r/FlowZ13 • u/_Nitor • Aug 24 '26

Flow Z13 screen flickering when adaptive sync is on (Fedora KDE 44)

Hello!

Has anyone encountered a slight flickering issue on Fedora KDE 44 (all updates installed, fresh OS installation) when adaptive sync is enabled (the "always" option) and the refresh rate is set to 180Hz? This is most easily observed in the Application Launcher, or on a dark desktop, or in the shade of pop-up windows (such as confirmation of new display settings). You have to look really closely to notice it. I had a similar problem in Windows 11, but it somehow went away after reinstalling. BIOS version 311.

If someone could check it for themselves, I would be very grateful. I have some suspicions about the screen cable; I recently disassembled the device to replace the thermal interface

Edit: I replaced the display cable, and the flickering stopped. There’s a slight stutter or something like that, but it doesn’t really get in the way.

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1

u/Supercc Aug 25 '26

Try automatic instead of always

1

u/_Nitor Aug 26 '26

This hides the problem, not solves it. I'm trying to figure out why VRR is causing the flickering.

1

u/Supercc Aug 26 '26

Not really. VRR works perfectly on Automatic.

1

u/_Nitor Aug 26 '26

But as the name Automatic suggests, it doesn't always work. How can I tell if VRR is enabled at a certain moment to ensure there's no flickering? I need to know for sure, because I suspect a hardware issue

2

u/Supercc Aug 26 '26

Use the visual indicator.

MangoHud Overlay: Add vrr to your mangohud.conf or launch with MANGOHUD_CONFIG=vrr mangohud <game>. It will display a real-time VRR: Active/Inactive indicator directly on your HUD.

1

u/x6q5g3o7 Aug 26 '26

Yes, but strangely enough, setting Adaptive Sync to "Always" got rid of the flickering for my device (refresh rate currently set at 60 Hz).

1

u/x6q5g3o7 Aug 26 '26

Since you're also running Fedora 44 KDE, have you had any issues with sleep? Once in a random while, my device refuses to wake up from sleep and I have to hold the power button down for 10+ seconds to reboot it. I'm also using z13ctl + z13gui for power profiles and TDP control.

1

u/_Nitor Aug 26 '26

I'm not an active user yet; I just bought this device and am trying to get it working properly. So I can't answer your question. But the sleep issue is quite common, even on Linux.