2015 Retina Macbook Screen Flicker

Also experiencing the same problem with a new 15" Retina Macbook Pro I purchased last week.

I can replicate the problem repeatedly by launching photoshop with a hi res file. Whenever I quit photoshop I get a brief screen flicker. I turned off the automatic graphics switching and the flicker disappears. It looks like it might in fact be the graphics processor switching.

Strangely though I have a 6 month old 15" Retina Macbook Pro with exactly the same spec that doesn't flicker.

I'm having the same problem with my new Macbook retina screen. I just bought it a month ago and I notice that there is a slight flicker in the screen. However, I have noticed that when it's plugged in to the power supply, the flicker goes away. I'm so disappointed. Will be taking it in to an apply store now 😟

I have a flickering issue with my 2015 MBP also. My screen will go black for about a second or slightly less.. twice. A few seconds between each blackout. It will do this maybe a half dozen times or so. Not everyday but it has occurred at least 6 times in the last 2 weeks now. I have not noticed any pattern that is causing it.

Hi i have screen flickering, freezing of screen and mouse, and also sometimes when i restart it will not restart it will fade out and then go black screen... it happens randomly.. macbook pro retina early 2015, and its only 2 months old!!! i expected a lot more from apple! i have done a reinstall of software, and pressed all sorts of special buttons as told to by apple support, i asked them if this is a common problem and they say no it is not, however if they looked online they actually have a few complaints! none which seem to be fixing the problem, and i said i don't want to be driving a hour drive every few days to fix a problem that can't be fixed, its suppose to be a new laptop and it isn't working right!!! ****** OFF! Want a new replacement, though not sure if thats going to help! gong to drive an hour to town to get apple repairer to see if he can figure it out! ill update as to what they say. Boo Apple! was highly pro apple before this i have apple iPhones, and all my kids have iPads and our last macbook pro was great! till it got damaged, and needed replacing... i certainly won't be telling all our family and friends that apple products are the best anymore!

I am at Apple Zorlu (Turkey) to get my device. They called me today, they fixed so come and get it. They did not do anything on my computer. They said we fixed there is no problem. When I tested PROBLEM IS THERE. Apple lied to me. What a shame.

New logic board, software etc. does not solve the problem. Be aware that Apple lies to their customers. Demand a new computer. I do not trust Apple anymore

How often is yours flickering? Mine has flickering more frequently recently, within the last hour, my screen has flickered at least 3 times. That's very annoying! Apple's denial of this issue makes things even worse.

I have a few day under original warranty and then I'll have to purchase Apple Care if I want to extend my warranty. Not sure if I should sell my Macbook and get a PC, or get Apple Care.

I have the same model and same problems. My computer never did this until I took it in for repair. Apple replaced my screen and now it also intermittently flickers as you describe.

I've downloaded this app "gfxCardStatus" to monitor which graphics card my computer was using when the flickering is a problem. I've been running this for a week and I'm almost certain it's the automatic switching between the two graphics cards (internal and discrete). You are able to turn off the automatic switching in within energy settings, but you'll be running the more powerful card all the time, consuming more battery life.

It's interesting that there were no problems before my screen was replaced. I read somewhere that they have two suppliers for the retina displays. Perhaps one is better with the automatic switching that the other, who knows.

I'm uncertain that this solves all flickering issues but certainly the one I'm experiencing, maybe only the issues for this model.

Same problem!

MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015)

Processor 2.5 GHz Intel Core i7

Memory: 16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3

Graphics: Intel Iris Pro 1536 MB and the AMD Radion R9 M370X

OS 10.11.1 with the the firmware upgrade from July 22 2015

I am also suffering from this exact problem. Originally with a late 2013 MBPr, which had the problem from the outset, it took me almost a year of fighting Apple (2 full logic board + display replacements, clean OSX installs to prove it was not software related, several visits to the Genius Bar, local reseller and numerous long calls to AppleCare) to get acceptance and a replacement unit.

I received that replacement 2015 MBPr this week and it amazingly suffers the same problem.

This originally lead me back to believing that it could be a software issue causing the flicker, it's the same pattern as the posts above, put the machine under stress and the discreet GPU switches to the dedicated and there's a millisecond flicker, usually the top half of the screen. However, this is a fresh install, minimal software and I ran the last machine through clean installs.

The only conclusion I can draw is this is a deeper routed OSX problem, perhaps they haven't figured out how to perfectly hand off the screen from one GPU to the other and the result is the occasional flicker. I'm dealing with it for now as the amount of effort exuded on getting them to validate the replacement wasn't worth it.

One way to fix this issue is switching GPU to integrate only. It works with gfxCardStatus. Unfortunately don't know how to fix it with dynamic switching.

Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015

OSX El Capitan 10.11.1

R9 M370X

Hello,

I had the samedi problem on a mid-2014 MBP and nvidia GPU.... Apple changed my GPU.... But doesn't fix my problem so Apple change me the MBP to a mid-2015 with AMD same issues.....

i'm on Yosemite, but i was on El Capitan Notting changed.....

I also started getting this problem with my late 2013 MBP after upgrading to El Capitan. Never had a problem with Mavericks or Yosemite. Have to settle by disabling automatic graphics switching for now. Appears to only happen when the integrated graphics (Intel Iris Pro) is used.

I have the same problem with my newest 15.5-inch MBP retina mid-2015. Recently It happen many times per day. And I have done nothing, I just coding the code. It seems doesn't need to change the GPU. So why this happen? I am going to reinstall my OS this weekend and check if the problem is still there.This is really a bad experience when I am coding.

My MBP Info

El Capitan

10.11.2

MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015)

Processor 2.8 GHz Intel Core i7

Memory 16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3

Graphics AMD Radeon R9 M370X 2048 MB

Try disabling automatic graphics switching anyway from the energy settings. Sometimes OSX will still try to switch to discrete graphics when it feels there's slight increase in graphics load. That happens to my Macbook pro during browsing when you think there ought to be no need for switching to discrete. If this solution doesn't help then your problem is a different one then the one described here and could be hardware related. Let me know how you go.

Thanks for your advise. Today I have tried disabling automatic graphics switching anyway from the energy settings. In this case it still has the flicker problem. And I also try the gfxCardStatus application. When I set both the Discrete Only and Dynamic Switching type. The problem still exist. But if I set the Integrated Only the problem was gone. So It will be the discrete graphic card's problem. I bought such an expensive laptop and I can't use the discrete graphics. This really makes me angry. This weekend I will try to reinstall my OS. If the problem still there, I think I should go to the Apple Store and ask genius for a reason.

It seems that for 2015 models using the discrete AMD graphics leads to the problem while for late 2013 models it's using the intel iris pro that leads to the problem. Surely something is wrong with El Capitan. I am also having issues with detecting external monitors. With Yosemite I have had no such problems at all even though the interface gets a bit laggy with transparency on when multiple monitors are used. I am thinking of downgrading but it's just too much hassle for now....