Mac Book Pro 2019, Touch Bar started flickering and won't stop.

MacbookPro 2019, Touch Bar started flickering and won't stop.


I've been looking for answers to this issue and can't find anything helpful. I tried recommendations to force-quit it via terminal and other suggestions, but it just continues to flicker.



Possible Fixes: SMC/NVRAM/PRAM or the Activity Manager

Resetting the SMC Reset the SMC of your Intel Mac or resetting NVRAM/PRAM Reset NVRAM on your Mac does not seem to help for to long before the flickering starts again.

Nor does quiting the Control Strip or Touch Bar Server in the Activity Monitor.

All current resolves do help for the short periods of time but there are none which fixes the issue.


Possible Fix: Update your OS

I honestly do not want to update my mac as apple has presented that as one of the options. Due, to this flickering annoyance was initially caused by an update. Until more posts turn up about a specific OS update resolving this issue.



Can I turn it off? Why is it suddenly flickering? Why does Apple not provide more lasting resolves for issues these days?



[Re-Titled by Moderator]

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 12.6

Posted on Jul 9, 2023 10:53 PM

Reply
17 replies

Jul 10, 2023 9:08 AM in response to AU-FUA

Try starting in Safe Mode. Does the flicker also occur in Safe Mode? If it does, then I'd suggest it is probably a hardware issue, and you should take your mac in to service.

If the issue does not occur in Safe Mode, but reappears when you restart normally, then it may be caused by some sort of software conflict.

Please run Etrecheck and post its full report here. Use the "additional text" button and paste the report into the text box.


Jul 10, 2023 11:02 PM in response to BobHarris

On end. The touchbar only started constantly flickering when updated my OS to Monterey.

Previously High Sierra. And previously on High Sierra. I did have a screen flicker issue.

To be honest, I'd prefer the screen issue compared to the touch pad flicker since the touch bar seems to a fully white a NIN transparent-ish constant glitch pattern with a flicker beat (flitch or glicker?) against a full black and space grey aesthetic

Jul 26, 2023 2:03 PM in response to AU-FUA

There are some things of concern in the posted report. For one thing, you have disabled system security, which is a risky move.


The report is a bit hard to read because a lot of extra  characters appear at the beginning of lines. To this day, I have seen this many times but have yet to ascertain why this happens only for some people posting their Etrecheck reports. Did you do Share Report->Copy and then pasted in the text box to post?

Oct 26, 2023 6:20 AM in response to AU-FUA

This happened with a 2020 Macbook Pro of mine. I took it to Apple and the tech reset all kinds of things, SMC, NVRAM, thought my battery needed to be replaced and seemed surprised it was in great shape.He did things for an hour and then told me I need to have the whole thing bottom of my Macbook replace for $1000. I was livid! I just bought this a few years ago! I couldn't afford the "repair", so they told me to buy a back up...and a back up for the back up. Sure enough, my macbook died soon after. The flickering touch bar makes the 2020 macbook a LEMON and Apple needs to recall it. I noticed they are not including it going foreward. We should be reimbursed. Apple products are not cheap and in this financial day and age, I already have friends who are choosing other less expensive products from other companies because of my experience. Shame on you Apple for not recalling this obvious failure.

Oct 26, 2023 6:35 AM in response to GillianDeS

I sympathize. Having an expensive piece of gear fail on you is very unfortunate.

However, I do not agree with there being any grounds for a recall.

A minute percentage of people experienced failures, but the vast majority continue to use their macs with touch bar to this day - me included.


The touch bar never realized its full potential and was abandoned, but not because of hardware failure. I, for one, will be sad to see it go, and will miss it somewhat when I get my next 💻 (*)




(*) this symbol for a mac laptop above was entered by tapping it in my touch bar; I had written mac and it offered me an icon of an iMac or a laptop - try that without a touch bar 😊 - I did it again!)

Nov 4, 2023 7:42 AM in response to Luis Sequeira1

Maybe it doesn't happen to everyone. You are lucky. I was not and I am not the only one.

The flickering light is like a strong strobe light that lit up my whole room. I worry that this problem may cause a seizure in some poor person. Not everyone in a movie theatre has seizures, but they often put warnings before shows now to avoid litigation because someone had a seizure.

Apple should figure this out and provide a PERMANENT fix or warn people with seizure disorders before this happens.

No one should have to hold a flashlight on a $2000 new laptop for it to stop flickering. Come on Apple...

Nov 9, 2023 10:15 AM in response to AU-FUA

Designed to force you to buy a new one.

Apple will ALWAYS screw its consumer - ALWAYS.


Tried SMC, NVRAM, PRAM,

Terminal sudo pkill TouchBarServer

Terminal sudo killall "ControlStrip"

Activity Monitor touchbar

Activity Monitor control strip

Upgrade to Sonoma.


Apple refuses to recall it. The only solution is to give them a $1000.


SOLUTION: DO NOT BUY APPLE.

Nov 18, 2023 8:50 AM in response to ddgiants

  1. I turned off the light sensor after reading this post (Turn off Automatically adjust Brightness in display: Click on the main Apple menu and choose System Settings.
  2. Select Displays.
  3. Turn off Automatically adjust Brightness.
  4. Quit System Settings.
  5. )

the flickering stopped. Restarted, some flicker during start up then fine, no flicker, touchbar worked normally.


Started up today and the flicker was back. Currently not flickering but touchbar is blacked out, so, useless.


Apple? are you there?

Mac Book Pro 2019, Touch Bar started flickering and won't stop.

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