Flickering thunderbolt display?

flickering thunderbolt display connected on my mac mini? any solution?

Thought I would chime in on this too. I picked my 27" TB up Mid-March (2014) and for a week everything was ok.
Within the last few days it has been acting as previous posts describe: flickering, powering off entirely, distorted display etc... I've tried any number of ways to disgnose / resolve the issue - to no resolve.
I spoke with Apple tech support and was escalated to a Sr. Tech who collected some system logs to be analyzed by an Engineer. Maybe they can figure this out becuase it appears to be an issue spanning back to 2011 (or earlier).
Sufficed to say, it's extremely frustrating, especially given the price of this display. For the same price I could have bought two of the competition's monitors....
Currently running it off of a brand spankin' new 27" iMac 3.5Ghz, i7 | OS 10.9.2
Please Apple, figure this out.

Similar Messages

New 27" Thunderbolt Display Flickers when attached to new 27" iMac

I'm using a new 27" iMac. I require a dual-monitor configuration so yesterday I purchased a new 27" Thunderbolt display and plugged its built-in Thunderbolt cable into the Thunderbolt port of the iMac. I now have a huge desktop space that spans two monitors. With that in mind…
At least once every few minutes the new Thunderbolt display blacks out (i.e. flickers) for approximately one second. The symptom is very similar to what a Windows-attached display does when the screen resolution is changed. A quick Google search indicates others are experiencing the same problem although most complainants are using a MacBook or Mini, not an iMac.
Apple posted a firmware update for the Thunderbolt display a few days ago. I installed it successfully but the problem remains. Any advice?

UPDATE:
I received a call back from a senior tech at Apple. The salient points are as follows:
(1) Apple engineers are well aware of the problem.
(2) They plan to release a firmware update for the display at some indeterminate time.
(3) The fix for this problem will not be bundled into the forthcoming 10.7.2 Lion update.
Given that the flickering problem renders the Thunderbolt monitor virtually unusable as a desktop extension for a 27" iMac, combined with the fact that Apple has no idea when a fix for the problem will be available, my decision to return the monitor for a full refund is a virtual certainty.
AppleCare objected to my conclusion that the Thunderbolt monitor is "incompatible" with the iMac. Perhaps they're right. I'm not super technical so it's possible that I used the wrong term. It's a semantic distinction though. The bottom line is that Thunderbolt displays flicker when attached to a brand new 27" iMac and my personal opinion is that one is better off not purchasing this device until Apple fixes this major flaw.
Apple asked me to make a video of the Thunderbolt display manifesting the problem. Here it is.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-UCGGkSciI
Hopefully this information will be of value to someone.

Thunderbolt display image flickering problem

Hi Sir,
I bought thunderbolt display yesterday. I think there can be problem that added. Sometimes i see image flickering. I havent see before display.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/692wjw2zfnhss26/IMG_0733.MOV
Can I learn your ideas.
Thanks.
Deniz

Hello Deniz YILMAZ,
The following article can help resolve many issues that you may encounter with your display.
Apple computers: Troubleshooting issues with video on internal or external displays
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1573
Cheers,
Allen

Can't stop Thunderbolt display from flickering white lines after firmware update (Yosemite)

I am having serious issues after the Thunderbolt Display Firmware Update 1.2. Running Yosemite on MacBook Pro and I am now getting white lines that gradiate from the bottom to the top of my screen across multiple browsers, apps and even the finder window anytime I move my mouse. I cannot take a screenshot (it stops when I try) but I posted a video here:
http://youtu.be/3zOKL1JFp5M
It is impossible to work this way and after 20 minutes of watching my screen constantly refresh anytime I move my mouse I am feeling nauseous.
Is there anyway to UNINSTALL this firmware update? I was not having this kind of problem before. Every once in awhile I was finding my Thunderbolt display would not wake up after sleep and I thought the firmware update would fix that, not cause more, crazier problems. It is causing this gradiating line problem on my Thunderbolt display AND my MacBook Pro screen, which is even more bizarre.

I updated and no issues with my 2012 Mini so may be computer related. I believe once a firmware has been "burned" into the chip it cannot be redone.

How do I connect a Thunderbolt display to a 21UX Cintiq Wacom tablet with a single link DVD-I connector?

