Screen tearing is a common issue faced by many Ubuntu users. It is a visual artifact in video display where a display device shows information from multiple frames in a single screen draw. In this article, we will walk you through various solutions to fix screen tearing on Ubuntu 18.04.
To fix screen tearing on Ubuntu 18.04, you can try enabling hardware acceleration in your browser settings, checking and updating your GPU driver, adjusting the refresh rate, and disabling hardware acceleration in the browser if necessary. However, please note that these solutions may not work for all systems or configurations.
Enable Hardware Acceleration in Your Browser
Often, the screen tearing problem is associated with the settings of your web browser.
Google Chrome/Chromium:
- Go to Settings.
- Scroll down and click on Advanced.
- In the System section, ensure the “Use hardware acceleration when available” option is checked.
Firefox:
- Go to Preferences.
- Navigate to the Performance section.
- Uncheck the “Use recommended performance settings” option.
- Ensure the “Use hardware acceleration when available” option is checked.
Check Your GPU Driver
The GPU driver can also be a cause of screen tearing. To check your GPU driver, follow the steps below:
- Open a terminal by pressing
Ctrl + Alt + T. - Run the command
lspci -v | less. This command will display information about all PCI buses and devices in the system. - Look for the “VGA compatible controller” section to see your video card model, available drivers, and the driver in use.
Depending on your graphics card, you may want to switch between open source and proprietary drivers. You can do this by going to System Settings → Updates → Settings → Additional Drivers.
Update Your Graphics Driver
For Intel Graphics:
Visit the Intel Linux Graphics website for the latest drivers.
For Nvidia Graphics:
- Open “Software & Updates” and go to the “Additional Drivers” tab.
- Install the recommended Nvidia driver.
If you’re using Nvidia and experiencing issues, you can try the trick mentioned in this GitHub repository.
Adjust the Refresh Rate
Sometimes, adjusting the refresh rate can fix screen tearing. To do this, open the display settings and change the refresh rate from 60Hz to 59.96Hz or try different values to see if it reduces screen tearing.
Disable Hardware Acceleration in the Browser
If none of the above solutions work, you can try turning off hardware acceleration in your browser settings. This method varies depending on the browser you’re using. Consult the browser’s settings or do a web search for instructions specific to your browser.
Please note that these solutions may not work for all systems or configurations. It’s recommended to try them one by one and see which one works best for your setup. Remember to always backup your data before making any changes to your system.
Screen tearing can be a frustrating issue, but with a bit of patience and troubleshooting, it can often be resolved. We hope this guide has been helpful in resolving your screen tearing issues on Ubuntu 18.04.
Screen tearing is a visual artifact in video display where a display device shows information from multiple frames in a single screen draw.
To enable hardware acceleration in Google Chrome or Chromium, go to Settings, scroll down and click on Advanced, and in the System section, ensure the "Use hardware acceleration when available" option is checked.
To enable hardware acceleration in Firefox, go to Preferences, navigate to the Performance section, uncheck the "Use recommended performance settings" option, and ensure the "Use hardware acceleration when available" option is checked.
To check your GPU driver on Ubuntu 18.04, open a terminal by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T, run the command lspci -v | less, and look for the "VGA compatible controller" section to see your video card model, available drivers, and the driver in use.
To switch between open source and proprietary drivers on Ubuntu 18.04, go to System Settings → Updates → Settings → Additional Drivers and choose the desired driver.
You can find the latest Intel graphics drivers for Ubuntu on the Intel Linux Graphics website.
To update your Nvidia graphics driver on Ubuntu 18.04, open "Software & Updates", go to the "Additional Drivers" tab, and install the recommended Nvidia driver.
To adjust the refresh rate, open the display settings on Ubuntu 18.04 and change the refresh rate from 60Hz to 59.96Hz or try different values to see if it reduces screen tearing.
If none of the above solutions work, you can try turning off hardware acceleration in your browser settings. This method varies depending on the browser you’re using. Consult the browser’s settings or do a web search for instructions specific to your browser.
These solutions may not work for all systems or configurations. It is recommended to try them one by one and see which one works best for your setup. Remember to always backup your data before making any changes to your system.
