NVIDIA GeForce 616.56 driver causes monitor flickering

The problem manifests as brief black or white flashes, sudden brightness changes, and color corruption on the screen. Reports began appearing shortly after the driver's release, with users describing these symptoms while performing routine tasks such as browsing the web, scrolling through pages, or playing video in Chromium-based applications.

The issue is not limited to a single generation of hardware. Users have reported similar symptoms across multiple GeForce series, including the GTX 16, RTX 30, RTX 40, and RTX 50. Several affected users noted that rolling back to the previous driver version, 610.88, resolves the problem entirely. However, not all users running 616.56 have experienced the glitch, suggesting that specific configurations or display settings may play a role in triggering the bug.

Color depth appears to be a key factor

Investigations by tech journalist Renan Maniero suggest that the flickering is closely linked to the color depth output of the monitor. In his testing, the issue occurred more frequently when the display was configured for 8 bpc (bits per color) output. Switching the same monitor to 10 bpc reportedly stopped the flickering immediately. Maniero also found that enabling Windows Auto Color Management served as an effective workaround in his setup.

For users experiencing the issue, switching to 10-bit color output can be done through the NVIDIA App or the NVIDIA Control Panel. It is worth noting that some monitors may require a lower refresh rate before 10-bit output becomes available. This is because the connection bandwidth may be insufficient to support the existing resolution and refresh rate at the higher color depth. This workaround provides a temporary solution for those who cannot immediately roll back their driver.

NVIDIA confirms a fix is in progress

NVIDIA is aware of the reports and is actively working on a solution. Manuel Guzman, a representative from NVIDIA, responded in the official GeForce 616.56 feedback thread on the company's forums, stating that the team is testing a fix. The company has not announced a specific timeline for the release of the corrected driver.

Given the nature of the bug and the speed of NVIDIA's response, it is likely that a hotfix driver will be released in the coming days. Users who are currently experiencing display instability may want to monitor the official driver download page for updates or apply the 10-bit color workaround until the patch arrives.