If you are using an Intel laptop running Linux, avoid installing the latest Linux kernel version 5.19.12, as it is reportedly causing problems to the laptop displays.
The recent Linux kernel version is suspected to be incompatible with Intel’s i915 graphics driver, which is creating “white flashing” display issues.
“This issue happens on an ICL Lenovo laptop (i7-1065G7) running Fedora 35 (Workstation Edition), kernel 5.19.12-100.fc35. Issue does not happen with previous kernel update 5.19.11-100.fc35.,” wrote one user.
“After kernel selection in grub menu, laptop display starts to blink like lights in a 90’s rave party. It looks like white flash happens for every display update (?) I cannot change VT or do anything else since display is just blinking.”
Similar issues were reported by users on Intel 11th Gen chips too. A Linux user (@tummychow) confirmed that downgrading to the previous 5.19.11 release fixes the problem.
“I’m on a laptop (Lenovo Legion 5 Gen7 15IAH7H, Alder Lake i7-12700H) and when I boot this kernel, the laptop internal screen seems to flicker between “on but completely black” and “off” every second or so without actually displaying anything,” he wrote.
“Trying to bring up X11 doesn’t change the issue. An external monitor connected to the internal GPU does work but takes 30+ seconds to actually get to an X11 desktop. Basically lots of strangeness, difficult to describe. This reproduces consistently on my machine with 5.19.12 and disappears immediately after downgrading to 5.19.11.”
The problem which was raised on the Framework community forum by the affected users for almost a week now has thankfully been resolved by an Intel Linux kernel engineer, Ville Syrjäl.
According to him, there is a bug in the panel power sequencing (PPS) delay, which could physically damage the LCD panels found on Intel-based laptops.
“After looking at some logs we do end up with potentially bogus panel power sequencing delays, which may harm the LCD panel,” wrote Ville.
[..] I recommend immediate revert of this stuff, and new stable release ASAP. Plus a recommendation that no one using laptops with Intel GPUs run 5.19.12.
The Linux community has already released a new stable release known as Linux 5.19.13, which has reverted the problematic Intel graphics driver patches in 5.19.12 and fixed the issue.
“This release is to resolve a regression on some Intel graphics systems that had problems with 5.19.12. If you do not have this problem with 5.19.12, there is no need to upgrade,” wrote Greg Kroah-Hartman who released Linux 5.19.13.
