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I've been struggling with that for the last week. I've checked similar questions, and the proposed solutions worked only for a moment or reduced the glitches, but they didn't fix the issue. Also, I reinstalled Ubuntu, but it didn't help.

My setup is

XPS 13 9300
Ubuntu 22.04.2 LTS
Internal monitor
2 external monitors

The issue occurs only on the internal monitor. The 2 external ones are not affected. Which is opposite to other people's issues that I read. I found that when I change my internal monitor setting from 59.99 Hz to 48.00 Hz, the flickering is fixed. It occurs only during logging/screen lock.

I didn't install any new packages or drivers the day it happened. So I unplugged my laptop and went to my neighbor to help him. The issue appeared for the first time when I turned on the computer at his house. When I didn't touch the laptop, the screen was black. The flickering started occurring after touching the touchpad or keyboard.

I also found new warnings during boot:

x86/cpu: SGX disabled by BIOS
pci 0000:00:07.0: DPC: RP PIO log size 0 is invalid
pci 0000:00:07.2: DPC: RP PIO log size 0 is invalid
blacklist: Problem blacklisting hash (-13)
blacklist: Problem blacklisting hash (-13)
blacklist: Problem blacklisting hash (-13)
blacklist: Problem blacklisting hash (-13)
wmi: Failed to parse WDG method

I'm able to run Ubuntu with those warnings. I checked the BIOS configuration and SGX is software enabled.

SUMMARY

Weirdly, something like that happens to the STABLE distro. So far, I've been a happy user of Ubuntu for at least three years. Also, this laptop was bought with Ubuntu 18.04 installed, so I think it has the hardware support. Thanks for your help; hopefully, I've given all the information needed to answer this problem.

SUMMARY OF ATTEMPTS TO FIX IT

Edit:

  • I also did the screen test from the BIOS menu. Dell provides such a tool, and my screen passed the test. So it makes me sure it is a software issue.

Edit 2: I've been trying to get my backup restored. So I start the system from Live USB a lot. The problem is that the snapshots from timeshift won't boot, unfortunately. I noticed now on the Live version of Ubuntu; the problem doesn't exist. Again it seems to be due to different monitor settings.

dev.dave
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  • Boot with a different kernel version or try installing nvidia drivers manually from here and see how it goes. The live version uses the 5.15 kernel. If it works, please update me. – Rishon_JR Feb 25 '23 at 12:11
  • Kernel 5.15 works, it fixed my issues with the screen flickering. – dev.dave Feb 28 '23 at 11:13
  • I solved mine using the solution provided here: https://devicetests.com/fix-screen-flicker-ubuntu-intel-graphics – Mahandry Aug 31 '23 at 06:16

8 Answers8

8

I believe you are having the same issue as a lot of us. I would first run the command:

sudo apt list --installed | grep linux-image

That will return all the kernels you have installed.

Then type:

uname -srm

That will return what kernel is running

I suspect you have 5.19 installed and running.

Reboot the machine and tap f4 to boot into GRUB, select Advanced, and select 5.15 and hit enter.

You have now booted with kernel 5.15.

Is the issue still present?

cmac
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2

I have the same issue on Dell XPS 13 9320, which came with Ubuntu 22.04 installed, I think the problem has occurred since the last system update. To:

5.19.0-32-generic

I also noticed that the glitches are triggered in some part of the screen from the cursor. I also tried the recovery mode and there the problem doesn't exist too. So far, I changed my resolution to 1680x1050 at 60Hz and it seems to work better. But I saw sometimes it happen again. So it isn't a final fix, but it is much better!

I also had this random screen freezing before and it seems that with this resolution they are gone too.

Ozymandi4s
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2

I don't have enough reputation to comment on your answer.

I confirm that booting Linux 5.15 remove the problem. But I still experience some random screen freezing, do you have too?

There is a way to boot 5.15 by default?

EDIT: You can set GRUB Default Kernel following this guide: Ubuntu: Install Kernel and Set GRUB Default Kernel

Basically, you have to find the name of the menu and the name of the kernel you want to boot as default.

grep submenu /boot/grub/grub.cfg
grep gnulinux-5.15.0 /boot/grub/grub.cfg

You should find some strings like: gnulinux-advanced-75bb64d0-7e42-4fbe-8f6a-a2cfc95c7d6d for the menu and gnulinux-5.15.0-60-generic-advanced-75bb64d0-7e42-4fbe-8f6a-a2cfc95c7d6d for the kernel.

Finally you can update the GRUB_DEFAULT in /etc/default/grub by joining the strings '>'

i.e.

'gnulinux-advanced-75bb64d0-7e42-4fbe-8f6a-a2cfc95c7d6d>gnulinux-5.15.0-60-generic-advanced-75bb64d0-7e42-4fbe-8f6a-a2cfc95c7d6d'

remind to run update-grub at the end

Ozymandi4s
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  • 1
    I've tested it for only 10 minutes, but it's no longer a problem. I could change my internal notebook monitor to 60.0 Hz, which works fine. Thanks for the suggestions to edit the grub. I spent recently 5 days trying to get my snapshot from Timeshift to work so I got familiar with editing/fixing grub. For some reason, any snapshot wouldn't boot. Anyway, thanks. – dev.dave Feb 28 '23 at 11:12
1

I still don't have enough reputation for adding comments, sorry for posting a new answer.

