Macbook Screen Flicker

So my Macbook is about four years old and just recently the screen has started to flicker. If I put it in certain positions, the brightness goes away to where you can barely read the text (it looks like a black screen). The only way I can see the screen (where it is turned on) is if I keep it in a certain spot. Also, if I bump the screen it will turn off. I have never dropped my computer so it doesn't have any physical damage. Any advice?

Hi najlen,
It sounds like the inverter board is on its way out. Behind where it says: "MacBook" is a little piece of hardware called the inverter board that controls the backlight functionality of your display. I've seen scenarios where the board or the cabling that runs between the board and logic board are the issue.
More often then not, it'll require service. As the unit is about four years old it's well outside of AppleCare's coverage. I recommend bringing it into an Apple Authorized Service Provider or Apple Retail Store and they'll be able to provide you with your out-of-warranty repair options.

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Aluminum MacBook Screen Flicker?

Hey everyone,
I have an aluminum MacBook that's a couple of months old and the screen flickers just a tad. It seems to happen when I'm on batteries or plugged in. I'm not sure if the flicker is normal or not. Do all screens on MacBooks flicker just a tad because of the light sensor?
Sorry if there are already posts in the forum somewhere about this! Any help you guys could give me would be greatly appreciated.

I would get it looked at and documented. It should not do that.
Dave M.
MacOSG Founder/Ambassador  An Apple User Group  iTunes: MacOSG Podcast
Macsimum News Associate Editor  Creator of 'Mac611 - Mobile Mac Support'

Any solution for having daily screen flicker on my 2.13GHz 13" 2011 Macbook Air (running 10.6.8)???

well, the title says it all...I see on the Macbook Pro support threads that this is a continuing issue for that model and people seem frustrated that repeated replacements of motherboard and/or displays are not solving the problem.
I can still use the computer but it is a little disconcerting to have the screen flicker and it seems to be happening almost daily now whereas it used to be more of an occasional thing...
I run Onyx and fix disk permissions and clean out various caches at least once a month...but other than that, I just use the computer for low-intensity tasks of word-processing and web browsing mostly...
just wondering what people have done with this problem?
Thanks,
Eric

I finally found a solution. In about:config, under browser.sessionhistory.max_entries, I changed 5 to 20. End of problem.

Screen flicker on Macbook

'm on a Macbook (Intel Core Duo 2gHz Processor, 1Gig of Ram, 10 gigs of space left on an 80Gig drive).
The issue is that, at seemingly random times, my screen will flicker, as if the power management was trying to dim the screen during a period of inactivity period.
I called Apple support and they told me to:
1) Disconnect the power
2) Remove the battery,
3) Hold down the power button for 5 seconds
4) Reconnect the power and the battery
5) Power up, and when the system started to boot, hold down ALt-Option-P-R until the second boot cycle.
At first, it seemed to work. The screen flicker stopped. However, now when I boot, I get a grey screen of multi-colored vertical lines, and I need to Alt-Opt-P-R each time to get into the OS.
And, as of yesterday, the screen flicker is back.
I have no ambient light detector like the Macbook Pro, so I know that's not it. I've not seen any other reference to this on the web, so I'm stumped.
Thanks for any insight you might have.

I've experimented a bit, and I've found that the screen usually starts to flicker when the computer is under high load, such as playing a few YouTube videos, or playing a game.
When it started flickering for me, I was running on battery power. My first theory was that the battery could possibly not be supplying enough power to keep everything going (even though it was > 50% charge), but then one day I started getting the flicker while I was plugged into the power adapter. I could still be that the MacBook's hardware is requiring more power than it is getting, but if that were the case, more people would be having this issue.
The flickering doesn't really annoy me that much, as it only lasts for about a minute or two at the most, and it seems to come around once a day or so. It does worry me though, the way in which it flickers doesn't seem good -at all-, and I'm afraid that one day the screen will flicker and it'll get stuck like that, or even not turn on properly again. With my luck it'll be the day the warranty runs out.
As of right now I can't afford to part with my laptop either, as I also have school.
Hopefully someone finds a software fix, or Apple figures out the exact cause of the problem so it can be sent in for a quick hardware fix.

Hi, my macbook screen goes black at random points when I am using it. I know it is still running as music continues to play and I can vaguely make out the content of what is on the screen. Sometimes the screen will flicker between black and normal. Can I

Hi,
my macbook screen goes black at random points when I am using it. I know it is still running as music continues to play and I can vaguely make out the content of what is on the screen. Sometimes the screen will flicker between black and normal. Can I fix this?

Emily..
Could be the graphics card, run the Apple Hardware Test
If the hardware test doesn't reveal any problems, use Lion Recovery.

