Strange Chrome browser graphical glitches

[WiLLGT09]

Here's another strange bug I'm experiencing with the new 16" macbook pro... I'm experiencing some strange, and seemingly random graphical glitches in Chrome on certain websites when my Mac is attached to an external display. I mainly use Safari, but for work stuff, I like to use Chrome. I've only noticed this on certain sites, like Google Analytics and Google Docs. I also noticed it on the Untitled Goose Game site (goose.game). It doesn't crash or freeze the browser or my system overall. It seems like just graphical glitching, but it's quite odd.

Interestingly, after I unhook my external display and browse these same sites on the MacBook Pro alone, with just integrated graphics, the glitches don't appear. They also don't reappear if I disable Automatic Graphic Switching use the AMD GPU on the Mac's display. Even more strangely, after reattaching my external display I no longer see the glitching (at least not for a while).

So I don't know how to trigger this issue, or how long I seemingly need to wait for the issue to reappear while attached to an external display.

I've tried both standard Google Chrome and the Beta version, and both have the same behavior when I was seeing the glitching earlier today.

Anyone seen this before or have any idea what the cause is (if I had to take a wild guess, it'd be more bugginess in the dumpster fire that is macOS 10.15.4...)

Thanks!

 

[IgorJales]

Same MacBook model, same issue here.
Also looking forward to answers to this glitch…

It also happens on the WhatsApp Web standalone app. And once the glitch is triggered there, it also appears in Chrome, and vice-versa. Only difference is that I don't use an e-gpu. I thought the problem was due to overheating from me using the laptop in clamshell mode all day long, so I got really upset, opened the lid for a while, but nothing changed on the external display.

 

[WiLLGT09]

I haven't checked to see if Chrome updated itself in the background, or if perhaps the 10.15.4 Supplemental Update that was released last week fixed this issue, but I haven't seen this issue now for days... Very weird.

Have you installed the macOS supplemental update?

 

[IgorJales]

Yes, I updated Catalina to 10.15.4 yesterday morning, yet at night there was the glitch again. Chrome has been also up to date for while, same for Whatsapp-Web App.

 

[Hairyg33k]

Hi,

Did you try to disable Hardware Acceleration in Chrome settings ? It may help.

 

[IgorJales]

Hi,

Did you try to disable Hardware Acceleration in Chrome settings ? It may help.

It worked! Thanks for pointing that. At least in Chrome, the glitch is gone. So it's the GPU driver, right?

I'd settle for this fix if my problems were all in Chrome. But other web-based apps that I use for my work rely heavily on gpu.

 

[slooksterPSV]

It worked! Thanks for pointing that. At least in Chrome, the glitch is gone. So it's the GPU driver, right?

I'd settle for this fix if my problems were all in Chrome. But other web-based apps that I use for my work rely heavily on gpu.

Maybe maybe not. It could be how chrome interacts with the GPU for drawing. It could be a faulty driver. Where it’s only Chrome and Electron Apps (Chromium based) it sounds like the core of Chrome itself (Chromium)

 

[FocusAndEarnIt]

I experienced this today in both Chrome and Safari, one after the other within a half hour of each other, first time ever. AMD Radeon 5500M 8GB. Notably powering two separate external displays (not 4K). But I've also been doing that for months with no issues.

10.15.4 - wish this Mac could run Mojave, but that's another rant for another time...

 

[kcolton]

I just experienced this for the first time today (Chrome and WhatsApp both started glitching at same time) on a MBP 16" that I've had for less than a week. I had to restart computer to resolve.

MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019)
2.3 GHz 8-Core Intel Core i9
32 GB 2667 MHz DDR4
AMD Radeon Pro 5500M 8 GB
Intel UHD Graphics 630 1536 MB

Catalina 10.15.4

External Thunderbolt display connected

The fact that we all have very similar configurations is worrying as it could imply a hardware problem. I hope this is a software issue that can be resolved with a simple update.

@FocusAndEarnIt @WiLLGT09 @IgorJales Have you guys had your MBP 16s for a while and this issue only started happening recently? If so, then it gives me more hope that it might be a software issue.

Did a bunch of searching on Google and this was the only thread I could find of others reporting the same issue, although tbh I don't know exactly what to search for other than "Macbook Pro 16 2019 chrome glitchy"

Edit: Friend running Linux on completely different hardware reported the same issue happening so definitely points to a Chrome bug.

 

[phantomwhale]

Just chipping in I've got the same issue (full reboot makes it go away, but it comes back - just disabled hardware acceleration in Chrome and it went away, but obviously that's not ideal long term fix).

Same specs as kcolton above (graphics, memory, model) except with a 2.6 GHz 6-Core Intel Core i7 processor

 

[bookmaniac]

Same issue here after recent catalina update. Spec same as kcolton. Reboot fixes it but it's annoying.

 

[IgorJales]

@FocusAndEarnIt @WiLLGT09 @IgorJales Have you guys had your MBP 16s for a while and this issue only started happening recently? If so, then it gives me more hope that it might be a software issue. (…)

No, my current Mac is barely two months old, that's why I was so worried right up to the point @Hairyg33k ’s hardware acceleration tip, which already hinted to a software issue.

Edit: Friend running Linux on completely different hardware reported the same issue happening so definitely points to a Chrome bug.

