27" Cinema display flickers when woken from sleep

I've noticed that my 27" Apple Cinema display flickers briefly when woken from sleep.

I have had the display for 8 months, and haven't noticed this before.

It flickers (or flashes), just once when the display wakes when the computer is woken from sleep. It only affects the bottom third of the display.

Once it has properly woken, and flickered once, it then works o.k.

Has anyone else had this?

Thanks.

Bob.

2010 Mac Pro 3.2GHz Quad Core, 27, Mac OS X (10.6.7)

Posted on Jun 27, 2011 12:53 AM

Top-ranking reply

Robert Farthing Author

Level 1

69 points

Posted on Jun 27, 2011 11:37 AM

O.k., so I'll just give an update here in case anyone else suffers the same problem sometime.

I tried the 27" Cinema Display on my MacBook Pro, and there was no flickering.

........so it wasn't the display..........

I reset the PRAM and SMC, no change.

I removed and re-seated the graphics card, no change.

I re-loaded Snow Leopard from the original discs, and the flickering stopped.

I updated all the software (re-loading from discs reverts to an earlier software version), and everything is still o.k.

Problem solved!

Must have been a glitch in the software somewhere, and a reload of the OSX got rid of it.

Relief!

Bob.

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35 replies

Jul 25, 2011 8:24 AM in response to Robert Farthing

O.k., so I've spoken to Technical support, and sent them video's of the flicker on the Pro/Display in the Apple Store, and my own set up, and they asked for a copy of my System Profile.

So, I now just have to sit and wait..........

Really surprised that more people haven't spotted this on their own setups..........

Bob.

Sep 10, 2011 11:28 PM in response to Robert Farthing

Hey bob. I got a replacement mac pro Sometime back. It came with 10.6.4,out of the box when connected to the monitor showed the flickering, then the monitor went black for a moment and then straight to finder window . I forgot to mention this to you . looks like some serious issues with the OS :( .

Dr Sly

Level 1

145 points

Sep 12, 2011 4:15 PM in response to Jody Black

Has anyone installed the new EFI firmware version 2.1 for the MBA with Thunderbolt in conjunction with the ACD 24" and/or 27" yet?

I was wondering if that fixes the issue. As soon as I get home, I'll try that.

Sep 9, 2011 12:17 PM in response to Robert Farthing

Hi ,

I bought a mac pro 2010(8 core) by march and a 27 ' ACD.Yea , i have noticed similar issues with my setup as well.was searching Apple forums and finally got this thread.I was wondering none of the apple users noticing this problem.I Never allowed the case to be closed Ever since april .i had my mac pro replaced twice,even the monitor had so many issues.What happened to Apples quality control,a brand new LED display which came with scrathes and dust inside the glass.Got it replaced as well.Its been very frustrating ,Still waiting for my second replacement on my 27 ' LED display.Anyways ,i tired the same thing like yours ,went back to 10.6.4 ,not much of issues,when i update to 10.6.8 ,the flickering happens.Was however sure that it should be a software issue since the issue occured using other monitors as well.I am sure we are not few ,a lot of ppl dont find their way to this thread .Hope it reaches Apples ears soon.waiting for a fix.I have a huge log of videos and pics which clearly shows the issues.wish its fixed ASAP.U can also mail me if u find a solution or a fix.Hope we have a machine working fine soon as possible.satishmoney@gmail.com.

Jun 30, 2011 2:38 PM in response to Robert Farthing

Right.....I ran 10.6.4 for a day with no problems, so I updated to 10.6.6 yesterday, and have run with that for a day and a half, and haven't had any problems with screen flicker when the computer wakes from sleep.

I'll run with this for another day, then update to the latest OS and see if the flicker returns. If it does, it's obviously a bug with the latest OS.

Bob.

Jul 21, 2011 6:50 AM in response to Robert Farthing

Yeah - I'm trying to verify that 100% right now. I know that I won't get full functionality from the TB dispaly (no TB, FW or ethernet on the back of the monitor) but if I can get video and USB between the Mac and the displays, that would be enough. I haven't seen any docuemtnation anywhere deatailing wether or not that TB displays will work with existing video cards / Mac Pro's, or if I'll have to do a full round of upgrades including my Mac Pro and the ATI 5770. And as you know, there are no TB video cards on the market at this time. My timing basically *****...

My plan was to return the Cinema Displays while I still can, fall back to a spare Dell 21" that I have lying around the house for a few weeks (yukkkk..), and then figure out what to do with the TB diplsay as they get closer to release. I'm contempling upgrading my Mac Pro, but if I can stick with what I have, it would save me some cash.I woudln't even mind upgrading my video card, but I just dropped $2000 on these 2 Cinema Display's last week, and I feel like they are already outdated.

PS - I am constantly selling gear, so resale value and having the "latest and greatest" are pretty important to me, hence the interest in the TB displays.