I just bought a brand new thunderbolt display along with a 2013 mac pro and I'd like to hook my 2 year old 21UX Cintiq Wacom tablet directly to the display using the thunderbolt port on the display itself. Currently, I have the Cintiq daisychain connected directly to the mac pro using an Apple mini display port -> DVI-D (dual link) adapter, which is then connected to a DVI-D (single link) -> DVI-I (dual link) adapter, which is then finally connected to the Cintiq's DVI-I (single link) connector (this is permanently attached to the Cintiq and can't be traded out). As you can imagine, what has resulted is a lot of color variations between the Cintiq and Thunderbolt displays (that color calibration in system preferences has not been able to remedy) as well as some flickering of both displays at random intervals. I'd like the colors of the displays to match as close as possible and for the flickering to stop, of course, and from what I understand, connecting the displays directly with as few adapters as possible is the best way to do that. Unfortunately, most of my searches have not helped very much. Here is a photo of my daisychained set-up to better assist anyone who thinks they might be able to help:
Lastly, just in case: the mini display port to DVI adapter is not compatible with the Thunderbolt display's port, which is why it is connected to the mac pro, so I imagine a solution might require searching for an adapter from a different manufacturer, if such a thing even exists. If not, what other solutions would anyone suggest to get the colors of the displays to match more closely and the flickering to stop as well as lessen the amount of adapters I am using?
Thank you!

From you picture, you have a Mini DisplayPort to Single-Link DVI-D adapter. (The last in DVI-D is for "Digital", not "Dual-Link".)
You don't need dual link unless the resolution is greater than 1920 x 1200.
Mini DisplayPort devices or adapters won't work plugged directly into a Thunderbolt display. You need a Thunderbolt disk or dock (with two Thunderbolt ports) connected between the Thunderbolt display and the Mini DisplayPort adapter.