Macbook pro retina screen flicking problem

I bought this 15 inches Macbook pro back in Nov, 2012. And I have the screen flicking problem in Dec.
The problem is the same here listed on youtube. You can find hundres of them just by searching "retina flicker" on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko6WCqw20ZE
And I did a lot of researches on this. I had also gone to the Apple Store 2 times, one Genius Bar Staff told me this has to be a hardware problem and offer to fix my laptop, others said it might be a software based problem and adviced me to wait for the new system update. I don't have time for a long fixing so I chose waiting. That particular one who told me to wait for the next software update also encourage me to dig deep and tried to find the root cause by myself...and I did. I found my screen flicking problem could caused by cellphone inteference. And It seems that the Wi-Fi antena is also a key component here. If I turn off Wi-Fi completely, the flickering went away.
Some solutions I found online
1. It can caused by Enable Safari webGL. So disable webGL and turn off develop mode
2. Disable displaycard auto switch in Power saving tab
3. Close the lid put the sytem into sleep and re-open the lid
4. stop using Wi-Fi. That's right people, try disable Wi-Fi!! It's the only working solution for me.
5. It could be caused by CDMA cellphones including US Verizon brand cellphones and many others. GSM cellphones are OK. Try to turn off your cellphone or drive to a empty plaza and try to see your laptop still flickering at your car. Turn off your cellphone when You do this.
What doesn't work
Reboot
reinstall OS
go to Apple Store and change Logic Board (Someone reported that after logic board change, the problem came back after a while)
Let me know if you guys have any findings, Thanks!!

I'm sure that you've seen the problem with 'burn-in' and 'ghosting' on some MBP-R machines in threads on this forum. It doesn't seem to be an overwhelming problem, but some have reported it.
Did you buy it from an Apple Store or online? Either way, you need to get tough with Apple. Tell them you need to keep your computer and, when they deliver a replacement to your local Apple Store, you'll bring it in for exchange. That's what they've been doing with most people that have had MBP-R problems - I've never heard of them requesting that you send your computer back before they will exchange. Did you contact your local Apple Store or was this response from an AppleCare phone conversation. If the latter, take it into the Apple Store, explain what you want to do, and I'm sure that they will work with you.
Good luck,
Clinton

13" MacBook Pro - Screen Flicker / Windows 7 Bootcamp

I have a 13" MackBook Pro with Retina display that I purchased last December (8 months old). I am running Windows 7 in Bootcamp and the last few months the screen flickers on occasion (becoming more frequent). I launched the Mac OS to ensure I have the latest updates and I believe I do (nothing new to install within the Mac OS). Majority of the time I'm hooked up to an external monitor / lid is closed, but obviously that is a challenge when traveling.
I did do some searches and see other posts around screen flicker issues, but those appear to be on the Mac OS side. What is odd about my scenario is that it only seems to appear on the Windows 7 side. I can't seem to find a fix for this / really would hate to have to reload the machine.

Running Windows 7 Ultimate x64 on my brand new 15" MBP right now.
The only problem I'm having is the USB controller issue that is reported in the following thread:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2411685&start=30&tstart=0
I ran the Boot Camp assistant, made the partition, rebooted with my 7 DVD, formatted the partition, performed a clean installation, & then installed the drivers from the OSX DVD when Windows booted the first time.
Replaced the NVIDIA drivers with the latest Verde release. 258.96notebook_winvista_win7_64bit_internationalwhql.exe
Everything seems to be running just fine at this point.
Message was edited by: jdamien75

Macbook Pro 13 Early 2011 ocasional screen flicker...

I bought a MBP 13 early 2011 i5 new about 2 weeks ago. Over the last week or so I get an occasional screen flicker. I lasts about a second and that is it. I had a MBP 13 2010 for a year before this one and never experienced this problem with that one. I am running Lion and all the software is up to date. I guess I am wondering if anyone else with this model has experienced this, is normal, or should it be something I should be concerned about. Thanks in advance for any answers on this. Also not related to heating either, temp is running the 40's, and just web browsing.

Call Apple Care. You have 14 days from the date of purchase to return your computer with no questions asked. Otherwise, you have the standard 1 year warranty and 3 years if you purchased Apple Care.
Take FULL advantage of your warranty. Posting on a message board should be done as a last resort and if you are out of warranty or Apple Care has expired.

How can I reproduce my screen flicker so they'll believe me?

The intermittent nature of the annoying screen flicker on my Macbook makes it difficult to show a tech that it is a real problem and not some figment of my imagination. Does anybody know of a "sure fire" way of reproducing it? I have been able to recreate the rapid dimming and brightening of my Macbook screen by moving the brightness indicator all the way to the left and then bumping it up one click. This only works sometimes and it only works when I do it by clicking and dragging on the ball on the display screen in system prefs. It doesn't work by using f1 and f2. I made a video of my screen while it was flickering and put the video on the desktop. I'm sending it in as soon as my box arrives on Tuesday. They're also replacing my stained top case. I hope they will look at the video and at least test the inverter and cable to see if they're the problem. Any help with how to encourage them would be greatly appreciated.
macbook Mac OS X (10.4.9)

