Second Monitor on HDMI blank screen/blink screen with Nvidia + Intel & Ubuntu 20.04? (ASUS Laptop)

Thank you for taking the time to report this bug and helping to make Ubuntu better. It seems that your bug report is not filed about a specific source package though, rather it is just filed against Ubuntu in general. It is important that bug reports be filed about source packages so that people interested in the package can find the bugs about it. You can find some hints about determining what package your bug might be about at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Bugs/FindRightPackage. You might also ask for help in the #ubuntu-bugs irc channel on Freenode.

To change the source package that this bug is filed about visit https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/1871721/+editstatus and add the package name in the text box next to the word Package.

[This is an automated message. I apologize if it reached you inappropriately; please just reply to this message indicating so.]

I changed to nouveau drivers and the second monitor still doesn't work. I don't think it's because propietary drivers of Nvidia.

I can confirm that with nomodeset the second monitor works.

I am also unable to get my second monitor to work with the upgrade from 18.04 to 20.04

I did try to include nomodeset in grub but the graphics become very sluggish

Any ideas on how I could address this?

#4 I don't know some workaround to make work this. If anyone knows, please write here.

PD: Click on "this bugs affects me too".

I am also unable to get my second monitor to work with the upgrade from 18.04 to 20.04

It used to work with 18.04 using the nouveau drivers

I did try to include nomodeset in grub but the graphics became very sluggish

Any ideas on how I could address this?

I am using Acer Aspire V 17 Nitro
Graphic card ---- Nvidia GTX960M & Intel HD Graphics 530

What is not clear as well is it recommended to use nouveau drivers or proprietary drivers?

Is recommended use propietary drivers, but it doesn't work neither, it was since 19.10 (maybe the kernel?)

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

I managed to solve it on my laptop by:

1- in this file */usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d/10-nvidia.conf*, I added this line:
`Option "PrimaryGPU" "Yes"`

2- in this file */usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d/10-amdgpu.conf*, I changed this line
`Driver "amdgpu"`
to
`Driver "modesetting"`

I found this solution here:
https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?p=1804429#p1804429

I tried it. At the moment, it still without working.

Talked about this topic on https://forums.developer.nvidia.com/t/ubuntu-20-04-second-monitor-doesnt-work-ubuntu-and-nvidia-settings-detects-it/124380/13

generix said maybe's a problem with the Intel GPU Firmware.

Update: If I adjust the minimum resolution, sometimes appears the second desktop, but instantly disappear then.

Let's suppose it doesn't use reverse prime, please test latest drm-tip kernel:
https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/drm-tip/current/

Oh and it can be a bug in X, please give Wayland a try.

Hi there, IT's not a bug in X apparently, because I tried with Intel GPU on the laptop with Wayland and nothing works. Don't know if it's because it's working with XWayland (maybe? and how can I try with Wayland native?)

I tried with the last kernel (4.16), but nothing works. I'll try with 4.17.

I've been struggling with this all day. My solution (on Ubuntu 20.04) is to downgrade to nvidia driver 435.
Change gdm3 to lightdm.

In that exact order

apt install nvidia-driver-435
apt install --reinstall lightdm ubuntu-desktop

The bug is in driver 440. Also confirmed this in Arch Linux as well.
gdm still doesn't allow HDMI output even in 435.

Update: Nope, it's still without working. :(

In my case I had to sacrifice battery life.

Is your NVIDIA card the default, not ondemand. It must be the default one.

My HDMI is wired through the nvidia gpu, so if it's off or low powered it doesn't show on second display.

If your nvidia is the default and is up and running, then i'm out. and No I'm not using wayland.

Tried with Lightdm and 435 driver. Tried with Nvidia only and setting as "maximum performance".

Nothing.

Also I tried with only Intel and Wayland and it doesn't work neither. Seems a problem with Intel, I'm not sure. Nvidia detects the second monitor, it's just in blank screen.

I reinstalled from zero Ubuntu 20.04 and the second monitor is blank screen, tried with 3 monitors. Same result.

I'll back to 18.04 atm, over that version's working perfectly (except on-demand, because there's no option for that 'cause the version of Xorg on 18.04).

I hope find a workaround or at least a fix to this.

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

Apparently this happens to Ubuntu 18.04.4 and 19.10 (and obviously on 20.04). But on 18.04.1 the second monitor works perfectly. Windows 10 too.

This seems like a mistake or bug on the Mesa/Kernel.

