Screen constantly flashing black on USB-C

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Level 1

4 points

Screen constantly flashing black on USB-C

Had this on my old intel-based macbook, and got the exact same issue on the new mac pro m3.

If anybody is planning on connecting an external monitor over usb-c, expect it to flash black every few minutes for a few seconds.

Video by another user: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_exRoTSaxY

Everything keeps working, USB keyboard & mouse which are connected to the monitor keep working as I can keep typing. Just the monitor turns off.

This has been an issue for about 1-2 years now. The OS dev team just simply ignores this issue, as it has been reported over and over again.

The monitor is 5120x1440 resolution, so the HDMI port doesn't even support that resolution (on a 2023 device ...), so that's not a solution either.

And before anybody comes in and suggests to a reboot, I've went stepwise through every OS version on my previous macbook 2x over, and currently on a 2 day old macbook

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Dec 18, 2023 12:13 AM

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Answer 1

Dec 20, 2023 8:58 AM in response to KettuM

KettuM wrote:

...

If there was an issue with the cable it's the job of the OS to inform the user on those issues, not randomly disable it every few minutes and then continue operations as usual.

Blaming cables is shifting blame away from a clearly bugged operating system. When other operating systems: Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux, Android, all have a fully functioning screen on the same cable, you don't shift blame and try to find excuses for a cable.

If you want to be useful in this discussions I suggest to look to regain information on other users having this issue so that apple prioritizes properly work of their USB-C ports.

Be sure you also report your concerns to Apple, by pasting that information here:

Product Feedback - Apple

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Answer 2

KettuM Author

Level 1

4 points

Dec 18, 2023 11:16 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

No dock, M/Connect2 Upstream cable that comes with attached to the monitor.

Monitor has been tested on windows & linux machines, 0 issues, currently using apple's provided magnetic power cable and the usb c cable, issue persists.

Apple's support excuse so far has been: "this issue probably flies under the radar because few people use this type of cable".

Length, type, rating of the cable don't matter if every other operating system can work fine without bugs but apple times out every half hour with a blackscreen.

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Answer 3

Dec 19, 2023 6:26 AM in response to KettuM

<< Length, type, rating of the cable don't matter if every other operating system can work fine without bugs but apple times out every half hour with a blackscreen. >>

You are mistaken. Those other system do not check for transmission error the way the recent MacOS does.

The Apple standard for its built-in hardware-accelerated displays, makes them suitable for full-motion video for production/display of cinema-quality video with NO dropped frames, and NO dropouts or partial-blank scan lines due to memory under-runs or other issues.

Length of a fully qualified USB 3.1 or better cable with that logo needs to be Under one meter for proper operation in general. On a Mac, if your cable is not good enough the screen goes black and if the problem is bad, it says black.

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Answer 4

KettuM Author

Level 1

4 points

Dec 20, 2023 6:20 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

The cable is under 1 meter.

So macOS has a built in feature which makes a display useless every ~30 minutes, to make sure that it is lacking dropped frames...

Apple support has been contacted and confirmed that this is a bug, not a feature as you're describing it.

If there was an issue with the cable it's the job of the OS to inform the user on those issues, not randomly disable it every few minutes and then continue operations as usual.

Blaming cables is shifting blame away from a clearly bugged operating system. When other operating systems: Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux, Android, all have a fully functioning screen on the same cable, you don't shift blame and try to find excuses for a cable.

If you want to be useful in this discussions I suggest to look to regain information on other users having this issue so that apple prioritizes properly work of their USB-C ports.

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Answer 5

Dec 18, 2023 9:52 AM in response to KettuM

what cables, adapters, and dock are bing used to make the connection?

if only a cable, what cable, and how long is the cable. does it have the USB superspeed PLUS logo or better?

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Answer 6

ez163

Level 1

8 points

Apr 14, 2024 10:29 PM in response to KettuM

my c34h89 samsung monitor has the same issue while charging the battery via usbc.

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Screen constantly flashing black on USB-C

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