M1 13” MacBook Pro Webcam Flickering

There will be no announcement of a fix until the day the relevant MacOS update is released. Apple doesn’t talk about forthcoming features until they are released (with good reason, in case the timeline slips during testing).

Make your complaint at https://www.Apple.com/feedback/

I have been having this same issue since I switched to the new M1 Macbook Pro in early December, never had this issue before on previous Macbook Pro's. Filled in the feedback form, which I'm sure goes nowhere, so anyone in Apple that reads this please take this serious - it is beyond ridiculous that this bug even exists, let alone goes unfixed for so long.

Yes. I have the same challenge. So also will millions of other consumers who are likely to only find out about this once its much too late. I have uploaded a video to Youtube that demonstrates the problem. (Search: "Beware - Flickering camera video on the new M1 Apple Macbook Pro")

I am awaiting feedback from the distributor in country after discovering this showstopper.

Definitely cannot recommend anybody purchase one of these till this is resolved.

We have all started relying on this camera.

I am just hoping this can be fixed via software and does not result in a yet another class action suit and recall.

Epic quality assurance failure.

It's a known issue with UK electrical frequencies. Here's a tweet from a journalist in the UK "PS if anyone saw annoying flicker on my camera on @SkyNews yesterday *finally* figured out how to get rid of it. Turns out it’s a glitch caused by the new MacBook M1 chip interacting with UK electrical frequencies/LED lights, plus Mac OS not letting you change camera frequency.

You should read the whole thread. Replacing your laptop won’t fix the issue because it’s not a hardware issue. It’s software. And apparently someone tested the next beta of the Big Sur update and it has fixed it. So fingers crossed!

Apple have attempted to fix the problem in Big Sur 11.2, however they have only half fixed it 😒, I have downloaded 11.2 and it now flickers approx every 5 seconds for approx 1 second, which is really no better. I have reported the continued bug on Apple feed back, I would suggest everyone with the problem does the same.

A replacement won't work it is software related in Europe, Apple have attempted to fix it in the new software release 11.2, however they only half fixed it, it now flickers every 5 seconds for about a 1 second, which is just as annoying. Best thing you can do is report the problem to Apple support and the also Apple feed back page, hopefully if enough people complain it might get fixed properly in 11.3

It happened the first two Times I used it, however it has now stopped flickering, just as I was talking to apple support 🤣. Must be something to do with machine learning, anyway the good news is, that the problem is gone. Well done Apple 👏, I can now fully enjoy the M1 experience 😁

I’m not seeing the strobing since I installed the 11.2 update. If you are getting it reappear intermittently I can think of a few potential causes. Whatever, it appears there is a brief scan when the camera is first activated, then it probably checks again at intervals (I guess 5 seconds).

The light source where you noticed the 5 second cycle might not have a fully stable frequency. This might be more likely if it has electronic control (LED and similar sources) rather than fluorescent which is driven directly at the frequency of the public supply. A fluorescent with electronic dimming would also be a contender for this.

Another possibility particularly with LED lighting is a source which operates with high frequencies (much more than the usual 50/60Hz mains) and it is at the limits of the auto adjust capability.

A mixes light source like fluorescent + LED on different frequencies could also provide a confusing signal for detection.

The quick and dirty test is to try with a similar but different light source, and see if the problem has a different appearance.

Updated macOS Big Sur to 11.2 on M1 Air. Tested 10 minutes with a few apps. Webcam works fine now in same lightning. After cam is ON, there is flickering for 0.3-0.5 seconds and then it's works fine.

So, as for now, I can say Apple fixed it.

Have exactly the same since we replaced the Macbook with Mac Air M1 and went to Big Sur - suddenly the webcam image in Zoom, Skype, FaceTime etc etc flickers with bands running down the frame suggesting a refresh rate issue, but of course you can't tweak that in webcam or display settings. The workaround below, installing OBS with FPS set to 25, more or less fixes the problem cosmetically (thank you sles5). Its a slight inconvenience, but keeps my wife's business running.. Rumour has it that the beta of BigSur 11.2.2 corrects the issue, but I am not brave enough to install a Beta on my wife's Mac Air ;-). When 11.2.2 is finally released I hope this massively inconvenient bug will be fixed.

After reading all of this I just want to mention that specific LED light sources like fluorescent tubes close to any camera will cause the flickering. I had that a bit with the internal MBP camera, but not as noticable with external higer-end camera's like Logitech and AVerMedia. With the LED tubes off, no problems. In my opinion this has nothing to do with software.

Software or hardware, regardless of which it is... the prior 2014 MacBook Air model had no issues with the lights and given I’ve not changed the lights or positioning of my desk, so what else do you propose this is? I’m genuinely interested?

The big sur update has minimised the flickering so I guess we can all rest easy.

For the price of the machine, it should not have had this volume of complaints before an update was finally made. Put simply, an adjustment offering to the refresh rate would have helped also but have come to terms that there is an air of arrogance with Apple developers to simply coast by with their previous quality status.

Same issue here.I followed the instructions If your built-in camera isn't working on your Mac , resetting the SMC, but it still flickering.

The Mac is a MacBook Pro (13-inch, M1, 2020)