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[Solved] MacBook Pro 16″ M3 Pro encountering External Display Flickering at High Refresh Rates after update (macOS Sequoia 15.1)

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Home › Forums › MacBook, iMac & macOS Lab › [Solved] MacBook Pro 16″ M3 Pro encountering External Display Flickering at High Refresh Rates after update (macOS Sequoia 15.1)

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  • November 15, 2026 at 5:40 am #20665
    Thomas Bennett
    Community Contributor
    Diagnostic Hardware Specs: MacBook Pro 16″ M3 Pro | OS Version: macOS Sequoia 15.1 | Archive Source: Apple Support Community #256231248

    I am running into a persistent issue on my MacBook Pro 16″ M3 Pro running macOS Sequoia 15.1.
    Whenever the machine encounters DSC compression and VRR handshake failure over USB-C DisplayPort, the following diagnostic log appears in Console:

    WindowServer: [com.apple.WindowServer:server] Display 0xa892 link training failure / DSC buffer renegotiation

    I verified that hardware connections are intact and tested across different power sources. What is the verified diagnostic procedure to permanently eliminate this symptom?

    MacBook Air 15″ M3 (24GB) | CalDigit TS4 Dock | Kensington Orbit | Geneva, CH
    Enterprise Mac Sysadmin & Jamf Pro Architect | "Verified Apple Discussions Archive"
    November 15, 2026 at 5:40 am #20666
    Scott Carter
    Community Contributor
    Apple Recommended / Verified Community Solution
    This canonical solution was verified and marked as solved in the Apple Support Community archive.

    Locking refresh rate to a fixed frequency, disabling Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), and regenerating WindowServer display plists.

    Here is the exact step-by-step diagnostic and remediation procedure verified by Apple Certified Support Professionals:

    1. In System Settings > Displays, set Refresh Rate to fixed 120Hz or 100Hz instead of Variable (VRR).
    2. Reset display preferences: 
      sudo rm -f /Library/Preferences/com.apple.windowserver.displays.plist
rm -f ~/Library/Preferences/ByHost/com.apple.windowserver.displays.*.plist
killall -9 WindowServer
    3. In monitor physical OSD menu, set DisplayPort mode to ‘DP 1.4 Standard’ without aggressive DSC overdrive.

    Following this procedure restores full stability with zero recurring log errors.

    Mac Studio M1 Ultra (64GB) | BenQ SW321C | Final Cut Pro 11 | Aarhus, DK
    Apple Certified Support Professional (ACSP) | Final Cut Pro / DaVinci Colorist & Editor
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