thoughts??!?!?  Am I missing something?!?!?

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Mavericks (10.9.2), 15 " Retina, 2014 Model, 2.3 i7

Posted on Mar 31, 2014 4:07 PM

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Q: Thunderbolt Display Flickering Epidemic - Extensive Testing

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  • by Tim Hassett,

    Tim Hassett Tim Hassett Jul 25, 2015 7:42 AM in response to Apison
    Level 1 (15 points)
    Jul 25, 2015 7:42 AM in response to Apison

    HI Apsion, when I used the other TB cable, it did not give me any problems. 

  • by bulbous,

    bulbous bulbous Jul 28, 2015 1:21 PM in response to Tim Hassett
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 28, 2015 1:21 PM in response to Tim Hassett

    ****SOLVED****

    It looks like there are a number of reasons this can happen.  I had this same problem, went through tech support, tried a ton of different things, new cables, different bus's, reboots, disabling various apps / blah blah blah..

     

    Turns out it was all one thing -- the "Automatically adjust brightness" setting.  I was having it happen multiple times / day before, and haven't had it happen in about 2 weeks since I disabled this setting -- my brother was experiencing it as well, and he has also not had it happen since.

     

    Hopefully this helps someone else.

  • by ChrisB 2020,

    ChrisB 2020 ChrisB 2020 Aug 6, 2015 4:29 AM in response to bulbous
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 6, 2015 4:29 AM in response to bulbous

    this got it for me.

     

    I have a MAC Pro (late 2013) running Yosemite 10.10.4 with two 27inch Thunderbolt displays. One was flickering (perhaps one or twice an hour) -  i'd get a black screen for about 1/2 a second before it returned to normal. In my case, not catastrophic, but annoying nonetheless. Checking the display settings, I had one set to automatically adjust brightness, and the other turned off. (not sure why - I guess before I added the second monitor I must have fixed the brightness). Turning the second to not automatically adjust seems to have cured the flicker for me.

  • by NowBackToMe,

    NowBackToMe NowBackToMe Aug 6, 2015 1:31 PM in response to ChrisB 2020
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 6, 2015 1:31 PM in response to ChrisB 2020

    I see that some people have resolved this issue with a new cable but I am not sure which cable is needed. Can someone give me a link to the part info for the replacement thunderbolt cable? Is it just a new cable that is the a duplicate of the one that came with the TB, or is it a different type of cable? Thanks in advance.

  • by bulbous,

    bulbous bulbous Aug 6, 2015 1:48 PM in response to NowBackToMe
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 6, 2015 1:48 PM in response to NowBackToMe

    this is the one that they had me purchase (which didn't do any good) -- http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MD861LL/A/apple-thunderbolt-cable-20-m?fnode=5 1

     

    if you haven't already, you should try turning off the automatically adjust brightness setting under "System Preferences" -> "Displays" -> "Automatically adjust brightness"

  • by NowBackToMe,

    NowBackToMe NowBackToMe Aug 6, 2015 3:59 PM in response to bulbous
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 6, 2015 3:59 PM in response to bulbous

    Thank you, Bulbous. I did turn off "Auto adjust brightness"  but didn't have immediate success. Then, I unplugged my monitor for about an hour. Since replugging it in, so far so good, but we'll see.

  • by Snømos,

    Snømos Snømos Aug 7, 2015 2:36 AM in response to Tim Hassett
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Aug 7, 2015 2:36 AM in response to Tim Hassett

    Just to thank you for your solution: I got the flickering issue today (out of the blue, nothing changed recently on the system - but I have had the USB devices not responding after sleep issue connected with the flickering problem, as linked to in another post in this thread). After I tried the replacement cable trick, everything seems to be working fine again.

     

    My setup: MBP 15", 27" TBD, external Western Digital TB 4TB harddrive.

     

    Original wiring: Mac -> builtin TB cable to TBD -> TB cable to harddisk: flickering started suddenly today after about 2 years of no issues

    New wiring:  Mac -> TB cable to harddisk -> builtin TB cable to TBD: no flickering!

     

    OSX 10.10.4 Yosemite, all firmware updates installed as far as I can tell.

     

    Time will tell if this also fixed the non-responding USB device (external, wired Apple keyboard) after sleep issue. Only drawback is that I now need to use the regular MBP charger instead of charging via the display cable.

  • by chrissito73,

    chrissito73 chrissito73 Aug 19, 2015 5:42 AM in response to Snømos
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 19, 2015 5:42 AM in response to Snømos

    Hi everyone I want tell my story ..I have MBP (dual graphic cards Intel/nVidia) mid 2012 with TB 27 inch, after 1 year of use the TB display start flickering out of nothing and after sleep I have to reconnect the TB, aproximatly two months ago start the problems:

     

    I try

     

    1. reseting NRAM, SMC,

    2. format an install Yosemite from cero with no TMachine

    3. try format with mountain lion from cero

    No Solution

     

    What I did and think now TB is working fine

     

    1. I buy a new UPS Tripp Lite 1000 VA electronic because a bad electric charge could be the problem

    2. I take out the MBP cover and take out the processor Fans an clean them they have some dust particles

    3. also check for HDD disconnect and reconnect Sata cable to make shure its firmly atachatted

    4. take out the Ram and clean them with contact cleaner and microfiber and reconnect

    5. update Yosemite to 10.10.5 and itunes 12.2.2

     

    So far 5 Days and I have no Issues of TB flickering and Sleep mode and awaking are now prefect

    also I notice a better Image and video quality in Thunderbolt(TB)

  • by WillyGo,

    WillyGo WillyGo Aug 19, 2015 10:50 AM in response to Tim Hassett
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 19, 2015 10:50 AM in response to Tim Hassett

    I too have been experiencing occasional flickering or having the screen go entirely black, usually when my MBP is awakened from Sleep mode.  There is a Thunderbolt Firmware 1.2 update that is supposed to "address a rare issue that may cause the display to go black."  I have tried several times to download the update only to get an error message telling me the update could not be completed.  Yet, the Update page says the update has been installed twice on July 27 and yesterday.  However, as I write this I am looking once more at the black screen of my TBD, which is connected to my MBP.  Closing the MBP does nothing.  Usually disconnecting the TBD from the MBP and reconnecting has resolved the problem, though this time I haven't yet done it.

