MacBook Pro screen flickering solution

Update. Bad News.

I did a full wipe/re-install last night, and it began flickering this morning. No dice. I’m done trying to fix this thing.

I’m taking it to the store this morning and will speak to the store manager. I’ve had it less than ninety (90) days since the last repair, it hasn’t gone more than four (4) months since I got it last July without needing a repair. Not a scratch or dent on this machine, it’s carried in a neoprene sleeve, in a padded bag.

So far, the butcher’s tally has me at...

- Display

- Main Logic Board

- Top Case with Battery

Anecdotal to this issue, this 2017 MacBook Pro was a replacement for my original 2015 model that the Apple Store and/or AppleCare was seemingly unable to fix as it kept coming back with problems: kernel panics, dead video, crooked MagSafe, and display hinge. At one point, it came in and went right back out the same day—what a circus.

I don’t lend myself to hyperbole but I think I am willing to give an iPad Pro or a competitor Windows laptop a try at this point. If I didn’t dislike Windows so much, I probably would’ve already bought something else by now. I’ll see what happens today. Wish me luck at the store.

Your story mirrors mine almost identically. I had a 2015 MBP that had consistent issues. They replaced display and logic board on that model and issues continued IN STORE when I went to pick it up after the repair. They told me they had “exhausted all their options” despite it still being under warranty. I got a 2017 MBP in January and have had 3 replacements all with the same issues. Have done a full wipe and reinstall of OS. Set up like new without the backup. Nothing works. They test the computer in store and tell me it passes all the hardware tests and it must be a software issue. The rep that helped me in store told me he has personally had over 100 customers with the exact same issue, that Apple knows about it and “hopefully they fix it and push something out in a software update eventually”. This is a well-documented issue, they just aren’t admitting it publicly for fear of having to refund a couple million dollars.

Good Luck,

My Retina Pro is from 2013, the screen flicker began after installing high sierra.

I seemed to have quieted it down a lot by going to energy saver and setting display to never turn off.

I am using a Dell U2412M monitor that has been working flawlessly for almost 5 years. Not really worried about the energy savings and the screen saver is fine, but I am sure this will shorten the monitor life a bit.

Apple should make this a priority fix, the flicker makes the unit completely unusable.

Just got home a little bit ago from the store. They are going to check it in and run “stress testing” on it. No explanations yet but a promise for a diagnosis and an update in two days.

In the meantime, my backup is my wife’s old 2009 unibody 13” white MacBook that hasn’t skipped a beat in nine years. My fear is they’ll send it to depot and it’ll just come back worse-not-better like before. I’m disappointed but not surprised given the circus my 2015 model went through.

I was hoping to at least get three years out of this thing before needing any major work but it looks like it won’t go more than four months without failure of some kind. I have AppleCare+ on it but it does nothing to ameliorate or compensate for the lost time of being without a computer, and makes me want to throw in the towel on the whole thing.

I’ll be at Costco later today so I’ll stop and look at what they have for a 15” screen that can last at least a few hours on battery. One thing I did like about this MacBook Pro was the battery life so that’ll definitely be a concession I’ll have to make if I jump ship and buy a Windows notebook. 😐

Hi,

Any solution to this issue?

I went to apple store 3 times and they keep sending me back saying that they were unable to reproduce it.

The apple service is really bad with this issue.

They should definitely recall these laptops or atleast replace the required parts to fix this issue.

As frustrated as I've been with this issue, I don't know if a recall will be the answer but rather a software update or a repair extension. I've come close a few times to just throwing in the towel but I have to remind myself that it's Apple, not [insert name of PC company here], and it'll get fixed eventually.

If the issue is hardware, and the Apple Store (or AppleCare Customer Service) is unable to find the problem, then it's worth it to keep pressing for a resolution, especially if you have AppleCare coverage. Just because they can't reproduce it doesn't mean it isn't happening. I went in with two (2) videos of the issue while it was happening, and put them on the computer itself. --It may be worth it to do the same, especially noting the time it happened.

I spoke with a Genius at the local store, and it was suggested that AppleCare can "escalate" the issue to their engineering department. If you are under warranty or have AppleCare coverage on the machine, it is definitely worth your time to contact AppleCare (customer service) for resolve first, and build a solid case history, too.

Meanwhile, I am curious if anyone affected has tried the 10.13.6 Public Beta or "downgraded" back to Sierra; it may be worth a try to see if the issue is resolved (my $$$ says if it is software, and it is fixed then it'll be in the High Sierra beta).