Macbook pro 17 inch primo 2011 and thunderbolt display crashes

I have a Macbook pro 17 inch primo 2011 and thunderbolt display which has recently started to crash.
Only modifications I have doen lately is I swapped the CD/DVD drive for a harddrive and put in 16 GB of ram
but it has been running for more than a month with these hardware additions without problems.
Today my Macbook has started to crash frequently within 10 min to 1 hour after plugging in my thunderbolt display.
I tried to check CPU heat, change RAM but it keps crashing.
When it crashes it either gives me a blue screen, a black screen or a distorts everythings and freeze up.
When rebooting I have to press Command-Option-P-R to clear NVRAM / PRAM.
I found a few support threads from people having similar problems so I started to disconnect the thunderbolt display
and without plugging it in my laptop works fine.
I have done a SMC reset also but that has not resolved my issue.
Below is the crash report and if anybody has any suggestions what to do to resolve this please let me know
My thunderbolt display was purchased in late 2011
If this is not solveable what options do I have ?
Thanks !
Interval Since Last Panic Report: 2527129 sec
Panics Since Last Report:          6
Anonymous UUID:                    5309BD58-3CBB-321E-545E-6EE6BED7E0E2
Tue Feb 5 17:02:21 2013
Machine-check capabilities 0x0000000000000c09:
family: 6 model: 42 stepping: 7 microcode: 26
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2720QM CPU @ 2.20GHz
9 error-reporting banks
threshold-based error status present
extended corrected memory error handling present
Processor 0: machine-check status 0x0000000000000004:
machine-check in progress
MCA error-reporting registers:
IA32_MC0_STATUS(0x401): 0x0000000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC1_STATUS(0x405): 0x0980000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC2_STATUS(0x409): 0x0000000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC3_STATUS(0x40d): 0xbe00000000800400 valid
MCA error code:            0x0400
Model specific error code: 0x0080
Other information:         0x00000000
Threshold-based status:    Undefined
Status bits:
   Processor context corrupt
   ADDR register valid
   MISC register valid
   Error enabled
   Uncorrected error
IA32_MC3_ADDR(0x40e): 0x00003f7f85769a95
IA32_MC3_MISC(0x40f): 0x000000000003ffff
IA32_MC4_STATUS(0x411): 0x0000000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC5_STATUS(0x415): 0x0020000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC6_STATUS(0x419): 0x0020000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC7_STATUS(0x41d): 0x0020000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC8_STATUS(0x421): 0x0020000000000000 invalid
Processor 1: machine-check status 0x0000000000000005:
restart IP valid
machine-check in progress
MCA error-reporting registers:
IA32_MC0_STATUS(0x401): 0x0000000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC1_STATUS(0x405): 0x0980000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC2_STATUS(0x409): 0x0000000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC3_STATUS(0x40d): 0xbe00000000800400 valid
MCA error code:            0x0400
Model specific error code: 0x0080
Other information:         0x00000000
Threshold-based status:    Undefined
Status bits:
   Processor context corrupt
   ADDR register valid
   MISC register valid
   Error enabled
   Uncorrected error
IA32_MC3_ADDR(0x40e): 0x00003f7f85769a95
IA32_MC3_MISC(0x40f): 0x000000000003ffff
IA32_MC4_STATUS(0x411): 0x0000000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC5_STATUS(0x415): 0x0020000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC6_STATUS(0x419): 0x0020000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC7_STATUS(0x41d): 0x0020000000000000 invalid
Package 0 logged:
IA32_MC8_STATUS(0x421): 0x0020000000000000 invalid
Processor 2: no valid machine-check state
Processor 3: no valid machine-check state
Processor 4: machine-check status 0x0000000000000004:
machine-check in progress
MCA error-reporting registers:
IA32_MC0_STATUS(0x401): 0x0000000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC1_STATUS(0x405): 0x0980000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC2_STATUS(0x409): 0x0000000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC3_STATUS(0x40d): 0xbe00000000800400 valid
MCA error code:            0x0400
Model specific error code: 0x0080
Other information:         0x00000000
Threshold-based status:    Undefined
Status bits:
   Processor context corrupt
   ADDR register valid
   MISC register valid
   Error enabled
   Uncorrected error
IA32_MC3_ADDR(0x40e): 0x00003f7f85fa3e1f
IA32_MC3_MISC(0x40f): 0x000000000003ffff
IA32_MC4_STATUS(0x411): 0x0000000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC5_STATUS(0x415): 0x0020000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC6_STATUS(0x419): 0x0020000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC7_STATUS(0x41d): 0x0020000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC8_STATUS(0x421): 0x0020000000000000 invalid
