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If you"ve ever had a flickering MacBook Pro® screen, you know how easily it can ruin your work day or movie night. Fortunately, there are some simple fixes that can help resolve the problem.

At Asurion, when tech breaks, we fix it—whether your MacBook® won"t turn on or it needs a factory reset. We"ll walk you through what to do if your MacBook Pro screen is flickering so you can get back to what"s important.

There are various ways to try to stop your screen from flickering. Our suggestions go from simple to increasingly more complex, so start at the beginning and work your way down the list.

Updating your MacBook Pro to the latest iOS®version can solve all kinds of issues, including a flickering screen. Here"s how to confirm that your laptop is running the latest version of macOS®.Open System Preferences.

We"re all used to staring at a bright white screen, but Dark Mode offers a darker color scheme that"s easier on our eyes. Meanwhile, True Tone technology adjusts the color and intensity of your retina display to match the light around you, so that what you see on your screen appears more natural. Both features can occasionally lead to screen flickering.

Another cause of screen flickering lines on your MacBook Pro? Recently downloaded applications and files, which may have viruses. To erase them from your computer:Go to the dock and click on the Finder.

Many MacBooks come with two graphics systems. They also come with the automatic graphics switching option turned on to enable your computer to use the best one for whatever you"re doing—and to maximize battery life. But sometimes the two graphics systems can cause screen flickering. To turn off the setting:Go to Apple menu>System Preferences>Battery.

If that acronym looks more like a foreign language than a tech term, you"re not alone. NVRAM stands for non-volatile random-access memory, which stores different kinds of data, including your screen resolution, volume preferences, and time zone information. Screen flickering can start when the NVRAM is cluttered or outdated. Here"s how to reset your NVRAM:Shut down your Mac.

Your MacBook Pro"s System Management Controller (SMC) determines how your computer manages power. Much like restarting and updating, resetting the SMC can resolve various glitches, including a flickering screen. There are different ways to reset the SMC, depending on which model you have.

Doing so will help you figure out whether the software that loads as your Mac starts up is causing your screen to flicker. Keep in mind, your screen resolution may be low and your computer may run slowly—that"s normal in Safe Mode. When you"re ready, check our guide to how to start your computer in Safe Mode. If the flickering stops in Safe Mode, turn off your Mac and then turn it back on as usual—you"re good to go.

If you"ve tried the troubleshooting tips above but the screen flickering continues on your MacBook Pro, it"s time to run Apple Diagnostics. It will help figure out if there"s a hardware issue.Shut down your computer.

Does the screen on your MacBook flicker or flash randomly? Or does it happen all the time? Although both scenarios could indicate a hardware fault with the display or GPU, multiple software factors can also be at play.

This sounds simple, but a simple restart can quickly eliminate most graphical anomalies that crop up on a MacBook. So, if you haven"t done that already, open the Apple menu and select Restart. For best results, uncheck the box next to Reopen windows when logging back in on the confirmation dialog.

If you use a MacBook Pro that contains both an integrated and a discrete graphics processor, it will automatically switch between them to optimize battery life, depending on the workload. On rare occasions, though, the graphics driver can crash and cause the screen to flicker.

Check if there"s a pending system software update that could hopefully take care of your MacBook Pro"s screen flickering or flashing issues. To do that, open the System Preferences app and select Software Update.

While you"re at it, you should also update the apps on your MacBook since newer versions contain fixes and optimizations that reduce potential screen flickering triggers.

True Tone is a built-in Mac feature that automatically adjusts the color and contrast based on ambient light levels. However, it can also slightly cause the screen to flicker or shimmer.

To disable True Tone on your MacBook, open the Control Center, expand Display, and turn off the True Tone icon. Or, go to System Preferences> Displays and uncheck the box next to True Tone.

If the flickering screen problem only occurs during browser-based activities like streaming video, consider disabling hardware acceleration for your browser. In Chrome, click on the three-dots icon, go to Settings > System, and disable Use hardware acceleration when available.

Try booting your MacBook into Safe Mode next. That action alone clears your Mac"s kernel cache, runs several automatic disk checks, and resolves various underlying problems with the operating system.

