Flickering after 10.10.3 upgrade

Several days ago I tried the suggestion of turning on "Reduce transparency" in System Preferences under the Accessibility tab, and I haven't had flickering bars or a kernel panic since. Probably too early to tell if this is a real fix but this is the longest I've gone without problems so far.

Am I the only one who thinks the quality of Apple software has tanked in the last 2-3 years? I have spent countless hours over the last few months implementing workarounds for Yosemite, iCloud, iTunes, and Family Sharing. All seem to be completely broken. Honestly, I think Windows is actually better these days. Wow, I can't believe I just said that.

Guys, you're not alone, and I have taken some drastic steps to 'eliminate' other issues. I might be on the brink of fixing this issue.

• First of all, I have checked every setting in the System settings, without any success.
• I tested external hardware - no success.
• I have even replaced internal memory with entirely different modules - no success.
• Monitor changes and settings have not helped either.
• Changes in the audio devices - nope (not even Chuck Testa).

Since there is no longer an option to downgrade to 10.9, I've tested with 10.8. That was short-lived, since 80% of the software I need no longer works on 10.8.

So we're kind of stuck with 10.x.y, currently 10.10.5.

I am now taking a different step. I'm going to try to downgrade the firmware.

This is the current situation.

ℹ

I'll post an update if I succeed... 😐

[update: no success (yet)]

I guess we're doomed.

Please keep us updated if the solution you mentioned still working with you.ℹ

I now have disabled 'Use LCD font smoothing…' and 'Use dark menu bar and Dock'. I think the problems have something to do with the way Mac OS X 10.10 (or the latest firmware) addresses the extended video memory.

ℹ When using 4GB of memory, the Intel HD graphics 4000 initially used a mere 256MB. When upgrading to 8GB or 16GB (which I am using now), the memory is extended to 1024MB. With this the timings and allocations must be adjusted accordingly.

What I have seen with the glitches it looked like OS X tried to address a larger amount of memory than available. The reason to disable font smoothing is to limit the amount of memory used for normal operations, and disabling the dark menu bar makes it easier to see small glitches.

I am about 80% sure that it all has to do with memory allocation and people using dual displays with 'normal' resolutions (up to 1920x1080) and 16GB of memory won't experience the problem. Please let me know if that is the case, even though it won't solve the problem

What you are describing sounds like my situation. I have 16GB and two displays, 1920 x 1200 and 1440 x 900. Intel HD Graphics 4000 using 1024 MB.

I can also report that I have gone almost a week without flickering or kernel panics. The only thing I did was click "Reduce transparency."

I used that setting initially and found that it worked with OS X 10.10.3. After upgrading 10.10.4 the problems returned. Now, with 10.10.5 I will again use reduced transparency.

System Preferences:

General -> Use dark menu bar and Dock [off]

General -> Use LCD font smoothing when available [off]

Accessibility -> Display -> Reduce Transparency [on]

What these settings (seem to) do, is reduce the amount of direct activity to the video memory controller.

I hope El Capitan solves the problem.

I have the same problem. I have 13" MacBook Pro mid2012, Intel HD Graphics 4000 , and 16GB RAM.

Updating from 10.10.2 to 10.10.3 in my external monitor and in the LCD of the Macbook Pro appears a flicker from time to time in a block of pixels in random places. I had also two kernel panics: i) updating to 10.10.3 and ii) after a clean install of 10.10.4. I cannot reproduce the problem

When I verify permissions after a restart I always see the following lines:

User differs on “private/var/db/displaypolicyd”; should be 0; user is 244.

Group differs on “private/var/db/displaypolicyd”; should be 0; group is 244.

In Console the displaypolicyd.log gives everyday:

u>25289690 /usr/libexec/displaypolicyd: Version: V1.0 starting [0]

u>25469199 /usr/libexec/displaypolicyd: Started at Sat Aug 15 17:14:45 2015

u>61126017 ERROR: AGDC suppport not present in system

u>61126099 ERROR: Policy engine instance init failed

I've tried almost everything (reset PRAM, SMC, clean install of 10.10.3, clean install of 10.10.4) but the flickering and the displaypolicyd problem remains.

Rolling back to 10.10.2 with Time Machine the problem ends but the displaypolicyd problem is still there.

I sent the MacBook to an authorized Apple service, they checked it with multiple monitors but they were unable to reproduce the problem!!!!!

As they told me, my MacBook passed all the hardware tests. So I took it back with the unsolved problem.

I reported this bug twice (10.10.3 and 10.10.4). Apple engineering requested to launch the TimingSnoop.app and submit the output information in order to further investigate the issue. After this they sent me an email, "Engineering has determined that your bug report (20701735) is a duplicate of another issue (20800766) and will be closed". I received the same email when I resubmit the issue after the 10.10.4 update.

I'll try a clean install of 10.10.5 and I'II reduce transparency and I'll be back with updates

I tried a clean install of 10.10.5 but the flicker problem remains.