Processor 5: machine-check status 0x0000000000000005:
restart IP valid
machine-check in progress
MCA error-reporting registers:
IA32_MC0_STATUS(0x401): 0x0000000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC1_STATUS(0x405): 0x0980000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC2_STATUS(0x409): 0x0000000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC3_STATUS(0x40d): 0xbe00000000800400 valid
MCA error code:            0x0400
Model specific error code: 0x0080
Other information:         0x00000000
Threshold-based status:    Undefined
Status bits:
   Processor context corrupt
   ADDR register valid
   MISC register valid
   Error enabled
   Uncorrected error
IA32_MC3_ADDR(0x40e): 0x00003f7f85fa3e1f
IA32_MC3_MISC(0x40f): 0x000000000003ffff
IA32_MC4_STATUS(0x411): 0x0000000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC5_STATUS(0x415): 0x0020000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC6_STATUS(0x419): 0x0020000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC7_STATUS(0x41d): 0x0020000000000000 invalid
IA32_MC8_STATUS(0x421): 0x0020000000000000 invalid
Processor 6: no valid machine-check state
Processor 7: no valid machine-check state
panic(cpu 0 caller 0xffffff80048b83c9): "Machine Check at 0xffffff7f85769a95, registers:\n" "CR0: 0x000000008001003b, CR2: 0x000000010cd0e30c, CR3: 0x00000000072b4000, CR4: 0x00000000000606e0\n" "RAX: 0xffffff802516f800, RBX: 0xffffff802516f800, RCX: 0xffffff80253ab800, RDX: 0x0000000000000001\n" "RSP: 0xffffff8207ad3e90, RBP: 0xffffff8207ad3ec0, RSI: 0xffffff8207ad3edf, RDI: 0xffffff802520e000\n" "R8: 0xffffff8004ebec60, R9: 0x7fffffffffffff00, R10: 0xffffff8004ebdc20, R11: 0x0000000000000201\n" "R12: 0xffffff80253ab800, R13: 0xffffff81d60d2000, R14: 0xffffff8207ad3edf, R15: 0xffffff802520e000\n" "RFL: 0x0000000000010282, RIP: 0xffffff7f85769a95, CS: 0x0000000000000008, SS: 0x0000000000000010\n" "Error code: 0x0000000000000000\n"@/SourceCache/xnu/xnu-2050.18.24/osfmk/i386/trap_native.c: 280
Backtrace (CPU 0), Frame : Return Address
0xffffff800470bd20 : 0xffffff800481d626
0xffffff800470bd90 : 0xffffff80048b83c9
0xffffff800470bf00 : 0xffffff80048cedbf
0xffffff8207ad3ec0 : 0xffffff7f856d75b4
0xffffff8207ad3ef0 : 0xffffff8004c472a8
0xffffff8207ad3f30 : 0xffffff8004c45daa
0xffffff8207ad3f80 : 0xffffff8004c45ed9
0xffffff8207ad3fb0 : 0xffffff80048b26b7
      Kernel Extensions in backtrace:
         com.apple.driver.AirPort.Brcm4331(602.15.22)[5BDCA43F-AD42-3F05-BCCF-BC364D17E1 5F]@0xffffff7f856ca000->0xffffff7f858bbfff
            dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOPCIFamily(2.7.2)[B1B77B26-7984-302F-BA8E-544DD3D75E73]@0xffff ff7f84e72000
            dependency: com.apple.iokit.IO80211Family(500.15)[4282DF5A-86B9-3213-B9B1-675FAD842A94]@0xf fffff7f8565e000
            dependency: com.apple.iokit.IONetworkingFamily(3.0)[28575328-A798-34B3-BD84-D708138EBD17]@0 xffffff7f85015000
BSD process name corresponding to current thread: kernel_task
Mac OS version:
12C60
Kernel version:
Darwin Kernel Version 12.2.0: Sat Aug 25 00:48:52 PDT 2012; root:xnu-2050.18.24~1/RELEASE_X86_64
Kernel UUID: 69A5853F-375A-3EF4-9247-478FD0247333
Kernel slide:     0x0000000004600000
Kernel text base: 0xffffff8004800000
System model name: MacBookPro8,3 (Mac-942459F5819B171B)
System uptime in nanoseconds: 6197670207287
last loaded kext at 6133447331639: com.apple.driver.AppleUSBCDC          4.1.22 (addr 0xffffff7f86cb5000, size 16384)
last unloaded kext at 5379727445407: com.apple.driver.AppleUSBCDC          4.1.22 (addr 0xffffff7f86cb2000, size 12288)
loaded kexts:
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBCDC          4.1.22
com.apple.iokit.SCSITaskUserClient          3.5.1
com.apple.filesystems.smbfs          1.8
com.apple.filesystems.afpfs          10.0
com.apple.nke.asp_tcp          7.0.0
com.apple.driver.AudioAUUC          1.60
com.apple.driver.AppleHWSensor          1.9.5d0
com.apple.filesystems.autofs          3.0
com.apple.filesystems.ntfs          3.10
com.apple.iokit.IOBluetoothSerialManager          4.0.9f33
com.apple.driver.AGPM          100.12.69
com.apple.driver.AppleMikeyHIDDriver          122
com.apple.driver.AppleHDA          2.3.1f2
com.apple.iokit.IOUserEthernet          1.0.0d1
com.apple.Dont_Steal_Mac_OS_X          7.0.0
com.apple.driver.ApplePolicyControl          3.2.11
com.apple.iokit.BroadcomBluetoothHCIControllerUSBTransport          4.0.9f33
com.apple.driver.AppleUpstreamUserClient          3.5.10
com.apple.driver.AppleIntelHD3000Graphics          8.0.0
com.apple.driver.AppleMCCSControl          1.0.33
com.apple.kext.AMDFramebuffer          8.0.0
com.apple.driver.SMCMotionSensor          3.0.2d6
com.apple.driver.ACPI_SMC_PlatformPlugin          1.0.0
com.apple.driver.AppleMikeyDriver          2.3.1f2
com.apple.driver.AppleLPC          1.6.0
com.apple.driver.AppleSMCLMU          2.0.2d0
com.apple.AMDRadeonAccelerator          1.0.0
com.apple.driver.AppleSMCPDRC          1.0.0
com.apple.driver.AppleMuxControl          3.2.11
com.apple.driver.AppleIntelSNBGraphicsFB          8.0.0
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBTCButtons          235.4
