Comparing Windows 11 to its predecessors, you can enjoy a visual feast. However, it is tough to focus on the subject at hand when your display begins to flicker. In Windows 11, flickering screens can be caused by loose or worn-out connectors, issues with the GPU or its drivers, or incompatibilities with certain apps.
But do not worry! We have gone over every option for getting the display back to how it was.
1. Examine Your Cables and Reconnect Them
Check your cable connections before going on to software solutions for Windows’ flickering screen. This applies to PC users who use laptops or desktop computers with external monitors and HDMI or DisplayPort connectors to connect them to the computer.
After disconnecting the cables and inspecting the pins, reattach them. Also, keep an eye out for any damage, particularly at the cable ends, which have a propensity to break with time. In these situations, you have to replace the cables with fresh ones.
2. Remove and Reconnect Your GPU (PC Users)
Flickering on the display may also be caused by a loose GPU connection. Thus, remove the PC cabinet and gently unplug all of the GPU-connected cords.
Take the card out of its PCIe slot latch. After using a brush to remove any dust or debris, reconnect the GPU and motherboard. Try attaching the GPU to a different PCIe slot and turning on the computer again if the flickering is still present.
3. Microsoft’s Screen Flickering Test
Microsoft has an official page devoted to locating and resolving Windows screen flickering problems. First, you should determine whether or not the problem affects the entire system. Start your computer’s Task Manager and see if the window flickers. If it does flicker, your computer may have an underlying driver problem.
App incompatibility is indicated if the Task Manager window displays no such behavior. Have you installed any apps lately? Attempt to uninstall it.
4. Switch to the Correct Refresh Rate
Each display has a preset refresh rate that determines how many images it can update in a second. Increased refresh rates improve the visual experience overall and add greater fluidity. However, with Windows monitors, adopting an improper refresh rate can result in jerks and flickering of the screen. Here’s how you can change it:
- Type “advanced display” using the Windows key, then hit Enter.
- To expand the drop-down list, scroll down to the “Select a refresh rate” section and click the arrow button. Choose the appropriate refresh rate that your display supports.
- End the Settings application.
5. Disable Hardware Acceleration
Through hardware acceleration, the GPU handles graphics tasks. However, occasionally it may not render frames correctly, leading to flickering. Here’s how to turn it off:
- Type Graphics using the Windows key then hit Enter.
- Increase the size of the Advanced graphics settings area. Toggle the Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling option off by clicking on the toggle.
- End the Settings application.
6. Fix Issues With Your Display Driver
Flickering on displays may be caused by obsolete or corrupt display drivers. In order to see if it helps, you must update the display driver to the most recent version that is available. You will have to reinstall it if it doesn’t. This is how you do it:
- Press and hold the Start button to bring up the Power User menu. Choose the Device Manager menu item.
- Make the section on display adapters larger. To update the display driver, right-click on it and choose Update driver.
- Select the option to “Search automatically for drivers.” Await the latest version of the tool to download and install. Put an end to Device Manager.
4. Restart your PC.
Should the driver update yield no results, you will need to uninstall and reinstall it. That’s how:
- Press and hold the Start button to bring up the Power User menu. Choose the Installed Apps menu item.
- Find the display driver and select the symbol with the meatballs. Select the “Uninstall” option.
- Click the Uninstall button once again to confirm your choice.
- Right now. Get the most recent GPU drivers by going to the websites of NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel, the manufacturers of GPUs.
- To install the driver on your PC, open the installer file and follow the on-screen instructions. To implement the modifications, restart your computer.
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7. Remove Meddlesome Apps
A third-party application may cause Windows to malfunction and cause screen flickering. Although it is not easily located, you can focus on recent installations. The first thing you need to do is update every third-party and Microsoft Store app on your PC. Checking and downloading updates for every third-party app through the in-app settings will take some time. The incompatible app needs to be uninstalled if that doesn’t work. This is how you do it:
- Press and hold the Start button to bring up the Power User menu. Choose the Installed Apps menu item.
- Select the Date installed option by clicking on the Sort by drop-down box. The list will be sorted by installation date in descending order.
- Select the program that you most recently installed by clicking on the meatballs symbol. Next, choose the Uninstall menu item.
- To uninstall the software, click the Uninstall option once again and then adhere to the on-screen directions.
- Go to the manufacturer’s website or the Microsoft Store and reinstall the application. Verify whether the flickering problem reappears.
8. Switch to a New User Profile
It’s possible that a corrupt user profile is causing the issues with your display. By making a new user profile, several people were able to fix the problem. This is how you do it:
- Press the Windows key, type cmd, and then simultaneously press the Ctrl, Shift, and Enter keys.
- You’ll see User Account Control appear. Press the “Yes” button.
- To establish a brand-new user account, type:
- You have to provide your own name and password in lieu of the username and password string. Our directive appears as follows:
- Exit the window of the Command Prompt. Click the profile icon after bringing up the Start menu. Change to the recently established local account.
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9. System Restore
The final option is to use System Restore to take your computer back to a moment when the flickering problem didn’t exist. That’s how:
- Type rstrui.exe into the Windows key bar and hit Enter.
- Press the Next menu item. Based on the date you believe everything was OK with the computer, select a restore point from the list.
- To go back to a restore point, adhere to the on-screen directions.
Stop Screen Flickering For Good
It is impossible to work on a computer that is shaky or flickers. Start by running the suggested test from Microsoft and go to the GPU and cable connections. On your PC, change the refresh rate and turn off hardware acceleration. Finally, make a new user profile and reinstall the affected programs and GPU drivers.