Razor Blade 15 Periodical Black Screen

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!

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.

@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.

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.

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 :)

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

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.

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.

Hi Manfred - I have the same machine with the 2080 card and I have the identical problem. Screen goes blank (not off - I can still see the black background is on) and the rest of the machine remains active. I can keep typing and the text is present when I cycle the screen on and off (I have set the power button to screen on/off in the Windows power settings as the problem happens so frequently). I contacted Razer support and followed these steps with no improvement in the behavior - if anything it is more frequent now: Connect to an external monitor / Blank or dead screen If you are able to, try to connect the Razer Blade to an external monitor and observe if the behavior is replicated on the external display, or if it only affecting the display on the Blade. Simply power on your Blade, and connect the external monitor to the system. If the display works fine using the external monitor, it is possible that the display may be faulty. If the display does not appear on the external monitor, it is possible that the laptop itself is faulty. NOTE: If the system is not detecting the external display, you might want to try hitting FN+F4 twice or three times to change the display setting Reinstall Intel Display Driver - Go to the following page: http://support.razerzone.com/gaming-laptops - Download the Intel HD Graphics file available for your model - Open Device Manager (right click on the Start menu) - Under Display Adapters, locate the Intel HD driver - Uninstall the Intel HD Graphics driver - Once done. run the downloaded and complete the installation - Restart upon completion - Download and run the Intel driver updater to check for updates. https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/detect.html Reinstall NVIDIA Display Driver - Go to the following page: http://support.razerzone.com/gaming-laptops - Download the GRAPHICS driver that is available for your model - On install of the NVIDIA driver select custom install, then check the clean install box - Upon completion, restart the system Turn Off Panel Self-Refresh 1. Go to Intel Graphics Settings (right click on desktop) 2. Head over to Power 3. Under the Graphics Power Plan, choose Maximum Performance 4. Choose either On Battery or Plugged In, and ensure that the Panel Self-Refresh is set to Disable 5. Hit Apply and OK on the next windows that popped up Run Windows DISM Tool 1. In the search box on the taskbar, type command prompt, press and hold (or right-click) Command Prompt, and then select Run as administrator > Yes. 2. At the command prompt, type in the command line: dism.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth (note the space between "dism.exe" and "/" and each switch (/)). 3. If DISM finds corrupted files and replaces them, restart your PC and see that improves performance. None of that worked. Connecting to external monitor fixed the problem - the external display worked perfectly and the screen on the laptop stayed on. I have noticed that the screen now flickers from time to time (as if it is about to go blank but then recovers) and that the problem may be more common when the GTX card is also in use. I am now waiting to hear back from Razer regarding courier pick up to send the machine back to them for repair/replacement. As you seem to be having an identical problem I am guessing this may be a known problem which this device. Kind regards, Chris

My RTX 2080 Razer Blade 15 is doing the same thing. I am very angered and disappointed after spending $3000 on this laptop.

Thanks @aamcclary for guiding @nirerlich. Hey @nirerlich! Feel free to send me a PM together with your laptop's serial number should you need further assistance.

Hoping this collection of people with the issue gets some attention so we can get a fix :) It's all fun and games until you're in the middle of a meeting and your device casually blacks out.

I purchased a mid-2019 Blade 15 Advance FHD w/RTX 2080 on Sept 6th, so I still have some time to return it. I've also have been experiencing this issue. Would be great to have some answers on this issue before completely throwing in the towel. As with the post above, the issue is extremely random. All my drivers are updated and I've followed the directions that previous posters have relayed from Razer in this thread. I've even upgraded the Intel UHD 630 driver direct from Intel as it's the newest version of the driver as well as disabling the power saving features within the Intel Graphics Control Panel. For me the issue occurs regardless of being on battery or plugged in and after a fresh restart or not. On battery, I've tried the various Windows and Synapse power plans as well as try to use the screen at different angles as well as opening and closing the screen to check for a possible loose connection. I'm willing to look the other way regarding the unconventional transposed keys/layout, but this screen blanking is definitely a deal breaker. It's incredibly temperamental as it'll sometimes blank and doesn't come back until I close the lid and reopen it, other times it'll just blank every other couple of minutes but return like I had blinked my eyes.

@ThomasHedegaard and @SJerc, are you run Windows 1809 or 1903? you can check by hitting the windows key and searching winver, then pressing enter.

_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.

1903

Has anyone found a fix to the black screen? Its been going on for a while it at first only occurred when my settings were on best performance but now it also happens on better battery. I've updated drivers and all that but my rtx 2070 maxq 240hz version still black screens. I've noticed that it usually happens when I watch youtube at 240hz at high quality settings.

Update this morning. It's been 36 hours and I have not heard from @Razer.Speedcr0ss yet. Additional update, I was just watching a video and my screen cut out again. Sound and video was still playing in the background for another couple minutes until I decided to power down and reboot. I'm assuming this means this is a GPU issue. Would appreciate a reply to my PM.

I was wondering if anybody exchanged their laptop and still had the issue persist? I did a full recovery, clean install of drivers last night. I also noticed that my wifi was cutting out sporadically prior to this. Both the screen and wifi issues continued until I put my power setting on "Best performance." After that connection was solid and screen didn't go black for the rest of the night. Going to test tonight to see if I can replicate with certainty. If it is a software issue I would not want to exchange because the hardware is otherwise excellent and I'd prefer not to lose my laptop again after just purchasing it.

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.

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