Hello.
I recently purchased a Razor Blade 15 RTX 2080 (*removed for security purposes). Now I have the problem that from time to time the screen gets black. Then I have to press the power button a few times so that I can log in again. Then I'm logged back into the system and can continue working from where the screen failed.
Do you have a suggestion for a solution to this problem?
Greetings, Manfred
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@Razer.Speedcr0ss Given that there are several of us with the same issue, maybe some sort of formal statement from Razer with some facts would be nice. As an example, something along the lines of "we currently have 23 official cases open for this issue. Out of all of the claims for this specific issue, we have 3 different display manufacturers and have isolated there are zero issues with the actual display. Furthermore we have also received 3 units from warranty claim filers, each representing each of the display manufacturers to review the assembly to ensure there are no assembly line issues. As of this date, we believe we may have a software issue and have been collecting usage and software installation patterns to determine a pattern. If you have not filed a claim, we strongly encourage you to do so."
Not really expecting a quick fix given the randomness of the issue, but at least something to demonstrate that the issue is indeed being seriously looked into to give your customers some warm and fuzzies as the whole "PM me" approach doesn't sit well. Not everyone has been fortunate enough like myself to have purchased the unit at an extreme discount, which in turn has made it a bit easier to bit the bullet and take a chance to let the return period lapse. Now that I've committed to keeping my laptop, I will pay more attention to what I'm doing if the issue happens, again since I was mainly focused on benchmarking laptops to determine which one I liked the best. From my past experience, it didn't seem like it mattered if the laptop was plugged in or not, Synapse was in Balanced or Custom mode, whether Intel XTU was being used or not, or if the laptop was being stressed or not. It's definitely a major head scratcher but I do think it's a SW issue. Anyway, just providing some feedback, so hopefully it doesn't come across harsh. Best of luck in addressing this weird issue.
Not really expecting a quick fix given the randomness of the issue, but at least something to demonstrate that the issue is indeed being seriously looked into to give your customers some warm and fuzzies as the whole "PM me" approach doesn't sit well. Not everyone has been fortunate enough like myself to have purchased the unit at an extreme discount, which in turn has made it a bit easier to bit the bullet and take a chance to let the return period lapse. Now that I've committed to keeping my laptop, I will pay more attention to what I'm doing if the issue happens, again since I was mainly focused on benchmarking laptops to determine which one I liked the best. From my past experience, it didn't seem like it mattered if the laptop was plugged in or not, Synapse was in Balanced or Custom mode, whether Intel XTU was being used or not, or if the laptop was being stressed or not. It's definitely a major head scratcher but I do think it's a SW issue. Anyway, just providing some feedback, so hopefully it doesn't come across harsh. Best of luck in addressing this weird issue.
jamesfox27
While I'm waiting for my replacement, run the Intel UHD Graphics Control Panel App. Under the refresh rate, switch from 240 to 60 Hz. I know it's not the cream of the crop but so far no black screens popping up.
Please let me know if anyone else has tried this with success. Then we can narrow the issue down.
So 8 days ago(exactly 8 days as I've been logging this, but waiting to confirm anything until at least a week had passed), I went into Razer Synapse, and turned the refresh rate from 240 down to 60. Ever since, i.e. during a whole week of using this laptop extensively without an external monitor, I can confirm that the random-black-screen-issue DOES NOT HAPPEN. It truly sucks going down to 60 herz when one was getting used to 240, and it obviously sucks even more, when one of the main reasons for buying this machine, was the 240 refresh rate selling point, and then giving into this kind of price tag!
Anyway... @Razer.Speedcr0ss thank you for the update earlier, that is exactly the kind of message I've been requesting as well, just to let people know what's happening from Razer's side(even if nothing new has happened yet) - please keep them coming. Also, please pass this information on the the escalation team members working on this case. It seems it's somewhat related to refresh rate. Again, ever since I changed settings to show 60 instead of 240hz(using Razer Synapse to change this setting), the issue stopped happening, while before when on 240, it used to happen anywhere between 10 - 40 times in a day...
Can more people please try this approach and let us know whether it changes the situation on your side?
NB: I have not tried the steps @SJerc suggests above, yet.
