MacBook Pro M2 Pro: Phantom display causes screen flickering.

Question

Level 1

4 points

MacBook Pro M2 Pro: Phantom display causes screen flickering.

Hello,

I am experiencing a persistent issue with my MacBook Pro equipped with an Apple M2 Pro chip, running macOS 27.0.1.

An apparent phantom display intermittently appears, and when it does, my MacBook's built-in screen flickers. The issue seems to be related to the Screen Mirroring feature, as the corresponding icon appears in the menu bar. However, no screen mirroring session is active, and the problem can also occur when Wi-Fi is disabled.

I have already tried several troubleshooting steps without success:

Restarting the ControlCenter, AirPlayUIAgent, and sharingd processes.
Checking which displays are detected by macOS. The diagnostic output shows only the built-in display.
Checking the Screen Mirroring visibility settings in Control Center.
Reviewing display-related processes and system logs related to display, AirPlay, and Sidecar.
Testing in Safe Mode, where the issue still occurs.
Trying various other troubleshooting steps, none of which resolved the problem.

The issue persists despite these checks. I would like assistance identifying the cause of the phantom display and screen flickering, and determining whether this is a macOS software issue, a configuration problem, or a hardware fault.

I can provide the diagnostic reports and perform any additional tests needed.

Thank you for your assistance.

MacBook Pro 14″, macOS 27.0

Posted on Oct 27, 2026 4:39 PM

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Answer 1

mikhailkuch Author

Level 1

4 points

Oct 28, 2026 12:34 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Hi, the flickering is manifested in a quick change back and forth between resolutions. I tried some more things after my first post. I disabled AirPlay but nothing changed even after restart. But when I plugged in another screen in my hdmi port, the problems were gone. When I disconnected it, the problems returned. I am leaning towards a hardware fault and can’t think of solutions

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Answer 2

TheLittles

Level 10

211,185 points

Oct 27, 2026 7:09 PM in response to mikhailkuch

"I am experiencing a persistent issue with my MacBook Pro equipped with an Apple M2 Pro chip, running macOS 27.0.1. [...]An apparent phantom display intermittently appears, and when it does, my MacBook's built-in screen flickers. The issue seems to be related to the Screen Mirroring feature, as the corresponding icon appears in the menu bar. However, no screen mirroring session is active, and the problem can also occur when Wi-Fi is disabled.[...]"

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A Phantom Display:

Two things, first...

A. Verify with "System Information":

Click: Apple menu
Hold Down: option key
Select: System Information
Select: Graphics/Displays

How may displays are shown?

B. Single-Out this User:

For troubleshooting purposes, create a Time Machine Backup of your Mac(for recovery purposes), and then create a new Administrator user. Then, log into the user, seeing if you still get this issue. If not, then is an issue with your current user. If so, then it is an issue with the macOS. Trash this user, once back in.

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Answer 3

Oct 27, 2026 6:50 PM in response to mikhailkuch

<< An apparent phantom display intermittently appears, and when it does, my MacBook's built-in screen flickers. >>

flickers once or a few times, then stops?

That is the signal that an additional display has been acquired.

if you are not using a display on a cable, turn off Airplay displays in Control center

Assisted search suggests:

Click on the Control Center icon in the top right corner of your screen.
Select Screen Mirroring.
Click on Turn Off AirPlay to disconnect any active AirPlay sessions.

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Answer 4

Oct 28, 2026 7:38 AM in response to mikhailkuch

<< quick change back and forth between resolutions. >>

that suggest you have enabled "Mirror Displays".

when you do, a compromise resolution is computed and BOTH displays are run at the same resolution. to avoid this be sure the displays are set to Extended Desktop, not mirror.

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Answer 5

mikhailkuch Author

Level 1

4 points

Oct 28, 2026 12:37 AM in response to TheLittles

The problem persists on a new user and the system doesn’t detect the phantom display in settings. The third party software displaylink did detect it though. I have removed it since because it was not helpful.

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Answer 6

mikhailkuch Author

Level 1

4 points

Oct 30, 2026 4:25 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Flickers once for resolution change but it interrupts my video and is very infuriating. I did try to turn off Airplay with no results. Screen mirroring doesn't do anything.

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