That's great news! I mean, it’s gotta be chrome. I'm confident that an upcoming update will solve the issue, not long before they fix it on all the other chromium-based apps.
PS: Chrome 81.0.4044.122 is out and running here. Let's see how it works out.

 

[rickythefox]

Have the same issue with my 16" MBP and latest Chrome doesn't seem to fix it. Seems like this only happens when the GPU is hot - no glitches on the same web site in Chrome today after leaving the computer in sleep mode overnight.

 

[Alexander Petrovich]

Same issue here. I've been using 16" MBP for a couple of months and this is the first time I see it. It also happens in all Chromium based apps (Figma for example). GPU temperature is fine, so I don't know what happened.

 

[macos2008]

I have the same issue I just posted a thread in this way https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/mbp-16-screen-glitches.2234226/
Did you find why it does this ?
My Conf:
MBP16
I7 16G
AMD Radeon Pro 5300M with 4GB

 

[pennifi]

That's great news! I mean, it’s gotta be chrome.

Not so sure that a Chrome bug is the single reason here. In addition to the same Chrome/Electron glitching I'm seeing degraded performance in games / other gpu accelerated apps after waking from sleep. Only thing - other than rebooting - that has prevented this is disabling dynamic gpu switching.

 

[IgorJales]

So, yeah, the glitch thing is still going on.
So far, can we all agree on these as minimum conditions for it to appear?

• GPU Acceleration feature is on;
• Macbook has been awakened;
• Using Web Apps other than Safari (Chrome, Whatsapp Web, Figma…)

Are bootcamp users aware of anything similar in Windows 10?

 

[macos2008]

So, yeah, the glitch thing is still going on.
So far, can we all agree on these as minimum conditions for it to appear?

• GPU Acceleration feature is on;
• Macbook has been awake;
• Using Web Apps other than Safari (Chrome, Whatsapp Web, Figma…)

Are bootcamp users aware of anything similar in Windows 10?

I will add that the Automatic Graphic Switching was disabled in my case, that means the system should only use the AMD Radeon, so didn't understand in this case when the feature is on in chrome will change something

 

[Tamimi65]

I thought I was the only one getting these issues until I stumbled upon this thread! Getting the same issue with the same setup, still not sure if this a software issue or hardware. One thing that was able to get it fixed for me when (initially) is kill all chrome processes from terminal `ps aux | grep -i chrome | awk {'print $2'} | xargs kill -15` but after a while the glitch came back..

 

[mklar]

I'm seeing the same issues.
Also, Adobe Illustrator seems to quit unexpectedly all the time, not sure if it's related, but thought I'd mention it.

MacBook Pro 16" AMD Radeon Pro 5500M 8 GB

 

[macos2008]

I'm seeing the same issues.
Also, Adobe Illustrator seems to quit unexpectedly all the time, not sure if it's related, but thought I'd mention it.

MacBook Pro 16" AMD Radeon Pro 5500M 8 GB

I have Luminar 4 also quit unexpectedly many times, I thought that was Luminar issue, but now I am thinking if it's not related. I am really lost if I return it or not since it could be only a driver issue

 

[julioolvr]

Some more debugging I did: Using iStats Menu I added a little widget to see if my Macbook is using the integrated or discrete graphics card. When I wake the computer up in the morning I usually see the glitch, and it's using the discrete graphics card. The way I get it fixed is by unplugging my computer from my USB hub. I thought this was because it would disconnect it from my external display and that was where the issue was coming from, but it seems to be because the Macbook is no longer connected to power. I see it immediately switch to the integrated graphics card and the glitch disappears. When I plug it back in, it switches back to discrete graphics but the glitch doesn't return for a while.

 

[mklar]

Hey everybody,
I just spent the last 30 minutes on the phone with Apple Support. They told me to toggle off "Automatically adjust brightness", reset SMC, but otherwise was suggesting that I have my machine seen in-person by a technician. Given what I see in this thread, it feels more like a 10.15.4 glitch. If that's the case, we should all contact Apple tech support to lodge the complaint so that it gets escalated.

Have a screen grab handy. Even better if you're experiencing the issue when you get the tech support person on the phone (I had recently restarted, so I did not).

 

[melitbvba]

I am experiencing similar issues with a similar configuration: a mb 16" with external display connected.

I can't tell since when exactly and if it is related to the 10.15.4 update, I only know that I did not have this in the beginning that I started to use the laptop (dec 2019). It is indeed a relative recent issue.

Switching off hardware acceleration also works for me a work-around.

I also looked for similar cases for some time and was very happy to find this active thread here. Thanks for pointing me to the hardware acceleration work around, this helped me a lot.

I hope this will be fixed soon permanently.

 

[buri]

I can confirm this issue too. I have MBP 16, 32 GB RAM, 1 TB, Radeon Pro 5500M 8 GB, macOS Catalina 10.15.4. It happened to me 2 times. First time it was 2 months ago. Restart helps me. Second time it was 2 weeks ago multiple times through the day even I restarted the system. One time my system even freezed after ignoring it like 30 minutes. (system was not reacting at all, only mouse was working). Then I disabled hardware acceleration in Google Chrome. And then I experienced glitges today with disabled hardware acceleration. (and very small 1 glitch in Windows Bootcamp, but could be something different).

I have videos:
- Enabled hardware acceleration:

- Disabled hardware acceleration (today):