Bobby

Jul 21, 2011 7:03 AM in response to Robert Cramer1

According to the Apple store, system requirements are;

System Requirements

Thunderbolt-enabled Mac computer, including MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac mini and iMac
OS X v10.6.8 or later

and the connections are;

Cables

Built-in Thunderbolt cable
Built-in Universal MagSafe cable (up to 85W)

all of the other ports appear to be outputs, so I think you would need another graphics card (which isn't available yet).

I've just confirmed that the display Mac Pro in the local Apple Store has Lion on it now, so I'm going to have a play at the weekend.

Bob.

Aug 1, 2011 7:55 AM in response to iamvic

So, Technical Support have just rang me to say that they can't replicate the flicker, and that because it's only present at wakeup, basically I should just accept it.

When I've just spent a small fortune on a computer, I expect it to be perfect. I don't expect the screen to look like it has a fault every time I use it.

Unfortunately, because so few Mac Pro's are sold (compared to other Mac computers), I'm not going to get much traction with this unless every 2010 MacPro owner complains (and that's unlikely to happen).

I'm not letting them close the case, and will try to video other MacPro's in other Apple Stores.

Again, if anyone else has noticed this, please let me know........otherwise this will be a lonely battle.

Also, if anyone has a 2010 MacPro that doesn't flicker, I'd like to know about that too......although that person is unlikely to be reading this thread.

Bob.

Sep 8, 2011 7:39 AM in response to iSkid

I'll give this a try and let you know how I get on.

Thanks for letting me know that I'm not the only one.

I've got on the "Apple seeding project", so will be able to feed back directly to the software engineers about this issue.

Bob.

Sep 12, 2011 4:00 PM in response to Robert Farthing

Same issue here, both brand new 2010 Mac Pro with ATI 5870 and a 27" LED Apple Display... flicker on wake... hopefully will be fixed in a later update.... if there ever is one... im still using 10.6.8.

Sep 13, 2011 3:43 AM in response to Robert Farthing

has anyone getting issues with applications ?I have got some specific issues with each application.Even apples softwares are creating issues .

Itunes when changing from one playlist to another ,Checked boxes appear on the itunes window.
skype ,when screen sharing ,the machine is slow and when used spaces and hot corners the other application windows slides jerky to reveal the finder.
Safari ,when viewing a large image from google ,when scrolled ,the images are torn and jerky
Zbrush ,creates polygon tearing when moving the objects in the 3D space
Photoshop creates wired pixels while reveling the image area hidden under tools in the window.

Does all these direct us to design flaw with graphic card?

Sep 16, 2011 7:44 AM in response to Robert Farthing

Hi , i have recieved a replacement for my 27' LED cinema display jusdt now.Unboxed it and found a line (like a scratch) running inside the glass of the monitor.However ,when i put it on there was a yellow tinge on the bottom of the screen.I have a emailed the logistic team of apple about it.I wanted to your comments about it.Really fed up with apple now 😟. this is the third monitor that they replaced n found issues with.

Thanks a lot.

satishmoney

Sep 16, 2011 8:24 AM in response to satishmoney

satishmoney wrote:

Hi , i have recieved a replacement for my 27' LED cinema display jusdt now.Unboxed it and found a line (like a scratch) running inside the glass of the monitor.However ,when i put it on there was a yellow tinge on the bottom of the screen.I have a emailed the logistic team of apple about it.I wanted to your comments about it.Really fed up with apple now 😟. this is the third monitor that they replaced n found issues with.

Thanks a lot.

satishmoney

I feel your pain, I really do.

All I can say, is keep replacing until you get one that's perfect.

It makes you wonder how much this costs Apple, then ultimately the customer.

Surely it must be cheaper to have a decent quality control, and get it right first time?

Bob.

Sep 16, 2011 8:40 PM in response to Robert Farthing

Thanks for your reply.I have mailed apple logistic team (ARCHIEMEDES BALANCE -south asia) last night ,well there was no reply yet.I rang up customer care in India and found that ,these customer relations executives dont work on weekends,so got to wait untill monday 😟.Anyways ,i want to ask you ,how can take a log of the yellow tinge on the screen for this display.I really do want to know.Please help ,apple might want to have a proof about the issue ,which will facilitate the replacement.I am not able to capture the line running inside the glass on the monitor .Please help me .

totally agree with you ,wonder what happened to apple 's quality control and reliability😮.I just dont want to give up n let apple go away with this.

Thanks a lot for your support n replies .

satishmoney.k

Sep 17, 2011 11:21 AM in response to Robert Farthing

Yea ,u were right ,grab didn workout .The capture was clean.I took a snap and checked it with photoshop ,it showed grey with yellow tinge.Is this enough proof for apple ?any suggestions ?I am still trying to capture the line running inside the panel ,still no success.😟

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27" Cinema display flickers when woken from sleep