This poll is a bit disturbing. I expected maybe 20% at most to be affected. 50%??
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Vega MBP screen flickering (with Poll!)
- Thread starter ThisBougieLife
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And I'm wondering for those that voted no if they're using an external display and just haven't noticed the flickering yet.
Yes, if you are patient the flicker will come eventually. It could be once a day or once a week. But never in a productivity app only web browsing.
One person said there were getting flickering on a Vega 20 MacPro using applications other than web browsers.
I found out how to replicate the flicker every time.
What I have found triggers it is:
1. Open a program that uses GPU acceleration like Photoshop which triggers the use of the Vega 20 over the Intel GPU
2. Put your computer to sleep without closing the application that is using your Discrete gpu.
3. Upon waking up from sleep and unlocking your MacBook pro, you will get the screen flicker.
My only fix is to:
1. Close any application that is using the Vega 20 (or dynamic switching)
2. Manually swap (i use gfxCardStatus) from Vega 20 to the Intel GPU
3. Then switch back to Vega 20 (or dynamic switching),
4. The problem then goes away until I sleep again with the Vega 20 on.
To me, since this has only been occurring since 10.14.2, I think its a driver issue and not a hardware defect. I never had this issue upon release on 10.14.1, which makes me interested to see if Apple fixes it on 10.14.3
So putting the computer to sleep while the dGPU is activated is key. That would explain why I had the problem so much because I had graphics switching disabled, so the dGPU was activated all the time. And yes, for me it never happened before 10.4.2, so hopefully that does mean software issue.
Yup! I did, so hopefully I hear back since I figured out how to consistently reproduce the bug
I have an appointment at the Apple Store tomorrow. It will be interesting to see what they say about it. I too will most likely just return the laptop and wait till they have this issue resolved.
2018 MacBook Pro 15" i9/32GB/Vega20/1TB
No issues at all - computer has been flawless. I tested your specific request and had no flickering. For what it's worth, when I purchased the laptop the first thing I did before setting it up was an internet recovery wipe and reinstall of the MacOS. I do not know how this would have made any difference, but it is as fresh a copy of 10.14.2 you can possibly get.
I am currently exporting a larger photo edit (2,500 photos) from RAW to JPEG and have had the fans and Vega 20 going for awhile; computer even fell asleep once and I woke it back up. No issues with flickering at all.
For what it is worth, I do NOT use any type of external monitor, nor do I have one to test, so I cannot personally address anything related to that. Week 49 (December 2018) build date on mine if that matters to anyone.
From reading the reports in this thread, I will go out on a limb and say that the issue is most likely related to software. There have been no widespread complaints of everyone flickering on the Vega 20 by itself, and a majority of the occurrences all have differing triggers and results. Don't get me wrong, the GPU is the issue, but it's the software controlling it or implementing it that is the real issue.
No issues at all - computer has been flawless. I tested your specific request and had no flickering. For what it's worth, when I purchased the laptop the first thing I did before setting it up was an internet recovery wipe and reinstall of the MacOS. I do not know how this would have made any difference, but it is as fresh a copy of 10.14.2 you can possibly get.
I am currently exporting a larger photo edit (2,500 photos) from RAW to JPEG and have had the fans and Vega 20 going for awhile; computer even fell asleep once and I woke it back up. No issues with flickering at all.
For what it is worth, I do NOT use any type of external monitor, nor do I have one to test, so I cannot personally address anything related to that. Week 49 (December 2018) build date on mine if that matters to anyone.
From reading the reports in this thread, I will go out on a limb and say that the issue is most likely related to software. There have been no widespread complaints of everyone flickering on the Vega 20 by itself, and a majority of the occurrences all have differing triggers and results. Don't get me wrong, the GPU is the issue, but it's the software controlling it or implementing it that is the real issue.
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If I were you, I'd be testing it out on an external monitor before it's too late and you can't return it. Try hooking it to an external monitor in 90-degree portrait mode. I would bet then you'd have flickering on your MacBook screen espcially if it is a Vega 20 post-November 14, 2018 build.
I will have to see if I can find one to test out. Like I mentioned above, I do not use external monitors, nor do I have one to test. I also won't be buying one just for the sake of testing to see if that causes the screen to flicker. I will play with AirPlay and Netflix just to see what happens.
I would also imagine that if this issue is as widespread and devastating as people are making it out to be, Apple will implement a repair program. Regardless of whether they do or not, if mine starts doing it, then that's certainly what I have AppleCare+ for. I will gladly send my laptop off at their expense until it runs to my satisfaction; much like it does now.
I would also imagine that if this issue is as widespread and devastating as people are making it out to be, Apple will implement a repair program. Regardless of whether they do or not, if mine starts doing it, then that's certainly what I have AppleCare+ for. I will gladly send my laptop off at their expense until it runs to my satisfaction; much like it does now.
