You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!

When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Richhep Author

Level 1

8 points

Display flashes to solid black intermittently

I originally posted this in the wrong category for the MacBook Pro instead of the Monitor catagory. I am wondering if anyone else has the same problem. I posted the following last night.

*Still an unknown issue with Apple Tech Support*? After 2 calls to product specialists and apparently an undocumented issue by any customers contacting tech support this seems to be a widespread worldwide issue. In one form or another with no answer after several months of the computer release displays are blinking, flickering and flashing to name a few descriptions of this problem. Mine flashes solid black for a fraction of a second and comes right back on. I have had this issue in the power saving mode as well as the better performance mode so that kills that theory. To this point there has been no pattern that I have been able to detect. I can go for weeks without a blink and all of a sudden get 2 in 5 minutes. Usually I am pretty good at troubleshooting but this problem has no pattern and is so intermittent I think it's going to be a tough one and I truly believe Apple has no clue as of yet so they are not addressing it publicly or to individuals calling in with the problem. I purchased my computer November 29th. I used it for over a month without ever seeing the issue. When the new monitor came out I still did not experience any issues with either display in the area of blinking, flickering or flashing. There is a video on Youtube that I have located showing the exact same issue as mine. Though the person on Youtube has a non-apple display and mine is the new 24" Apple display and it is the exact same issue this rules out the problem being the external display. Well, I can check that off as well. This is the link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-dQIgfIFsI Does anyone else have the exact same issue as mine? I am thinking maybe it is something in the 10.5.6 update. Who Knows?

*BTW this problem is not at all heat related.* It can happen during heavy use or very light use at low temps. I have purchased many newly released Apple Computers over the years and have actually had great luck with them. I hope this is not my first lemon.

MacBook Pro (late 2008) 2.53GHz, Mac OS X (10.5.6), Apple LED Cinema Display (24" flat panel)

Posted on Feb 10, 2009 11:35 PM

515 replies

Apr 22, 2010 2:04 PM in response to vsaua

I'm having the same problem with my brand new Apple LED display.
It flashed flashed to solid black for a second or two.

Wish I had seen this thread before I purchased it.

Apr 22, 2010 4:10 PM in response to Richhep

I too am having my monitor go blank intermittently. It happens way too often (maybe every few minutes). I first thought this was a vram problem, but since reading this discussion board, it looks to be a hardware issue. I am running a Mac Pro 4-core Xeon with OS 10.5.8. My 23" Cinema Display crapped out and was replaced with this 24". Due to the NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT being DVI, I had to get the Gefen DVI to MiniDisplayPort adapter. This really needs to get fixed SOON! I hope Apple doesn't ignore this. We are a publishing company running InDesign, PhotoShop and Illustrator simultaneously and we really can't afford to have monitors go blank. Is there any solution other than returning the unit?

mb8

Level 1

0 points

Apr 23, 2010 7:30 AM in response to Chicago Jack

I have found that it does not matter if I am in the low power mode or not - my monitor ultimately does the same thing. I found that it I pull out the mini display connector for 30 seconds and plug it back in that the problem goes away usually for the rest of the day. However this is a daily recurring problem.

kylesim

Level 1

4 points

Apr 23, 2010 7:49 AM in response to mb8

I have an 8 core mac pro at work with the ati HD 2600 card and am using a Dell monitor, and for what its worth i'm seeing the flashes to black as well.

dbk9999

Level 1

70 points

Apr 23, 2010 1:50 PM in response to kylesim

After having my problem disappear for weeks, it recently came back, though slightly different. Before, it would just flash to black for a second or less. Now that the problem has come back (twice in the past few days), it stays black longer. At first I thought the display had gone to sleep so each time I moved the mouse or hit the keyboard. This was an automatic reaction - not sure what would happen if I didn't do anything. Hopefully if it happens again, I'll not react quickly and see what happens.

Apr 24, 2010 8:41 PM in response to Richhep

Posted a few days ago about this problem. Have discovered something really strange. I have found that sometimes when I press the '0'key and sometimes the' )' or '-'key it recreates the problem. In typing those characters it's just happened again, but it doesn't always do it! I have an Apple guy checking this out for me this week. Will post an update.

Leil

Level 1

0 points

Apr 26, 2010 8:35 AM in response to dinglydell

Hey gang, I'm working with an MBP and an Apple 24" display. I'm getting this very same problem. The MBP and monitor are not mine, but I do work in IT for this customer's unit. The flickering is pretty annoying.

Things that do not work so far: replacing the power cord, resetting the PRAM/SMC, swapping out for a different 24" Apple Display, swapping to ANOTHER MAC of the SAME MODEL, backing up and reinstalling the entire OS, removing the UPS/power strip, trying a different UPS/powerstrip, trying no UPS/powerstrip, moving the unit to a different location, increasing the power usage to max/minium.