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBTCKeyboard          235.4
com.apple.driver.AppleIRController          320.15
com.apple.AppleFSCompression.AppleFSCompressionTypeDataless          1.0.0d1
com.apple.AppleFSCompression.AppleFSCompressionTypeZlib          1.0.0d1
com.apple.BootCache          34
com.apple.driver.XsanFilter          404
com.apple.iokit.IOAHCIBlockStorage          2.2.2
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBHub          5.2.5
com.apple.iokit.AppleBCM5701Ethernet          3.2.5b3
com.apple.driver.AirPort.Brcm4331          602.15.22
com.apple.driver.AppleFWOHCI          4.9.6
com.apple.driver.AppleAHCIPort          2.4.1
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBEHCI          5.4.0
com.apple.driver.AppleEFINVRAM          1.6.1
com.apple.driver.AppleIntelCPUPowerManagementClient          196.0.0
com.apple.driver.AppleSmartBatteryManager          161.0.0
com.apple.driver.AppleACPIButtons          1.6
com.apple.driver.AppleRTC          1.5
com.apple.driver.AppleHPET          1.7
com.apple.driver.AppleSMBIOS          1.9
com.apple.driver.AppleACPIEC          1.6
com.apple.driver.AppleAPIC          1.6
com.apple.nke.applicationfirewall          4.0.39
com.apple.security.quarantine          2
com.apple.driver.AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement          196.0.0
com.apple.iokit.IOSCSIBlockCommandsDevice          3.5.1
com.apple.iokit.IOFireWireSerialBusProtocolTransport          2.1.1
com.apple.iokit.IOFireWireSBP2          4.2.0
com.apple.security.SecureRemotePassword          1.0
com.apple.kext.triggers          1.0
com.apple.iokit.IOSCSIArchitectureModelFamily          3.5.1
com.apple.iokit.IOSerialFamily          10.0.6
com.apple.driver.DspFuncLib          2.3.1f2
com.apple.iokit.IOAudioFamily          1.8.9fc10
com.apple.kext.OSvKernDSPLib          1.6
com.apple.iokit.IOSurface          86.0.3
com.apple.iokit.IOBluetoothFamily          4.0.9f33
com.apple.iokit.AppleBluetoothHCIControllerUSBTransport          4.0.9f33
com.apple.driver.IOPlatformPluginLegacy          1.0.0
com.apple.driver.AppleSMBusController          1.0.10d0
com.apple.driver.AppleSMBusPCI          1.0.10d0
com.apple.driver.AppleSMC          3.1.4d2
com.apple.iokit.IOAcceleratorFamily          19.0.26
com.apple.kext.AMD6000Controller          8.0.0
com.apple.kext.AMDSupport          8.0.0
com.apple.driver.AppleHDAController          2.3.1f2
com.apple.iokit.IOHDAFamily          2.3.1f2
com.apple.driver.IOPlatformPluginFamily          5.2.0d16
com.apple.driver.AppleGraphicsControl          3.2.11
com.apple.driver.AppleBacklightExpert          1.0.4
com.apple.iokit.IONDRVSupport          2.3.5
com.apple.iokit.IOGraphicsFamily          2.3.5
com.apple.iokit.IOFireWireIP          2.2.5
com.apple.driver.AppleThunderboltDPInAdapter          1.8.5
com.apple.driver.AppleThunderboltDPAdapterFamily          1.8.5
com.apple.driver.AppleThunderboltPCIDownAdapter          1.2.5
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBMultitouch          235.7
com.apple.iokit.IOUSBHIDDriver          5.2.5
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBMergeNub          5.2.5
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBComposite          5.2.5
com.apple.driver.CoreStorage          274.7
com.apple.driver.AppleThunderboltNHI          1.6.0
com.apple.iokit.IOThunderboltFamily          2.1.1
com.apple.iokit.IOUSBUserClient          5.2.5
com.apple.iokit.IOEthernetAVBController          1.0.2b1
com.apple.iokit.IO80211Family          500.15
com.apple.iokit.I
Model: MacBookPro8,3, BootROM MBP81.0047.B27, 4 processors, Intel Core i7, 2.2 GHz, 16 GB, SMC 1.70f5
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 3000, Intel HD Graphics 3000, Built-In, 512 MB
Graphics: AMD Radeon HD 6750M, AMD Radeon HD 6750M, PCIe, 1024 MB
Memory Module: BANK 0/DIMM0, 8 GB, DDR3, 1333 MHz, 0x029E, 0x434D534F384758334D314131333333433920
Memory Module: BANK 1/DIMM0, 8 GB, DDR3, 1333 MHz, 0x029E, 0x434D534F384758334D314131333333433920
AirPort: spairport_wireless_card_type_airport_extreme (0x14E4, 0xD6), Broadcom BCM43xx 1.0 (5.106.98.81.22)
Bluetooth: Version 4.0.9f33 10885, 2 service, 11 devices, 1 incoming serial ports
Network Service: AirPort, AirPort, en1
Serial ATA Device: APPLE SSD TS256C, 251 GB
Serial ATA Device: ST750LX003-1AC154, 750,16 GB
USB Device: hub_device, 0x0424 (SMSC), 0x2514, 0xfa100000 / 3
USB Device: Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad, apple_vendor_id, 0x0246, 0xfa120000 / 5
USB Device: BRCM2070 Hub, 0x0a5c (Broadcom Corp.), 0x4500, 0xfa110000 / 4
USB Device: Bluetooth USB Host Controller, apple_vendor_id, 0x821a, 0xfa113000 / 6
USB Device: FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in), apple_vendor_id, 0x8509, 0xfa200000 / 2
USB Device: hub_device, 0x0424 (SMSC), 0x2514, 0xfd100000 / 2
USB Device: USB Receiver, 0x046d (Logitech Inc.), 0xc51b, 0xfd130000 / 5
USB Device: iPhone, apple_vendor_id, 0x12a0, 0xfd120000 / 4
USB Device: IR Receiver, apple_vendor_id, 0x8242, 0xfd110000 / 3
FireWire Device: My Book 111D, WD, 800mbit_speed

