Fickering External Monitor

woodape · 2016-10-05 09:02:35

I have an external monitor hooked up to my laptop via HDMI which flickers every few seconds. The screen goes black for about a second or two and then returns. There doesn't seem to be any "weirdness" on the monitor when it is displaying.

I've bought a new HDMI cable thinking this was the issue but it didn't change anything.

I know this is normally a refresh rate issue but I've played with every refresh rate displayed in xrandr and what's more, I have hooked this same monitor to my desktop machine and get no flickering issue with the same 60Hz refresh rate. The monitor says 60HZ when I hit the menu button on the monitor itself.

Any Ideas?

Window Manager: bspwm
Display Manager: N/A
Kernel: 4.7.6-1
Intel Driver: xf86-video-intel 1:2.99.917+708

xrandr
Screen 0: minimum 8 x 8, current 3520 x 1080, maximum 32767 x 32767
eDP1 connected 1600x900+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 290mm x 160mm
   1600x900      60.11*+
   1368x768      60.00  
   1280x720      60.00  
   1024x768      60.00  
   1024x576      60.00  
   960x540       60.00  
   800x600       60.32    56.25  
   864x486       60.00  
   800x450       60.00  
   640x480       59.94  
   720x405       60.00  
   640x360       60.00  
DP1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
HDMI1 connected 1920x1080+1600+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 480mm x 270mm
   1920x1080     60.00*+  60.00    50.00    59.94  
   1920x1080i    60.00    50.00    59.94  
   1680x1050     59.88  
   1280x1024     75.02    60.02  
   1440x900      59.90  
   1280x720      60.00    50.00    59.94  
   1024x768      75.03    60.00  
   800x600       75.00    60.32  
   720x576       50.00  
   720x576i      50.00  
   720x480       60.00    59.94  
   640x480       75.00    60.00    59.94  
   720x400       70.08  
VGA1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
VIRTUAL1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)

R00KIE · 2016-10-05 14:22:58

Try removing xf86-video-intel and restart xorg and see if it makes any difference. Also make sure your bios/fw is up-to-date as sometimes newer versions contain fixes for weird problems like that.

That said, I've seen a case where an Intel iGPU had some sort of incompatibility with a VGA projector and couldn't keep a constant signal, this also happened both with windows and linux so it was most probably a hardware incompatibility and not a software problem.

seth · 2016-10-05 15:05:02

Does it remain when you "xrandr --output eDP1 --off"?

woodape · 2016-10-06 08:00:23

Thanks for the response guys. I have tried removing the Intel drivers and the issue remains. I've just tried turning off eDP1 and it still occurs.

I updated my bios (Its a Samsung Series 9) some years ago when I first bought the machine, and I don't see any new bios options available. I imagine Samsung has moved on.

I'm hoping this isn't a hardware incompatibility issue, I'd prefer to not get another monitor...

seth · 2016-10-06 15:06:03

Does it remain for "xrandr --output HDMI1 --mode 1280x720"?
What is a bit odd is the two 60Hz modes for FullHD.

R00KIE · 2016-10-06 15:59:15

seth wrote:

What is a bit odd is the two 60Hz modes for FullHD.

Not really, one is progressive scan and the other is interlaced.

seth · 2016-10-06 16:16:49

Take a closer look at these lines ;-)

1920x1080 60.00*+ 60.00 50.00 59.94
1920x1080i 60.00 50.00 59.94

R00KIE · 2016-10-06 20:55:17

Ahh ok, that. It might still not be strange, it could be due to different supported modes(1) that have a 60Hz refresh rate.

(1) HSYNC/VSYNC polarity, reduced blanking or not, etc.

seth · 2016-10-06 20:58:15

Figurable. And might be cause of flicker.
@woodape, please post the output of "xrandr --verbose -q" (in code tags)

woodape · 2016-10-10 16:50:05

Hi all, sorry for the late replies, I've been out for the week at a friend's (long) wedding. Here's the output requested:

Screen 0: minimum 8 x 8, current 3520 x 1080, maximum 32767 x 32767
eDP1 connected 1600x900+0+0 (0x49) normal (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 290mm x 160mm
	Identifier: 0x43
	Timestamp:  19398
	Subpixel:   unknown
	Gamma:      1.0:1.0:1.0
	Brightness: 1.0
	Clones:    
	CRTC:       0
	CRTCs:      0 1 2
	Transform:  1.000000 0.000000 0.000000
	            0.000000 1.000000 0.000000
	            0.000000 0.000000 1.000000
	           filter: 
	EDID: 
		00ffffffffffff004ca3463500000000
		00150104a51d10780209e59757548a27
		22505400000001010101010101010101
		010101010101382740c0608420303020
		250025a5100000190000000f00000000
		000000000028800a1e00000000fe0053
		414d53554e470a2020202020000000fe
		004c534e3133334b4c3031380a200003
	BACKLIGHT: 4647 
		range: (0, 4648)
	Backlight: 4647 
		range: (0, 4648)
	scaling mode: Full aspect 
		supported: None, Full, Center, Full aspect
	Broadcast RGB: Automatic 
		supported: Automatic, Full, Limited 16:235
	audio: auto 
		supported: force-dvi, off, auto, on
  1600x900 (0x49) 100.400MHz -HSync -VSync *current +preferred
        h: width  1600 start 1648 end 1680 total 1792 skew    0 clock  56.03KHz
        v: height  900 start  902 end  907 total  932           clock  60.11Hz
  1368x768 (0xe7) 85.860MHz -HSync +VSync
        h: width  1368 start 1440 end 1584 total 1800 skew    0 clock  47.70KHz
        v: height  768 start  769 end  772 total  795           clock  60.00Hz
  1280x720 (0xe8) 74.480MHz -HSync +VSync
        h: width  1280 start 1336 end 1472 total 1664 skew    0 clock  44.76KHz
        v: height  720 start  721 end  724 total  746           clock  60.00Hz
  1024x768 (0xe9) 65.000MHz -HSync -VSync
        h: width  1024 start 1048 end 1184 total 1344 skew    0 clock  48.36KHz
        v: height  768 start  771 end  777 total  806           clock  60.00Hz
  1024x576 (0xea) 46.995MHz -HSync +VSync
        h: width  1024 start 1064 end 1168 total 1312 skew    0 clock  35.82KHz
        v: height  576 start  577 end  580 total  597           clock  60.00Hz
  960x540 (0xeb) 40.784MHz -HSync +VSync
        h: width   960 start  992 end 1088 total 1216 skew    0 clock  33.54KHz
        v: height  540 start  541 end  544 total  559           clock  60.00Hz
  800x600 (0xec) 40.000MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width   800 start  840 end  968 total 1056 skew    0 clock  37.88KHz
        v: height  600 start  601 end  605 total  628           clock  60.32Hz
  800x600 (0xed) 36.000MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width   800 start  824 end  896 total 1024 skew    0 clock  35.16KHz
        v: height  600 start  601 end  603 total  625           clock  56.25Hz
  864x486 (0xee) 32.901MHz -HSync +VSync
        h: width   864 start  888 end  976 total 1088 skew    0 clock  30.24KHz
        v: height  486 start  487 end  490 total  504           clock  60.00Hz
  800x450 (0xef) 27.736MHz -HSync +VSync
        h: width   800 start  816 end  896 total  992 skew    0 clock  27.96KHz
        v: height  450 start  451 end  454 total  466           clock  60.00Hz
  640x480 (0xf0) 25.175MHz -HSync -VSync
        h: width   640 start  656 end  752 total  800 skew    0 clock  31.47KHz
        v: height  480 start  490 end  492 total  525           clock  59.94Hz
  720x405 (0xf1) 22.176MHz -HSync +VSync
        h: width   720 start  728 end  800 total  880 skew    0 clock  25.20KHz
        v: height  405 start  406 end  409 total  420           clock  60.00Hz
  640x360 (0xf2) 17.187MHz -HSync +VSync
        h: width   640 start  640 end  704 total  768 skew    0 clock  22.38KHz
        v: height  360 start  361 end  364 total  373           clock  60.00Hz
DP1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
	Identifier: 0x44
	Timestamp:  19398
	Subpixel:   unknown
	Clones:    
	CRTCs:      0 1 2
	Transform:  1.000000 0.000000 0.000000
	            0.000000 1.000000 0.000000
	            0.000000 0.000000 1.000000
	           filter: 
	Broadcast RGB: Automatic 
		supported: Automatic, Full, Limited 16:235
	audio: auto 
		supported: force-dvi, off, auto, on
HDMI1 connected 1920x1080+1600+0 (0xf3) normal (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 480mm x 270mm
	Identifier: 0x45
	Timestamp:  19398
	Subpixel:   unknown
	Gamma:      1.0:1.0:1.0
	Brightness: 1.0
	Clones:     VGA1
	CRTC:       1
	CRTCs:      0 1 2
	Transform:  1.000000 0.000000 0.000000
	            0.000000 1.000000 0.000000
	            0.000000 0.000000 1.000000
	           filter: 
	EDID: 
		00ffffffffffff004e83390800000000
		2417010380301b78eafff5a556499d24
		165054a54b0081809500b30001010101
		010101010101023a801871382d40582c
		4500dd0c1100001c000000fd00324c1e
		5211000a202020202020000000fc0053
		4c454d2d32324d460a202020000000ff
		003030303030303030303030303001d8
		020321714c048503131412010211101f
		16230917078301000067030c00100038
		2d011d007251d01e206e2855009fee10
		00001f011d00bc52d01e20b82855409f
		ee1000001f011d80d0721c1620102c25
		809fee1000009e8c0ad090204031200c
		4055009fee1000001800000000000000
		000000000000000000000000000000fa
	aspect ratio: Automatic 
		supported: Automatic, 4:3, 16:9
	Broadcast RGB: Automatic 
		supported: Automatic, Full, Limited 16:235
	audio: auto 
		supported: force-dvi, off, auto, on
  1920x1080 (0xf3) 148.500MHz -HSync +VSync *current +preferred
        h: width  1920 start 2008 end 2052 total 2200 skew    0 clock  67.50KHz
        v: height 1080 start 1084 end 1089 total 1125           clock  60.00Hz
  1920x1080 (0xf4) 148.500MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width  1920 start 2008 end 2052 total 2200 skew    0 clock  67.50KHz
        v: height 1080 start 1084 end 1089 total 1125           clock  60.00Hz