I am the victim of this problem also. The screen flickering & brightness of the screen suddenly fade to low intensity. The screen flickering happened everytime I use my MacBook.
May MacBook was the initial Jun 2006 version.
I already get those problems (a) sudden shutdown (replace the logic board), (b) palm rest area discoloration (change the bottom case), (c) power adaptor pin contact problem (replace the new one), (d) poor performance of battery life (awaiting confirmation from local Apple support, 180cycle max. charge only 50% of initial capacity) & (e) screen flicker issue (today just send in my MacBook for them to do diagnostic).
I really lost confident with my MacBook.
Should I request a replacement of entire MacBook?
My warranty period will be expired mid of next month & the are asking me to purchase the apple protection plan. But, I claim that the unit is poor in initial build quality & why I should considered the plan. It is unfair to me.
If the MacBook is in good condition then I will consider the plan for support another 2 years (fair), not in this reverse way.
Anybody please guide me how to pursue this matter.
I previously own an iBook G4 & PowerBook G4 TI don't have these problem at all.
CK Lim (Penang, MALAYSIA)

Mac mini Late 2014 screen flicking

Just got the Mac mini Late 2014 a week ago. It serves me well except the screen flicks randomly.
I have connected Mac mini to two BenQ monitors, one via mini-display port HDMI adaptor (lets said this is port A), another one via mini-display port to HDMI or HDMI cable directly (tried both) (lets say this is port B or HDMI).
The issue is, screen from port B or HDMI flicks randomly, sometimes 1 or two times within a minute, sometimes even half hour or an hour without issue.
Connection with port A is always good, no flicking, I even switched two monitors, the problem still there, so it shouldn't relate to the monitor.
I also tried different mini-display to HDMI adaptor on port B, also tried different HDMI cable, the problem still exists.
I have no idea what happened here.
Maybe something not related, but I want to mention, When setting up the new Mac mini, I tried to migrate my old account on Macbook Pro (Mavericks) to Mac mini, but It was interrupted, (the user accunt was created, but then I manually migrated some other stuff manually), not sure if this interruption plays a part in this screen flicking issue.
Any idea? Thanks for any helps in advance.

Hi there bluemoonj,
I would recommend taking a look at the video troubleshooting steps found in the article below.
Apple computers: Troubleshooting issues with video on internal or external displays
-Griff W.

Screen flicker

I am having issues with screen flicker. Occasionally it flickers, without going completely dark. It is accompanied by clicking (or is it arcing) sounds up near the esc key! Not good. I am wondering if a failure is imminent.

I'm having the same issue.... I'm waiting to hear back from tech support, so I hope they can fix it. I had this happen to my old MacBook, and they had me send it in so they could fix it, it worked and I was happy with it.... i'm crossing my fingers.
Andrew

Screen flicker..is everybody experiencing this?

before i soon go out and buy the mba 13",
can any body say that they are _not experiencing_ the screen flicker when scrolling issue.
if everybody is,
is apple expecting this to be regarded as normal?

The 10.6.5 update fixes the flicker issue that some users experienced after waking their MacBook Air from sleep. The flicker issue that "ashhast" is asking about is unrelated, he's asking about the flicker while scrolling issue. As far as I understand, this issue is caused by a problem in the hardware that can not be repaired through software. I personally am experiencing this issue on a 13" MacBook Air (and have installed all the software updates available up until today, December 17th). You could take a look at the thread "Flickering screen when scrolling" started by "nonicoclolasos" for some more information:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2645516

Screen flicker at low brightness

Hi all
I have a macbook pro unibody 15" and I seem to be getting a screen flicker at low brightness settings.
I used to have a macbook and it never did this.
Is this normal and if not, is there anything that I can do about it?
Message was edited by: Gambit Hunt

Hi G,
I was going to suggest having it checked for the NVIDIA issue, but you state you have a unibody. If you have a new unibody, you would be best served if you posted in that forum (this area is for the Original MBP). Good luck.

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Hi all, I've recently installed Mountain Lion and am getting a screen flicker in launch pad. I was wondering if anyone else is experiencing this issue?
The problem arises when you try and access a folder of applications in launch pad.
I have a MacBook Pro retina. 2.3Ghz; 16Gb ram; 250Gb.

I'm having a similar problem with the dock when I'm using my 720p television as a second monitor through the HDMI connection on my rMBP. I've attached a couple of screen shots for your information, and to show the apple reps when I call them back ...
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What you are seeing as a screen "flicker" may actually be a result of ambient light changes.
they can seem to be flickers if the brightness of the graphics changes or if the ambient light has a change.
Those users who have not used a laptop with the ambient light adjustment are not familiar with the screen changes and might not see them as a natural enhancement. (tis hard to adjust after using one to using one that does not have it- you get used to it and miss it if using a lesser computer.)
If it does not happen when at max brightness, ambient light is more likely than a display problem.
To check: go to displays preferences and turn off (uncheck) "automatically adjust brightness as ambient light changes."
Message was edited by: Rhyd

Macbook Screen Flicker

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