MacBook Pro 16-inch graphic card switching causes screen freeze issue

MacBook Pro 16-inch

Hard to believe <gfxCardStatus https://gfx.io/> is supported on Catalina, please advise?

It seems 2010 /2013 for OS X was about it ??? Hard to believe it would even install.

I would uninstall this app; and from Recovery reinstall the macOS 10.15.2 on top of your existing macOS to refresh any system files that may have been compromised.

Recovery: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204904

windsing wrote:

One issue I have is that: does the recovery install wipe out my data on the machine?

From the Help Topic above—you see you have options.

Command (⌘)-R

Reinstall the latest macOS that was installed on your Mac (recommended).

This will leave your user/data/documents/bookmarks/history/etc. untouched & intact, simply refreshing the macOS on top of your existing macOS is a basic trouble shooting protocol.

It is always advised to have a current backup plan, if for any reason it goes side ways— you can always fall back.

You have a limited 14-days to return or exchange your Mac for one that works, for any reason if you are not happy.

After that, it falls under a warranty repair.

You also have 90-days Call in Support for a new purchase, to trouble shoot issues one-on-one with an Apple employee. They will stay on the phone for as long as it takes in an effort to resolve your issue.

*Contact Apple for support and service—https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201232

I have the same issue with a base MacBook Pro 16" when Chrome switches from iGPU to dGPU. Looks like that Safari isn't affected by this issue, for example try to open this page on Safari that triggers the dGPU when scrolled at a certain point:

https://www.apple.com/macbook-pro-16/

On my laptop scrolling and pointer movement are smooth and don't freeze during the switch. You can verify when the switch happens with the Activity Monitor on the Energy Tab.

Currently I haven't noticed this issue with any other software.

As a workaround I have disabled the use of the GPU in Chrome (the switch is available on preferences). This has some glitches and lacks support for some advanced features like WebGL.

Other workaround, as already stated, is disabling automatic switching but it involves using always the dGPU that consumes more energy, not a good solution when the laptop runs on battery with simple tasks that doesn't need so much power.

It's not clear if it's bug of Chrome, drivers or MacOS. I hope it will be fixed soon on a future update.

I am having the same issue with the constant freezing while "Automatic Graphics Switching" is enabled. Disabling fixes the issue, but kills battery life. This needs a fix as soon as possible.

Is Apple aware of this issue? It has been known for months.

I am also experiencing this issue with my new MBP 16. Is there any fix (beside not having to disable automatic graphics switching)? Does Apple knows about this? Not even the latest MacOS 10.15.4 Beta 4 works.

Readers here are other Users like you. We have no insider information. Unless and until a large number of users present their issues through standard problem-reporting channels, Apple does not know there is a problem, and is NOT working on a fix. 

The only way for Apple to know about this is for you to have contact with someone who works for Apple, by contacting support by phone (free for 90 days, longer with Apple care purchase) clicking and following the "contact Support" link at the top of every computer-browser forum page, or by making a Genius Bar appointment and presenting your equipment for evaluation.

If you contact support, please insist that they file Bug Report, and do not allow them to close out your issue as "solved" if it is NOT.

Being selfish is the best policy -- getting yours fixed helps everyone.

I have this same issue with my 2019 16" Space Grey Macbook Pro. My nearest Apple Store couldn't replicate it. The freezing happens when the computer is using the dedicated Intel UHD Graphics 630 found on my Core i9. Disabling automatic graphics switching removes this problem, but it's not a long-term solution.

They need to have some kind of fix for this. I don't know whether it's a hardware of software issue, but like always Apple doesn't want to claim responsability.

If "Apple could not replicate it" then as far as Apple is concerned, it is not a problem.

Unless/Until you or others convince them there really IS a problem that they can replicate (or eliminate by repairing/replacing your hardware) no one at Apple is working on this issue.

Apple movers and shakers do NOT troll the forums looking for issues. They use ONLY their established Apple Support mechanisms [Bug Reports, Returns, and Repairs} to log problems and get them in the queue for study and potential solution.

I have the same issue, but it's not over the graphic switching. I've tried to test gfxCardStatus on my MacBook Pro 2017 year and it had mirco lag while card was switching. But i don't have problems with cursor freezing on it. It seems to me that kind of issue causing Intel UHD Graphics 630.

For all who tried/used gfxCardStatus there is a better and currently supported alternative

I had the same issue and every time my Macbook pro 16" would switch from Discrete (external monitor connected) to Integrated (no monitor connected) and back (external monitor connected), the GPU will experience some issues that could be observed in Chrome as broken (pixelated) content. Only reboot would fix this issue.

I performed all advised steps: NVRAM and SMC reset and MacOS reinstall.

The frequency of the issue reduced after the MacOS reinstall but has not disappeared completely.

With gSwitch, I was able to bring GPU back to normal without rebooting.

When issue occurs as described above when monitor is plugged in, I'd just unplug MBP from the external monitor use gSwitch to change Discrete/Integrated/Discrete and plug the monitor back.

[Link Edited by Moderator]

Thank you for recommending gSwitch. I've set it up to only use the integrated graphics card so it stops the freezing. Hopefully it helps.