Screen flickering/flashing - Acer Swift 3X SF314-510G

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-kKAFeX-A0

Does the display also flash when you access the bios? If the display also flashes on the bios, there may be a problem with the edp cable or the display itself. Sometimes, disconnecting and reconnecting the edp cable can solve the problem:

https://youtu.be/7-kKAFeX-A0
First, disconnect the battery:

Then, disconnect and reconnect the edp cable:

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All comments

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-kKAFeX-A0

Does the display also flash when you access the bios? If the display also flashes on the bios, there may be a problem with the edp cable or the display itself. Sometimes, disconnecting and reconnecting the edp cable can solve the problem:

https://youtu.be/7-kKAFeX-A0
First, disconnect the battery:

Then, disconnect and reconnect the edp cable:

Thank you for your extended explanation. As the laptop is still under warranty, it wouldn't be something I would try myself though. My wife just got back from the Acer Repair Center and they replaced the battery, which appeared to be faulty. I hope it's fixed now...

Since you only get to communicate with the people at the counter and not with a technician, they also can't give you an explanation on why the battery caused the issue of the screen flickering.

OK! But was the problem solved?

Sorry for the late reply! The problem was solved... for two weeks and then it started all over again. This morning I wasted 4 hours dropping off the laptop at Acer Service Center again.

And after they replaced the whole motherboard, the issue stayed away for almost 2 months... and started all over again now. This laptop is pure trash, stay away from it and pick something else instead is the best advice I can give!

In my opinion, the edp cable may be poorly connected. If it was my laptop, I would disassemble it and put high-strength duct tape on the edp cable connectors so the cable doesn't move or disconnect.

They've already checked that twice and it wasn't the issue. And since the laptop is still under warranty, I am not opening it myself. We've dropped it again at the Acer service center this morning... to be continued.

billsey

I wonder if the root cause is external, such as a bad power supply that's causing the motherboard failures...

I just bought Swift3x, also got this screen flickering. Done all the Windows10 update. Still flicker. Anyone can help?

billsey

@HenryLee we haven't heard back from the original poster, who was working with Acer support on a warranty repair. Have you started that process yet? Can you tie the flicker down to any app or position of the screen?

No, I’ve not contacted Acer. My laptop is brand new one day only. It has completed all Windows 10 updates. Device manager shows two display drivers (Xe and Xe Max). When I connect HDMI to external monitor and setting it only to ext monitor only, the desktop is stable. I suspect it may be the display driver problem. BIOS screen n Windows update blue timer screen are both stable. It has Symantec Norton. I’ll search n do some checks again later today to see if I can find and resolve.

No, I’ve not contacted Acer. My laptop is brand new one day only. It has completed all Windows 10 updates. Device manager shows two display drivers (Xe and Xe Max). When I connect HDMI to external monitor and setting it only to ext monitor only, the desktop is stable. I suspect it may be the display driver problem. BIOS screen n Windows update blue timer screen are both stable. It has Symantec Norton. I’ll search n do some che

No, I’ve not contacted Acer. My laptop is brand new one day only. It has completed all Windows 10 updates. Device manager shows two display drivers (Xe and Xe Max). When I connect HDMI to external monitor and setting it only to ext monitor only, the desktop is stable. I suspect it may be the display driver problem. BIOS screen n Windows update blue timer screen are both stable. It has Symantec Norton. I’ll search n do some checks later today.

No, I’ve not contacted Acer. Laptop is brand new one day only. Hascompleted all Windows 10 updates. Device manager shows two display drivers (Xe and Xe Max). When connect HDMI to external monitor and setting it only to ext monitor only, the desktop is stable. I suspect it may be the display driver problem. BIOS screen n Windows update blue timer screen are both stable. It has Symantec Norton. I’ll search n do some check.

No, I’ve not contacted Acer. Laptop is brand new one day only. Hascompleted all Windows 10 updates. Device manager shows two display drivers (Xe and Xe Max). When connect HDMI to external monitor and setting it only to ext monitor only, the desktop is stable. I suspect it may be the display driver problem. BIOS screen n Windows update blue timer screen are both stable. It has Symantec Norton. I’ll search n do some check.

No, I've not contacted Acer. Laptop is brand new one day only. Has completed all Windows 10 update. Device Mgr shows two display drivers (Xe and Xe max). When connect HDMI to ext monitor and setting it only to ext monitor only, desktop screen is stable. I suspect display driver problem. BIOS and Win Update blue timer screen are both stable. It has Symantec Norton. I'll search n do some more checks.

No, I’ve not contacted Acer. Laptop is brand new one day only. Hascompleted all Windows 10 updates. Device manager shows two display drivers (Xe and Xe Max). When connect HDMI to external monitor and setting it only to ext monitor only, the desktop is stable. I suspect it may be the display driver problem. BIOS screen n Windows update blue timer screen are both stable. It has Symantec Norton. I’ll search n do some check.

Sorry for the late reply. When the laptop went to the service center, they never want you to bring the power supply. Probably because they have their own and don't want the one from the client to go missing. But yes, what if the power supply is the issue, right? Nobody ever seemed to question that piece of hardware.

Two times having a broken motherboard in such a short timespan is very weird. For now it seems to be working fine again. The question remains; for how long...

billsey

@HenryLee since yours is so new, let's just swap it out for a different one from the vendor. They'll handle the process of dealing with Acer for that unit. It is possible that the display drivers are quite a bit older than what Intel is providing right now, they have been tweaking the new Xe stuff a lot over the last few months. It wouldn't hurt to install the ones from the Intel site (just go ahead and install after it gives the warning about custom code from the manufacturer) to see if that fixes it.

@Tinbaer that is a big factor, too often we hear from users who sent the PSU in with the laptop and only got the laptop back. It does tend to cause issues when the power is the culprit. With a laptop that's much less of an issue than with a desktop though, since the battery handles the function, and they do have the battery with it while checking the system out. It's great that yours is working stably, it gives more hope that they've finally cleared it up for you.