Weird graphics glitch with Safari in Dark mode

[CincinnatusC]

Hi,

I have a brand new rMBP and I've come across a strange graphics glitch relating to Safari when using dark mode. I can recreate it every time, but for it to happen seems to be dependent on the following:

- Activating dark mode
- Reducing translucency in Accessibility
- Setting a key command or hot-corner for Show Desktop (in Mission Control settings).

Might seem quite particular, but these happen to be the settings I use out of preference.

Now, for the experiment: go to a website on Safari (any will do) and use the Show Desktop command/hot-corner. When I do this, I get weird glitchy white lines flashing below my menubar, which don't go away until I click away from Safari (to Finder, for example).

I'd really appreciate it if someone could go to the trouble of trying this. It only seems to happen with these exact settings (having translucency activated stops this from happening, for example). I'm trying to narrow down whether this is just Yosemite being buggy or something specific to my machine.

Thanks

 

[drew627]

Hi,

I have a brand new rMBP and I've come across a strange graphics glitch relating to Safari when using dark mode. I can recreate it every time, but for it to happen seems to be dependent on the following:

- Activating dark mode
- Reducing translucency in Accessibility
- Setting a key command or hot-corner for Show Desktop (in Mission Control settings).

Might seem quite particular, but these happen to be the settings I use out of preference.

Now, for the experiment: go to a website on Safari (any will do) and use the Show Desktop command/hot-corner. When I do this, I get weird glitchy white lines flashing below my menubar, which don't go away until I click away from Safari (to Finder, for example).

I'd really appreciate it if someone could go to the trouble of trying this. It only seems to happen with these exact settings (having translucency activated stops this from happening, for example). I'm trying to narrow down whether this is just Yosemite being buggy or something specific to my machine.

Thanks

I just tried it with your settings but I didn't get the white lines. Could it be another setting that's causing the problem? Have you tried restarting, resetting NVRAM/PRAM, fixing permissions, etc.?

 

[CincinnatusC]

Thanks for the response. That's kind of concerning, I really hope it's not something wrong with my computer.

I've tried all of the things you suggested. The only additional thing that seems to effect whether it happens or not (which I just noticed now after more experimenting) is that Safari needs to be expanded so that it's already touching the top of the menubar before the Show Desktop command/hot-key is used. If the Safari window is floating below the menubar, it doesn't happen. The width of the Safari window also seems to have an effect -- if the window isn't very wide it doesn't seem to happen. Sounds really strange, I know.

Do you think this could this be some sign of a hardware problem? It's such a ridiculously specific thing (like I said, translucency enabled or dark mode off stops it completely) that I find it hard to believe that that could be the case, but perhaps I'm wrong. Maybe I'll figure out how to post a video of it to give people a better idea of what I'm talking about. Any ideas/suggestions are welcome.

 

[CincinnatusC]

Here's a video I've recorded which clearly shows whats going on. Watch the top left corner: http://youtu.be/t9wwwK9lbRE

In the video I'm using the top left hot-corner to activate the Show Desktop function. I demonstrate how it only happens with the combination of dark mode on and translucency off.

Doesn't happen with Firefox or any other application, as far as I can tell. As I said in my last post, it's contingent on having the Safari window expanded so that it's touching the menu bar, but I forgot to demonstrate that in the video.

Any one have any ideas? Does it look like it could be a hardware issue?

 

[Watabou]

I replicated your steps but it doesn't do that for me either.

 

[drew627]

Don't worry. It should be a software issue.

I forgot to mention that I'm actually running 10.10.3. When did this problem start for you? It could just be a 10.10.2 thing as Apple is always fixing graphics driver problems. My suggestion would be to just wait till the next update is available and report back then. If you really are that worried, you can administer an Apple Hardware Test. Good luck!

 

[CincinnatusC]

After some more digging it seems I'm not the only one who has this issue: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5682691

It's actually not specific to dark mode I've since discovered, just much clearer to see with a dark menu bar and dark wallpaper. It's very slightly visible with a normal light grey menu bar. The only thing that gets rid of it entirely for me is turning on translucency, for some reason.

I've also found that, although Safari seems to be the worst offender, I can recreate this with other apps too (just with a little more patience). The key is to have a large window that touches the bottom of the menu bar, and that slides upwards through the menu bar when the Show Desktop hot-corner is used.

I'm pretty confused about this. The apple discussions thread seems to heavily imply that this is a software glitch (people even had logic boards replaced only to still have the problem). However, there are people in this thread unable to recreate the issue. I just want to know for certain that it's not a hardware issue. Guess I should speak to Applecare.

Edit: sorry drew627, posted my last message before I saw yours. I've only really noticed this now, but I had never used the combination of dark mode and a dark wallpaper until recently, so I guess I could have just not noticed it before. And the thread I linked to above has people complaining about it since Mavericks.

 

[Jess13]

I don't have that problem but I use iBooks full screen and when I swipe to the main screen my dark mode menu bar has disappeared.

 

[Jess13]

OK, just happened when using Safari.

The problem might be too fast for QuickTime screen recording, problem on screen visible entire time but not visible in screen recording entire time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C37kVO10j6Y

 

[CincinnatusC]

Interesting! It came out clearly enough in your video. Definitely looks like the same graphical glitch I'm experiencing.

Another thing of note is that I have the rMBP model with 2 graphics cards. I've tested, and this glitch happens with both my NVIDIA card and my Intel Iris card. Again, that makes me think that this is software rather than hardware related.