To boot an Intel MacBook in Safe Mode, simply turn it off and boot it back up while holding down the Shift key. If your MacBook runs on an Apple silicon chipset, shut down and restart it without releasing the Power button; once you get to the Startup Options screen, hold down the Shift key and selectMacintosh HD >Safe Mode.

A corrupt or obsolete application and system cache are another reason your MacBook Pro may experience screen flickering issues. Onyx is an app that helps you deal with that by flushing cached data quickly.

Running Apple Diagnostics can help determine if your MacBook Pro"s screen flickering or flashing issues stem from a faulty display or graphics processor. Hold down the D key during startup to do that on an Intel Mac.

If you use an Apple silicon MacBook, turn off your Mac and turn it back on while holding down the Power button until you see the Startup Options screen. Then, press Command + D on your keyboard.

Consider performing an NVRAM or PRAM reset if you use an Intel MacBook. That clears various hardware and software preferences your Mac holds in non-volatile memory.

To do that, boot up your MacBook while holding down the Command, Option, P, and Rkeys until you hear it chime twice or see the Apple logo for the second time. If that doesn"t help, perform an SMC reset instead.

If Apple Diagnostics implies there"s nothing wrong with your MacBook"s hardware, consider reinstalling macOS. That should hopefully take care of any severe problems with the system software causing the display to flicker or flash.

If none of the fixes above help and the MacBook Pro screen flickering issues occur even outside macOS (such as at the Apple logo while turning on your MacBook), it"s likely hardware-related.

Same issue noticed on my 13" MacBook Pro 2019. I use my laptop for work on an external display. The issue never happens on the external display but when I bring the laptop home I noticed it usually happening every hour or 2 for a split second. I decided to test it further at work and used the laptop without the external monitor for 3 days and counted it happened randomly regardless of whether I was listening to youtube or typing a report on pages. It would happen probably 6 - 8 times a day completely randomly.

Before the Big Sur update, I was running a LG 27UL650-W 27" 4K UHD LED Monitor with VESA DisplayHDR 400 monitor with no issues. As a prerequisite: I have 32GB of RAM, and a 8GB AMD Radeon Pro 5500M Graphics Card that was custom-ordered with the machine. Also, it is hooked up to an Anker Docking Station (13-in-1), which outputs the sound to my speakers, which are all at least 6" away from the monitor to ensure no interference with the monitor (as I saw on a few online reports that sound interference can cause screen flickering....). There are also 3 hard drives hooked up to the Docking Station, along with the Loupedeck CT, all of which are running with no issues.

Now, I"ve had this Mac and these systems since September of last year, and I"ll admit: I"m using this Mac like I"ve never used any other Mac I"ve EVER had, which is at the highest and most intense of all the laptops I have ever owned.... Whenever I"d be using this 2nd monitor with the new Mac, the LG screen would periodically (say, every hour, then every 30 minutes after a period of weeks) go to a black screen for about a second, then function as normal. At first, I wondered why that was the case, and to this day, I still don"t know why. I thought that it was doing that so it could be sure to sync properly with the Mac (which is a 16" MacBook Pro 2020 with Touch Bar). I also had scaled the graphics to be slightly smaller on the LG Display so I could see more data on the screen (maybe this is why??? Not sure...). Thirdly, one thing I noticed was whenever the temperature (as the office is upstairs) would get above 80 degrees (as this is a work from home solution, where the entire house is running on one air conditioning unit instead of 2), the fans on the Mac would automatically kick in, and get pretty loud whenever the LG Display was hooked in to the Mac. Once it got to 85 degrees, the Mac would automatically engage in a kernel task to protect itself, despite my turning on fans and even opening up the window before this happened.... However, with the Display NOT being hooked in, the temperature could be over 85 degrees, and the Mac"s fans don"t even turn on, and the Mac"s screen continues to function with no issues, even with it hooked into the Anker Docking Station. I thought it was the LG Display causing the issue, so I hooked that into the iPad Pro via USB-C cables, and the Display has been working fine with the iPad Pro, with no screen flickering whatsoever....

