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15" rMBP flickers in the bottom 3rd of the screen. Hardware?

F

Freida

Suspended
Original poster
Oct 22, 2010
4,077
5,874
Hello guys,

is there a way to test my screen to see if its hardware or software related? My screen sometimes flickers (for 1 sec every 15-30mins but its very random) but I'm worried to replace it as I have Samsung screen and when I got this I had to go through a lot of LG replacements as all had ghosting issues. Are there things you can think of that I could try before I go to the Apple store for them to have a look?
I really hope its just a software glitch as I have everything else perfect :)
 
Test in linux or windows. Hook up to an external monitor. If you have access to one, hook up an eGPU.
 
rabidz7 said:
Test in linux or windows. Hook up to an external monitor. If you have access to one, hook up an eGPU.
Click to expand...

Ok, I can try that. And if it does it on the external screen then is it software or GPU?

I mean, what to look for then? :D
Thank you
 
lower 3rd of the screen flickers? I can't imagine how could that be a software issue.

What happens if you run it at different resolution? i.e. 1920*1200
 
Freida said:
Ok, I can try that. And if it does it on the external screen then is it software or GPU?

I mean, what to look for then? :D
Thank you
Click to expand...

If it does it, it could be anything.
But if it doesn't do it, it is the rMBP screen.
 
ok, so here is little update.

I used to use 1650x1080 and that was flickering quite often.
I changed to 1920x1080 and it reduced the flickering a lot. Almost nothing to be honest. (so far so it flickered 2x)
I'm also trying "best for retina" (1440x900) and that is almost nothing either. (saw it 1x so far)

In most cases the flickering happens when I refresh page or when something is changing so maybe it could be the automatic gpu switching? I might try to disable it to see any difference ;)
Any other ideas, please?
Still haven't tried the 2nd screen yet.
 
ok, I ran apple diagnostic tool and it gave no errors.
Now testing the automatic gpu switching turned off.
Lets see if it makes any difference.
Otherwise apple store it is but they are full till friday 13th :))
 
UPDATE: turned off automatic GPU switching and it fixed the problem. Now, does that mean that it is a software issue or does it mean that the integrated intel GPU is broken?
 
well apple hardware test does not really do a good job in finding much of the hardware issues. YOu could first ensure you have all the latest updates, do a permissions repair and then if it does not seem to help re-instal osx. You could however have apple do this for you they do have a better set of diagnostics.
 
Freida said:
UPDATE: turned off automatic GPU switching and it fixed the problem. Now, does that mean that it is a software issue or does it mean that the integrated intel GPU is broken?
Click to expand...

Best course of action is when this occurs again then to record it using your phone. Take it to apple to show them and they will replace your screen. It's defective.
 
This sounds like the issue mine is having, it's like a screen tearing/artifacting that happens on the lower 3rd of the screen.

Apple support had me reset the SMC/PRAM and that mostly cleared the issue as it was happening every 5-10 minutes and sometimes more before, but I did notice it still occasionally happens afterwards and the issue wasn't completely gone. My MBP is in for servicing right now and that is one of the issues I told them to look into (other issues: bad image retention on the screen, HDMI signal cutting out randomly)
 
thedarkhorse said:
This sounds like the issue mine is having, it's like a screen tearing/artifacting that happens on the lower 3rd of the screen.

Apple support had me reset the SMC/PRAM and that mostly cleared the issue as it was happening every 5-10 minutes and sometimes more before, but I did notice it still occasionally happens afterwards and the issue wasn't completely gone. My MBP is in for servicing right now and that is one of the issues I told them to look into (other issues: bad image retention on the screen, HDMI signal cutting out randomly)
Click to expand...
Yep, that sounds just like mine. I've switched off the automatic GPU switching and it almost went away. Now it does it 1-2 a day whereas before it was like every 10 mins or so
Please update me when you get it back to see what they did. Tomorrow I'm booking appointment for next week so they can have a look :)
And when you get it please check if its samsung or lg :)

Thank you man
 
unfortunately the repair centre couldn't replicate the screen tear issue (maybe I shouldn't have reset pram before bringing it in). They are replacing my screen, I will check it when I get the machine back probably next week to see if it is samsung. With a couple weeks left on my warranty I might have to go for the applecare when I get it back in case the tearing/flickering rears it's head again in the future.
 
thedarkhorse said:
unfortunately the repair centre couldn't replicate the screen tear issue (maybe I shouldn't have reset pram before bringing it in). They are replacing my screen, I will check it when I get the machine back probably next week to see if it is samsung. With a couple weeks left on my warranty I might have to go for the applecare when I get it back in case the tearing/flickering rears it's head again in the future.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't risk it to go without apple care on the retina. When they replace the screen next week, look on the receipt how much would it be if you had to pay for it :)
 
Well I will still have another year coverage through my visa, but I imagine it will be more of a hassle to get servicing/replacements done through visa rather than through apple/certified apple repair stores directly.
 
Freida said:
Yep, that sounds just like mine. I've switched off the automatic GPU switching and it almost went away. Now it does it 1-2 a day whereas before it was like every 10 mins or so
Please update me when you get it back to see what they did. Tomorrow I'm booking appointment for next week so they can have a look :)
And when you get it please check if its samsung or lg :)

Thank you man
Click to expand...

Just got it back, stress testing they couldn't replicate the flicker/artifact issue after I reset the pram, but they did replace the LG screen with a Samsung :)
 
I don't wanna ruin it but so far it seems that 10.8.5 fixed the issue. Let's hope its correct :)

----------
thedarkhorse said:
Just got it back, stress testing they couldn't replicate the flicker/artifact issue after I reset the pram, but they did replace the LG screen with a Samsung :)
Click to expand...
Congrats. Make sure you run all the ghosting tests etc :)
 
ok, so Apple replaced the logic board. Lets hope all will be ok :)
 
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