The other day I got the blue screen, the fan going on high, and then when I disconnect my thunderbolt connection from my macbook pro - i get a shutdown.
Today I got flickering followed by the fan on high and then again I disconneced my thunderbolt cable and after a minute or two a shudown.
This never happened before. Actually I was suprised to hear about a firmware update for flickering since that's never happened to me but since updating I now get the flicker.
Any ideas?? Any help would be greatly appreciated as this is my work labtop.

Thunderbolt display wakes up to horizontal shreds

After a few days of my new Thunderbolt display has a problem - running with my mid 2011 11" MacBook Air (Lion / 1.8GHz Core i7/ 256 GB) .
When the screen wakes up, it momentarily (3 secs) displays the screen in thin horizontal shreds. As if I ran the image through a paper shredder. Then it resolves to the correct image. Standard hook up to MBA with built in cords.
I've read about problems with flickering screen - anyone else know about this?

See if there is a way to turn off CEC on the Philips through its menu system and see if that helps.

Brand new Thunderbolt display shuts off randomly

I've had a new ThunderBolt Display for less than a month paired with a brand-new Mac Mini (2.6 GHz Intel Core i7, 16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3, Intel HD Graphics 4000)
and the display just began shutting off randomly.
I also have an external HD drive daisy chained via the display's Thunderbolt port that stops working once the display dies. Tried connecting the Mac Mini alone with no hard drive figuring it might be the drive but no the display still randomly shuts off. Any ideas or suggestions before I call Applecare?

I have a similar setup and problem. My Thunderbolt display (refurb, purchased in February 2012) will randomly turn off, as if it went to sleep - but mouse/keyboard input does not wake it back up. The internal speakers will still output audio. Disconnecting/reconnecting the Thunderbolt cable from the attached Mac Mini (2.5GHz dual-core Intel Core i5, OS X 10.7.5, AMD Radeon HD 6630M ) will not resolve the issue. Disconnecting/reconnecting the display's power cord and the Thunderbolt cable from the Mac Mini will resolve the issue temporarily. This began happening maybe a month or two ago, and has probably happened 10 times in the last 30 days. It is completely random, and I have yet to be able to duplicate it on demand.
Steps taken to attempt to fix the issue:
Confirmed Energy Saver Settings
Confirmed Software up to date (OS 10.7.5)
Attempted Firmware Updates (message states not needed)
Reset NVRAM
Reset SMC (unplugging computer)
There are other discussions reporting similar behaviour:
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3340067?start=0&tstart=0 (13 pages)
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3352192?start=0&tstart=0 (5 pages)
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4243396?start=0&tstart=0 (2 pages)
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3347412?start=0&tstart=0 (1 page)
As well as other discussions concerning random flickering issues with the display.
Since I'm still under warranty, I took my display to a Genius Bar today. The rep didn't really seem to want to hear about what I found on these discussion boards. He says you can pretty much find anything you want to find here, and since it is unmoderated it is not a reliable source of information. I let him know that the issue (as far as I can tell) occurs with different models of Mac Mini's, MB Pros & MB Airs, suggesting it is in fact an issue with the display and not what's connected to it. I added that most folks who reported bringing the displays in for service ultimately ended up with a replacement display, as the service done on the defective display proved to not resolve the issue - but I would of course defer to his judgement.
He decided that they would order and replace the LCD panel. He assured me they would keep the display powered on for 12-24 hours after the service to ensure the issue has been resolved. Truthfully, I am not optimistic. And for the amount it costs to replace the panel ($833.32 from the provided estimate), I speculate this course of action will end up being much more costly for them in the long run. But we shall see!
I will be sure to provide updates as they come. Wish me luck!

Thunderbolt Display USB dettach

SInce the flickering has been resolved (at least for me) I thought I need to start a new thread as this problem still exists since the beginning.
After power-up of Thunderbolt display and early 2011 iMac27 running 10.7.2 (all with latest firmware applied) the USB hub is unavailable after few minutes.
The kernel log shows following entries:
Oct 28 15:09:21 imac27 kernel[0]: USBF:          215.451          The USB EHCI driver found a controller at the wrong PCI Power State (0xffff) - fixing that issue.
Oct 28 15:09:21 imac27 kernel[0]: USBF:          215.565          AppleUSBEHCI[0xffffff8025588000]::UIMInitialize - could not get chip to come out of reset within 100 ms
Oct 28 15:09:21 imac27 kernel[0]: USBF:          215.565          AppleUSBEHCI[0xffffff8025588000]::UIMInitialize - Error occurred (0xe00002c9)
Oct 28 15:09:46 imac27 kernel[0]: USBF:          241.174          The USB EHCI driver found a controller at the wrong PCI Power State (0xffff) - fixing that issue.
Oct 28 15:09:46 imac27 kernel[0]: USBF:          241.288          AppleUSBEHCI[0xffffff8025be8000]::UIMInitialize - could not get chip to come out of reset within 100 ms
Oct 28 15:09:46 imac27 kernel[0]: USBF:          241.288          AppleUSBEHCI[0xffffff8025be8000]::UIMInitialize - Error occurred (0xe00002c9)
Oct 28 15:10:21 imac27 kernel[0]: USBF:          275.527          The USB EHCI driver found a controller at the wrong PCI Power State (0xffff) - fixing that issue.
Oct 28 15:10:21 imac27 kernel[0]: USBF:          275.641          AppleUSBEHCI[0xffffff802a538000]::UIMInitialize - could not get chip to come out of reset within 100 ms
Oct 28 15:10:21 imac27 kernel[0]: USBF:          275.641          AppleUSBEHCI[0xffffff802a538000]::UIMInitialize - Error occurred (0xe00002c9)
Oct 28 15:10:46 imac27 kernel[0]: USBF:          301.293          The USB EHCI driver found a controller at the wrong PCI Power State (0xffff) - fixing that issue.
Oct 28 15:10:46 imac27 kernel[0]: USBF:          301.407          AppleUSBEHCI[0xffffff8025a82000]::UIMInitialize - could not get chip to come out of reset within 100 ms
Oct 28 15:10:46 imac27 kernel[0]: USBF:          301.407          AppleUSBEHCI[0xffffff8025a82000]::UIMInitialize - Error occurred (0xe00002c9)
Oct 28 15:11:04 imac27 kernel[0]: USBF:          318.586          AppleUSBEHCI[0xffffff8025a82000]::UIMInitialize - could not get chip to halt within 100 ms
Oct 28 15:11:04 imac27 kernel[0]: USBF:          318.586          AppleUSBEHCI[0xffffff8025a82000]::UIMInitialize - Error occurred (0xe00002c9)
Oct 28 15:11:04 imac27 kernel[0]: USBF:          318.702          AppleUSBEHCI[0xffffff8025a82000]::UIMFinalize - could not get chip to halt within 100 ms
A reboot doesn't bring back the Thunderbolt USB. Just a complete shutdown and waiting for several minutes brings it back to life for a few minutes.

