External HDMI display goes to black randomly

Question

I have a Latitude E5401 and it is connected to a DELL U2719DC display via HDMI. Recently I have noticed that the external display will randomly go to black for a few seconds and than come back. Sometimes it's the entire screen and other times it seems to only be Edge browser that goes black.

This can happen several times during a working day or only once or twice - but it does happen everytime I'm using the laptop.

This laptop has had many issue before (not the best DELL has come out with TBH) so this is another annoyance. It has blue screened, refused to boot, and I had to reset Windows on it before. Previous Latitude I had was rock solid.

1st thing I did was reinstall the video driver

Check the BIOS version - 1.10.1 which is latest

Wondering how to diagnose if this is the display or the laptop.

Any tips helpful before I ring up DELL support - I have "next day" support on this.

DELL-Cares · Answer

Thank you! We have received the required details. We will work towards a resolution. In the meantime, you may also receive assistance or suggestions from the community members.

Salik R · Answer

I would try to reply to your last message but the message section of the site seems to have broken down. I have not been able to obtain another cable or display due to lockdown. The laptop did a driver update so maybe it will stop - I will monitor the situation and let you know.

DELL-Cares · Answer

Hi,

You may try different browser and check regarding replying to our message on private.

You can system under observation and check how it works. Do reach out to us in case you need any assistance.

Salik R · Answer

Once again the private message facility has broken. I have tried three browsers (Edge, Chrome & Firefox and it is broken on each. As for my situation: The system working on Display Port is working through my Thunderbolt dock just fine. No blanking. This means the display is not the issue. Once our office open again in March (possible) than I can get a HDMI cable and test the configuration again. Salik.

DELL-Cares · Answer

Hi,   Hope you're doing good.   We didn't hear from you. I will be archiving the case from my end. Do get back to us for any further assistance. We'll be happy to assist you.   -Gautam.

JohnK1234 · Answer

I have the same problem on a brand new Dell Precision 3581 with discrete GPU. When I connect an external monitor using the built-in HDMI port, and have Edge on the external monitor, the screen will go black.

The work-around is to disable hardware acceleration in your web browser's settings. This stops the screen from going black.

Make sure to turn it back on when you are using the external monitor from a thunderbolt dock as this should be able to work via your discrete graphics card, and it will speed up your web browser.

You may also try going to NVIDIA Control Panel, and under "Preferred graphics processor" change it to "Auto-select" or "Integrated graphics".

Latitude

External HDMI display goes to black randomly

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