Monitor flickering is a very common problem faced by many Windows PC users. The issue can happen both on desktop monitors as well as on laptop screens. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned computer user, it will be frustrating issue to deal with. There are variety of factors cause monitor to flicker like outdated graphics drivers, incorrect refresh rate, power-saving features or loose connections. In this article, we will explain how to fix monitor flickering issue in Windows PC. Though we focus on Windows 11, most suggestions can be applied to older Windows versions also.
Methods to Fix Monitor Flickering
Let us start with a step-by-step approach to troubleshooting the flickering monitor issue. We will go through different solutions, starting with the most basic and moving down to more advanced ones. Note that if you are seeing the apps are going out of the screen, it is a screen resolution issue and not a flickering.
Check for Loose Connections and Faulty Cables
A loose connection between the computer and your monitor can cause the monitor to flicker intermittently. When the connection is loose, the data sent from the computer to the monitor is corrupt or incomplete, which can cause display issues. So, the first thing you should do is to check if all the cables are securely connected or not. Try to unplug them once and then replug them to see if the issue is resolved.
Sometimes a cable connecting your monitor to the computer might be damaged, which can result in monitor flickering. Try replacing it with a new cable and check whether that works.
Checking Source of Monitor Flickering
If cables are fine, then the next step is to narrow down the root cause of the issue. Monitor flickering can be a result of both software and hardware issues. You can perform a simple test using Task Manager to find out what type of issue is causing the problem. You can open Task Manager using multiple ways. The easy way is to right-click on the taskbar and select Task Manager menu. Alternatively, press “Ctrl + Shift + Esc” keys in your keyboard and then select “Task Manager” option.
Now check if the Task Manager is flickering along with everything on the screen, it means that your computer’s display driver is responsible for this issue. You need to update it as explained in the below section 2. But if the Task Manager is not flickering, it means some other thing like recently installed app is causing the issue. In such case, you need to try out the following solutions one by one to fix the flickering.
1. Check Screen Refresh Rate
An incorrect refresh rate is the major reason for monitor flickering, especially when you face the issue while playing games or watching videos. You can adjust the refresh rate to see if it works for you.
- Go to the “Start menu” and type “Display settings’’.
- Click on “Display settings” from the results to open “System > Display” section in Settings app.
- Scroll down on the page and click “Advanced display” option.
- In the option “Choose a refresh rate”, a drop-down appears where you can change the refresh rate. Change it to see if the monitor flickering stops.
2. Remove and Update Graphics Driver
One of the most common causes of monitor flickering is an outdated graphics driver. The graphics driver is an intermediate link between graphics card and monitor. When the driver is outdated, system is unable to properly communicate with the graphics card, resulting in monitor flickering. To fix this issue, you will have to update your graphics or display driver to the latest version.
Caution: We strongly recommend you to keep the backup of your graphics card driver before removing. Though Windows will help to find it online, sometimes it may not work especially when you have old, outdated hardware.
- Click on the “Start menu” or Search icon/button in taskbar and type “Device Manager” in the search box. Open the “Device Manager” app from the search results.
- Now expand “Display adapters” section by clicking the arrow next to it.
- Right-click on the graphic cards that appears under the “Display adapters” and select “Update driver” option. You will see a prompt asking to select whether you want Windows to search driver online or manually install from your backup. Select “Search automatically for drivers” and wait for the update the to complete.
- If updating driver is not fixing the issue, then you can right-click on the graphics card in “Device Manager” and select “Uninstall device” option.
- A dialog box will appear and select “Uninstall” option.
- Once graphics card software is removed, now restart the computer. After restarting you will see that the screen flickering has stopped.
However, after restarting you will notice that the display of your system is not the same as before. In most cases, Windows will automatically try to find the driver when you restart the computer. Otherwise, you can update Windows to fix this problem. For updating Windows, open Settings app and go to “Windows Update” section. Now click “Check for updates” button and Windows will start installing the latest release.
Most PC and laptop manufactures also supply a pre-installed app for managing devices and drivers. For example, Huawei laptops come with Huawei PC Manager app using which you can troubleshoot and fix the issue.
3. Identify and Remove Conflicting Apps
Some malfunctioned apps can also result in monitor flickering by conflicting with OS or using excessive resources. If an app is malfunctioning or conflicting, it will use excessive CPU resource, memory and disk, causing the system to become unstable and the monitor to start flickering. If the flickering happens after installing an app, then you should uninstall and check it that helps.
- Go to the “Start menu” and search for “Add or remove programs” in the search bar. Open the result to go to that settings.
- All the apps installed on your system are shown here.
- Find the recently installed app causing the problem, select it and click on the three dots icon. Then click “Uninstall”.
- Again, click on “Uninstall” to finally remove the app from your computer.
After successfully uninstalling the app, restart your computer to check if the issue is resolved or not.
4. Disable Animation Effects
If your monitor still flickers after trying all the above solutions, then try disabling the animation effects. Some Windows 11 users have claimed that this method has helped them in solving the issue.
- Go to the “Start menu” and type “settings”. Open “Settings” app from the result.
- Select “Accessibility” from the left side panel.
- Now click on “Visual effects’’ and turn off “Animation effects” by turning the toggle button to off.
Now check if your monitor stops flickering. If it does not resolve the issue then try the next method.
5. Disable Windows Error Reporting Services
Sometimes disabling the Windows Error Reporting Services can help to fix the screen flickering problem. For that:
- Go to the “Start menu” and type “System configuration” and open the app.
- When you are in the System Configuration app go to “Services” tab.
- Now scroll down and deselect “Windows Error Reporting Service” item.
- Also uncheck the “Problem Reports Control Panel Support” service.
- Click “Apply” and then click “OK” buttons. A dialog box appears, hit “Restart” to check the result.
Conclusion
Monitor flickering is a common issue, but with a little bit of troubleshooting we can easily solve it. Make sure to keep your PC up-to-date to avoid these kinds of problems, especially the drivers. It is important to check both hardware and software of the device to resolve the issue promptly. We hope this guide helped you to fix the monitor flickering issue successfully. If none of the above methods worked for you, then you may need to take your device to support center for a detailed analysis.
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