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Rmbp Screen Flickering

I am having this issue with mine. Sometimes I go for a while without it happening and other times it just won't stop and is very distracting. I'm not sure what the cause of it is or what can be done to stop it.
 
This was happening to me after a month owning the rMBP and I took it to the Apple Store where they replaced the logic board. Here I am two weeks later with the issue again and it happens randomly and not as bad as in that video. You may have noticed I commented on that video 3 weeks ago.

I don't know why it happens. Notice it mostly, if not always, in Safari. What about you guys? When does it happen to you? And is there anything oyu guys do to fix it?
 
It happens to me not just in Safari, it even happens in the OS installation screen, when I have already erased the SSD. I had it happen to 2 units of mine, it seems not many people here on the forums have experienced it.
 
appletwig said:
It happens to me not just in Safari, it even happens in the OS installation screen, when I have already erased the SSD. I had it happen to 2 units of mine, it seems not many people here on the forums have experienced it.
Click to expand...

So what are you gonna do now? I don't know what to do. I already got the logic board replaced, I figured it was a video card problem. I can live with it happening not very often, but if it picks up and starts happening more often I'm not going to be happy. I know not many people have experienced this issue, but it's clearly been happening to people.

Which model do you have?

Also, can you force it to happen? Or is it very random? Cause I can't duplicate it, which is what sucks at the Apple Store Genius Bar. That video you posted is what I showed to the Geniuses but I can't duplicate it myself.
 
There isnt a surefire way to replicate this problem. It randomly happens. But most times it would appear on Safari. Rare occasions it would appear on its own after waking from sleep. Only once it appeared on the os installation screen, that really was disturbing as it hints that it could be hardware level.

Im not sure what would trigger it off to be honest. I have already sold the unit because i am fed up with all the problems. I was using the rmbp base unit just like you.

I had my mobile phone with me when the flickering happened so i took the video and showed it to the guys at the store. Had multiple videos as it wasn't the only time it occurred.

Imo the flickering is a far more devastating problem than the screen retention issues.
 
I have exactly the same issue and it's, for me, mostly related to Safari.
I receive my rMBP at the beginning of July with Lion installed and i did not have any flickering till i update to ML. So at this point i suspect a software issue.

It would be great if all of us having this problem tell exactly how they install their system by answering those questions:

1. first system installed
2. data and application transferred wit migration assistant (Y/N)
3. system update

In my case:
1. Lion
2. Yes
3. Mountain Lion
 
alexish said:
I have exactly the same issue and it's, for me, mostly related to Safari.
I receive my rMBP at the beginning of July with Lion installed and i did not have any flickering till i update to ML. So at this point i suspect a software issue.

It would be great if all of us having this problem tell exactly how they install their system by answering those questions:

1. first system installed
2. data and application transferred wit migration assistant (Y/N)
3. system update

In my case:
1. Lion
2. Yes
3. Mountain Lion
Click to expand...

Mine came with Lion, upgraded to Mountain Lion. I had my logic board replaced and I reinstalled Mountain Lion clean after wiping/formatting the harddrive. I still get this issue from time to time and I don't know what to do about it. I can't replicate it to show Apple Genius' and I already had the logic board replaced, so..
 
I have discovered that the issue is repeatable and related to wifi on my Rmpb.
When wifi is on I have flickering, when I turn wifi off all flickering goes away.

I found that a good demonstrations is to SCP files. Whenever I SCP a file the screen goes crazy.

Here is an example

IMG_20121024_125316_818.jpg
 
Last edited:
I was on the phone with an authorized service center earlier and they ask me to plug in an exterior monitor. I did and then transferred data via scp. I expected to see the Retina display flicker and the external monitor be clear. But neither display flickered. The Retina display has not flickered since plugging in the external monitor.

I am watching to see how long this lasts.
 
The flickering is back. The external monitor fix was short lived.

If it gets bad enough to test I will check to see if turning Wifi continues to solve the problem.

It continues to occur when the WiFi connection is active.
 
So 24 hours later the flickering is back. Turning off Wifi stopped it while Wifi was off then it resumed once Wifi was back on. Connecting to a TV via HDMI stopped the flickering while connected. It is slowly starting to flicker again.
 
This issue is WiFi related, it occurs every time i´m downloading large files with full bandwith. If you turn WiFi off, the flickering stops. The WiFi antenna seems to interfere with the display.
 
Guys, this is a follow up to my previous posts. I had this issue in August and they replaced the logic board. That did nothing. Fast forward to December where I had an unrelated issue with my LCD screen. Apple replaced the screen, and I haven't had the issue since. I have heard it has to do with a pinched cable that leads from the lcd to the motherboard. I can confirm that this is the problem as someone on the Apple discussion board with a flickering screen had the issue resolved by having the LCD replaced as well.
 
The logic board replacement did not help me either. It went away for a week or so then came back. I have continued to email with Apple and no success so far.
 
Its not the logic board, its the display and the WiFi antenna wiring, the display needs to be replaced including the wiring.

@ thejadedmonkey : yes it is
 
The brightness level makes no difference at all on mine. It flickers regardless.
 
I dont have the opportunity to verify this at home, but it seems that using a 5Ghz WiFi doesnt cause flickering. My 2,4Ghz WiFi at home definitely is responsible for the flickering issue
 
Had the exact same issue with my Macbook Pro Retina - WiFi on, flickering randomly during network activity. WiFi off, rock solid.

Apple geniuses first replaced the logic board (and the battery/keyboard, which they said had an unrelated issue) - no effect, still flickering. Hard to replicate sometimes, but I got it on my iPhone as a video clip which helped illustrate the issue.

Returning for a second repair job, they next replaced the screen and the WiFi card. One of the two of those seems to have fixed the issue. Rock solid now with or without WiFi.

Got a Samsung screen with the repair as well (the old one was LG). Not sure if that was the issue, but as my old screen also had the ghosting, it's nice that both problems are solved.
 
I've also been getting this although it's quite random and only happens maybe every 20 minutes.

If I take it into the store it's very likely that it won't happen would this be an issue?
 
I found that the store was very accommodating, and having a video clip that I shot with my phone that illustrated the problem was a big help - it was no trouble at all getting it replaced.

I also bookmarked this thread to show them, as well as the youtube video at the top of the thread.
 
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