However, after the latest Big Sur update (released a few days ago; not sure if this was the issue either???), whenever I hook the monitor into the computer, I get really bad flickering, or a completely black screen on the Mac, along with a green screen on the LG monitor. Sometimes, the Mac would briefly turn on the fans pretty loud for about a second, then perform a hard shut down on its own.... I"ve already reset the PRAM and SMC, and that didn"t work. I tried an HDMI to USB-C cable (brand new) in all the ports on the Mac, and that didn"t work. I also tried an HDMI to Apple 3-prong adapter/dongle (the one that has the USB-C, USB, and HDMI cable connections on it; brand new also), and connected the adapter/dongle via USB-C into the Mac, and that didn"t work. Also, as an interesting note, Sidecar with the iPad Pro 11" has worked with no issues, where I"m able to use the iPad as a secondary display. This is when I"ve been using it either directly connected to the Mac via USB-C, or wirelessly.

However, when I did Apple Airplay with the Apple TV, and made the screen (which is a 50" television) as a Secondary Display, the Mac quickly did a hard shut down on its own.... All this time, I also have turned off the Automatic Graphics Switching feature in the Displays area of System Preferences through all these tests, and none of it has produced success. I even reset the LG Display to show its native resolution (instead of a higher resolution, or higher pixel density on the screen), and turned off the True Tone feature, and that didn"t work either!!!..... Ultimately, I have a pretty expensive LG Display here that I really, really want to use with my Mac, but can"t do so because of this screen flickering, and ultimately blackout issue that keeps occurring. I honestly don"t know the solution to this problem, as I have never had this problem with my previous THREE Mac laptops that I have owned. It has only occurred (really badly I might add) after this latest update to Big Sur.

If anyone can give me some pointers or something (anything, please!!!!) regarding the solution to this problem, that would be greatly appreciated, as again, I"d really like to use my LG Display, but can"t do so because of this screen flickering (and black/green screen) issues, which makes the Mac either freeze or shut down abruptly. Other than that, interestingly, the Anker Docking Station is working just fine, along with the iPad Pro. This issue ONLY happens when I hook the Mac into the LG Display, or use Apple Airplay with the Apple TV. Hopefully Apple can see this problem so a solution can be worked, as this is adversely affecting not just my workflow, but others in here as well.... Hope this "soliloquy" helps.

The only thing that helps is to set the Refresh rate to "40-60 Hertz" which solves the problem and the monitor claims it is running at 60 Hertz. So everything would be good, but each time the display is turned off, the refresh rate is reset to 60 Hertz which causes the flickering...

If there’s one thing that you really shouldn’t expect to see when you’re using a $1000+ MacBook, it’s a screen covered in distorted, flickering lines and images. MacBook screen flickering is difficult to diagnose, and while it could point to an internal hardware issue, some simple troubleshooting steps may be enough to cure the problem.Before we start

While this guide can’t cure hardware failure, it can help you recover your MacBook if your screen keeps flickering because of underlying software issues. Here’s what you need to know.

If you want to fix any kind of unusual problem on your MacBook (like a flickering screen), restarting it is a good place to start. Restarting your MacBook is quick, easy, and clears your running memory. If your blinking screen is caused by an underlying software issue, this could resolve it.To start, click the Applelogo in the top left corner of your screen. From the menu, select Restart

Apple regularly releases new system updates for macOS that contain important bug fixes and feature updates. If you aren’t keeping your MacBook up-to-date, you should check for and install any available macOS updates for your device to help fix Mac screen flickering bugs like this one.

If you’re using a MacBook Pro with a standalone graphics chip, then your graphics output might spread across two separate GPUs. The standalone chip might handle more powerful tasks (like gaming or video rendering), while the integrated chip might handle the basics (like web browsing or word processing).

Automatic graphics switching is designed to help reduce overall power consumption, increasing your battery life in the process. It can also cause random MacBook Pro screen flickering, however, so if you can’t diagnose this issue, switching automatic graphics off may help to fix it.

If automatic graphics switching isn’t listed in your MacBook Pro’s settings, your MacBook doesn’t have two GPUs. As a consequence, this feature isn’t available to you and can’t be behind your MacBook Pro display problems, so you’ll need to investigate other possible causes (and fixes).