I have updates. Checking on the grub I saw I got 6.0.0-1012-oem installed, it should mean the PC come with this kernel installed but for some reason, that I entirely ignore, I was using kernel 5.19 or 5.15.

I tried booting with this other kernel and so far all glitches are gone. It also seems that the random screen freezings I mentioned before are gone too.

I think it is possible that we had these driver issues because we were using an older kernel version.

Ozymandi4s
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1

I had similar problems when I visited my friend's place. After returning to my own place, everything was back to normal. The reason, in a hindsight, might be the electromagnetic interference from his refrigerator (or other appliances), lol. Think about possible physical causes apart from software...

Yiwei Jiang
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  • It's definitely a software issue. I've been facing some WIFI issues as well. Someone mentioned it could be fixed in the newer kernel. I have just tried to boot to kernel version 5.19. I discovered exactly the same problem as described in the post. The issue has not been resolved yet. – dev.dave Aug 02 '23 at 12:40
1

On my side, it was my new smart watch buckle that has a magnet, and laptop screen was going off, it took me one days to understand as I have a secondary screen ...

Med Ali Difallah
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0

Mine has an Nvidia card, running the utility "Nvidia X Server Settings" and playing with the "X Server Display Configuration" took care of it for me. 60 hz refresh or maybe Auto.

Pascal Jünger
  • 1
0

Display flickering solved - Dell laptop Latitude 3301 - Ubuntu

The display flickered and/or switched off when moving it, both on Ubuntu and on the BIOS screen. All web advice says that it must be a hardware problem when it happens in both. After changing Ubuntu settings, it is working perfectly:

Just open " System Settings - Display and Monitor - Compositor " and untick/leave blank both: see screenshot: System Settings - Display and Monitor

" Compositing " settings (" Enable on startup " & " Allow applications to block compositing ")

Then... " Scale Method - Accurate ". " Latency: Prefer smooth animations ". " Tearing prevention (vsync): Full screen re-paints ". Then open the Power Management system settings and untick/uncheck/leave blank the settings for everything except: see screenshot: Power Management system settings

" Button Events handling " where you have to choose: " When laptop lid closed - Do nothing "

Do this on the three tabs (" On AC Power / On Battery / On Low Battery "). Restart laptop.

After this, the touchpad might have become buggy in settings: " scroll direction - drag and lock - finger tapping ": To solve it, open the terminal or konsole and paste (from the file menu): sudo modprobe -r psmouse ...and press enter. Then paste: sudo modprobe psmouse ...and press enter.

Then install the " Battery and power " widget on desktop or side panel and always tick/check/click the "Manually block display and screen locking " setting.see screenshot: Battery and power widget on desktop or side panel This has to be done after each log in or restart...

After this, the touchpad might have become buggy in settings: " scroll direction - drag and lock - finger tapping ": To solve it, open the terminal or konsole and paste (from the file menu): sudo modprobe -r psmouse ...and press enter. Then paste: sudo modprobe psmouse ...and press enter.

KDE Plasma Version: 5.24.7 KDE Frameworks Version: 5.92.0 Qt Version: 5.15.3 Kernel Version: 6.8.0-64-lowlatency (64-bit)

Graphics Platform: X11 Graphics Processor: Mesa Intel® UHD Graphics 620 Ubuntu Studio 22.04 (running rather well from a persistent (fast) card installation on the SD slot, not from the hard disk, because Dell refuse to provide recovery key as I cannot find the name of the vendor).

UPDATE After updating to Ubuntu 24.04 it sometimes flickers, rarely though. The settings have changed after update: Open " System Settings - Display and Monitor - Compositor " System Settings - Display and Monitor - Compositorand untick/leave blank both: " Compositing " settings (" Enable on startup " & " Allow applications to block compositing ") Then... " Latency: Prefer smooth animations ". Then open the Power Management system settings see screenshot: Power Management system settings and untick/uncheck/leave blank the settings for everything except:

" Button Events handling " where you have to choose: " When laptop lid closed - Do nothing "

Do this on the three tabs (" On AC Power / On Battery / On Low Battery "). Restart laptop.

After this, the touchpad might have become buggy in settings: " scroll direction - drag and lock - finger tapping ": To solve it, open the terminal or konsole and paste (from mouse/touchpad menu): sudo modprobe -r psmouse ...and press enter. Then paste: sudo modprobe psmouse ...and press enter.

Very important: install the " Battery and power " widget on desktop or side panel -see screenshot: Battery and power widget on desktop or side panel and always tick/check/click the "Manually block display and screen locking " setting. This has to be done after each log in or restart.

Operating System: Ubuntu Studio 24.04 KDE Plasma Version: 5.27.12 KDE Frameworks Version: 5.115.0 Qt Version: 5.15.13 Kernel Version: 6.8.0-65-lowlatency (64-bit) Graphics Platform: X11 Processors: 8 × Intel® Core™ i5-8265U CPU @ 1.60GHz Memory: 7.6 GiB of RAM Graphics Processor: Mesa Intel® UHD Graphics 620 Manufacturer: Dell Inc. Product Name: Latitude 3301

pablorb
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  • Consider an [edit] to improve the formatting. The 1st revision had a picture of the Power Management settings, which could be useful to add back. – Chester Gillon Aug 05 '25 at 17:44