I've been using my Razer Blade 15'' 2019 RTX 2070 for about two months, and I've been experiencing this issue from day 1 - it has gotten more and more frequent I think. I've also tried updating the stuff that other people already have reported doing, based on response from Razer support; didn't help, issue still happens. Sadly however, I've yet to spot a pattern in this behavior. Sometimes, my machine can go a whole day with a workload CPU utilization between 70-100% for like 10 hours straight without this issue occuring, other times it happens with 30 seconds intervals - literally!
It often happens when machine wakes from sleep and I've logged into windows; that's the whole 30 seconds interval black-screen happening. But again, I should but a big asterix on that statement, because as I said earlier, it's extremely random... Can happen anytime, no matter CPU and/or GPU(s) workload etc. I cannot see a pattern here. I do (obvously) hope that this can be fixed somehow via software/drivers update - I don't think it's hardware being faulty as I can go a whole day without this happening at all still.
@SpeedHunter I'll PM you Serial Number etc, but really, could Razer give an update on this issue on this thread so that everyone knows the current status of the investigation from Razer's side? Even if there isn't any update, it would at least be nice to know. As multiple customers before me have stated, this is sad behavior, especially with a machine rocking a 3000$ price tag..
Thanks in advance!
It often happens when machine wakes from sleep and I've logged into windows; that's the whole 30 seconds interval black-screen happening. But again, I should but a big asterix on that statement, because as I said earlier, it's extremely random... Can happen anytime, no matter CPU and/or GPU(s) workload etc. I cannot see a pattern here. I do (obvously) hope that this can be fixed somehow via software/drivers update - I don't think it's hardware being faulty as I can go a whole day without this happening at all still.
@SpeedHunter I'll PM you Serial Number etc, but really, could Razer give an update on this issue on this thread so that everyone knows the current status of the investigation from Razer's side? Even if there isn't any update, it would at least be nice to know. As multiple customers before me have stated, this is sad behavior, especially with a machine rocking a 3000$ price tag..
Thanks in advance!
I've just recently purchased a Razer Blade 15" 2019 RTX 2080. I decided to give Razer another chance after my Blade 14 logic board bricked itself after only two years and they wanted to charge me basically the cost of a new computer to repair it since it was off warranty. The black screen seems to begin when I have had the computer plugged in and I unplug it before waking it from sleep or vice versa (plug it in while asleep). This has occurred during games and just regular web-browsing. Doing a hard restart seems to fix the issue and it does happen the majority of the time on battery power. Needless to say for the highest end gaming of the 15" series its beyond disappointing.
Userlevel 7
- Razer Support
- 7596 replies
-
13 October 2019
Hello everyone! I really appreciate your inputs and collaboration because this can help us derive data and analyze what's causing the issue. I am communicating with the Support Team to get a systematic way of resolving the said concern. Regarding the status of the escalated cases, apologies if I can't provide the exact number that was resolved during the escalation. However, I have escalated cases that are bound for repair. The Escalation Team ensures that this is closely monitored and well isolated before providing any conclusion. Thank you so much for remaining positive. Feel free to communicate with me via PM should you need further assistance.
@jamesfox27 I tried the same, i.e. changing the power settings. I also tried the approach from @SJerc - I still experience black screens though. Still, for me the only thing to do is to bump it down to 60hz to avoid black screens... Sad times... Fyi @Razer.Speedcr0ss
Well if that’s the state of Razer’s tech support then we have to take care of the problem by ourselves. I will code an app to automatically switch to 60Hz then back to 260Hz and release the download link here.
I may need beta testers to confirm it’s working.
However I will need to make some research and tests.
The real challenge would be to find a way to detect when the problem appears. I will sniff the Windows system events and see what I can do.
I may need beta testers to confirm it’s working.
However I will need to make some research and tests.
The real challenge would be to find a way to detect when the problem appears. I will sniff the Windows system events and see what I can do.
Yesterday, I spoke to Amazon Customer Service about my Razer Blade 15 2070 Max-Q 240hz. People from Amazon contacted the Razer warranty team about my problem. They say that this is a problem many people suffer from Intel Graphics fault. Razer said that there will be an upcoming update but did not specify when. I can return this device by the 20th of this month, but I really love it and want a solution. Razer support team please help us. We have paid a lot of money for this device and this is an error we did not expect.