Do an SMC and PRAM reset.

Thunderbolt Display "dead" after firmware upgrade to Version 1.2

Hi,
I just run the Thunderbolt F/W update to 1.2 as offered by the AppStore Update. I have a 2014 MacPro with 2 Displays connected. In good faith I just confirmed to apply the update without much reading the fine print. The F/W update brought the system to a complete standstill. After 2 hours of waiting in the boot screen, I rebooted the system manually (5 secs power button). One of the Thunderbolt displays first just flickered, then decided to completely die. The System report says: unknown device in the Thunderbolt section. The 2nd display hasn't been updated during this procedure.
How can the F/W of the 'dead' display be re-installed? I also tried to connect it to a MacBook pro. Same result. The display is entirely black.
Any help or suggestion is much appreciated. Thanks!

Put me on the list as well.
I've had this TB display for two years and have had no issue with it. Clicked OK on the firmware prompt and now I have a $1000 paperweight/laptop charger.
What I have tried:
Reset SMC and NVRAM on my MBP.
Unplugged the display from power and all peripherals and let it sit for ~24 hours before trying again.
Downloaded the firmware installer from Thunderbolt Display Firmware Update v1.2. It tells me that no thunderbolt display is connected.
So far nothing has produced a result.
System report shows an unknown device on the TB port.
A used logic board for the display is around USD$220 on ebay.
I really wish I had not attempted to install the firmware now.

MacBook pro 15" Retina - connecting to Thunderbolt display issue

Hi
Is everyone else have trouble connecting the thunderbolt to the MacBook Pro with Retina? With my air it was plug and play (nomatter if the MBA were asleep or awake - it would just wake up when I uesed the wirless mouse or keyboard), but now I have to restart my Mac everytime I connect it to the thunderbolt display.
It simply will not "wake" when I connect the thunderbolt cable. I have to open the screen and the restart..
Also there is a lot of "flickering" . almost like it is "trying" to work.. but have to be reastartet everytime.

Mine is even worse...after connecting it the display flickers and turns black...the mainboard of the display was changed but the symptoms returned after some few hours of usage...

Thunderbolt display not recognized - but only after supper!

Ugh. Getting seriously frustrated with my 27" TB display, now. Have been using it on a MBP 2011 for a while, had experienced some flickering with Lion, not so with ML.
Last week, I left my MBP connected and went in for supper; when I came back, the MBP had - of course - fallen asleep. Woke it up, but only the MBP display came on, not the TB display. I unplugged/replugged, several times - same thing.
Rebooted the MBP, with the TBD plugged or unplugged - same thing.
SMC reset - same thing.
I spent two nights reading forums and trying all sorts of fixes - no luck.
Finally, I resigned to booking an appt with the local Apple Store; this appt was for this morning. This morning, before getting the monitor out of the office, I decided one more time to connect my MBP - it worked!!! ***?
So I worked all day, no issues. Very happy.
Tonight, before going in for supper, I unplugged the monitor and closed my MBP's lid so it would go to sleep. When I came back, I woke up the MBP, connected the TBD, and...nothing. Black screen!! Went through a couple of rigamaroles to try and get it back - nothing!
Argghhh!!
So now, I'm wondering if my diet has something to do with it. Tonight, I had T-bone steaks on the grill, with roasted potatoes and a salad. Maybe if I would have had pasta instead the monitor would have gone back on?
Any ideas, suggestions or magic spells would be greatly appreciated.
As would a fix from Apple...
Jacques