Additionally the "reduce transparency" fix does not work for me.

Many owners of mac mini 2012 and MacBook Pro suffering the same problem like you (including my self 😟 ) you can find a lot of threads here about this topic, some people believe that this problem related to the video card HD4000!! , I don't remember this problem till 10.10.3 update,

did you upgrade the memory by your self with 3d party memory or it's apple once? if it's not the original try to put back the old once if you have them and see,

do you have SSD? is it 3d party? I have noticed that most of users who complaining about this issue did upgrade their computer with 3d party components! 😕

Disable Font Smoothing also.

I have had a stable system since my last post.

"Disable Font Smoothing" I have tried that but it's hurting my eyes 😟

did you replace the original HDD with 3d paty SSD? I notes that many users who have this issue did replace the HDD with SSD or upgrade the memory with 3d party memory!

There have been various posts about the Intel HD 4000 graphics system and possible bugs in Mac OS X 10.10.x

Here's what actually happened:

With the introduction of OS X 10.10 ("Yosemite") some people noticed a problem when trying to wake their system from sleep. It appeared that a power management bug had crept into the upgrade. This had to be resolved in 10.10.1: "Addresses an issue that could prevent some Mac mini computers from waking from sleep". - About the OS X Yosemite v10.10.1 Update - Apple Support

Unfortunately, problems still kept arising. It looked random, so 10.10.2 couldn't solve it, and there were some security problems that had to be dealt with first.

When 10.10.3 came along, iPhoto had been replaced with the (poorly designed) "Photos" application. Then more security issues arose. Also, a quick fix had to be made with 10.10.3-1: "The OS X Yosemite 10.10.3 Supplemental Update fixes a video driver issue that may prevent your Mac from starting up when running certain apps that capture video." - OS X Yosemite 10.10.3 Supplemental Update 1.0

Not much had been specified, but people using the Intel HD 4000 started to experience problems.

Apple, now getting some bad feedback about both OS X and the new iOS at the same time came with a solution which "Addresses an issue that prevented certain external monitors from functioning properly", namely OS X 10.10.4 - OS X Yosemite 10.10.4 Update

People cheered at first, because Apple seemed to follow its bimonthly release schedule and came up with a solution. It worked for some, but people with Intel HD 4000 systems trying to keep their Mac in shape felt left out.

The latest version of "Yosemite", 10.10.5 helped make the system more secure and perhaps more stable, but still... A possible memory leak, or a serious video timing issue is a still recurring nightmare to some users.

So in summary:

After I upgraded the original SODIMMs provided by Apple by larger, more reliable, Corsair modules the system worked fine. After doubting them, I tried Kingston instead, with other specifications - all within the specifications provided by Apple Mac mini (Late 2012): Memory specifications and upgrades - Apple Support. Going back to OS X 10.8 no problems appeared. Other users I know were reluctant to move from 10.9 to 10.10 because of driver compatibility, so in this case n=1. Since others now have explained similar problems, the only thing I can do now is share to compare:

• I have changed some System Settings to the ones posted earlier.
• I use a Mac Mini i7 2.3 (Late 2012) with Kingston HyperX Impact DDR3 RAM - currently more can be found here: http://www.kingston.com/en/hyperx/memory/impact
• All of my USB ports are occupied, some by USB powered devices.
• My current video configuration is a Mini DisplayPort-DVI adapter (Apple) to a DVI cable, connected to an LG 1920x1080 display.
• I have used the same hardware since 10.8 (the original OS), which has worked perfectly since 2013 (the year the system was built by Apple).

I hope this will help others...

By the way, there is no such thing as "3rd party" memory. Apple does not make the modules. The computers sold by Apple may contain different types of hardware internally, depending on their providers at the time of assembly. CTOs or (Apple) store-bought Macs may also be provided with different hardware. The Corsair and Kingston modules have a lifelong guarantee and were never an issue, nor was the other internal or external hardware. The only major change that started the problems were the firmware and the operating system. Also, some users have had certified (Apple) engineers test their machines, not finding any fault in the hardware.

Thank you for reply and information,

I have the Corsair 16GB mac kit and it was working perfectly since day one,

I did replace the HDD with samsung SSD 840 pro 255GB also working perfectly since day one, after 10.10.3 update the flicking and cold restart issue appears!

I did try clean install after formatting the SSD with nothing installed or attached yet to the system and had a cold restart with kernel panic while coping some files back! so the problem not have any relation to any software that might be installed on the computer! it might be the new drivers of the HD4000!?

do you think it's possible to put back the old drivers (extensions) of HD4000 that was before 10.10.3 and that might work?!

I have big hope on El Capitan now hope this issues will be addressed there 😐

I disable transparency and Smoothing and I took (as we text) a kernel panic!!!

Yes I upgrade the memory by my self . I use a Crucial 16GB (Manufacturer: 0x859B). My MBP was working just fine since 10.10.3 that I experienced the problem.