You can try the app by downloading it from here:
http://mnemonix.rocks:5000/sharing/p4V7cv0kW
Even though it's harmless -- use it on your own risk.
Once downloaded place it somewhere and assign a key macro to execute it from the Razer Synapse macros manager when black screen appears.
Running the app will automatically change the display frequency to 60Hz wait 1 second, switch back to 240Hz and exit.
Use a key macro to fix the black screen issue when it appears, without having to put your computer to sleep and wake it up again.
http://mnemonix.rocks:5000/sharing/p4V7cv0kW
Even though it's harmless -- use it on your own risk.
Once downloaded place it somewhere and assign a key macro to execute it from the Razer Synapse macros manager when black screen appears.
Running the app will automatically change the display frequency to 60Hz wait 1 second, switch back to 240Hz and exit.
Use a key macro to fix the black screen issue when it appears, without having to put your computer to sleep and wake it up again.
Hi.
Just wanted to inform you that setting windows power setting to "better performance" seems to have solved the same issue for me. Looks like Windows is having a conflict with razers power management. doesnt seem to affect battery that much either, since razer probably have their own power management when running on battery (not certain).
Im running mid 2019 advanced with RTX 2080 and I7 9750H Coffe lake. Hope this solves some issues you guys have, this solved my problem atleast
Just wanted to inform you that setting windows power setting to "better performance" seems to have solved the same issue for me. Looks like Windows is having a conflict with razers power management. doesnt seem to affect battery that much either, since razer probably have their own power management when running on battery (not certain).
Im running mid 2019 advanced with RTX 2080 and I7 9750H Coffe lake. Hope this solves some issues you guys have, this solved my problem atleast
nirerlich
@aamcclary which firmware update? where can I get it? thanks
You will need to get the correct one for your model but for the mid 2019 advanced model it can be found here. The current version is 1.04.
Hope this helps.
http://drivers.razersupport.com//index.php?_m=downloads&_a=view&parentcategoryid=886&pcid=885&nav=0,350,885&_ga=2.127272717.1866074781.1567805274-1963158157.1565226325&_gac=1.119068027.1567633969.Cj0KCQjwwb3rBRDrARIsALR3XeYQo5e1ru322aPlulWIDch43AioDJmdFUO3ufjlygpZx9OCN4WhTUQaAk2FEALw_wcB
_crashbandicoot
@ThomasHedegaard and @SJerc, are you run Windows 1809 or 1903? you can check by hitting the windows key and searching winver, then pressing enter.
Version 1809 - so we can safely confirm that it's not fixed by using either of those two version, based on the respone from @SJerc as well.
Razer.Speedcr0ss
Thanks for sharing. I've replied to your PM. Let's continue from there.
Thanks @Razer.Speedcr0ss - but can you please also give an overall update in this public conversation so that people know the current status of this issue? It would be nice to know whether Razer has any clue on what's going on, or whether they still don't know anything. Any kind of update would be nice. Thanks. Cc @_crashbandicoot @SJerc
SJerc
I've spoke too soon regarding my situation . The blanking came back for me and I was plugged in. In the past, I have seen it either on battery or plugged in. Reflecting on my case when I didn't experience the problem, I was mostly using programs that really didn't trigger the gpu. I've reset my laptop to prep it to return, but now I want to know if anyone has tried to use the Nvidia control panel to manually select gpu's versus letting Optimus automatically figure out our needs. My gut is that Optimus is playing up as other laptop manufacturers get the same issue here and there because of it.
