Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Glitch in browser on mbp late 2013

Y

yosh22

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 14, 2019
27
16
Hello! First post and hope to maybe find some help. I just bought a second-hand macbook pro late 2013, everything works fine it´s really in mint condition but I have a black frame "glitch" happening when I move the mouse over some elements under firefox or safari. I could find a website where i can reproduce it quite easily, happens only when the internal graphic card is working (intel Iris Pro, 5200 I suppose). With the Nivida switched on, no problem.

I did a fresh install of Sierra.. High Sierra, same problem. Can´t do anything more than updating the OS.. Tried Mojave shortly on another drive didn´t seem to happen as "easily" but I could reproduce it once.

I first though it could be "flux" so I uninstalled it completely, no change.
I have no special extensions in the browsers.
I deactivated "use internal graphic card" in firefox, no change..
Strangely I have some duplicates in Color Profiles under monitor settings (Adobe RGB 1998 twice etc..)

It´s one black frame fullscreen that flashes randomly on a hyperlink or something when you move your cursor, very disturbing. And I don´t know where to look next.

Here is a small video of the problem. If I record it with QuickTime it automatically switches on the Nvidia so had to shoot with the phone, bit shaky.

https://i.imgur.com/SucMAQm.mp4
 
yosh22 said:
Hello! First post and hope to maybe find some help. I just bought a second-hand macbook pro late 2013, everything works fine it´s really in mint condition but I have a black frame "glitch" happening when I move the mouse over some elements under firefox or safari. I could find a website where i can reproduce it quite easily, happens only when the internal graphic card is working (intel Iris Pro, 5200 I suppose). With the Nivida switched on, no problem.

I did a fresh install of Sierra.. High Sierra, same problem. Can´t do anything more than updating the OS.. Tried Mojave shortly on another drive didn´t seem to happen as "easily" but I could reproduce it once.

I first though it could be "flux" so I uninstalled it completely, no change.
I have no special extensions in the browsers.
I deactivated "use internal graphic card" in firefox, no change..
Strangely I have some duplicates in Color Profiles under monitor settings (Adobe RGB 1998 twice etc..)

It´s one black frame fullscreen that flashes randomly on a hyperlink or something when you move your cursor, very disturbing. And I don´t know where to look next.

Here is a small video of the problem. If I record it with QuickTime it automatically switches on the Nvidia so had to shoot with the phone, bit shaky.

https://i.imgur.com/SucMAQm.mp4
Click to expand...
It took a bit to see the issue on the video, but I see it too.

My suggestion would be to try an SMC and NVRAM reset. Either one of those should fix the issue. If it still does it after that I’d reach out to Apple to have them look at it.

It almost looks like a backlight going out for a second and then flashing back on.
 
Yes sorry the video was longer had to shorten it and it start first showing no problem.

I already tried all the resets didn’t change anything unfortunately. Reaching out to Apple will I think end up to “we can change you the motherboard for $$$.. discussion”. Yes the complete screen goes blank for a mili-second, not a good feeling. Don’t know if it will go worse or better on the long run.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Painter2002
yosh22 said:
Yes sorry the video was longer had to shorten it and it start first showing no problem.

I already tried all the resets didn’t change anything unfortunately. Reaching out to Apple will I think end up to “we can change you the motherboard for $$$.. discussion”. Yes the complete screen goes blank for a mili-second, not a good feeling. Don’t know if it will go worse or better on the long run.
Click to expand...
So you don’t have this issue occur anywhere else under any other application? And doesn’t it only happen on certain websites?
 
Only in the browsers, all the rest is fine. That´s the crasy thing. Happen on any website, search results duckduckgo if you move on a link it can flash or doesn´t, randomly. On the link I filmed I can reproduce it with moving the mouse from one graphic bloc to the other quickly as in the video, I will not flash the 10 times I pass on it and then flash again.
 
I had tough time following your activity.
Are you talking about the screen flash not the browser window.

I have the screen flash set up on purpose.
 
Yes the screen flashes, happens randomly when moving the mouse over some elements in a browser.
For example the number #7 on the right of my post. If i move my cursor on it, it flashes the screen once and then not again. If I repeat going on it 10 times, it flashes once again randomly.

Now I went 50 times rapidly over it, it flashed only 2 times..
Cursor change, graphic upload, screen refresh.. I don´t understand it.
 
Last edited:
upload_2019-2-14_9-25-14.png


Turn it on and off to test if it is that.
 
yosh22 said:
Yes the screen flashes, happens randomly when moving the mouse over some elements in a browser.
For example the number #7 on the right of my post. If i move my cursor on it, it flashes the screen once and then not again. If I repeat going on it 10 times, it flashes once again randomly.
Click to expand...

Is it a particular site? It may just be poor coding on the webpage.
 
Last edited:
yosh22 said:
Only in the browsers, all the rest is fine. That´s the crasy thing. Happen on any website, search results duckduckgo if you move on a link it can flash or doesn´t, randomly. On the link I filmed I can reproduce it with moving the mouse from one graphic bloc to the other quickly as in the video, I will not flash the 10 times I pass on it and then flash again.
Click to expand...
Are you using any kind of Safari extension like an Adblocker? I'd try clearing your browser history and caches, and turn off any Adblock that might be causing the glitch.

If it only does it under a web browser, I am inclined to say it's a software bug, that might be fixed in future updates, but I could be wrong.
 
Unfortunately it does the same on a fresh install.

- It happens apparently only on clickable links
- only when the cursor gets "out" of the clickable zone not "in", when the hand symbol become a mouse symbol again.
- it´s random
- if it was software I wouldn´t be the only one. If it´s hardware why is it only happening on browser links? What is happening on the hardware side when a mouse cursor comes back in a non clickable field? The cursor change the graphic icon can´t understand more. On film it looks like a white flash but in real it looks like the whole monitor get blank for 1 frame.
 
I now understand better what is going on. Just happened for the first time under Mojave as the cursor left an application window so it´s not browser related. It´s when the cursor changes back from the "Link cursor" icon into a "mouse cursor"
icons2.jpg

It´s totally random, it will not glitch 50 times and than flash the entire screen.
I dont´know if it´s a software or hardware issue.
 
sorry to bring it back up. Just a small update. After installing Mojave (that feels somehow way better than H.Sierra btw) I had this glitch between app windows and the desktop. I installed GfX Card Status that helped to see when I was using which card, Safe Mode didn´t help as I could see that it uses the Nvidia as default, but coming back into Mojave (14.3) and after some days of using it, the problem is apparently gone, crasy like by magic. No idea what happened or why it disappeared now after still having the problem in the same Os update couple of days before. Would have loved to understand it but most important, all good now.

So thanks for the help. Maybe it can help someone else having this issue.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back