Intel UHD 620 screen flicker/flash

[Papillon]

Good evening.

Last year I purchased an HP laptop (15-dw0015nl). It comes with a second graphic card (NVIDIA GEFORCE). So, recently I noticed the screen flickers. It is not continuous, just one or two flickers, kinda like a refresh or a window closing, and it only does it occasionally and randomly: there are times where I power it on and it would flicker once right away, sometimes it would do it a bit later, sometimes only once, or sometimes it would not flicker at all. I contacted HP support and they made me do some preliminary tests, like looking at the screen while flexing it a little backward and forward to see if the image would stay stable and find any faulty cable issue. It didn’t flicker. I had restored my pc recently and, upon restoring, it would flicker more often, sometimes giving me a second of black screen too, which is what led me to believe it was more of a driver-related problem. Anyway, they made me update all the drivers, then check for errors (it all came up ok), then update the bios (which was old). After the updates, it went back to that occasional, random flicker. Today I tried updating the Intel graphic diver as suggested by the assistant (they were the latest, but not hp-verified tho) to see if it might fix the problem. Of course, I cannot be sure it did: it didn’t flicker yet, but as I said it doesn’t happen all the time.
So, I was wondering if this was a software or hardware problem, or if the dual graphics could have anything to do with it. NVIDIA control panel have an option of automatic selection when it comes to which graphic processor to use for each app, so I also thought maybe it was a bug related to it: I changed the setting onto exclusively using my Intel graphics and I still noticed the occasional flickering, but maybe it’s still the selection bugging? I am lost here: I doubt taking my laptop to a technician would benefit since it might as well power up and not present the issue at all

[Victor_G_Intel]

Hello Papillon,

Thank you for posting on the Intel® communities.

When we talk about flickering issues on laptops as you might have already figured out, we can be talking about either a software issue (Drivers, operating system, third party software, etc.) or a hardware issue (Overall laptop assembly); however, in order for you to jump into thinking that it is a hardware issue you need to properly diagnose the software part.

In order to better assist you please provide the following report and information so we can move forward with your situation.

-Intel® System Support Utility (Intel® SSU)

Download link: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/25293/Intel-System-Support-Utility-for-Windows-

•          Open the application and click on "Scan" to see the system and device information

•          By default, Intel® SSU will take you to the "Summary View".  

•          Click on the menu where it says "Summary" to change to "Detailed View".  

•          To save your scan, click on "Next", then "Save".

Use the option under the reply window to attach the report to the thread (Drag and drop here or browse files to attach).

- Is the flickering issue happening in the laptop’s BIOS screen?

Note: To know how to access your BIOS screen please contact HP directly.

- Is the issue only happening with the laptop’s integrated flat panel or with an external monitor as well?

- Have you updated the Nvidia drivers as well with the instructions from HP’s support?

- Do you remember if this issue happened after a new OS update, driver update, or maybe after installing third-party software?

FYI

-The dual graphics in your laptop are actually known as hybrid graphics, most laptops nowadays have both integrated graphics and external graphics all together, normally the laptop that comes with this configuration is customized so both graphics work right beside each other depending on the task been completed by the system; however, an strange behavior may happen when drivers that are not customized are been installed in the system.

- The Intel Driver and Support Assistant (IDSA) is a tool that we only recommend on third party laptops in order to detect certain drivers that need an update, once you know what driver needs an update the most recommendable thing from our end is to go to the manufacturer of the device an look for the customized version of that driver for your system.

 I look forward to hearing from you.

Regards,

Victor G.

Intel Technical Support Technician

[Papillon]

Hi Victor, 

Thanks for the reply. I am attaching the requested file. As for the flickering:

1. I didn't notice it ever happening in BIOS screen. They specifically requested to check if it would flicker during BIOS update or during diagnostic but it didn't seem to. As I said, it only happens rarely anyway.

2. For the same reason, when I plugged my pc onto my tv screen I couldn't notice any flickering, but in order to properly test it I should plug it in each time I use it and then be "lucky" enough for the flicker to happen. I don't even know if flickering is technically the correct term for the event as the image only scatter once or twice, as if it was settling.

3. I have updated all my drivers by myself, HP made me update only the BIOS. 

4. I do not remember the problem starting after an update, it is possible, I don't know if some third party software is causing troubles but I doubt it because it was when I restored my pc to its factory settings that the flcikering became more problematic. It got way better after reupdating windows, drivers and the BIOS.

5. I should add that after installing the latest OEM driver update for my intel graphics, the flickering seems to have stopped - I have used my computer a couple of times, including right now and I didn't notice anything weird, but, as I said, sometimes it just doesn't do that, which can be really confusing.

[Victor_G_Intel]

Hello Papillon,

Thank you for posting on the Intel® communities.

With intermittent issues such as the one you currently have; it will be really hard to determine if the issues are more related to hardware or software. From our point of view, it seems to be more related to the software, since as you mentioned the problems started to become more problematic after you restore the PC, mostly because when you restore it; it will normally end up with outdated drivers which can augment the likelihood of an issue to appear.

It is worth mentioning that it is normal for a third-party laptop to present unforeseen issues with our drivers since the lack of customization can produce that. What we recommend right now will be to stay with the OEM driver and if the issue persists you can perform a clean installation of our latest driver for testing, just bear in mind that ours is generic, and the lack of customization may affect your system’s behavior.

There have been situations where one of our drivers fix an OEM problem, and there have been other scenarios where laptops without any updates been released work better with our generic drives, since the updates for them ran out, but even though these situations are possible your best option if you have a current system will always be to stay with the latest OEM driver for that system.

In case you want to try the clean installation of our latest driver you can use these instructions and get the latest driver at the link below.

Instructions

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000057389/graphics.ht

ml

Latest driver

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/30148/Intel-Graphics-Windows-10-DCH-Drivers

Notes:

- After you download the driver disconnect from the Internet, so no new drivers are automatically installed by Windows Update while the instructions are been followed.

- If the installation is unsuccessful with the .exe file an installation with the .zip file can be completed.

*In case the issues happen again with your OEM driver and you end up deciding to try the clean installation just bear in mind that OEM drivers are just generic drivers with customization added to them; therefore, if our driver fixes your issue you can report it to HP so they can decide whether or not they will take this issue into consideration for future driver releases.

Regards,

Victor G.

Intel Technical Support Technician  

[Victor_G_Intel]

Hello Papillon,

Were you able to check the previous post?  

Please let me know if you need further assistance.  

Best regards,

Victor G. 

Intel Technical Support Technician

[Papillon]

Hi,
The screen flickered once today when I opened word. I’m going to try your solutions and then update you

[Victor_G_Intel]

Hello Papillon,

Thank you for posting on the Intel® communities.

Please do, we will be waiting for your outcome

Regards,

Victor G.

Intel Technical Support Technician  

[Victor_G_Intel]

Hello Papillon,

Were you able to check the previous post?  

Please let me know if you need further assistance.  

Best regards,

Victor G. 

Intel Technical Support Technician

[Victor_G_Intel]

Hello Papillon,

We have not heard back from you.

If you need any additional information, please submit a new question as this thread will no longer be monitored.

Victor G. 

Intel Technical Support Technician