At the moment, I'll be on 18.04.1 but updated.

Same behaviour happens to me. The second monitor works as expected on Ubuntu 18.04.1 (upgraded up to 18.04.4 works fine) but does not works with a fresh install of 18.04.4

Asus Laptop
Intel Core i7-6700HQ
nvidia GeForce GTX 960M

With a fresh install of Ubuntu 20.04 the second monitor keeps black and indicates "no source detected" however this is the output of xrandr command:

Screen 0: minimum 8 x 8, current 1920 x 2160, maximum 16384 x 16384
eDP-1-1 connected primary 1920x1080+0+1080 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 344mm x 193mm
   1920x1080 60.05*+ 60.01 59.97 59.96 59.93
   ...
   ...
DP-1-1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
HDMI-1-1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
HDMI-1-2 connected 1920x1080+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 477mm x 268mm <--
   1920x1080 60.00*+
   ...
   ...
DP-1-2 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
HDMI-1-3 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)

Could anybody help with this issue?

Thanks in advance.

Same here:

Ubuntu 20.04
Asus ROG GL552V
Intel Core i7-6700HQ
nvidia GeForce GTX 960M / driver version: 435.21

Monitor shows Asus splashscreen properly (before os starts)
Monitor stays black (but is detected by system)
It seams to not be detected by graphics card (but not sure now)

Hi slovic.

If you see the nvidia-settings you probably can see the second monitor is detected by the Nvidia card. I think this is a problem of Intel, 'cause the second monitor's connected via HDMI, which is connected to Intel GPU.

Please click on "this bug affects me too" so we can make see it to more people.

Ok... Problem is solved by ... puling out POWER from monitor! It is weird but for some reason when i unplugged monitor from power and pulled it again it start showing my screen. It is weird but to be honest I've tried sooooo many things before and nothing helped... I've changed drivers few times... so many restarts... I've even changed hdmi cabel.

I assume that monitor is OK because it showed grub/spash screen and when I tried run older linux kernel it showd text on second screen. Not sure what went wrong... maybe something with strength of hdmi signal?

Screen still turns black every few minutes for ~second but at least it works.
Thanks :)

* When I pulled monitor from power and plugged it again it start showing my screen.
(I should read it before i clicked POST. ... yea. There is no 'edit' here... I have to remember that)

Hi,

I tried power on and off the monitor multiple times, but nothing helped, still blank screen.

Yea... I've turn it on and off using monitor switch button many times without luck... but in my case I had to PULL OUT THE POWER PLUG. I know how it sounds and how weird it is but just after that it was fixed and it didn't work before. I really don't know why, but it helped me.

This only started for me yesterday. I'm on 20.04 and don't remember running any updates. Tried most of the above and nothing works for me.

Please remove "quiet splash" from GRUB boot command line and see if it helps.

Same result Kai-Heng. :(

Which graphics does the HDMI connect to? Intel or Nvidia?

I'm sure around 99% it's Intel.

Well, let's start from `apport-collect 1871721`.

apport information

apport information

This one doesn't work the second monitor.

https://people.canonical.com/~khfeng/lp1871721/9

With this one, the second monitor doesn't work neither.

https://people.canonical.com/~khfeng/lp1871721/10

With this one, the second monitor is working.

0519c102f5285476d7868a387bdb6c58385e4074 is the first bad commit
commit 0519c102f5285476d7868a387bdb6c58385e4074
Author: Ville Syrjälä <email address hidden>
Date: Mon Jan 22 19:41:31 2018 +0200

    drm/i915: Implement display w/a #1143

    Apparently SKL/KBL/CFL need some manual help to get the
    programmed HDMI vswing to stick. Implement the relevant
    workaround (display w/a #1143).

    Note that the relevant chicken bits live in a transcoder register
    even though the bits affect a specific DDI port rather than a
    specific transcoder. Hence we must pick the correct transcoder
    register instance based on the port rather than based on the
    cpu_transcoder.

    Also note that for completeness I included support for DDI A/E
    in the code even though we never have HDMI on those ports.

    v2: CFL needs the w/a as well (Rodrigo and Art)

    Cc: Rodrigo Vivi <email address hidden>
    Cc: Art Runyan <email address hidden>
    Signed-off-by: Ville Syrjälä <email address hidden>
    Link: https://patchwork.<email address hidden>
    Reviewed-by: Rodrigo Vivi <email address hidden>

Oh, bingo. So finally we have the first bad commit. Thank you so much for your help Kai-Heng.