Your MacBook’s SMC (or System Management Controller) is an important, low-level chip that controls several internal power settings. It handles the process of putting your Mac to sleep and waking it afterward, charging your battery, switching between different graphics modes, and more.

If something is wrong with your SMC, issues (such as a flickering screen) can start to appear. You can quickly reset your MacBook’s SMC, however, which can fix the issue.

If your Mac has an Apple T2 security chip, you’ll need to follow these instructions to reset the SMC.To reset the SMC on your MacBook, switch your MacBook off first and disconnect it from the power adapter. Press and hold the Control + Alt + Shift keys together on your keyboard for at least seven seconds, then press the power button (while also holding the other keys)

After a few moments, press the power button as normal to switch your MacBook back on. If the instructions were followed correctly, your SMC chip should reset

MacBooks released before 2018 don’t have the Apple T2 security chip installed. If your MacBook lacks this chip, you can follow these instructions to reset your SMC instead.Switch off your MacBook and disconnect it from the power adapter. Once the MacBook is switched off, press and hold the Shift + Control + Option keys

The NVRAM (non-volatile random access memory) chip on your MacBook is used by macOS to store some system-critical information, such as the current date and time or your current graphics configuration. Older PowerPC MacBooks use the PRAM (parameter random access memory) chip for the same functions.

Resetting these memory chips can help to reset certain display issues, especially if you’ve messed up your display settings using a non-standard configuration on your MacBook (eg. multiple monitors with different resolutions).To reset either your NVRAM or PRAM chips (depending on your MacBook), shut down your MacBook first

With your MacBook switched off, press the power button to begin the boot-up process, then press and hold the Option + Command + P + R keys. Release these keys after approximately 20 seconds

If the steps above can’t cure your MacBook screen flickering, it might point to a hardware issue that isn’t resolvable without contacting Apple directly. Check that your MacBook is still in warranty, then head to the Apple support pages to request additional technical support.

I"m also experiencing this issue in a similar situation. Bought this monitor just about 30 days ago and its begun to randomly flicker. Not the entirety of the screen, but a large portion of pixels in the center.

I use a Macbook Air M1 via USB-C, where I see the issue most common. I have only noticed it one of my PS5 (HDMI) after switching from the Macbook when the issue had already started on that particular day.

macOS 10.14 comes with a wealth of innovations, but still retains some features of the old models, including some disturbing issues. One such issue is the screen flickering on the 2018 MacBook Pro 10.14. As with previous updates, this issue seems to occur right after a user upgrades to mac OS 10.14. Here are many macOS 10.14 screen flicker solutions that can rise to the occasion when users vie to keep an incessant screen flickering after updating to 10.14 in a thorough check.

This flickering screen issue, regardless of its frequency of occurrence, can bring about a grating user experience. Screen flickering after updating to 10.14 problems has been reported to occur over a wide range of Mac devices. And users may find that changing the monitor only results in a different screen flicker pattern. The issue might also occur, particularly when certain apps are running.

For instance, users report noticing a series of flickering white stripes on the screen of a running Terminal, especially when pressing certain keyboard keys. In other cases, the flicker manifests as random multicolor lines. On a MacBook Air, the issue manifests as a black and white noisy screen when a DVI or VGA display is plugged via a standard adapter. On a newer MacBook Pro, screen flickering 2018 Macbook Pro 10.14 isn"t too dissimilar. The spontaneous flickers plague the displays on various brands of monitors ranging from DVI to HDMI.

The screen issue has been particularly associated with the use of Chromium. The developers of Chromium, as well as other third-party apps, have been battling this issue from their own end. But that has not availed users of a lasting solution, particularly because the flickering issue has proved to come with multiple layers of complexity. However, it"s recommended that you completely ditch Chromium for a different browser if you find that the issue mostlyoccurs when you"re running Chromium.

You can replace the "Slack" in the address with the app that exhibits the flickering screen the most, but take care not to alter anything else as that might corrupt some files on your device.