I think this fixed it for me, I went into Nvidia Control Panel -> Manage 3D Settings -> Preferred Graphics Processor and changed it from Auto-Select to High-Performance NVIDIA Processor and haven't had a black screen for the past couple of days. After dealing with this issue for so long and trying so many different fixes, I still find myself expecting the screen to turn black any second now. Hopefully this helps the rest of you who are having this issue as well, I'll update here if I start seeing the issue again
the2parker
I think this fixed it for me, I went into Nvidia Control Panel -> Manage 3D Settings -> Preferred Graphics Processor and changed it from Auto-Select to High-Performance NVIDIA Processor and haven't had a black screen for the past couple of days. After dealing with this issue for so long and trying so many different fixes, I still find myself expecting the screen to turn black any second now. Hopefully this helps the rest of you who are having this issue as well, I'll update here if I start seeing the issue again
Hah, we're all expecting it to blank at any moment because we've been conditioned like lab rats. If it doesn't reoccur for a long while then it strongly points to Nvidia's Optimus. What version on you on? I'm on 436.48 and I have noticed that Nvidia has been releasing recent updates for stability issues in a few game titles almost as bad as iOS 13 releases. The screen blanking didn't really occur much for me, but I was running 2 different laptops through the paces to decide on a winner to keep. That means, I was rebooting, shutting down, and restoring the factory image pretty often which would make any memory leak issues less likely to show up. When the issue did show up, it was during times of leaving things running long enough to use the laptop like an actual laptop versus a test subject. lol
Update: I tried the2parker's suggestion to go into Nvidia Control Panel -> Manage 3D Settings -> Preferred Graphics Processor and changed it from Auto-Select to High-Performance NVIDIA Processor
My typical 'black screen' scenario would be watching full-screen Youtube videos when the charger is unplugged. Not sure if that's a cause, but that's when it most commonly happens.
Anyway, so far, so good. Playing full screen Youtube vids on battery without a black screen today. I'll post back if it occurs again or if I have more info on it.
My typical 'black screen' scenario would be watching full-screen Youtube videos when the charger is unplugged. Not sure if that's a cause, but that's when it most commonly happens.
Anyway, so far, so good. Playing full screen Youtube vids on battery without a black screen today. I'll post back if it occurs again or if I have more info on it.
I'm on my SECOND unit with the same problem. Gonna hold onto it as long as I can (or as long as Amazon will let me keep it while they'll still provide a FULL refund). What a serious waste of time and money. I didn't drop $3500 on a gaming laptop to deal with screen issues.
As I'm scrolling through these posts, I'm looking for any quick fixes. Just tried setting my laptop to NEVER sleep or turn the screen off while plugged in. Let's see if that helps.
As I'm scrolling through these posts, I'm looking for any quick fixes. Just tried setting my laptop to NEVER sleep or turn the screen off while plugged in. Let's see if that helps.
ThomasHedegaard
@SJerc sure, but trying to narrow down the issue I kinda had to go this 60hz for at least a week to be sure. Is your approach still working for you? I.e. have you had any black-screens yet after your suggested steps?
To be clear, I'm only suggesting to manually select your GPU via the Nvidia Control Panel instead of letting it automatically do it as I've noted other manufacturers having the same issue in the past due to the autoswitch acting up. As for me, I've been running problem free without needing to do anything for a week, but this was after a full factory restore when I was very close to returning the unit. Since then Windows 1903 seems to have settled down from issues. After the factory restore, I actually was forced to update from 18** to 1903 from a installer on Microsoft.com versus the usual Windows Updater. Then I went to the mid-2019 Blade 15 support page to make sure everything was up to date before using Nvidia's GeForce Experience to update me to the current available non-studio version as well as using Razer Central to update Synapse. I've not installed Cortex like in the past. My hunch is it's a problem with the autoswitching that might have somehow been exacerbated with all those frequent and bad Windows updates before 1903 settled a bit more. The reason why I believe it to be so is that during all the software updates and tests I've been running when trying to decide between the XPS and Blade, this issue has gone from randomly blanking with image and no backlight with the only resolution to close the lid and open it back up to wake it from sleep to transforming into the issue of randomly blanking and quickly coming back on it's own, but doing so a lot more frequently.
When my screen goes black, I can click Ctrl+Alt+Delete, the task Mgr screen comes up, I click Cancel, and the screen is back to normal.
I had tried the power settings recommendation, but the issue still occurred, both when the laptop is plugged in or on battery.
So, I tried the 'Select the Nvidia GPU in the Nvidia panel manually instead of select automatically' technique. It seemed to stop for a day or so, but the spontaneous black screen came back.
Today, I made sure that I updated the Nvidia graphics driver in the GEForce experience. (I'm using 436.48 now).
