Forum Discussion
When the screen is locked, it flickers for about 1 second before the lock screen appears.
When I press the Win + L shortcut to lock my computer, the screen flickers briefly before the lock screen appears. Previously, the lock screen process was smooth and flicker-free. I’ve tried updating...
A brief flicker during Win + L is usually caused by the graphics system switching display modes while Windows changes from the desktop to the lock screen. HDR, variable refresh rate, hybrid graphics, or a display-driver regression can cause this. Disabling animation effects normally will not fix it.
Try these checks:
- Go to Settings > Personalization > Lock screen and change the background to a static Picture instead of Windows Spotlight or Slideshow.
- Temporarily turn off HDR under Settings > System > Display > Windows HD Color settings.
- Set the display to a fixed supported refresh rate under Settings > System > Display > Advanced display settings. Temporarily disable G-Sync, FreeSync, or variable refresh rate as well.
- If the issue started after a driver update, use Device Manager > Display adapters > Properties > Driver > Roll Back Driver. On a laptop with hybrid graphics, install both the integrated and dedicated graphics drivers provided by the laptop manufacturer.
- Check Event Viewer > Windows Logs > System immediately after the flicker. Display-driver reset messages at the same time would confirm a driver problem.
If the flicker occurs only once during locking and the display remains stable afterward, hardware failure is unlikely. If it also happens during normal use or becomes longer, test an external monitor to determine whether the problem is with the graphics driver or the laptop display.