Intel Reports Fix Coming for Flickering on Monitors Connected to 2012 Mac Mini via HDMI

Following last month's launch of new Mac mini models, a number of users in the MacRumors forums and Apple's support forums have cited issues with flickering on external monitors connected to their machines via HDMI. Connections via Thunderbolt/Mini DisplayPort are not affected.

mac mini third party display kb mouse
The issue seems to be a known one related to the Intel HD 4000 graphics used in the Mac mini, and Intel has now acknowledged the issue in the Mac mini and indicated that a fix is on the way. A timeframe for a fix delivered through Apple is, however, so far unknown.

We are aware of the flickering issue, and there will be a fix provided in the future. The overall flicker issue is also being addressed here; http://communities.intel.com/thread/32932

Your OEM (Apple) will provide the driver with the fix when they are done configuring our driver (that has the fix). An ETA on this is currently unknown.

Apple has begun developer seeding of OS X 10.8.3 with an emphasis on graphics drivers, but it seems to be unclear at the present time whether the current beta version of OS X 10.8.3 contains the specific fix for this issue.

Related Roundup: Mac mini
Buyer's Guide: Mac Mini (Neutral)
Related Forum: Mac mini

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features on Your iPhone

Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon. Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week. iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
Google maps feaure

Google Maps Quietly Added This Long-Overdue Feature for Drivers

Wednesday December 10, 2025 2:52 am PST by
Google Maps on iOS quietly gained a new feature recently that automatically recognizes where you've parked your vehicle and saves the location for you. Announced on LinkedIn by Rio Akasaka, Google Maps' senior product manager, the new feature auto-detects your parked location even if you don't use the parking pin function, saves it for up to 48 hours, and then automatically removes it once...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature 1

Apple to Make More Foldable iPhones Than Expected [Updated]

Tuesday December 9, 2025 9:59 am PST by
Apple has ordered 22 million OLED panels from Samsung Display for the first foldable iPhone, signaling a significantly larger production target than the display industry had previously anticipated, ET News reports. In the now-seemingly deleted report, ET News claimed that Samsung plans to mass-produce 11 million inward-folding OLED displays for Apple next year, as well as 11 million...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3

Thursday December 11, 2025 11:28 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3 and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B30, up from 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 firmware is 8B28, up from 8B21. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 are getting expanded support for Live Translation in the European Union in iOS...
iOS 26

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2

Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below. Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
AirTag 2 Mock Feature

Apple AirTag 2: Four New Features Found in iOS 26 Code

Thursday December 11, 2025 10:31 am PST by
The AirTag 2 will include a handful of new features that will improve tracking capabilities, according to a new report from Macworld. The site says that it was able to access an internal build of iOS 26, which includes references to multiple unreleased products. Here's what's supposedly coming: An improved pairing process, though no details were provided. AirTag pairing is already...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds Second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to Developers and Public Beta Testers

Monday December 8, 2025 10:18 am PST by
Apple today seeded the second release candidate version of iOS 26.2 to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming one week after Apple seeded the first RC. The release candidate represents the final version iOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found. Registered developers and public beta testers can download the betas from the Settings app on...
iPhone 14 Pro Dynamic Island

iPhone 18 Pro Leak Adds New Evidence for Under-Display Face ID

Monday December 8, 2025 4:54 am PST by
Apple is actively testing under-screen Face ID for next year's iPhone 18 Pro models using a special "spliced micro-transparent glass" window built into the display, claims a Chinese leaker. According to "Smart Pikachu," a Weibo account that has previously shared accurate supply-chain details on Chinese Android hardware, Apple is testing the special glass as a way to let the TrueDepth...
ipad blue prime day

iPad 12 Rumored to Get iPhone 17's A19 Chip, Breaking Apple Tradition

Wednesday December 10, 2025 12:22 pm PST by
The next-generation low-cost iPad will use Apple's A19 chip, according to a report from Macworld. Macworld claims to have seen an "internal Apple code document" with information about the 2026 iPad lineup. Prior documentation discovered by MacRumors suggested that the iPad 12 would be equipped with an A18 chip, not an A19 chip. The A19 chip was just released this year in the iPhone 17, and...
studio display purple

Apple Studio Display 2 Code Hints at 120Hz ProMotion, HDR, A19 Chip

Thursday December 11, 2025 4:19 am PST by
Apple's next-generation Studio Display is expected to arrive early next year, and a new report allegedly provides a couple more details on the external monitor's capabilities. According to internal Apple code seen by Macworld, the new external display will feature a variable refresh rate capable of up to 120Hz – aka ProMotion – as well as support for HDR content. The current Studio...

Top Rated Comments

jav6454 Avatar
170 months ago
Intel should just stick to CPUs and leave the GPUs to nVidia and AMD/ATI. That's the best solution here.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mr. Dee Avatar
170 months ago
I love the Mac Community

Best Beta Testers around. Can't wait for you folks to test out the new iMacs and find the problems to make my Rev B purchase the perfect buy! :)

I wish I could just wish I could give you all a big hug! :)
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dr_lha Avatar
170 months ago
I fixed this problem weeks ago by spending $6 on this:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10428&cs_id=1042802&p_id=5106&seq=1&format=2
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Fuchal Avatar
170 months ago
My 2011 (HD 3000) flickers/flashes as well on HDMI, but I bet there's no fix ever coming for that.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
3282868 Avatar
170 months ago
Integrated graphics are ridiculous for a desktop. I'd rather sacrifice a bit of space in order to replace the card, repair it, upgrade it or simply have an independent card with its own RAM and better performance.

Mobile devices I can understand, but this obsession with "thin" iMac's and small Mac Mini's at the sacrifice of function is getting out of hand. How is Intel proposing to fix this issue? What if this had been a bad logic board w/ integrated graphics?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mdriftmeyer Avatar
170 months ago
Apple are the ones pushing for integrated GPU's. That's why there are no discrete GPU's in the rMBP 13" and MBA's.

Hardly. AMD is moving the market to APUs and Intel knows it has to do something better than their HD 4000/5000 or they will open up x86 to AMD. It's another reason for the Xeon Phi (http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/high-performance-computing/high-performance-xeon-phi-coprocessor-brief.html) to compete against GPGPUs and the HSA Initiative (http://hsafoundation.com/) which is founded upon LLVM and OpenCL.

Apple wants SoC to have as small a form-factor as possible while improving system performance.

The Macbook AIR is an example of where Mobile GPGPUs have room to scale down before they're able to put them back in such a thin frame. Until then, the integrated section from Intel's HD 4000 will have to do.

The moment Nvidia and AMD can put an extremely thin, low power, but dedicated discrete gpgpu in that form factor Apple will jump on it. AMD's upcoming Radeon HD 8000 series is reportedly 33% more power efficient in power, even at 28nm. AMD is moving to 20nm in 2013 and 14nm in 2014 thanks to GlobalFoundries.

The power efficiency increases and the die size drops will be win/win for Apple's thin is in all the way up to the thin doesn't matter Mac Pro.

AMD is dropping their GPGPUs pricing for the HD 8000 series by > 20% while computational improvements are up > 60% for SP and DP.

New materials will soon launch CPU/GPGPU designs producing performance and power consumption drops that will once again remind us all how amazing this industry is relative to any other in the globe.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)