Does anyone have a fix for a 2023 Macbook Air with an M2 chip running Tahoe 26.6.2 and the LCD screen flickering? I am not connected to any peripherals or larger monitor.
I have tried all of the settings that the community says to disable but to no avail. Any suggestions are welcome...
MacBook Air 15″, macOS 26.6
Since the usual display setting changes have not resolved the flickering, I would try Safe Mode and Apple Diagnostics next.
On an Apple-silicon Mac, shut it down, then press and hold the power button until the startup options appear.
Select your startup disk, hold Shift, and choose Continue in Safe Mode.
Use the Mac for a while and see whether the flickering continues.
Apple provides instructions for Safe Mode and startup options (Apple Support)
You can also run Apple Diagnostics.
From the startup options screen, press and hold Command-D. Apple Diagnostics will test the Mac and, in macOS Tahoe 26 and later, can provide a specific diagnostic for the built-in display.
If a reference code appears, record it. (Apple Support)
It would also be useful to note whether the flickering occurs during startup, on the login screen, or only after macOS has loaded.
If the behaviour changes when the display is moved through different normal viewing angles, make a note of that as well.
Apple has a repair manual specifically for the 15-inch MacBook Air (M2, 2023), including a section covering display and image issues: MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023) Repair Manual. (Apple Support)
If the flickering is intermittent, recording it with a phone may also be useful when reporting the problem to Apple.
The most useful information to determine what to try next would be whether the flickering started before or after macOS 26.6.2, what the flickering actually looks like, and whether it occurs outside the normal macOS desktop.
Since the usual display setting changes have not resolved the flickering, I would try Safe Mode and Apple Diagnostics next.
On an Apple-silicon Mac, shut it down, then press and hold the power button until the startup options appear.
Select your startup disk, hold Shift, and choose Continue in Safe Mode.
Use the Mac for a while and see whether the flickering continues.
Apple provides instructions for Safe Mode and startup options (Apple Support)
You can also run Apple Diagnostics.
From the startup options screen, press and hold Command-D. Apple Diagnostics will test the Mac and, in macOS Tahoe 26 and later, can provide a specific diagnostic for the built-in display.
If a reference code appears, record it. (Apple Support)
It would also be useful to note whether the flickering occurs during startup, on the login screen, or only after macOS has loaded.
If the behaviour changes when the display is moved through different normal viewing angles, make a note of that as well.
Apple has a repair manual specifically for the 15-inch MacBook Air (M2, 2023), including a section covering display and image issues: MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023) Repair Manual. (Apple Support)
If the flickering is intermittent, recording it with a phone may also be useful when reporting the problem to Apple.
The most useful information to determine what to try next would be whether the flickering started before or after macOS 26.6.2, what the flickering actually looks like, and whether it occurs outside the normal macOS desktop.
Display artifacts can be caused by software or hardware issues. First step is to reboot your Mac (easy fix for many software issues). If the problem persists, take a screenshot (Command-Shift-3) and if the issue on the display does not show up in the screenshot, the most likely cause is a hardware problem with the display (cable/panel/etc.). In that case, the next step is to contact Apple for service.
Product Service and Repair Information - Official Apple Support
Owl-53,
You are a life saver! I followed your very detailed instructions to use the Safe Mode. My Macbook Air booted up and I saw the 'safe mode" letters in bold red at the top right of the screen. I opened Outlook and Excel as well as Chrome and Apple messages. The LCD screen flickering has disappeared! It must have been caused by an issue at startup that booting in the safe mode corrected. Thank you for your detailed post! I hope if any other Macbook Air users see the same issue they try to solve the issue via the "Safe Mode" . Thnak again for posting the solution that solved my issue!!
You are welcome
🦉-53
2023 Macbook Air with M2 chip running Tahoe 26.6.2 LCD screen flickering...
