Random and intense display flickering when connected via RDP (Arc Pro Graphics)

[hOWdIDigEThERE]

My work gave me a new laptop a few weeks ago. It's a ThinkPad P16s Gen 3 with Intel Arc Pro Graphics / NVidia RTX 500 Ada.

I connect to that laptop via RDP from my home Desktop so I can use all 3 of my monitors, via a hardwired LAN connection. Connection is great and this had been the set up for years with my old laptop with no issues.

With this new laptop, however, once in a while, usually during Teams calls while sharing my screen, but not always, the screen would start to flicker like crazy every time I move the mouse, with ghosting and image retentions. If I disconnect and reconnect the RDP session, the problem would go away.

Despite ensuring all drivers are up-to-date (via Lenovo Vantage), issue remains.

I tried attaching a MP4 video but it wouldn't let me. Here is one on my Google Drive:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hhybkOYygOQOa_7oqjqXFiFwTzN1jLCv/view?usp=sharing

(I blurred it due to the sensitive data shown)

[ArchieD_Intel]

Hi hOWdIDigEThERE,

Thank you for reaching out to the Intel Community Forum. To assist us in investigating the issue, please provide the following details:

Have you tried contacting Lenovo about this issue?

What are the troubleshooting steps that you tried so far other than the driver update?

Have you used Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) to completely remove all residual drivers and installed a new one?

Have you tried adjusting the graphics settings?

Additionally, to gain a comprehensive understanding of your system, please use the System Support Utility (SSU). This tool will generate a text file compiling all your system information. You can follow the instructions at this link and send the text file here. Help Guide for the Intel® System Support Utility.

If you have any questions, please let us know. Thank you.

Best regards,

Archie D.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[ArchieD_Intel]

Hi hOWdIDigEThERE,

I wanted to check if you had the chance to review the questions I posted. Please let me know at your earliest convenience so that we can determine the best course of action to resolve this matter. 

Best regards,

Archie D.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[hOWdIDigEThERE]

@ArchieD_Intel 

I have the SSU results but I don't want to share it here. Please let me know how I can share with you privately.

Have you tried contacting Lenovo about this issue?

No, this is a brand new laptop and this issue is not reproducible on demand. It just happened again during a Teams call while my colleagues were sharing videos and screen.

I ran a full diagnostics with Lenovo Vantage and there's no hardware issues.

Contacting CDW (vendor) or Lenovo will not be helpful as the hardware diagnostic pass 100% and all drivers are up-to-date.

What are the troubleshooting steps that you tried so far other than the driver update?

Here are all I have no, with no success: (Remote Host = my work laptop, Client = my desktop computer)

• Set Power Mode to Best Performance (Remote Host)
• Set RDP setting to "Detect connection quality automatically" (Client)
• Updated to latest drivers using Lenovo Vantage. This includes Intel Management Engine Firmware (Remote Host)
• Updated Intel Arc Graphics driver to version 32.0.101.7026 (Remote Host)

What I haven't tried is on the Remote Host, under System -> Display -> Graphics -> RDP and set the GPU preference to something else (e.g. Nvidia) but I don't see why I have to do that because Intel driver should work fine with RDP.

Have you used Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) to completely remove all residual drivers and installed a new one?

No. This issue existed THE FIRST DAY after my machine was turned on. The likelihood or corrupted drivers is pretty low and I didn't have time to perform this as it's a work laptop.

Have you tried adjusting the graphics settings?

Yes

[ArchieD_Intel]

Hi hOWdIDigEThERE,

Thank you for your update. I've sent an email to your active email address for the next step of the process.

Please check both your Inbox and Spam folder for my email, and once received, kindly acknowledge it.

Best regards,

Archie D.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[VonM_Intel]

Hello hOWdIDigEThERE,

As mentioned earlier, I’ll be conducting further research on this issue and will provide an update in this thread once I have more information.

Best regards,

Von M.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[VonM_Intel]

Hello hOWdIDigEThERE,

Thank you for your patience. To further troubleshoot this issue, may I kindly ask you to check the following:

• Have you tried manually updating both the Intel graphics driver (version 32.0.101.6637) and the NVIDIA graphics driver (version 32.0.15.7357) from the Lenovo website? Here’s the direct link for your convenience: Lenovo Support – Display and Video Graphics. We’d like to confirm if the issue persists with Lenovo’s custom drivers.
• Does the issue occur when using only the laptop’s built-in display (without external monitors connected)?
• Have you reached out to your IT team to check the system physically?

