If your Mac Pro’s Touch Bar is flickering, don’t fret, there are steps you can take. Try a quick restart first; it’s a simple fix that often works wonders. If that doesn’t work, use your Activity Monitor tool to turn off the Touch Bar server temporarily. If the problem persists, malware could be the culprit. Use tools like CleanMyMac X to scan and remove any potential threats. If you’re still struggling, try resetting your SMC and NVRAM/PRAM, as these control many of the low-level functions of your Mac. Stick around, you’ll soon pick up even more tips to tackle this issue.
Understanding the Touch Bar Flickering
Understanding the issue of Touch Bar flickering, especially if you’re a MacBook Pro user from 2016 to 2018, is essential due to its unpredictable and frustrating nature. This glitch can occur when your Touch Bar is inactive, with no specific pattern or trigger, making it a nuisance for those who rely on their MacBook Pro’s seamless function for work or play.
The problem doesn’t seem to manifest on the login screen or in safe mode, hinting at a potential software or driver-related issue. It’s not a Retina Display problem, but rather one that’s confined to the Touch Bar. It’s an issue that’s been raised with Apple Support on numerous occasions, yet a definitive fix remains elusive.
Repair costs for the Touch Bar flickering can be steep, ranging from $400 to even $1200, depending on the components that need replacing. This has led some users to question the Touch Bar’s reliability and its impact on the overall MacBook Pro experience. As you navigate this issue, remember that understanding it’s the first step towards finding a solution.
Quick Restart: A Potential Remedy
Having grasped the nature of the Touch Bar flickering issue, let’s explore a straightforward remedy that you may find helpful – a quick restart of your Mac Pro. This is a simple yet effective troubleshooting step that often provides a temporary solution to the problem.
A quick restart could refresh your system, potentially stopping the flickering. It helps reset the functionality of the Touch Bar, providing a temporary reprieve from the flickering, until you can find a more permanent solution.
To give you a clearer understanding, let’s look at the step-by-step process in a tabular format:
| Step | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Locate the Apple menu | Access Restart option |
| 2 | Click on ‘Restart’ | Initiate system reboot |
| 3 | Confirm Restart | System begins to reboot |
| 4 | Wait for system to reboot | System refreshes |
| 5 | Check the Touch Bar | Flickering potentially resolved |
Turning Off the TouchBar Server
Another technique you can try to mitigate the flickering issue is turning off the TouchBar Server on your Mac Pro. This approach serves as a temporary fix and can help in diagnosing the flickering Touch Bar problem. Apple’s built-in tool, the Activity Monitor, can assist you in this process.
Here’s how you can turn off the TouchBar Server:
- Open Activity Monitor from your Applications folder, Utilities folder, or through Spotlight.
- In the search field at the top right corner, type ‘TouchBarServer’.
- Once the TouchBar Server process appears in the list, click on it, then click on the ‘X’ button in the toolbar.
Please note that this will turn off your Touch Bar temporarily. If you want to bring it back, you simply need to restart your Mac Pro. As a workaround, you can also turn on your keyboard backlight for temporary visibility.
Scanning for Malware: A Hidden Culprit
While disabling the TouchBar Server might alleviate the flickering issue temporarily, there’s yet another potential culprit you mightn’t have considered: malware. Indeed, malware can cause performance and stability issues with your MacBook, which might lead to the Touch Bar flicker problem you’re experiencing.
To handle this, it’s advisable to carry out regular malware scans using CleanMyMac X, a reputable tool known for its efficiency in detecting and removing malware from Mac computers. This will help you identify any malicious software that might be causing your Touch Bar to flicker, safeguarding your Mac against potential security threats.
Keep in mind that malware can impact various system components, including the Touch Bar, making these scans essential for maintaining your system’s health. Identifying and eliminating malware through such scans can hence contribute significantly to resolving the Touch Bar flickering issues on your MacBook Pro.
Resetting SMC and NVRAM/PRAM
If you’re still dealing with flickering issues with your Mac Pro’s Touch Bar, you may need to think about resetting the SMC (System Management Controller) and NVRAM/PRAM, as these power and settings-related solutions can effectively address such problems. You see, the SMC and NVRAM/PRAM control many low-level functions on your MacBook Pro, such as power management and certain hardware settings. When these get out of sync, you may experience problems like a flickering Touch Bar.
Here are the steps you need to follow:
- Resetting SMC: First, shut down your MacBook Pro. Press Shift-Control-Option on the left side of the built-in keyboard, then press the power button. Release all keys, then press the power button again to turn on your MacBook.
- Resetting NVRAM/PRAM: Restart your MacBook Pro. Immediately hold down Command-Option-P-R keys until you hear the startup chime twice.
- Check if the flickering is resolved: After performing the resets, check if the Touch Bar’s flickering issue persists.