If the screen flickers take effect, particularly when viewing images while browsing the web, the best way around this might be resetting the NVRAM of your device. Resolving this issue involves rebooting your device. But because the NVRAM is a type of memory that saves data automatically, even when the device is forcefully switched off, this issue will not go away when you just reboot your device. To resolve this issue, switch off your Mac and then turn it back on, pressing down "Command" + "Option" + "P" + "R" keys until you hear some chimes or see the screen blinking twice during the restart. If that still doesn"t fix the flickering screen with macOS 10.14, reset the System Management Controller (SMC) as described below.

This method applies only to portable Macs with an inbuilt battery like MacBook Air and MacBook Pro with Retina Display. Details of the steps for resetting the SMC of any other Mac device is also readily available on the web.

To reset the SMC, unplug Mac"s external display, and then turn off the Mac. Make sure the device is connected to the MagSafe power adapter. Press down "Shift" + "Control" + "Power" for a couple of seconds and then release them simultaneously. This resets the SMC of the MacBook Pro / Air instantly. Afterward, press the power button to boot the Mac, and once the Mac is booted, plug back the display.

had a unusable MacBook Pro early 2013 i had to use a separate monitor, I decided to try upgrade to Catalina 10.15.2 now I can use it again. it does still flicker some at bottom or screen and when I try intensive processing like coral draw it goes bonkers. I did just delete chromium not sure what that program did no flickering yet.

If you’re using an Apple display with your MacBook or desktop Mac, things are generally flawless. However, non-Apple displays can exhibit weird behavior such as flickering, and it’s not always obvious how to fix it. There are some things you can try, though.

There’s a feature known as Adaptive Sync in macOS that becomes available when you use the right combination of hardware. Specifically, if you have a variable refresh rate monitor and use a DisplayPort connection. What this does is change the refresh rate of the monitor dynamically to match the frame rate of the content on screen.

Unfortunately, not every monitor handles Adaptive Sync with grace. For example, we used a 1440p 165Hz LG Ultragear with an M1 MacBook Air, and the refresh rate shifts are glaringly obvious, manifesting as rapid flicker whenever anything on-screen moves. If you’re seeing this type of motion-based flicker, the best solution is to turn Adaptive Sync off.

Most modern Macs have a paucity of ports, relying on a handful of Thunderbolt ports and adapters to connect peripherals. This works fine in general, but if you’re experiencing screen flicker, it might be down to problems with your HDMI or DisplayPort dongle.

We’ve seen some strange flicker and “crawling” screen pixels when using an external monitor with a Mac, and one reliable fix is to plug the various components in using a specific sequence. Most important seems to be power-cycling the adapter. So unplug the adapter from the Mac, and then the monitor from the adapter. Then plug the adapter in first, then attach the monitor.

Your monitor settings themselves may be causing flicker and this doesn’t have to be Mac-specific. Turning off variable refresh rate features on the monitor is one we’ve mentioned before. However, you should also check to see if Black Frame Insertion is enabled. Few PC monitors have this feature, but it’s common on TVs. So if you’re getting a flickering image when connecting your Mac to a TV, that could be the reason.

A reliable cable that offers flicker-free 4K 60Hz or 1440p 165Hz display output. Available in three lengths up to 10ft, this is an affordable fix to most Mac HDMI output woes if you have a DisplayPort screen.

My Mid-2014 Retina Macbook Pro with GT750M has recently developed a fault where the screen will start to flicker -- two images of the display, offset by half the width of the screen (the exact offset differs over time). After a minute or so it goes black.

This happens immediately when the computer gets to the login page (the boot screen with the apple logo and the boot progress bar is fine), so doesn"t seem heat related.

The interesting thing is that if I connect an external monitor, everything is fine. Both the internal and external screens behave completely normally.

Having recently went through the process of updating a handful of Macs to the latest versions of Mac OS X as part of a gifting tech support campaign, several Macs developed an odd flickering display problem that was only visible when an external monitor was connected to the Mac. On an 11″ MacBook Air, the screen flickers with any DVI or VGA display hooked up with the standard Min-iDisplayPort adapter, and displays only a white-black noise screen, like an ancient TV without an antenna. Meanwhile on a newer MacBook Pro, the problem exhibited as external display flickering with anything from DVI connections to HDMI, and with different brand monitors, but the screen would display properly just with a persistent randomized flicker. The video below demonstrates the MacBook Air flickering on and off with a noisy picture:

This is how you reset the SMC on a portable Mac that has a built-in battery (not a removable battery), like a MacBook Air, or new MacBook Pro with Retina display. You can find details for SMC resets on other Macs here, and Apple has directions for other machines here too.

