WindowServer crashing repeatedly since upgrade to Ventura

I am using 16-inch, 2019 Macbook Pro, and have the same issue. Graphics: AMD Radeon Pro 5500M 4 GB

Intel UHD Graphics 630 1536 MB, processor: 2.4 GHz 8-Core Intel Core i9.

WHAT HAPPENS

My macbook randomly freezes when I close/open the lid with external monitors connected.

This happened since I was forced to update the system to Ventura 13.1; and it has not been fixed after updating to the latest 13.2.

Panic logs recorded very frequently. Crash report it is related to WindowServer.

DEBUGGING I HAVE DONE

(1) I have two monitors, one uses DisplayPort-TypeC, one uses TypeC-TypeC. Both have the same issue.

(To reproduce it problem, you may need to connect two monitors to the same mac, and then randomly disconnect one monitor. Once you see the crash for one time, you will see it happens again when connecting to just one monitor.)

(2) My personal macbook with older system 10.15.1, does not reproduce this issue.

(3) SMC and NVRAM reset does not resolve the issue. Hard drive repair does not resolve the issue.

(4) I tested a new macbook with 13.2 system, it can reproduce this issue.

The random crashes impact the work efficiency quite a bit.

Have had a day with no crashes, then today again.

Found that spaces could be the problem, in my case switching from FCP to Telegram to copy some text arriving. having 5 screens (virtual with my 14MBPM2Max) I thought that all of you have experienced this problem using external monitors... so I erased all the desktops, using just the built desktop one and continued to work as before.

no other crash happened.

Only happens to me when I use command+tab to switch apps (occasionally). If I avoid using command+tab, no crashes. Only crashes on external display.

The same here :

MacBook Pro 13 Inch M1 , 2020

Since Ventura 13.0

I connected two external Monitors via HDMI with a Hub hhttps://hypershop.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9342831058708-macOS-Ventura-Update-Troubleshooting

They even have a trouble shooting guide https://hypershop.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9342831058708-macOS-Ventura-Update-Troubleshooting

This helped for a couple days at most , couple of hours at least, but not really a solution.

Then i used only one Monitor ... same

Also not using the internal Display only ....

My solution: i switched my "older" caldigit usb-c pro dock, which only supports one Monitor as native the M1 Chip 2020. That seems to work....

Given that a lot of people are reporting issues with using multiple monitors causing this issue, this made me look at how at how I use desktops as part of my usual routine. Instead of opening my Music library on a separate desktop, I am now using just the one desktop to do everything. It has only been 1 day or so, but no crashes as all and usually have 3-4 a day. Keeping my fingers that this works until Apple gets this addressed.

Interesting datapoint - I went back to my old two external monitor set up for a work reason. USB C to HDMI. The only thing different is that they are 1080P monitors - 27in. I have been free of crashes since the change back (knocking on wood).

My home and office had been using Samsung UHD widescreen displays and the problem seemed to begin around the time I made that change. I can't say exactly, but that seems right.

I am going to try the MBP at home this weekend on the UHD and leave the dual monitor set up running at the office and see if the problem continues in one location but not the other.

Curious - how many of you with this problem are plugged into 1080P monitors vs something bigger/better?

Yes, full-screen seems to be the culprit in my case as well. So far so good without the full-screen apps.

Maybe I've just been lucky, but since I've stopped using full-screen apps, I haven't had any crashes. (looks for some wood to knock on...)

Since installing 13.0.1, I haven't had any crashes. Granted, it's only been a day, but maybe they got it fixed!

Ditto here. MacBook Air 2020 (Intel) with OWC Thunderbolt 3 Dock with HDMI attached monitor. Very frustrating!

I thought about the option of making my MacBook the primary monitor, but that defeats the purpose of connecting my external monitor and expecting everything to switch over to it, so now I'm trying running on the external display with my MacBook closed (also not a very good option, but better than crashing!).

I'm running a 2018 i7 MBP and was experiencing what you're all describing back on Monterey. I was hopeful Ventura (and the recent updates) would clean a bunch of stuff up and the prob would go away, but it hasn't. The crashes really do seem random. Just for clarity, I rarely run apps full screen and sometimes use command-tab to app switch. Neither of those things mentioned in this thread has ever caused a crash here.

I run an ultra-wide external monitor via display port. If I use clamshell mode, it's a crash every time. If I don't, I can sometimes use apps for hours. If I use the MBP without the external monitor, I can sometimes go hours without crashes or, like today, simply opening Photoshop was locking the machine up over and over (Photoshop almost never locks it up) but I was also at a different location (different wifi) than I usually use. I was suspect of the GPU starting to go bad, but PS's compatibility check says mine is OK.

I typically use Brave or Chrome browsers and suspected them for awhile.

I can usually run TONS of memory-intensive graphics/3D/music/video apps at once without crashes. Then something as simple as opening a browser tab may crash the machine.

I used to never manually shut my machine down when finishing with it. I'd just close it to sleep. Now, I manually shut it down every day. It seems to have helped somewhat, though it does a daily crash when booting up. The fans let out a big "breath" and it crashes to a black screen. Starts right up after.

I've browsed hundreds of thread posts from folks who have the same issues and lots of various solutions that I've tried. It's clearly some bug that's made its way from Monterey (or even before) now into Ventura that's causing seeming random crashes having to do with drawing items to the screen. The only real way to know may be to wipe the machine and start it fresh on Big Sur or something. But we all know how much we love doing that.

I am experiencing a Windowserver crash on Ventura 13.3.1 (a) (but the issue has been present on previous versions too) on a iMac Retina 5K 27" 2017 / Radeon Pro 580 8GB without any external display. It happens on the average every couple of days or so.

Crash report says

Termination Reason: Namespace WATCHDOG, Code 1 monitoring timed out for service

(1 monitored services unresponsive): checkin with service: WindowServer returned not alive with context:

unresponsive work processor(s): WindowServer main thread

Quite annoying. I use 12 workspaces, and I noticed that the crashes seem to be correlated with switching from a workspace to another using the trackpad.

My 2020 Macbook Air kept crashing with sudden disconnection when using the USB-C docking station with an external display every so often (like once every 45 minutes to one hour) after I upgraded to Ventura OS. I suspect it may be due to the USB-C privacy protection feature from the new OS. The docking station I use is the Totu USB-C Dock TT-DC002A (https://www.amazon.com/TOTU-Upgraded-Universal-Charging-Extended/dp/B0838WTFD1/ref=sr_1_3_sspa?crid=10T4MHAMHEUDS&keywords=Totu%2BUSB-C%2BDock%2BTT-DC002A&qid=1666989763&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIwLjg3IiwicXNhIjoiMC4wMCIsInFzcCI6IjAuMDAifQ%3D%3D&s=electronics&sprefix=totu%2Busb-c%2Bdock%2Btt-dc002a%2Celectronics%2C890&sr=1-3-spons&th=1). I have tried using two different docking stations of the exact same model and reverted back to the Monterey OS without the disconnection, so I have confirmed the hardware is functional. I appreciate it if someone could have a solution to the issue. Thanks!