From the extensive testing in our IT department here we have no other option to conclude that this is ENTIRELY a firmware/driver/GPU related issue of some kind with Mac OS X. Power management is the big issue here and we're sure of it now.

No matter how many units you get, or how many Macs you get this issue is only going to be solved by a patch of some kind.

Thanks,

Dan in Oak Ridge TN.

Apr 26, 2010 11:05 AM in response to Leil

Hi everyone,

I received my new 24" two weeks ago and I realize that I'm knowing the same issue. Not every day, just randomly. When this happens the intervals between two flashes are short, about 5 mn.
I will note these events as they occur, try to understand and then will contact Apple support.

vsaua

Level 1

0 points

Apr 26, 2010 11:47 AM in response to Richhep

Hi, people!

This issue drew me crazy. It's the real mystery. As I wrote 2 weeks ago I was going to bring the display to the guarantee service and/or got minidisplay-to-DVI converter to attach my old NEC Display to MBP but flashes suddenly disappeared for me. This is my story:

1. I uninstall Adobe Flash Player. http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/141/tn_14157.html
2. Then working whole day in Safari without Flash. There were several blackouts and I decided that Flash uninstalling didn't help.
3. I made SMSC reset.
4. Then I installed Firefox and use it for a whole day instead of Safari. No flashes. Very strange.
5. I install the Flash Player again ( http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer) and return to Safari. There were no blackouts for 2 days.
6. Then I disconnected laptop and went for a vacation for 2 weeks.
7. Returned from vacation yesterday. Connected to display and had no flashes for 2 days.

My MBP connected through it's own power adaptor directly and the Cinema Display connected through UPS.

How it could be? Now I'm scare to reboot the laptop and don't check for any updates.

Please, try flash uninstalling and/or using Firefox. As I see in process list Safari isolates flash player as separate process while Firefox is not.

Keep on watching.

dbk9999

Level 1

70 points

Apr 26, 2010 12:13 PM in response to vsaua

As I reported, my problem stopped for awhile and then came back. I've been lucky as I've never had it happen more than once a day.

But two things you mention I'll comment on. One is that I use Firefox and got it anyway.

Second, since I ALWAYS have my browser running and spend most of my time with it, I think all these events occurred when working in the browser (regardless, it was on). So has anyone had this happen without having their browser on at the time?

Apr 26, 2010 12:17 PM in response to vsaua

Hi there!

I am following this tread since november '09 and in my opinion the minidisplay port is the prime suspect, because even a windows user reported these issues with his LED ACD within this tread. The source of error can't be safari of flash, because i experience those flashes sometimes even directly after the login (before starting any applications). Also it doesn't matter if you charge your mb or mbp with or without the ACD power adapter. Macpro, macbook, macbookpro and macmini users, yes even one windows user have to deal with this particular issue. No matter if you got ATI or Nvidia chipsets there are plenty of us.

The logicboard of my mbp was already replaced, but it didn't solve the problem. My ACD was in observation and i got a shop window ACD in stead, with which i had the same issues. The next step is to repleace the minidisplay port in my mbp.

vsaua

Level 1

0 points

Apr 28, 2010 10:22 AM in response to Richhep

Hi, guys!

After 3 days of normal working blackout flashes came back today:( So Flash Player is not guilty.

Apr 28, 2010 11:19 AM in response to Chicago Jack

i'm on my second 24 inch cinema display. Had this one for just over a year (so yeah, the warrantee has just run out) and its doing the black screen thing. I'm seeing occasional quick flickers and then, starting yesterday, it goes completely black and stays black.

I'm using a MBP and the power and USB from the monitor connected. I'm running 10.6.3

What I have noticed however (and this was mentioned previously in a few threads) is that turning on 'higher performance' rather than 'better battery life' is acting like a monitor switch for me right now. I have run this ten times now - 'higher performance' - screen on, 'better battery life' - screen off. I've also tried leaving it in both modes and logging off and on to rule that out - its definitely the setting that makes the difference.

As I type, its been on with no flickers in 'higher performance' mode for an hour or so - I'll update with any further insight - you never know, someone might read all this sometime and respond.

Apr 29, 2010 11:45 AM in response to ChrisB 2020

Hi,

I'm sure it's not a software issue. I often leave my computer without doing anything on it. In these times the black flash can happen with no apparent reason. Something in the hardware seems to be undersized, perhaps?

JetA1

Level 1

0 points

May 7, 2010 10:27 AM in response to jacblinde

Having the same issue with a new 24" LED Cinema Display connected to a MacBook Air running in clamshell mode.

Is there still no fix out there for this?

Display flashes to solid black intermittently