Q: Macbook pro retina flicker

MusicallyCursed's solution worked for me. Seems the WI-FI channel/frequency did affect the screen

I am having the exact same problem of screen flicker.  The flicker comes and goes, but seems to be coming more frequently.

Some have said it is related to WiFi interference.  But I have tried turning the WiFi off on the lap top completely and I still get the screen flicker.

This Macbook Pro Retina is an almost $5,000 machine!  Amazing to me that Apple does not atleast have strict quality controls on lap tops that are this expensive. 

If they really cared about their customers more than they do about the hedge funds that hold their shares lately, they would do a recall on these Macbook Pro Retina lap tops.  I suspect the only way to get their attention is to do a class action law suit.  Of course, that's not something I want to get mixed up in, I just want my $5,000 lap top to work properly.  It is less than a year old.

Well the place to get satisfaction is with Apple. Feedback to them and than sending it or taking it back to Apple to fix it. These are just user forums.

Feeback, sure.  I bought a top of the line lap top precisely because sending it back for repairs is not an option.  Try doing that when you travel 40 weeks per year - it doesn't work.  Checking the forums and commenting because I am hoping someone has a fix.

I have counted on Apple's quality for 10 years.  Just disappointed they dropped the ball with the Macbook Pro Retina.

Even though I am extremelly disappointed about the fact that my Macbook Retina flickers, I understand that there isn't a company out there who makes the perfect product. A product that is in perfect working condition 100% of the time, even though it might be brand new, is just fantasy. We are the 1-5% or whatever that range is, and it *****. What I do agree with is that the company should compensate accordingly when things break while the product is under warranty.

"showerkv

I also had the same issue. I searched high and low to find the sollution, and i thought maybe i could be a hardware problem.. but then i ran Color Sync with the tool "verify".. And it found 2 software problems..

/System/Library/CoreServices/Resources/Profiles/HD 709-A.icc

   Header message digest (MD5) is missing.

   The file is locked. Could not be fixed.

/System/Library/CoreServices/Resources/Profiles/SD 170M-A.icc

   Header message digest (MD5) is missing.

   The file is locked. Could not be fixed.

This problem cannot be fixed unless you change the files rights and sharing.

If you locate those icc-files, right click on them, and choose "show info" you can change the rights on the specified files. Change them all to "read and write". Do this on both files. Then run "Repair" in Color Sync.

This fixed the problem for me (no flickering for 30 minutes, before i did this the screen flickered every 2 minutes)..

Remember to change back to "read only" in both files..

Hope this will fix your issue!"

Thanks for sharing this.  I repaired the files and the flickering on my 2012 Macbook Pro 13 Retina has disappeared. 

I can't right click the files. Can you explain a little more in depth please?

Sure.  I just tried again and i have no issues with righ clicking.  Maybe your trackpad is not set for right clicking or secondary clicking.  Look in  system preferences/trackpad/secondary click and check what gesture you have selected.  Also make sure you are logged as the admisntrator.

1. Once you are able to right click the file, click on Get Info,
2. go to the bottom of the pop up screen
3. and in the area of sharing and permissions click on the padlock and then enter your admin password
4. ensure the three types of permission are set to 'read and write'
5. then run color utility and click on verify and then repair.  then that should fix those files. 
6. Dont forget to go back and change the settings as you found them. 

This is the 5th day and have tested the laptop through and through and no flickeing.  I hope this solves the issue for you too. 

Good luck.

I have a late 2012 MBP Retina and I'm getting the flickering. It seems to affect the lower half of the screen and consists of brief displays of window title bars that should be at the top of the screen. I have changed the permissions on the files as described above, but I'm not hopeful about that. When the problem comes I can stop it by angling the screen back a bit further, or by pressing on the black plastic part of the hinge under the screen. It's got to be a cable pinch.

Chris

You're right and sadly Apple still as yet has not acknowledged the issue or done a recall for a widely known defect. I for one can't be without mine long enough to get it fixed. I'm sure others are in the same boat.

My Macbook Retina Pro 13" has started flickering and it was getting worse.  I read the 12/15/2012 post by showerkv and oddly enough I had the exact same two files causing error messages.  I followed the advice and was able to repair the files. It is early yet to be certain but the flickering that was happening every couple seconds has now completely stopped.  I hope that this really fixes the problem in a permanent way.  But at least for now... so far so good.

Thank you for the advice!

You are a genius. Thanks!!!!

This seems to have worked for me as well.

Could you please explain to me how to locate the ability to change these files to be unlocked--I do not know how to change the files rights as the solution tells us to do. I have those same files and problems but I can't figure out how to change the rights/

anyone-- can you explain that to me?

thanks!

I've seen a couple of posts in the support community regarding this issue.  I first noticed my display flickering on a very infrequent basis about 6-9 months ago.  My MBP 15" is one of the first ones made - ordered it when it was released.  Before that time, I never had any issues with display quality.  In the last month or so, I've noticed a marked increase in the frequency of the display flickering.  I'm in the military and currently deployed.  So, my setup here is much different than at home.  At home, it was connected to a TB display, as well as a bunch of other peripherals.  Here, I only have it connected to an external HD. 

I tried the above solution; however, the display is still flickering and seems to be getting progressivly worse.  If you watch the flicker very closely, you will see a title bar pop up momentarily on the lower 1/3 of the screen - seems the flickering happens about every 2-3 seconds now.

If anyone has any other ideas and/or solutions, I would really appreciate it.  My MBP is outside of the warranty period right now.  I sure would be disappointed though if my $3K laptop craps out before it hits 15 months old.