Fix: Dell Laptop Screen Flickering When Moved

Is your Dell laptop screen flickering? If yes, you are probably thinking you have a bad Dell laptop LSD display. In most cases, the problem is within the laptop itself and might have nothing to do with damaged display.

It could just simply a common windows 10 problem that you might not be aware of.

You could be using your Dell laptop right now and when you pick it up the next day and then you realize your Dell laptop screen is flickering even when you move it.

You have nothing to worry about because there’s a chance your Dell laptop LSD display is completely fine.

Today, I will share with you what you need to know about screen flickering, the causes and how to fix it. There are different things that could cause your Dell laptop screen to flicker.

Let’s get right to it.

What is a Screen Flickering?

A flickering screen is a situation whereby your computer display appears to flicker or have a glitchy effect. A screen that flickers can make you think your computer display is bad or broken.

When your computer screen flickers, it looks like when you have ink showing all over your display screen.

Reasons Why Dell Laptop Screen Flicker?

Here’s why,

1. Low refresh rate

When you Dell laptop screen flicker, it results from a variety of factors and the most important is your Dell screen refresh rate which is the speed your display is redrawn.

If your Dell laptop screen refresh rate is too slow, the screen will appear to glimmer.

Another factor that cause your Dell laptop screen to flicker is the persistence of the screen phosphors. Low-persistence phosphors fade more quickly than high-persistence screen displays, making screen flicker more likely.

According to Webopedia, screen flicker can also be affected by lighting and can also be a subjective perception that affects people differently. A set of people can perceive screen flicker where others do not.

2. Display and graphics driver update

Your Dell laptop display and graphics driver play an important role concerning issues with your screen.

When you have the wrong display driver installed on your Dell laptop, it could cause your Dell screen to malfunction.

Dell laptop with graphics card also face this screen glitch issue. If you are using either AMD or Dell, you must make sure you have installed the right update from their official website.

It is very important to keep your Dell laptop display and graphics driver well up to date for maximum performance because if they are outdated, it could cause your Dell laptop screen to flicker.

3. Windows update

There some rare case windows update could be the cause for glitchy screens. Windows update carry essential update for your Dell laptop. When you miss any essential update, it could cause your Dell laptop screen to flicker.

It is always import to keep your windows updated.

A simple way to do this is to turn on automatic update so windows help you download and install any new essential update on your Dell laptop.

4. Incompatible applications

There’s a chance that an application could be the cause why your Dell laptop screen is flickering. These applications could have been installed on your Dell laptop knowingly or unknowingly.

Always make sure anytime you are installing an application, you should let your antivirus or windows defender scan through it first.

To summarize what causes your Dell laptop screen to flicker,

• Low refresh rate
• Display and graphics driver update
• Windows update
• Incompatible applications

Is This a Hardware Or Software Problem?

Before you find out to fix your Dell laptop screen, you must make sure you know if the problem is coming from hardware or software.

To easily find out,

Restart your dell laptop and try and notice when your screen begins to flicker.

If your screen begins to flicker after your laptop boots to where you enter your password or your desktop, then your flickering issue is coming from a software problem

But if your screen begins to flicker immediately when you turn on your dell laptop, this means you have a problem with your Dell laptop screen, it needs to be replaced.

Now let’s get right into fixing your screen problem.

Steps to Fix Dell Laptop Screen Flickering

If your screen flickers so bad that it is very challenging to use your dell laptop, you can connect your Dell laptop with an HDMI cable to your TV or monitor.

1. Change Refresh Rate

Here’s how to change refresh rate on Dell laptop

1. Navigate to your windows logo located at your bottom right-hand corner of your screen and search for display settings. You can also access display settings by right-clicking on your desktop and selecting display settings
2. While in display settings, click on advanced display settings
3. At the bottom, click on display adaptor properties
4. A pop up will be revealed to you showing you your display properties. Navigate to the monitor tab
5. Now you will see an option showing you different refresh rates. Change your refresh rate to the other option given.
6. Save and restart your Dell laptop
7. Check if your Dell screen isn’t flickering or glitching anymore
8. If it is still glitching, revert it back to the previous refresh rate and proceed to the next method.

2. Update Display and Graphics card driver

Let’s start with updating your display drivers

Here’s how to update display driver on Dell laptop

1. Click on the Windows logo key and search for device manager
2. Run device manager
3. Once it opens, locate display adaptors, and click on the drop-down
4. Depending on the number of drivers in the drop-down list, you will have to update everything.
5. Right-click on one the drivers and click update
6. A message will pop up asking you how you want to search for your drivers, select Search automatically for updated driver software.
7. Now let windows search for you drivers automatically
8. If your drivers are not up to date, update your drivers and restart your laptop. If otherwise, Proceed to the next step.

Now if your Dell laptop is using any graphics card such as NVIDIA or AMD, you need to update it.

Here’s how to update graphics card driver on Dell laptop.

1. Depending on what graphics card your Dell laptop is using, go to their official website >> NVIDIA Official Website | AMD Official Website
2. Select the type of graphics card your Dell laptop is using. A simple way to check what spec of graphics card you are using, you should type in your Dell serial number or service tag on Google search then among the results, you select any review discussing about your particular Dell laptop. You should see your Dell graphics card spec inside the discussion.
3. Download and install the graphics card on your Dell laptop
4. Restart your computer
5. Check if your Dell screen isn’t flickering or glitching anymore
6. If it is still glitching, revert it back to the previous refresh rate and proceed to the next method.

3. Windows Update

Here’s how to update windows on Dell laptop

1. Navigate to your windows logo located at your bottom right-hand corner of your screen and search for windows update settings.
2. Click on windows update settings among the results
3. While in windows update settings, click on check for updates
4. If you have updates available, make sure you click download and install
5. Once your computer is done downloading and installing, restart your computer.
6. Check if your Dell screen isn’t flickering or glitching anymore
7. If it is still glitching, revert it back to the previous refresh rate and proceed to the next method.

After updating your windows, if your windows update doesn’t update automatically,

Here’s how to set your windows update to download and install automatically on your Dell laptop

1. Navigate to your windows logo located at your bottom right-hand corner of your screen and search for windows update settings.
2. Click on windows update settings among the results
3. While in windows update settings, click on advance option
4. In advance option, here are the options you should turn on >>Receive update for other Microsoft product when you update windows, Download update over metered connection, Restart this device as soon as possible when a restart is required to install update, show a notification when your PC requires a restart to finish updating.

4. Uninstall Incompatible Applications

If there’s any program you installed before your Dell screen begins to flicker, you might have to uninstall it.

Here’s how to uninstall applications on your Dell laptop

1. Navigate to your windows logo located at your bottom right-hand corner of your screen and search for control panel.
2. Click on control panel among the results
3. While in control panel, change the view by option to small icon
4. Now click on programs and features
5. Select the program you want to uninstall and click uninstall located at the top
6. Continue with the instructions to uninstall the application
7. When the installation is done, restart your Dell laptop
8. Check if your Dell screen isn’t flickering or glitching anymore