I have been having the same problem since I got the **** Thunderbolt display and a lion-installed macbook pro in September last year. I've been sitting tight thinking surely Apple will fix this debilitating defect on their premium equipment - How wrong was I!
My story is similar in that I always take the laptop home from work and have the Thunderbolt display in my office at work. I close the lid putting the laptop to sleep and pull out the cables. When I go home I may use the laptop via its internal display (one would think that would be ok) and then close the lid and put it back to sleep. WHen I return to work, plug in the cables and open the lid, most of the time the thunderbolt display stays black. On a rare occasion it will switch on but I can't fathom any pattern as to when and why it might work. The only solution to get the display to switch on is to reboot the laptop (and lose all my open documents from work the previous day and night). Recently, and I'm not sure what has triggred it, things have got a whole lot worse. Now, if I reboot the laptop when connected to the unresponsive screen upon restart the Thunderbolt display freezes on a grey screen and the laptop display stays black. The only solution is to hold down the power button and force shutdown the laptop. This happens everytime now, I simply cannot reboot the laptop with the thunderbolt display attached!
Nice premium equipment Apple! As this stuff was bought by my work I have learned to live with it. If had bought this junk with my own hard-earned then I would be furious and would have demanded a refund/replacement/explanation a long time ago.
Maybe, just maybe, Apple may one day actually fix this £2000 setup I have sitting on desk so that it switches on when its supposed to. Is that too much to ask?
Sat

Thunderbolt display broken after Mavericks 10.9.2 update

Macbook Pro, 15 inch, non-retina (mid 2012)
Thunderbolt display, 27 inches
I updated from 10.9.1 to 10.9.2 last week. When in 10.9.1, I had no issues with the Thunderbolt display (for approximately a month). However, since updating to 10.9.2 the Thunderbolt display now suffers from these problems
1. Display randomly flickers to black.
2. Display randomly has coloured lines across the screen.
3. Macbook pro slows to a crawl with the Thunderbolt adapter plugged in.
4. (more recently) Thunderbolt display, when plugged in, causes both laptop screen and thunderbolt screen to go black. Checking the Library/ColorSync/Profiles/Displays folder suggests that the Thunderbolt display is recognized as a generic display.
Troubleshooting:
- Condition does not correlate with jiggling of Thunderbolt cord, so I don't think it's a loose contact or faulty cable.
- Resetted PRAM and SMC but symptoms persist.
- Deleted com.apple.windowserver.plist and com.apple.windowserver.plist~orig to let the files rebuild but symptoms persist.
- Interestingly, I can plug in a different Thunderbolt monitor (also 27 inches) and it seems to work fine (albeit with only ~2 mins of testing).
- Other non-Thunderbolt displays seem to work fine as well.
Logged a complain to apple via http://www.apple.com/feedback/
Unfortunately, don't have a time machine backup to 10.9.1. Is there a way to reinstall 10.9.1 without a time machine backup?
Does anyone have suggestions of things to troubleshoot or possible fixes?
Thanks!

Hello ahwahk
Start with the first article below to troubleshoot the issue further. Try out those same apps within a new or another user on your Mac. Also try booting it up in Safe Mode to see if it still does the issue with the icons. You may end up just needing to reinstall OS X Mavericks all together.
Mac OS X: How to troubleshoot a software issue
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1199
OS X Mavericks: Reinstall OS X
http://support.apple.com/kb/ph13871
Regards,
-Norm G.

Thunderbolt displays blinking

I've got a Mac Pro that's a couple of months old.
A few times an hour one of the displays goes black for half a second and then comes back to life.
All three Apple displays (27") have done it, so it's not specific to any particular screen and I can't find any pattern to which one is going to do it next.
I've installed the latest firmware update (1.2) relating to this and that's made no difference.
Has anyone got any suggestions for how I might investigate? It's quite frustrating having these glorious displays only for them to misbehave like this.

Try also posting in the Thunderbolt display forum. Your proboem has been discussed but I do not remember a solution
Thunderbolt Display
Also, this
http://www.iclarified.com/entry/index.php?enid=17107
says:
IMPORTANT:
This firmware update may not resolve the flickering issue if a Mini DisplayPort extender cable is used.
Are yo connecting the monitor directly to the computer's Thunderbolt port?

27 inch Thunderbolt Display

Constant flickering; screen goes black.
Anyone else suffering this incrediblely annoying experience with Apple's new $999.00 monitor ?

I have my Thunderbolt display connected to my MacBook Pro and have been experiencing the same issue, getting worse over time. The folks at my local Apple store did not know what to do about it. So, I looked around and tried different thing.
The one thing that seems to be working is to System Preferences > Build-in Display > uncheck “Automatically adjust brightness.”
I hope this helps.

Flickering thunderbolt display?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for