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Q: 27-inch LED Display Flashing Black

I have seen multiple postings on screens flashing black with the mention of the 27-inch, but nothing strictly dedicated to the issue for this display. I also came across firmware updates for the 24-inch and Thunderbolt, but again, nothing for the 27-inch.

 

Issue:

Screen randomly goes black for a second or two and then comes back to life like nothing happened.

27-inch Cinema Display, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Oct 18, 2011 11:43 AM

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Q: 27-inch LED Display Flashing Black

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  • by Natejj,

    Natejj Natejj Oct 19, 2011 1:37 PM in response to x0ner
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 19, 2011 1:37 PM in response to x0ner

    I've got the same issue going on.  27" Thunderbolt display connected to a 27" iMac.  I called Apple and they sent me a new display since it was within the 30 days.  The new display is doing the exact same thing.  I formatted my iMac and reloaded the OS (10.7.2) and ran all updates.  Same issue.  I suspect there is a firmware issue that needs to be addressed (similar to the 24" displays) but there are no updates that I can find at the moment.

  • by DWCUR,

    DWCUR DWCUR Apr 24, 2012 9:12 AM in response to x0ner
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 24, 2012 9:12 AM in response to x0ner

    Hi I just signed up to Apple Community. I bought a new Cinema display 2 weeks ago and within the week I have some of these issues too. Screen goes black for 1 or 2 seconds, but I also have a flickering screen (this happens more often than the going black.

     

    This seems to be a common problem if I see more people mentioning the same...and this person here saying they sent him a new screen and same problem, makes you wonder...

  • by astir13,

    astir13 astir13 May 1, 2012 10:30 AM in response to x0ner
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 1, 2012 10:30 AM in response to x0ner

    Hi I have similar problems with a totally different screen (19" Belinea at 1280x1024), and it seems to me that the sporadic on/off is due to a OSX update that must have come during the last 2 weeks.

  • by rmunde,

    rmunde rmunde May 1, 2012 7:55 PM in response to astir13
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Desktops
    May 1, 2012 7:55 PM in response to astir13

    Just to add my experience, my 30" ACD started flashing on and off.  I tried reading the LED flash pattern, but I really couldn't see a pattern.  I powered down, pulled the ACD power cord from the power block and re-attached.  When I re-booted, all was well.   Just another thing to try before replacing the power block.

  • by laguna_b,

    laguna_b laguna_b May 13, 2012 9:15 PM in response to x0ner
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 13, 2012 9:15 PM in response to x0ner

    I have been dealing with this problem for many months...right from the start when I received my Thunderbolt Monitor in Sepember it was there. I have an early 2011 MBP 13" and TB 27". They replaced it in October, no fix, then they replaced it again in April, no fix, then they replaced the logic board...same. I have run every OSX version on it that I can and no fix yet. I have not got a theory as to where the problem is but the graphics would be my first guess. If one is going to post here, it would much more usefull if they said what mac they have and OSX version.

  • by laguna_b,

    laguna_b laguna_b May 27, 2012 1:17 PM in response to laguna_b
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 27, 2012 1:17 PM in response to laguna_b

    Apple support told me to remove the 16GB of memory and replace the original 8GB of memory and test again. For 5 days I have been flash free. My bet is that we have a cure....why the problem?: The MBP 13" shares the memory with the processor, unlike the upper models which have thier own.This means there will be bus sharing arbitration and some more critical memory timings. This is me the engineer talking...  Changes in the timings of the memories can occasionally cause a failure which could result in a temporary lock up, showing as a blink. What is not explained is why the computer monitor does not suffer this as well as the external but then I am not really privy to the architectural details. This is my best guess.

    The DMMs I used were bargain DIMMS from Corsair. I am going to try the higher priced (presumably better spec) parts form Corsair as well as the Crucial DIMMs which feature higher density chips. The higher density means half the theoretical capacitance and drive on the bus lines and slightly differrent timing characteristics.

  • by laguna_b,

    laguna_b laguna_b Jun 11, 2012 8:20 AM in response to laguna_b
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 11, 2012 8:20 AM in response to laguna_b

    After many many tests....it was clear that a 4GB Hynix/Apple DIMM plus an 8GB Corsair DIMM works reliably giving me 12GB. Two Corsair 8GB for 16GB gives me periodic screen flashes.

  • by Johnny Nashville,

    Johnny Nashville Johnny Nashville May 4, 2015 5:40 PM in response to x0ner
    Level 1 (14 points)
    iTunes
    May 4, 2015 5:40 PM in response to x0ner

    Looks like this problem has existed for about two years, as I post this (May 2015). I have a new MacPro (black can) and a 27" Thunderbolt display, and I am experiencing this under Yosemite (10.10.3). I had suspected the graphics card until I read this thread. It seems that many of us have different set-ups, though, which means different graphics cards.

  • by jscurlock067,

    jscurlock067 jscurlock067 May 23, 2015 8:53 PM in response to Johnny Nashville
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 23, 2015 8:53 PM in response to Johnny Nashville

    Here is a link for the thunderbolt firmware update. Thunderbolt Display Firmware Update v1.1

    I hope this helps.

  • by jscurlock067,

    jscurlock067 jscurlock067 May 23, 2015 9:22 PM in response to jscurlock067
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 23, 2015 9:22 PM in response to jscurlock067

    You could also check this link About Thunderbolt Display Firmware Update 1.2 .

  • by ngillham,

    ngillham ngillham Jul 13, 2015 7:22 AM in response to x0ner
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 13, 2015 7:22 AM in response to x0ner

    Running OS X Yosemite

    10.10.4

    Mac Pro (Late 2013)

    3 GHz 8-Core Intel Xeon E5

    64 GB 1866 MHz DDR3 ECC

    AMD FirePro D700 6144 MB

     

    No Updates in the App Store

    27" Thunderbolt Display.

     

    My screen flashes black for a couple seconds randomly. I can never seem to pinpoint what causes it to happen.

    Thoughts? This shouldn't be happening.