How we proceed with this?

https://<email address hidden>/T/#u

I just want to add that I have the same problem on my Asus N552VW. I have managed to make it work from day 1, so hopefully this can help someone until the proper bug fix is provided.

I have a laptop and an external monitor plugged via HDMI, everything is turned off. Simply turn on the laptop and load the OS, input your login/pass and get into system. Now close the laptop lid, then turn of the monitor.

This are the only steps I can make an external monitor work with 20.04, kernel 5.4.

Tried that "workaround". Still without working as it should the second monitor. :( I guess I have to wait until the bug fix comes...

Hi! ~kaihengfeng, I'm having the same issue (HDMI not working) after upgrading from Ubuntu 18.04 to 20.04 using a Dell ThinkPad. Do you think it's possible that the regression affects this model as well? Thanks!

Hi Santiago,

I read a lot of reports about that model, for sure it's a bug. Where I read it, the HDMI doesn't work but some people made it works with some "workarounds". In my case, thoses aren't the same problem as I have. Maybe you wanna search about it on Launchpad.

If you have the problems I described up, you can click on "this bugs affects me too".

Noctis Bennington,

Please install "intel-gpu-tools", then boot with kernel parameter "blacklist=i915,snd_hda_intel modprobe.blacklist=i915,snd_hda_intel 3".

You might need to switch to other tty to see the login prompt.

Then read the register via the following command:
intel_reg read --count 20 0x64E00 0x64E60 0x64EC0 0x64F20 0x64F80
intel_reg read 0x64000 0x64100 0x64200 0x64300 0x64400 0x6C00C

Reply from Intel GFX devs:
https://<email address hidden>/

Oh, okey, I'll do it later.

I presume I have to do it with the actual kernel of 20.04? (5.4.0) Or with the last kernel or...?

Okey, I did it. Tested with the last kernel (5.8.3).

Here are the results.

Noctis, new request from intel devs::
https://<email address hidden>/

"Looks like it's using the 400mV/0dB setting. Can we get the same dumps
with the driver loaded just to confirm whether we're using different
settings? "

What does that means? The 400mV/0dB setting. And how can I know/proceed if I get the same dumps with the driver loaded? After introduce thoses parameters (blacklist=i915,snd_hda_intel modprobe.blacklist=i915,snd_hda_intel 3) I only can see the TTY.

1) Please remove "blacklist=i915,snd_hda_intel modprobe.blacklist=i915,snd_hda_intel 3" and run commands in comment #117 again.

2) Attach "/sys/kernel/debug/dri/0/i915_vbt" here.

The first command (intel_reg read --count 20 0x64E00 0x64E60 0x64EC0 0x64F20 0x64F80)

The second ( intel_reg read 0x64000 0x64100 0x64200 0x64300 0x64400 0x6C00C )

And the i915_vbt file.

Hi there.

We know something Kai-Heng?

I started to have same problem when upgraded today to Ubuntu 20.04 LTS on my docking station with VGA port.
HP EliteBook 930p laptop
Samsung SyncMaster 2043"
Port: VGA

"lspci" output: 00:02.1 Display controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 4 Series Chipset Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 07)

It worked on 18.04.1

Occasionaly I managed to get it work with "xrandr" setting mode to 1680x1050.

VGA-1 connected primary 1680x1050+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 459mm x 296mm
   1680x1050 59.88*+
   1280x1024 75.02 60.02
   1280x960 60.00
   1152x864 75.00
   1024x768 75.03 70.07 60.00
   832x624 74.55
   800x600 72.19 75.00 60.32 56.25
   640x480 75.00 72.81 66.67 59.94
   720x400 70.08
   1680x1050_56.00 55.96

But when I reboot, again it does not work.

Noctis, not yet.

I just pinged the upstream devs.

Oh, okey. Thanks Kai-Heng. I'll be attentive.

Please try the branch:
https://github.com/vsyrjala/linux/tree/skl_vswing_wa_hacks

And let's continue our discussion to:
https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/drm/intel/-/issues/2181

I read the emails. Thank you so much for your help Kai-Heng, you even told them the issue was opened two months ago on freedesktop's gitlab.

I'll try the hacks later and I'll be posting about this discussion there.

Let's see if this works.

I think I may be having a related issue.