  1920x1080 (0xf5) 148.500MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width  1920 start 2448 end 2492 total 2640 skew    0 clock  56.25KHz
        v: height 1080 start 1084 end 1089 total 1125           clock  50.00Hz
  1920x1080 (0xf6) 148.352MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width  1920 start 2008 end 2052 total 2200 skew    0 clock  67.43KHz
        v: height 1080 start 1084 end 1089 total 1125           clock  59.94Hz
  1920x1080i (0xf7) 74.250MHz +HSync +VSync Interlace
        h: width  1920 start 2008 end 2052 total 2200 skew    0 clock  33.75KHz
        v: height 1080 start 1084 end 1094 total 1125           clock  60.00Hz
  1920x1080i (0xf8) 74.250MHz +HSync +VSync Interlace
        h: width  1920 start 2448 end 2492 total 2640 skew    0 clock  28.12KHz
        v: height 1080 start 1084 end 1094 total 1125           clock  50.00Hz
  1920x1080i (0xf9) 74.176MHz +HSync +VSync Interlace
        h: width  1920 start 2008 end 2052 total 2200 skew    0 clock  33.72KHz
        v: height 1080 start 1084 end 1094 total 1125           clock  59.94Hz
  1680x1050 (0xfa) 119.000MHz +HSync -VSync
        h: width  1680 start 1728 end 1760 total 1840 skew    0 clock  64.67KHz
        v: height 1050 start 1053 end 1059 total 1080           clock  59.88Hz
  1280x1024 (0xfb) 135.000MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width  1280 start 1296 end 1440 total 1688 skew    0 clock  79.98KHz
        v: height 1024 start 1025 end 1028 total 1066           clock  75.02Hz
  1280x1024 (0xfc) 108.000MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width  1280 start 1328 end 1440 total 1688 skew    0 clock  63.98KHz
        v: height 1024 start 1025 end 1028 total 1066           clock  60.02Hz
  1440x900 (0x4a) 88.750MHz +HSync -VSync
        h: width  1440 start 1488 end 1520 total 1600 skew    0 clock  55.47KHz
        v: height  900 start  903 end  909 total  926           clock  59.90Hz
  1280x720 (0xfd) 74.250MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width  1280 start 1390 end 1430 total 1650 skew    0 clock  45.00KHz
        v: height  720 start  725 end  730 total  750           clock  60.00Hz
  1280x720 (0xfe) 74.250MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width  1280 start 1720 end 1760 total 1980 skew    0 clock  37.50KHz
        v: height  720 start  725 end  730 total  750           clock  50.00Hz
  1280x720 (0xff) 74.176MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width  1280 start 1390 end 1430 total 1650 skew    0 clock  44.96KHz
        v: height  720 start  725 end  730 total  750           clock  59.94Hz
  1024x768 (0x100) 78.750MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width  1024 start 1040 end 1136 total 1312 skew    0 clock  60.02KHz
        v: height  768 start  769 end  772 total  800           clock  75.03Hz
  1024x768 (0xe9) 65.000MHz -HSync -VSync
        h: width  1024 start 1048 end 1184 total 1344 skew    0 clock  48.36KHz
        v: height  768 start  771 end  777 total  806           clock  60.00Hz
  800x600 (0x101) 49.500MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width   800 start  816 end  896 total 1056 skew    0 clock  46.88KHz
        v: height  600 start  601 end  604 total  625           clock  75.00Hz
  800x600 (0xec) 40.000MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width   800 start  840 end  968 total 1056 skew    0 clock  37.88KHz
        v: height  600 start  601 end  605 total  628           clock  60.32Hz
  720x576 (0x102) 27.000MHz -HSync -VSync
        h: width   720 start  732 end  796 total  864 skew    0 clock  31.25KHz
        v: height  576 start  581 end  586 total  625           clock  50.00Hz
  720x576i (0x103) 13.500MHz -HSync -VSync Interlace
        h: width   720 start  732 end  795 total  864 skew    0 clock  15.62KHz
        v: height  576 start  580 end  586 total  625           clock  50.00Hz
  720x480 (0x104) 27.027MHz -HSync -VSync
        h: width   720 start  736 end  798 total  858 skew    0 clock  31.50KHz
        v: height  480 start  489 end  495 total  525           clock  60.00Hz
  720x480 (0x105) 27.000MHz -HSync -VSync
        h: width   720 start  736 end  798 total  858 skew    0 clock  31.47KHz
        v: height  480 start  489 end  495 total  525           clock  59.94Hz
  640x480 (0x106) 31.500MHz -HSync -VSync
        h: width   640 start  656 end  720 total  840 skew    0 clock  37.50KHz
        v: height  480 start  481 end  484 total  500           clock  75.00Hz
  640x480 (0x107) 25.200MHz -HSync -VSync
        h: width   640 start  656 end  752 total  800 skew    0 clock  31.50KHz
        v: height  480 start  490 end  492 total  525           clock  60.00Hz
  640x480 (0xf0) 25.175MHz -HSync -VSync
        h: width   640 start  656 end  752 total  800 skew    0 clock  31.47KHz
        v: height  480 start  490 end  492 total  525           clock  59.94Hz
  720x400 (0x108) 28.320MHz -HSync +VSync
        h: width   720 start  738 end  846 total  900 skew    0 clock  31.47KHz
        v: height  400 start  412 end  414 total  449           clock  70.08Hz
VGA1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
	Identifier: 0x46
	Timestamp:  19398
	Subpixel:   unknown
	Clones:     HDMI1
	CRTCs:      0 1 2
	Transform:  1.000000 0.000000 0.000000
	            0.000000 1.000000 0.000000
	            0.000000 0.000000 1.000000
	           filter: 
VIRTUAL1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
	Identifier: 0x47
	Timestamp:  19398
	Subpixel:   no subpixels
	Clones:    
	CRTCs:      3
	Transform:  1.000000 0.000000 0.000000
	            0.000000 1.000000 0.000000
	            0.000000 0.000000 1.000000
	           filter:

I've also run "xrandr --output HDMI1 --mode 1280x720" (after running the above) and have gone some minutes without a flicker. Is the issue the resolution? My desktop uses the full 1920x1080 on the same monitor with no issue.

seth · 2016-10-10 18:43:50

We'll see ;-)

Try "xrandr --output HDMI1 --mode 0xf4" resp. "xrandr --output HDMI1 --mode 0xf6"
Those are two "other" FullHD modes, one using a different HSYNC polarity and the other one a slight off frequency.
WARNING: Since this could turn your screen useless, you might want to append "; sleep 10; xrandr --output HDMI1 --auto" to each (which will wait 10 seconds and then revert to the default mode)
If the screen does not turn black or unusable for one of the modes, you might want to continue using it for a longer time to check whether it causes the flicker as well.

woodape · 2016-10-10 19:57:28

Hi seth, thanks for the help. I've just tried both commands, the "0xf4" flickered almost immediately and the "0xf6" took a couple of minutes but eventually flickered. Going back to the lower res for now. Any other ideas?

R00KIE · 2016-10-10 20:46:29

You could try generating new modelines with gtf and/or cvt and see if they differ from what is detected, if they do add them and try using them and see if it works.

You might want to refer to the following wiki page for help https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Xr … leshooting

seth · 2016-10-10 21:03:35

First just try 0xf5 (50Hz) and 0xf7 (interlaced)
HDMI should do 1080p@60, but I don't like™ "Clones: VGA1"

Maybe also record hardware (monitor vendor/model + lspci for the IGP)

Arch Linux

#1 2016-10-05 09:02:35

Fickering External Monitor

#2 2016-10-05 14:22:58

Re: Fickering External Monitor

#3 2016-10-05 15:05:02

Re: Fickering External Monitor

#4 2016-10-06 08:00:23

Re: Fickering External Monitor

#5 2016-10-06 15:06:03

Re: Fickering External Monitor

#6 2016-10-06 15:59:15

Re: Fickering External Monitor

#7 2016-10-06 16:16:49

Re: Fickering External Monitor

#8 2016-10-06 20:55:17

Re: Fickering External Monitor

#9 2016-10-06 20:58:15

Re: Fickering External Monitor

#10 2016-10-10 16:50:05

Re: Fickering External Monitor

#11 2016-10-10 18:43:50

Re: Fickering External Monitor

#12 2016-10-10 19:57:28

Re: Fickering External Monitor

#13 2016-10-10 20:46:29

Re: Fickering External Monitor

#14 2016-10-10 21:03:35

Re: Fickering External Monitor

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