One other thing...

+ Microsoft Office 2016. When reinstalling, has anyone ran their machine without installing Office 2016 (if you use it), and replicated the issue? I've seen a few comments that said it started when they installed Office 2016 on Google searches but it may be a red herring. I am allergic to Microsoft products but have used Office 2016. I did not install it after the last wipe/reinstall, and am currently crossing my fingers.

I’ve had my MBP for a couple of months. Flickering started after updating to High Sierra - then stopped. Starting flickering again after finally getting around to the latest OS update. By choice and undergoing a learning curve with Pages, Numbers, etc, have NOT installed any Microsoft software. So I’d say MS Office and flickering are not connected, but something in the OS updates.

I am also experiencing this problem (screen flickering), purchased my 2017 MacBook Pro back in March 2018. I noticed a lot of other people are experiencing this problem also, I hope Apple owns up to the fact that there is a major problem here and fixes the issue one way or another.

I noticed someone else who claimed to have this issue said that it was Firefox causing it, it went away the minute he stopped using it.

Acting on this hunch, I run Firefox mainly for work-related stuff (esp. Canvas, Turnitin, etc.) so I took it off of my Mac, removed all the residuals (see link below), rebooted, reset SMC and NVRAM, and knock-on-wood I'm not seeing the issue (for now).

I don't run Chrome or any other browsers than Safari so I can't say if this is affecting any other browsers or not. I just read somewhere it was Firefox that made the difference. I don't know if this is going to help anyone but it may be worth a shot. ♂

Link: Uninstall Firefox from your computer | Firefox Help

It has never happened to me. 13" or 15"? You should follow idenizen's advice above. The graphical issues are usually the result of overheating. Try downloading smcfancontrol and set the fan to a higher rpm to see it gets rid of the glitches for a while to rule out overheating.

Finally someone else with the pink screen issue. I have had the pink screen when opening the lid for months, never sure what was causing this but its been around for a while. Looking online I was never able to find a reference and was thinking to book a genius appointment. However just now my screen also started flickering and would come back on when pushing the trackpad, but would go off agin in an instant. I have recorded a video as proof, but am curious. Did anything work for you, if so what was the outcome?

Sometimes I have the flickering, sometimes not. I couldn't relate to any software used.

Then I noticed that I could specifically reproduce the flickering, i.e. in the moments when it also occurred by changing the automatic switching option of the chipset graphics and the graphics card on or off.

After turning off the option, so my MacBook no longer switches itself between chipset graphic and graphic card, and always uses the graphics card, the problem no longer exists.

This solves for me the flickering problem.

But I still don't know what's causing the flickering. Because sometimes it didn't happen for days in a row and then suddenly again.

After all, it's permanently gone for now. Simply switch permanently to the graphics card.

My screen has been flickering and it was completely annoying, but yesterday I applied the fix described above, I switched off automatic switching for graphics and seems my dear MacBook doesn't do it again.

But anyway, this is just a workaround and I do believe it must be fixed in the new MacOS.

Has anyone tried to update to MacOS Mojave and check whether this problem occurs or not?

Unfortunately, mine barely lasted a week without the flickering off and on.

Literally, all I have installed is...

• ScanSnap Software (Fujitsu scanner)

• Epson Printer software

• Myst (my guilty pleasure)

• PDF Expert

The only change that has changed before it started again was I put on a movie in iTunes and it flickered off/on/off three times in two days. I also noticed it flickers (like tracking on an old VCR) for a few seconds when I started an iTunes movie (Wall•E if anyone was curious).

Closing and reopening the lid only worked once, I had to shut it down to get it back the other two times. This was the replacement MacBook Pro and it’s doing the same thing again—off, on, off.

I finally just shut it down and put it in the closet. Back to using my wife’s old ‘09 13” white MacBook again.

I’m more than a little disappointed right now with this thing, and feel like a fool for all the time I’ve wasted trying to get this thing fixed.

Ok everyone. After spending a whole day on this issue and several hours with tech support, I had to reinstall OS 10.13.5. I was told it was probably an install issue. Of course reinstall is a couple hours. Still no fix. Deciding not to call again, I reinstalled 10.13.4 from a backup. Lost a month’s work which was not to bad because I use a Dropbox. I hope to try again, but not anytime soon.