Six solutions for Screen Flickering/Flashing on Windows 10 and 11

Mar. 13, 2023 / Updated by Renata to Windows 11

screen-flickering

Windows 11 and Windows 10 screen flickering/flashing usually caused by upgrading systems, installed software with viruses/popups, outdated graphics card drivers or missing graphics card drivers. This article is going to summary various methods and what caused the flickering on Windows 11 and Windows 10, hope you can fix computer yourself.


Solution1. Screen Flickering Test

Solution2. Lower Refresh Rate

Solution3. Reset Your Display Driver

Solution4. Update your drivers

Solution5. Uninstall Problematic Applications

Solution6. Re-install Graphics Card



Solution1. Screen Flickering Test

First, test your computer whether the screen flickering is caused by software or not.

For Windows 11: Bring up the background program with pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc simultaneously. Open Task Manage.

For Windows 10: Right-click your taskbar and select Task Manager. You don't actually need to use Task Manager, but you do need it open.

After turning it on, observe your screen, if the task manager interface flashes along with other content on the screen, it may be a hardware (screen, power supply unit) problem, or a driver failure. If everything on the screen is flickering except for the Task Manager interface, the problem may be due to an application.

If the Task Manager is flickering, you can follow the below steps.

If not, you can uninstall the application/software.

Move1. Check peripherals

If there is a problem with the computer, first check the hardware and peripherals, for it is more expensive and more troublesome to solve the hardware problem.

Firstly, unplug the Power Supply of the monitor and the main frame, and then plug it in again to ensure that the screen does not flicker due to loose power plugs.

Cords wear out over time, or if you have pets, they can chew on them. It is best to have a spare monitor cord to replace and test whether the screen continues to flicker/flash after replacing the new cord.

Secondly, if the flickering problem cannot be solved after changing the cable, replace the monitor. If the flickering problem disappears with a new monitor, it is recommended to replace the monitor with a new one or find its dealer for repair.

task manager.png


Solution2. Lower Refresh Rate

A monitor's refresh rate is of which the screen updates an image per second, measured in hertz (Hz). Basic monitors can usually only handle a 60Hz refresh rate, while more advanced monitors (usually aimed at gaming monitors) can go up to 360Hz. It could be the monitor's refresh rate is too high, causing the monitor to not keep up with the settings. So check your monitor refresh rate and set it to 60Hz or lower:

Press the Windows key + I at the same time

Enter into taskbar settings

On the display page, click Advanced Display Settings(Windows 10) or Advanced display (Windows 11)

Drop down and gradually decrease the lower refresh rates until the screen flashing stops. If the screen still flickers, revert to the monitor's recommended refresh rate.

Solution3. Reset Your Display Driver

The screen flashing problem can be caused by the graphics card driver. The computer might have an old driver or a faulty one. Let's make sure you are running the right version for your system.

If the previous method can't solve it, the problem may be in the driver.

Reinstall the Driver

Firstly, Press Windows key + X and click Device Manager.

Secondly, on Device Manager page, uninstall the display driver as shown below:

Thirdly, right-click your graphics card, click Uninstall device

Fourth, choose action tab on the top of Device Manager and scan for hardware changes

Reboot your computer, finished these four steps, your computer might fixed.

uninstall-device1

uninstall-device2

Solution4. Update your drivers

Alternatively, in case of persistent driver issues, you can launch third-party software to scan and update the computer drivers, which contains thousands of devices to choose not limited to sound cards, display adapters, video cards, etc. Users can only press one click, the Driver Talent would scan their computers and shows what devices need to updated on the list. Every user does not need to check their computer’s problems one by one and restore their computers manually.

Download Drive Talent

gaming turnoff-scan1

Why this software provides various driver version for users instead of updating the newest version?

It takes into account the storage space of the user's computer. The latest drivers may take up more space, and some drivers can also make the computer work normally and take up less space.

Roll Back to an Older Driver

After updating the newest driver, the screen flickering still happen, this situation may result from the newest driver did not match the your system. You can use Driver Talent to download an older driver version.

Download Driver Talent

gaming turnoff-scan2

Solution5. Uninstall Problematic Applications

According to users, three programs, Norton Antivirus, iCloud, and IDT Audio, caused their computer screens to flicker. Certain applications are not necessarily compatible with Windows 10/11, which is what causes the screen to flicker. If you recently updated the app/downloaded new software, try uninstalling it, or reinstalling it.


Solution6. Re-install Graphics Card

Final workaround: If none of the previous workarounds work, try reinstalling the graphics card:

Step 1: Turn off the power and unplug all plugs.

Step 2: Open the main frame's box, remove the graphics card from the motherboard, clean up the dust on it by the way, and then reinstall it.

Step 3: If reinstalling the graphics card does not solve the problem, then find the graphics card manufacturer for warranty. Or replace with a new graphics card.


Driver-Talent ExplorerMax DownLoad_DT_Net Driver Talent for Network Card
Smart and advanced file explorer tool for Windows platforms Download & Install Network Drivers without Internet Connection
30-day Free Trial Free Download

We Are Trusted By