lg ultrafine 5k blinks to black screen macOS Monterrey

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Level 1

12 points

lg ultrafine 5k blinks to black screen macOS Monterrey

the long-standing issue with the LG Ultra Fine 4K & 5K monitor blinking or going to black screen intermittently.

I have followed the threads and tried all of the solutions stated. like using the LG software for auto-start and removing hard disks or other magnetic fields from near the monitor. I've gone to the point of only my MacBook Pro 2019 i9 and the monitor alone together. none have worked. i have also dug into the solution of removing the windows server file from the ~Library/preferences/myhost. also removed all remants of LG software to start fresh and clean.

my heart stood still for a moment with the hope and prayer that the update to 12.3.1 Monterrey might fix. To no avail.

Now it is worse than ever. It blinks so fast and frequently I cannot work on it.

Since apple developed with LG for use for the apple computers since they had stopped making apple monitors I would hope someone can really get to the bottom of this.

this monitor has been fantastic! when sitting next to my 5K iMac I can swear the image is superior. but this is utterly terrible.

can anyone help? apple??

desperate to get my work done and pay the bills here.

faithful apple loyalist since 1996.

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 12.3

Posted on Apr 9, 2022 6:48 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

tbirdvet

Level 6

13,683 points

Apr 11, 2022 4:22 AM in response to bmwapple

Looks like I better not update to 12.3.1 and stay with 12.3 for now or I might get the same issue. I know the 12.3.1 update was to fix a dual monitor issue but perhaps that did something to the single monitor function. It is possible for you to down grade back to 12.3 but it is a lot of work.

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Answer 2

Apr 24, 2022 2:15 AM in response to bmwapple

I had a weird total LG Ultrafine 4K blackout after just resetting PRAM in some early cleanly installed Monterey version last autumn.

I did every voodoo I knew (reset SMC & PRAM multiple times, dis-re-connected everything).

Somewhere in that mess I noticed that the HDMI port to a LG OLED TV did work. But I ended up restoring the Mac mini 2018 with another Mac and reverted to Big Sur for a few months. Two months ago I cleanly installed Monterey again and now it has worked OK.

Revive or restore an Intel-based Mac using Apple Configurator – Apple Support (UK)

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Answer 3

bmwapple Author

Level 1

12 points

Apr 24, 2022 1:01 AM in response to Matti Haveri

I did disconnect absolutely everything using only the thunderbolt cable that came with it.

since I posted that message, it has completed gone dark and isn't even able to utter a blink now.

;-(

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Answer 4

tbirdvet

Level 6

13,683 points

Apr 10, 2022 4:18 AM in response to bmwapple

Sounds like a poor connection. Was it this way from the start or did this start later? I have this monitor and no issues with my Mac Mini M1 and my MBA M1. I assume you have tried other TB cables that did not fix the issue? I suppose the monitor itself could be bad. If another Mac shows the same issue then that would indicate a monitor fault.

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Answer 5

bmwapple Author

Level 1

12 points

Apr 10, 2022 5:24 PM in response to tbirdvet

How I wish it were. I swapped all the cables with new ones, removed the wifi and hard drives (in earlier posts, there were problems with field interference), and some older models needed shielding. I removed all peripherals, changed the setting of the space, even dug out the windowserver* file from the library, and I've reset the SMC, PRAM, & NVRAM multiple times. However, the problem could be internally on the board/s inside the monitor. It's barely a year old. My Apple Cinema display is 11 years old and still works.

It's been GREAT! I Love it. I think the cheap plastic bezel is an atrocity for Apple's nearly impeccable aesthetics and her enthusiasts. The performance and clarity are singular. It was next to my iMac Pro 5K for a while and this monitor, albeit co-developed by Apple & LG, was noticeably clearer, crisper, and faster while taking up much less space. I loved it dearly, until yesterday. This problem occurred an hour after a system update to 12.3.1.

After reading at least 100 posts on apple support, MacRumors, apple stack exchange, youtube, Reddit, and more, I learned that this problem has been happening for 3-4 years. Folks with 3K and 4K's have had similar flashing on/off issues. Solutions range from IT brain surgery to simple superstition. I was at a loss and tried them all.

Today, Apple had me reformat and reinstall the OS, and it is still the same, not changed other than now it's blinking so fast you can't read it or use it.

I hope Apple and LG can resolve this quickly. This spectacular piece of equipment is their baby, after all. In contrast, Apple took 8-year vaca from monitor making. For myself and many others out there suffering from this dilemma. I was escalated to an Apple supervisor via phone this morning; he stated they had heard very little of this muttering something out 2 out of 100.

Yikes, apple.

Thanks for your thinking cap, tbirdvet! You are appreciated.

Manana we pack up and head to the apple store and keep our fingers crossed.

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Answer 6

Apr 11, 2022 10:55 PM in response to bmwapple

Do you have any extra peripherals connected? Initially I had intermittent blackouts in LG 4K Ultrafine in Mojave Mac mini 2018 when I used old Firewire external disks via adapters. Switching to new USB3 external disks fixed that.

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