After updating Windows 11 to version 26H2, my monitor briefly goes black whenever I open a fullscreen or borderless-window application, and audio sent through the monitor cuts out at the same time. Changing Nvidia's Monitor Technology setting from Fixed Refresh to G-SYNC Compatible prevents the black-screen issue, but I would rather avoid that because it causes problems with several applications. The audio problem remains: after audio stops for a few seconds, I hear a pop, followed by several seconds of silence when playback resumes before another pop and normal audio return. It feels like a power-saving behavior, although disabling power-saving settings has not helped. My drivers are up to date. Is there a reliable way to fix this, or should I roll back the Windows update or graphics driver?
2 Answers
This also sounds like a graphics driver regression rather than a general power setting. Try installing the previous Nvidia driver version, preferably with a clean installation, and temporarily pause or defer driver updates so Windows does not immediately replace it. If the older driver resolves both the display flicker and monitor-audio dropouts, that points to the driver as the source.
If the issue began immediately after installing Windows 11 26H2, the update itself may be the cause. Rolling back to 25H2 or reporting the problem to Microsoft would be reasonable first steps. The built-in rollback option may only be available for a limited time, so it can be unavailable if the previous installation files have already been removed.
The Go back option is disabled and says it is no longer available. I also do not see the update listed under the uninstall-updates menu, so I am not sure how to return to 25H2.