In addition, please try the following troubleshooting steps:

1. Disable hardware acceleration in applications.

2. Adjust Remote Desktop settings to a lower color depth (e.g., 16-bit) or disable font smoothing.

3. Enable “Persistent bitmap caching” and other bandwidth optimizations for Remote Desktop.

4. Test different display resolutions and scaling levels (preferably the recommended/default).

5. Disable HDR settings, if available.

6. Close GPU-intensive applications on both client and server systems (such as video players, screen recorders, or other apps using hardware acceleration).

7. Ensure your Remote Desktop client is up to date. You may also try the Microsoft Remote Desktop app from the Microsoft Store for improved stability.

8. Review Event Viewer on both systems for any errors or warnings related to display drivers or Remote Desktop.

Moreover, I understand that you have a laptop. Since this is an OEM (Lenovo) original equipment manufacturer device, please take into consideration that our support may be limited since we are not familiar with the technology, settings, customizations, custom drivers, and features that the OEM has designed and installed in your system.

Best regards,

Von M.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[hOWdIDigEThERE]

I've just installed the Intel and Nvidia driver from Lenovo's site. I will keep you posted. (I already had the latest Intel. I ended up having to uninstall my existing driver then reinstalled the Lenovo driver).

This was an issue specifically while connected via RDP (with 3 monitors). I almost never use my laptop screen directly therefore I cannot comment on that aspect.

Although I cannot confirm if these specific event logs are related to the display issue. These do come up during the time when the display driver crashes.

[VonM_Intel]

Hello hOWdIDigEThERE,

Thank you for the update, and I appreciate the steps you’ve already taken to install the Intel and NVIDIA drivers from Lenovo’s site. It’s good to hear that you’ve reinstalled the Lenovo-provided driver for Intel as well. Please do keep us posted on whether the issue reoccurs after this installation. Since you mentioned the problem happens specifically during Remote Desktop sessions with multiple monitors, your detailed notes are very helpful. The event logs may indeed provide useful clues, even if they don’t directly reference the display driver. If possible, please share a copy of the logs so we can review them alongside the behavior you’re experiencing.

In the meantime, I’d still recommend trying the Remote Desktop–related adjustments I shared earlier (e.g., lowering color depth, enabling bitmap caching, or testing different scaling levels), as these can sometimes improve stability in multi-monitor RDP scenarios.

I also want to kindly remind you that, since this is a Lenovo system, their drivers and customizations may affect performance in ways outside Intel’s direct control.

Best regards,

Von M.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[VonM_Intel]

Hello hOWdIDigEThERE,

Have you had a chance to review my previous response? Please let us know if you require any further assistance. I'm here to help.

Best regards,

Von M.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[VonM_Intel]

Hello hOWdIDigEThERE,

Thank you for taking the time to install both the Intel and NVIDIA drivers from Lenovo’s website. I’m also glad to hear that you’ve reinstalled the Lenovo-provided Intel driver. Just as a reminder, since this is a Lenovo system, their customized drivers and configurations may influence performance in ways that are beyond Intel’s direct control.

Once again, since I have not heard back from you, so I will close this inquiry now. If you need further assistance, please submit a new question as this thread will no longer be monitored.

Best regards,

Von M.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[hOWdIDigEThERE]

Hi Von,

I hadn't responded sooner because the issue had not recurred UNTIL today. I was on a Teams call with some colleagues and sharing my screen content. After about 10 minutes the screen started flickering again. My colleague saw a black screen while this was happening.

I went back to my desktop, reconnected RDP and the issue went away immediately.

I took another video I can attach it here, but I will have to blur it first.

Thanks,

hOWdIDigEThERE

[hOWdIDigEThERE]

Here is the video from earlier today. I was on a Teams call with a few colleagues and I was sharing my screen content. I saw the flickering and they saw a black screen. Video was blurred for privacy reasons.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qzUasvRnjR3Hj0fkREwLuZOSHb5-sZnJ/view?usp=sharing

[hOWdIDigEThERE]

Downloading the video will allow you to see the flickering in 60fps which is almost epilepsy inducing.