Using the built-in keyboard on the MacBook, press and hold down the Shift+Control+Option+Power buttons at the same time (see the image below for details) and hold them for about 2 seconds, then release all keys together

Everything should be working as usual, no more monitor screen flickering, no more noisy screen displays, just the Mac with a normal looking external display.

If you or anyone you know happens to run into the screen flicker issue after an Mac OS X update applied to a Mac, try this SMC fix first, it only takes a moment and resolved the problem quickly in these cases, and just may work for you too.

Screen glitching problems on Mac, MacBook Pro, and iMac can occur due to a variety of external and internal problems. The most common causes include dirt, malware, software bugs, etc.

Before proceeding, here’s a tip for you: Download CleanMyMac X and get rid of common Mac issues, including ‘blinking screen problems and so on. This one-stop cleaning and optimization tool helps clear cache, and system junk, run maintenance scripts and do a lot more, which helps users get rid of all the potential issues related to your machine.

However, if you are not interested in installing any third-party tool and would like to resolve screen flickering issues manually, here you go. In this post, we’ve covered both manual and automatic ways to fix screen glitching problems on MacBook Pro.

As each Mac reacts differently to the hardware and software, there are different ways to stop screen blinking problems on Mac. Hence, trying all the solutions is worth it. If you are lucky, the first solution will fix the screen flickering problem, but you might have to try them all if there is an issue.

Sometimes, screen flickering issues on mac occur due to corrupt OS updates. Hence, updating to the latest version is suggested. To update macOS, follow the steps below:

STEP 3 =Once done, your Mac will restart. Now check the screen blinking issue should be resolved. However, if none of the steps have helped so far, try using the following fixes.

PRAM or NVRAM non-volatile random-access memory is a small memory used by Mac to store certain settings and access them. When it gets outdated or cluttered, too, you might face screen flickering issues. To resolve it, we suggest resetting PRAM. To do so, follow the steps below:

If you use a MacBook Pro, sometimes the screen flickering on it is caused by due Energy Saver working inappropriately. To resolve it disable “Automatic graphics switching” this will stop Mac from switching between different graphics chips. To do so, follow the steps below:

Unwanted data, junk files, and even app and user cache also lead to screen flickering issues. To get rid of this data, we suggest using an app that helps clean the cluttered data that damages system performance.

Using Maintenance Scripts, you can fix various system malfunctions and discrepancies. To run them, we suggest using CleanMyMac X. This will help stop screen glitching on Mac. To run it, follow the steps below:

Often third-party services affect screen parameters. Hence to make sure screen glitching is not caused by them, try booting Mac in safe mode. To do so, follow the steps below:

The True Tone technology offered in the 2018 Mac and newer versions makes your screen colors look more natural. But sometimes, it creates screen flashing issues on Mac, iMac, and MacBook. To resolve it, follow the steps below:

Using the steps explained above, you can resolve screen flashing issues on MacBook, iMac, and Mac. Some of you might have to follow all the steps while for someone step would work. However, if you are amongst the few unlucky ones, here is another solution for you,try changing screen resolution. For this, Click Apple Menu > System Preferences > Go to Displays and change the Resolution settings. Try switching off the default option and see if this helps fix the screen blinking on MacBook.

Sometimes due to software issues, you might face flashing screen issues. To resolve it, we suggest closing all unknown processes. For this launch, Activity Monitor and Exit all unwanted processes. In addition to this, use CleanMyMac X to clean junk files, unwanted data, and cache files, and fix other problems that might cause screen flickering.

One of the most effective solutions to fix screen flickering and glitching issues on Mac is to comprehensively clean and optimize your machine. Take the help of the Best Mac Cleaners to get the job done!

Are the 2020 Macbook Pros (13-inch, Intel i5 processor) set up the same way internally, i.e. with the TCON board between the heat sinks? And are they any better at not overheating? I guess another way to phrase this question is, are the newer Macbook Pros any better at avoiding this issue?