Laptop screen flickering

When interacting with a computer users normally receive most of the information through the monitor, and in a situation with a laptop – through its screen. Screen matrixes differ from one another quite significantly: in terms of resolution, image updating frequency, color rendition quality and many other parameters. But they all have one task – to display information to the user so that he can perceive it comfortably. A serious problem that can prevent the information transfer is the flickering screen. It is practically impossible to work with a laptop that has a blinking display or distorted colors. In this article, we will tell you what has to be done in case your laptop’s screen is flickering and how you can fix the problem without contacting the service center.

Table of contents:
1. Why laptop screen is flickering
2. What has to be done if laptop screen is flickering
- Solutions for software malfunctions 
- Solutions for hardware malfunctions

Why laptop screen is flickering

The main and the most important feature of all laptops is their portability. You can always take a computer with you, but it certainly increases the risk of damage at the hardware level. However, problems with the flickering screen may occur because of some software malfunctions as well.

Most often the screen flickers due to the following issues:

• Incorrect system settings of the screen frequency;
• Software failure;
• Installed video card drivers are incompatible with the current version of the operating system;
• Problems with the device displaying image on the screen (graphics card). Most often, this malfunction is associated with graphics card burnout or its overheating;
• Screen matrix backlight malfunction;
• Laptop matrix has interrupted contact with computer elements, which is most often due to the damaged cable.

Only some of the problems described above can be fixed at home. If, for example, a graphics card is faulty, you will need to contact a service center for repair or replacement.

What has to be done if laptop screen is flickering

Before you start searching and attempting to troubleshoot a malfunction, you need to try powering off your laptop. To do this, unplug your computer from the outlet and remove the battery from it. Wait 3-4 minutes and connect the battery back, then turn your laptop on. If this simple procedure did not help to get rid of the problem, try following steps that we described below.

Solutions for software malfunctions

Normally it is not difficult to solve software malfunctions and you can easily do it on your own. So we recommend starting checking settings and drivers in search of the reason for your laptop’s screen flickering. First make sure that the screen refresh rate settings are set correctly in the operating system. You can check this as follows:

1. Go to the screen settings – right-click on an empty place on the desktop and select the “Display Settings” item;
2. Next, there will open the settings window where you need to click “Advanced display settings”;

3. Now you are going to see a new window where you need to select “Display adapter properties for Display 1” in the list of associated parameters;

4. Next, there will open a settings window where you need to go to the “Monitor” tab and configure the screen refresh rate parameter. On different laptop models, the optimal frequency may differ, so we recommend trying to set all available frequency options one by one, each time checking whether the problem with the screen flickering was resolved or no.

If the problem cannot be solved by changing the frequency and resolution of the screen, it is recommended to make sure that graphics card drivers installed on your computer are up to date. Go to the official website of your laptop’s graphics processor developers and download the latest drivers for the operating system installed on your computer. After that, go to the “Device Manager”, remove the current graphics card drivers and then install new ones and restart your computer.

Solutions for hardware malfunctions

If all steps that we have described above did not help you to get rid of the laptop screen flickering, most likely the problem is related to the failure or malfunction of one or more components responsible for displaying the image on the laptop screen.

First of all, you need to make sure that the graphics card installed in your laptop does not overheat during operation. To do this, you can use various programs that allow you to monitor the graphics accelerator heating level during operation.

If the screen flickers due to overheating of the laptop graphics card, it is recommended to do the following:

• Clean the portable computer from accumulated dust and replace the thermal paste on the graphics card chip;
• Keep your laptop on a cooling pad and avoid closing the ventilation holes on it, which may happen, for example, when you are keeping your computer on a soft surface.

Another common hardware malfunction that may lead to the flickering screen is a pinched cable responsible for displaying the image. You can make sure that the cable is not pinched if you disassemble your computer and visually evaluate the wire for damage and inspect its location.

There are also much more complex problems that may lead to a flickering laptop screen: problems with the matrix and burnout of the motherboard or graphics card elements. If one of these problems occurs, it will be possible to get rid of the malfunction only by replacing components or with the help of specialists.