I also changed the refresh rate from 240 to 60.
I will post back to see if these changes make any difference. If it's the refresh rate, I sure would love for Razer to issue an update so that I could switch it back to 240!
I had tried the power settings recommendation, but the issue still occurred, both when the laptop is plugged in or on battery.
So, I tried the 'Select the Nvidia GPU in the Nvidia panel manually instead of select automatically' technique. It seemed to stop for a day or so, but the spontaneous black screen came back.
Today, I made sure that I updated the Nvidia graphics driver in the GEForce experience. (I'm using 436.48 now).
I also changed the refresh rate from 240 to 60.
I will post back to see if these changes make any difference. If it's the refresh rate, I sure would love for Razer to issue an update so that I could switch it back to 240!
Well it lasted a 19 minutes until I got the black screen again ...
Changed to 60hz now and as for many here the situation gets better.
It's a shame to have to discard one of the best features of the laptop, which we pay so much for, in the 240hz screen, to make sure the screen works at all.
I hope Razer offers a quick solution to this
Changed to 60hz now and as for many here the situation gets better.
It's a shame to have to discard one of the best features of the laptop, which we pay so much for, in the 240hz screen, to make sure the screen works at all.
I hope Razer offers a quick solution to this
Userlevel 7
- Razer Support
- 7596 replies
-
22 October 2019
lucaslayf
Any updates on this situation from Razer?
The issue is unique per laptop. There are some resolved while others were escalated to the Support Team. Should anyone still have the issue, please send me a PM.
Sent my item back for replacement and got ignored for more than a week. Then they just say sorry theres no stock.
Sorry man. Next time go through Amazon. Don’t waste precious life time dealing with problems that shouldn’t exist.
I've coded an application that I think will temporary help us live with the problem.
It basically toggles the display frequency from 240Hz to 60Hz and brings it back to 240Hz automatically so you can assign a key combination in your Razer Synapse to launch the app when the problem appears.
This way at least we will not have to put the computer into sleep mode and bring it back.
It takes just a second to loop throughout the modes.
I will test it for a while and if it's working well and anyone is interested I will share it with you.
If I did it in 10 minutes that means Razer can implement it in a way more elegant way for no time.
It basically toggles the display frequency from 240Hz to 60Hz and brings it back to 240Hz automatically so you can assign a key combination in your Razer Synapse to launch the app when the problem appears.
This way at least we will not have to put the computer into sleep mode and bring it back.
It takes just a second to loop throughout the modes.
I will test it for a while and if it's working well and anyone is interested I will share it with you.
If I did it in 10 minutes that means Razer can implement it in a way more elegant way for no time.
Let me get the only good thing to say out of the way lest I be accused of being unfair. I purchased a 2019 Razer Blade 2070 max-q 240hz unit with RazerCare elite protection, experienced the screen blackout problem, submitted a repair ticket for this issue as this is all Razer has suggested to do, and eventually received a refurbished replacement unit which, at least so far, does not appear to have the same problem. Okay Razer I gave you your dues. Let's get to the rub.
Razer has no idea how to fix this issue, none, period. It is a blatant falsehood for them to imply "PM us, if we have your serial number we can fix this for you" to customers who are legitimately distressed about purchasing an expensive product that is defective. They don't know how to fix it, which is okay (technology is complex) but they should at least be up front here and on other threads and admit the problem and offer compensation or replacements for affected customers.
I went through all the proper channels to contact razer support, had countless phone calls with >45 minute hold times, thoroughly explained the issue, and eventually was told my laptop should be sent in for repair.
11/17/2019 - I send my laptop to razer's support center
11/25/2019 - I receive confirmation that they received it
11/27/2019 - I receive the laptop back, with a "burn in test" certificate
The laptop still had the black screen issue, so I emailed razer back asking them what was repaired on the machine, and they said the machine passed the burn in diagnostic test so nothing was replaced. That's right NOTHING was actually done to repair the machine. You would think common sense would dictate that if multiple customers are complaining about an issue, and a stress test can't detect it, then maybe there's something incomplete with the test. But I suppose this did not occur to Razer, they simply returned the machine unrepaired and hoped my issue would go away. I was furious and reopened my ticket with Razer support.
