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thompsonryan
thompsonryan
Inspiring
February 8, 2021
Answered

Color Flicker in Illustrator

  • February 8, 2021
  • 9 replies
  • 8858 views

I'm experiencing an issue in Illustrator where the colors on screen slightly flicker or shift in value. It is especially noticeable on bright, saturated color. It's a little difficult to explain but the video will show what I'm seeing. This is only happening in Illustrator and it doesn't happen all the time. The screen recording is from my Macbook Pro.

Could this be a hardware issue?

 

My setup:
2019 Macbook Pro
macOS Catalina 10.15.7
Adobe Illustrator 25.1

 

    Correct answer S_Gans

    This COULD (but shouldn't) be an issue with your graphics card. It's possible your GPU is creating the problem - although I have to imagine, it's within Adobe specifications. Please turn off the GPU functions at Preferences> Performance, and see if that resolves the issue. If so, maybe talk to Apple about this, as the GPU on that model should be sufficient. 

    9 replies

    hafonton
    hafonton
    Participant
    March 23, 2024

    I still experience this in mars 2024,

    Macbook Pro M1 Max 2021

    macOS Monetery

    Adobe Illustrator 28.0

     

    Turning off GPU Performence from the Illustrator settings "solves" the flickering, but causes a slow and laggy experience so instead of flickering I experience lags. Not a solution.

     

    Who's reponsible for fixing this?

     

      Monika Gause
      Community Expert
      Monika GauseCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      March 23, 2024

      I'm using the same hardware and system. No flickering.

       

      Maybe you could contact Customer Care to check out what's wrong with your system.

      O
      Offer-Readman
      Participating Frequently
      December 7, 2023

      I'm having the same issue with a brand new 2023 M2 Max. It's sporadic and turning GPU on and off stabilizes it for a while. I also still get the occasional GPU not working with animated zoom etc. I had this issue regularly with my old 2019 Pro but didn't expect it with and M2 max. A restart of Illustrator fixes that.

        Anubhav M
        Community Manager
        Anubhav MCommunity Manager
        Community Manager
        December 19, 2023

        Hello @scottr36574981,

        Sorry to hear about your experience. Would you mind installing any pending OS/Illustrator updates (https://adobe.ly/3RT356o) (https://adobe.ly/3v1aJSW) and checking if it helps? Also, try manually resetting Illustrator's preferences and sharing your observations:

         

        For macOS

        • Close all Adobe applications.

        • Go to the following locations

        • ~/Library/Caches

        • ~/Library/Application Support/Adobe

        • ~/Library/Preferences

        • Rename Adobe Illustrator, com.adobe.illustrator and Adobe Illustrator 28 Settings folders to Adobe Illustrator.old, com.adobe.illustrator.old and Adobe Illustrator 28 Settings.old

        • Launch Illustrator from the Creative Cloud.

         

        Note: Location starting with this "~" sign indicates the User Library, which is hidden. So, you need to copy & paste the exact path in spotlight search or from Finder Menu > Go > Go to Folder > Paste the location in the dialog box like this:

         

        For Windows

        - Close all Adobe applications.

        - Go to Location C:\Users\%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\Adobe

        - Rename Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Illustrator 28 Settings folders to Adobe Illustrator.old and Adobe Illustrator - 28 Settings.old

        - Relaunch Illustrator from Creative Cloud

         

        Disclaimer: Please note that renaming preferences folders will remove all the custom settings, and Illustrator will launch with default settings. You can also save a backup of the folders in case you want to. The location is mentioned above.

        If the problem persists, kindly share more details, like the exact version of the OS/Illustrator, system config (CPU/GPU/Memory), and a screen recording of the problem (https://adobe.ly/3RNiRQ4), so we can investigate this further.

         

        Looking forward to hearing from you.

         

        Thanks,

        Anubhav

        ScottReadman
        ScottReadman
        Participating Frequently
        December 7, 2023

        I'm having the same issue with a brand new 2023 M2 Max. It's sporadic and turning GPU on and off stabilizes it for a while. I also still get the occasional GPU not working with animated zoom etc. I had this issue regularly with my old 2019 Pro but didn't expect it with and M2 max. A restart of Illustrator fixes that.

        Very frustrating

        M
        Mason N
        Participant
        October 5, 2023

        I'm having the same issue on my 2021 Macbook Pro, M1 Max 32G. Certain colors will constantly flicker (orange will go from bold to muted tones) while working in Illustrator. Turning off GPU Performance in Illustrator settings seems to help. However, if I connect my laptop to my Studio Display, I never have this issue on the Studio Display screen. I wish Apple and Adobe could work together on this. 
        macOS - Sonoma 14.0
        Adobe Illustrator 27.9

        M
        Monsieur_G
        Participating Frequently
        August 11, 2022

        Are there any updates on this? Is it supposed to be fixed? Had it happen today and the same suggestion fixed it, albeit temporarely only.

        My setup is:
        2021 M1 Max 16in
        macOS Monterey 12.4

        Adobe Illustrator 26.4.1

          B
          BrentChristo
          Participant
          May 7, 2022

          Did anyone get a result with Apple or Adobe on this? Issue occurring for me too, 2020 MacBook Pro M1 but only when I'm using my Samsung Monitor (Model CJ791).

            J
            James5EB3
            Participating Frequently
            July 30, 2021

            I'm experiencing the exact same thing. I'm on a 2018 MacBook Pro with a Radeon Pro 560X 4 GB GPU. I'm also experiencing a number of other really annoying GPU-related problems in both Illustrator and Photoshop. Turning off GPU computing fixes the problem but it also results in a huge loss in performance. Very frustrating.

              zuba1966
              zuba1966
              Participant
              January 25, 2022

              I too am having the same issue, high value colors mostly. I thought my eyesight was going on me, rtipping me out. My wife confirmed I was not trippin or losing my eyesight.

              2021 MBP M1 PRO AI 26.0.2, mac OS 12.1

              L
              Lukas5EC7
              Participant
              February 15, 2021

              Running a 2019 Mac Book Pro and having the same issues. It seems turning off the GPU functions have solved the issue.

                S_Gans
                Community Expert
                S_GansCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
                Community Expert
                February 8, 2021

                This COULD (but shouldn't) be an issue with your graphics card. It's possible your GPU is creating the problem - although I have to imagine, it's within Adobe specifications. Please turn off the GPU functions at Preferences> Performance, and see if that resolves the issue. If so, maybe talk to Apple about this, as the GPU on that model should be sufficient. 

                Adobe Community Expert / Adobe Certified Instructor
                  thompsonryan
                  thompsonryanAuthor
                  Inspiring
                  February 15, 2021

                  Thanks for shedding some light on this. It looks like the GPU setting is the culprit. However, the problem with the flicker only happens occasionaly. Basically turning off the GPU setting and then turning it back on seems to help stablize it. I'm going to see what Apple may have to say as well. I've also had GPU issues with Photoshop.

                    J
                    Jeroen5C2D
                    Participant
                    May 6, 2021

                    Exactly the same problem, looks like this has not been solved yet (MacBook Air (M1, 2020)) turning off CPU in settings solved the matter.

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