If that were always true, they would've issued a repair program for the Bridge OS crashes, yet those still happen with no repair in sight.
I'm hoping that this issue is not as unsolvable as the T2 issue seems to be (which has been going on for over a year with no formal acknowledgment of the problem), and since it was introduced with 10.14.2, it seems like it is a software/firmware issue that can be fixed. All we can do is bring Apple's attention to it.
This issue remains obscure, by the fact that the Vega 20 MBP is recently released and only represents a very small percentage of Apple products (vs. say, the number of products with a T2 chip in them). But I hope it has gotten some attention.
I'm hoping that this issue is not as unsolvable as the T2 issue seems to be (which has been going on for over a year with no formal acknowledgment of the problem), and since it was introduced with 10.14.2, it seems like it is a software/firmware issue that can be fixed. All we can do is bring Apple's attention to it.
This issue remains obscure, by the fact that the Vega 20 MBP is recently released and only represents a very small percentage of Apple products (vs. say, the number of products with a T2 chip in them). But I hope it has gotten some attention.
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I still think that a majority of these issues that people see are software based. Hopefully that's all that it takes. Finding the actual issue and fixing it is a completely different story. The Vega 20 is probably a decent chunk of sales for the MacBook Pro since its release. If I had to garner a guess the Vega 16 is probably the slowest selling configuration of the three.
I spoke with Applecare and second level support extensively after receiving my second flickering machine. As of this past Wednesday, they don't know what the problem is. It's just not in my nature to be sending in for repair something I just plunked down a lot of money for. I'm looking for a fresh unit working properly right out of the box which by the way is how it should be.
I can't say that I disagree with you. I spent a hair over $5,000 for mine with AppleCare+ and taxes included. I would expect it to work perfectly out of the box. For me, mine has been flawless. That's not to say that mine wouldn't exhibit the same behavior as yours, but I use mine differently than you and others do. For me, it is a non-issue.
Aside from the flickering, it was a pretty sweet machine that's for sure; probably why I'm so upset. I've still got my coins set aside when they decide to fix the issue. I read another thread where a party said if they ran bootcamp with Windows 10 there was no flickering on the MacBook display. That's, of course, assuming they have the latest 2018 Vega 20 connected to an external display.
It has been awesome and I would unhesitatingly recommend it to anyone with the money or desire to pick one up. I upgraded from a Late 2016 15" that I have been using faithfully for the past couple of years. It served me well, but the switch to hexacore processors, 32GB of RAM, and even better graphic cards sealed my fate.
You have every right to be upset that yours did not work for you. It should be flawless for everyone for the kind of money that you and I spent on them. Like I said, mine might be just as bad, if not worse, than everyone else's but I do have a different use case scenario that doesn't replicate the problems that others are facing.
Hearing that the problem resolves itself in bootcamp furthers my suspicions that it is software related instead of hardware related; assumption that it is the same setup that we are talking about here. If that is the case, I would guess that there is either going to be a supplemental 10.14.2.X update to address the issue, or it will come with the next "major" 10.14.X release. Hopefully it really is just something stupid and that was an oversight or mistake.
I know mine was shipped with 10.14.1 and they had me upgrade to 10.14.2 then run a data diagnostic application. These were the initial steps AppleSupport took. The good news is for the video in this thread of my computer flickering I was able to record the exact time the flickering occurred and they went back and ran the diagnostic at that time to see what log files were generated. Alas, not once did flickering occur while the diagnostic tool was run...
I have a 2016 model and was interested in upgrading to the Vega model because of the significant jump in graphics performance and the improved Gen3 keyboard. I posted some of the first benchmarks from that model here; I was excited to have it. It was noticeably faster than the 2016 and I loved the keyboard improvements. Then I updated to 10.14.2 and the flickering started. 
I was so disgusted I returned it that same day (the day I posted this thread). I'll be willing to buy another one if there is a solution that works for the people in this thread. Otherwise I'm going to hold off until the 2019 model to upgrade.
I was so disgusted I returned it that same day (the day I posted this thread). I'll be willing to buy another one if there is a solution that works for the people in this thread. Otherwise I'm going to hold off until the 2019 model to upgrade.
Just to add a bit of info. When I put the screen in native resolution with no size adjustments I do not get any flickering from upon wake from sleep.
The tech at the Apple store had not heard of the flickering issue before and they replaced the laptop with a new one. I setup the new laptop at the store. The default install was 10.14.1 and I turned the Automatic Graphics Switching off, set the resolution to "Looks like 1440x900" (one below Default) and put the unit to sleep and woke it back up - the screen did not flicker. I proceeded to update it to 10.14.2, checked the same switching and resolution settings and put it to sleep and woke it back up - it flickered just like my other laptop!
I had them do a return on the freshly opened laptop and will wait to see if/when this issue is resolved before purchasing another.