They apologized and escalated my ticket to Razer technical headquarters (and I guess my first repair went where??) and sent another RMA.
Dec. 3 2019 - I send my laptop off again
Dec. 9 2019 - They confirm receipt of the laptop
Between Dec. 9 and Dec. 20th I received almost no updates regarding the status of my repair. I called razer and eventually learned that the technical team could not replicate my issue and that they suggest the device be replaced.
Dec. 20 2019 - I get an email apologizing for the lack of communication
Between Dec. 20 and Dec. 31 I get a series of emails apologizing for the delays in delivering the replacement due to the holiday season.
Jan. 3 2020 - I get an email saying the warehouse is closed until January 6th, when it will reopen and my replacement will be processed.
Between Jan. 6 and Feb. 4th 2020 I sent and received 14 emails I think, with Razer's responses all variations of (Our sincerest apologies to informed you that we are still awaiting response from our warehouse team regarding the replacement that we have requested.)
Feb. 6 2020 - I finally received a refurbished replacement unit from Razer.
All told, it took almost 3 months and 2 separate repairs, the second repair taking over 2 months on its own, to resolve my issue. I have never experienced anything like this with any other laptop vendor. This was my first razer purchase and I can't help but be incredibly disappointed by their lack of transparency and their highly sub-par customer support, and will certainly not be a repeat customer. I am sorry for anyone else experiencing this issue, I just wanted to make the community aware of the process I went through to follow Razer's "please PM us" solution. We deserve better.
Razer has no idea how to fix this issue, none, period. It is a blatant falsehood for them to imply "PM us, if we have your serial number we can fix this for you" to customers who are legitimately distressed about purchasing an expensive product that is defective. They don't know how to fix it, which is okay (technology is complex) but they should at least be up front here and on other threads and admit the problem and offer compensation or replacements for affected customers.
I went through all the proper channels to contact razer support, had countless phone calls with >45 minute hold times, thoroughly explained the issue, and eventually was told my laptop should be sent in for repair.
11/17/2019 - I send my laptop to razer's support center
11/25/2019 - I receive confirmation that they received it
11/27/2019 - I receive the laptop back, with a "burn in test" certificate
The laptop still had the black screen issue, so I emailed razer back asking them what was repaired on the machine, and they said the machine passed the burn in diagnostic test so nothing was replaced. That's right NOTHING was actually done to repair the machine. You would think common sense would dictate that if multiple customers are complaining about an issue, and a stress test can't detect it, then maybe there's something incomplete with the test. But I suppose this did not occur to Razer, they simply returned the machine unrepaired and hoped my issue would go away. I was furious and reopened my ticket with Razer support.
They apologized and escalated my ticket to Razer technical headquarters (and I guess my first repair went where??) and sent another RMA.
Dec. 3 2019 - I send my laptop off again
Dec. 9 2019 - They confirm receipt of the laptop
Between Dec. 9 and Dec. 20th I received almost no updates regarding the status of my repair. I called razer and eventually learned that the technical team could not replicate my issue and that they suggest the device be replaced.
Dec. 20 2019 - I get an email apologizing for the lack of communication
Between Dec. 20 and Dec. 31 I get a series of emails apologizing for the delays in delivering the replacement due to the holiday season.
Jan. 3 2020 - I get an email saying the warehouse is closed until January 6th, when it will reopen and my replacement will be processed.
Between Jan. 6 and Feb. 4th 2020 I sent and received 14 emails I think, with Razer's responses all variations of (Our sincerest apologies to informed you that we are still awaiting response from our warehouse team regarding the replacement that we have requested.)
Feb. 6 2020 - I finally received a refurbished replacement unit from Razer.
All told, it took almost 3 months and 2 separate repairs, the second repair taking over 2 months on its own, to resolve my issue. I have never experienced anything like this with any other laptop vendor. This was my first razer purchase and I can't help but be incredibly disappointed by their lack of transparency and their highly sub-par customer support, and will certainly not be a repeat customer. I am sorry for anyone else experiencing this issue, I just wanted to make the community aware of the process I went through to follow Razer's "please PM us" solution. We deserve better.
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