     

    The current instance followed waking the MBP from sleep.  Interestingly, when I did so I received an error message saying that my external hard disk, which is plugged into the TBD, was incorrectly disconnected.  This has happened previously as well.

  • by Stanley E Kaufman,

    Stanley E Kaufman Stanley E Kaufman Aug 24, 2015 4:27 PM in response to Tim Hassett
    Level 1 (15 points)
    Aug 24, 2015 4:27 PM in response to Tim Hassett

    2011 TB display -> developed this blacking-out problem in 2013. Apple at that point replaced the logic board in the TB display after extensive testing (and under extended AppleCare). Now in 2015 the problem is back -- flickering then blacking out. None of the rostrums suggested here work for long -- not the external/nonintegrated TB cable, system prefs settings, etc. Congrats if you find a "solution" works for you for a while, but I'm afraid it's just a matter of time until you've got an expensive paperweight. There's something fundamentally wrong with the design or implementation of the hardware, firmware, or software with this display. Really too bad, since it's a gorgeous display when it works.

  • by WillyGo,

    WillyGo WillyGo Aug 24, 2015 9:14 PM in response to Stanley E Kaufman
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 24, 2015 9:14 PM in response to Stanley E Kaufman

    I have discovered another source for my flickering screen.  It turned out that the power cord had come loose and was intermittently losing contact.  Since I pressed it in tightly, the problem has disappeared.  I had also turned off the automatic brightness before I discovered the cord, so I don't know if that played any role.

     

    As for the Firmware, I note that "Thunderbolt Display Firmware Update 1.2" has once again turned up among the software updates.  This, despite the same update being listed three times under under "Updates Installed in the Last Thirty Days"!  Has anyone been able to install this sucker successfully?  I'm not certain I have.

  • by chrissito73,

    chrissito73 chrissito73 Aug 28, 2015 6:56 AM in response to Tim Hassett
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 28, 2015 6:56 AM in response to Tim Hassett

    bad news... what I think is working is the cleaning of inside funs and memory plus the UPS new installed ..but nothing of this has work my TB after 8 days of working fine start flickering again to sad I have tried everything but nothing is working. the only things left to do is changing the thunderbolt cable

  • by masevans_aus,

    masevans_aus masevans_aus Sep 4, 2015 12:05 AM in response to Tim Hassett
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 4, 2015 12:05 AM in response to Tim Hassett

    I too am having these issues with my 27" TBD, 3 year old.   MBP Retina late 2013.  Yosemite 10.10.5 

     

    Display goes black - increasing regularity - now maybe once every hour.   Only resetting power to TBD brings it back.  While it is black, other functions are working (USB ports) and MBP 'thinks' its still alive. (Windows aren't gathered on the monitor screen when TBD fails).  When I do power display off and on and it comes back - it flickers for a while.

     

    Here is what I have tried:

    1. Took the monitor to a Apple repair centre and left it there with them - they were unable to reproduce the fault after a week

    2. Brought it home problem still there

    3. After reading this thread, tried buying a Thunderbolt to Thunderbolt 0.5m cable and used that instead of the cord on the TBD - problem still there

    4. I ALSO have a MacMini with a Thunderbolt port.  Tried the display plugged into that - same problem - screen goes black when plugged into MacMini also.

     

    So it seems the problem is with the Display - not the MBP.

     

    Maybe my problem is different to all of yours and really is hardware, but am reluctant to start replacing hardware given what I have read in this thread...

  • by chrissito73,

    chrissito73 chrissito73 Sep 7, 2015 5:19 PM in response to chrissito73
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 7, 2015 5:19 PM in response to chrissito73

    What I have discovered so far is that every time I plug in the iPhone 6 plus to the TB display it start flickering and when there is nothing connected to the TB in the back USB ports it stop flickering so I think it's aTB display problem also I haven't try the thunderbolt to thunderbolt Cable couse where I live in mac store they don't have this cable but it's clear that is a problem which Mac book pro mid 2012 with Yosemite up to 10.10.5 and TB display with firmware 1,2 update instaled

  • by tracylsaville,

    tracylsaville tracylsaville Sep 11, 2015 7:23 PM in response to chrissito73
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 11, 2015 7:23 PM in response to chrissito73

    So I was experiencing this same issue and after going to the Apple store 2x and after replacing everything BUT the display (cables, power supply, another part), I put the Thunderbolt 29' display aside and bought a different HD display. I also played with the auto dimming adjustment to no avail. My consistent complaint to Apple was that all this started after I loaded Maverick ios. As I anguished over what to do with the old Thunderbolt, after 6 months I finally decided to give it away on craigslist. The person who replied to my ad had a lot of questions so i decided to hook it up once more to my macbook pro. When I did there was a software update and after 30 minutes of updating the monitor is working like a charm. Needless to say I did not give my monitor away to the person who answered my craigslist ad. What bothers me is that Apple never said jack about any of this and has from my perspective, ignored the entire issue. I have spent around $800 dealing with this issue and considerable number of hours.

    I'm curious to see if other people discover fixes after installing the recent software update.

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