Lenovo P1 Gen 2
Ubuntu 20.04
I am trying to connect 2 external monitors both connected via USB-C

All was well for the first 2 hours. Then I unplugged my laptop worked off of battery for about an hour. Tried to plug back into the monitors and thats when the problem showed up. Now I can get 1 external monitor to show up, But when I try to connect both external monitors, both are just black (both are recognized both by ubuntu (under displays) and by nvidia-settings.

Any ideas?

Any update on how to fix this bug?

I am having the same problem when trying to connect a second monitor to the second GPU (Nvidia GTX 1080). Only an X cursor can be displayed and the rest is a black screen. Nvidia X Server Settings detects 2 screens. Ubuntu 20.04 LTS Screen Display detects only 1 screen. Nvidia driver 460 with CUDA 11.2

Noctis, have you tried the branch?

Hi there.

Months ago I tried this branch: https://github.com/vsyrjala/linux/tree/skl_vswing_wa_hacks

But the second monitor doesn't work. There's a discussion on https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/drm/intel/-/issues/2181

And no, at the moment there's no a solution. I just found a little fact so interesting. On some monitors, if you set the resolution to 30Hz, the second monitor works. Just on some monitors (the only one was a recent and modern monitor I bought two months ago). Apparently, taking off some Hz it. Never on 60Hz.

Hi all.

I am also affected by this bug. Just to be clear, Ubuntu 20.04 works with a previous version of Linux Kernel right ( <= 4.15)? I can use a downgraded version of the kernel for now if thats the only thing that can be done atm.

Regards,
Akash

Hi Akash.

Yeah, that's right. Definitely you have the same problem described here. Do you have an Asus too? Laptop?

Atm the only thing you can do is run 4.15 ver. Some monitors on 30Hz works too (don't know why).

I'm just facing this same issue since today after upgrading 20.04 kernel from 5.8.x to 5.12.6-051206-generic.

Second screen is detected by Nvidia, but black. When I change down the resolution from 1920x1080 to 1280x1024 the 2nd screen reappear. Then if I put back 1920x1080, the screen keeps alive but the refresh rate appears to 59hz in display settings, so screen is blinking. If I manually put the refresh rate to 60hz, the screen works fine until the next reboot. Then I have to start over.

GPU is Nvidia GTX1060 and driver is Nouveau. Proprietary drivers didn't detects the 2nd screen at all.

Hi there Frederic.
I think that's a different bug, probably a Nvidia problem. I reported here a problem where depends of Intel.

I am seeing the same problem on a Dell Precision 7750.

Ubuntu 20.04LTS
kernel: 5.11.0-27-generic #29~20.04.1-Ubuntu SMP

graphics: VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation TU106GLM [Quadro RTX 3000 Mobile / Max-Q] (rev a1)
plus Intel i915
processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-10750H CPU @ 2.60GHz

With nvidia-prime installed, running nvidia-settings presents three options:
NVIDIA (Performance Mode), NVIDIA On-Demand, Power Save
In Performance Mode, only the external HDMI port is active. Booting with no external monitor produces a blank laptop LCD display, but the external monitor is active. Using System Settings / Display, only the external monitor is detected. The keyboard secondary function key Fn F8 has no effect. Laptop screen is blank if booted without an external monitor connected.

In On-Demand mode, only the laptop display is active and the external monitor has no output. System Settings / Display detects both monitors. The Fn F8 key pops up a display mode selection tool to select how the screens will be configured, if the external-monitor-only mode is selected, the laptop screen is blank, and there is no display on the external monitor. All other selections have no effect.

In Power Save mode, only the laptop display is active and the external monitor has no output. System Settings / Display detects only the laptop monitor. The keyboard secondary function key Fn F8 has no effect.

I have the same problem on my laptop

Asus GL552VW, with i5-6300HQ
GTX 960M, with NVIDIA driver 470.57
Ubuntu 21.04

My second HDMI monitor has blink screen every 30~60 seconds, and #136's solution works for me
I changed the refresh rate of screen from 60Hz(default) to 74.91Hz
After that, blink screen never happen again for now

Same problem here with a Dell XPS 9130 runnting Ubuntu 20.04.3. My laptop only has a Intel Iris graphics card.

As for others, changing the frequency from 60Hz to 30Hz "solved" the problem.

Same problem a year later on
Linux 5.15.0-52-generic #58~20.04.1-Ubuntu SMP Thu Oct 13 13:09:46 UTC 2022 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux, Intel NUC 15 laptop. :\