Lauda89 But my right eye is worst than the left one because it has irregular astigmatism.

What is irregular astigmatism? Do you mean your eyes are asymmetric?
I was told that a small astigmatism is not unexpected for my left eye, which is a bit smaller and more stretched than the right eye. I feel quite relaxed reading on paper though, that is why I never opted for glasses.

AgentX20 I've now completely reinstalled the laptop to an older OS - High Sierra - and, well, the problems are still evident. So I'm at a loss...

Want to try 10.11 for kicks? I suspect post 10.11 there are some GPU driver changes that affect even Nvidia GPUs. Trust me on this.

I might have a copy of the install image somewhere

    JTL Want to try 10.11 for kicks? I suspect post 10.11 there are some GPU driver changes that affect even Nvidia GPUs. Trust me on this.

    I might have a copy of the install image somewhere

    I'm not sure there's any point. Numerous previous MacOS have run perfectly previously the only 'bad' version was the newest release. Now it's the last three, and I simply cannot explain that!

    • JTL replied to this.

      AgentX20 I was hinting at that because for me with the M370X, after 10.11 is where things get iffy.

      AgentX20 Numerous previous MacOS have run perfectly previously the only 'bad' version was the newest release. Now it's the last three, and I simply cannot explain that!

      As for this, my closest working theory is either a system BIOS or VBIOS (GPU firmware) update may have been installed by an OS upgrade that borked something šŸ˜

        I wonder if there is a way to install 10.11 on a 2017 iMac (not officially supported), maybe run it from a USB drive? I already have 10.11 in a virtual machine, but without graphic acceleration it is unusable. So I cannot say how good it is for the eyes.

        JTL Is there anywhere online to find out what version firmware/OS Macs are originally shipped with? I didn't think a MacOS upgrade touched the firmware, and if so you would think downgrading would overwrite everything again.

        • JTL replied to this.

          diop I didn't think a MacOS upgrade touched the firmware

          They do touch at least the "system firmware" which is equivalent to the BIOS on a PC.

          Should be able to dump both system and GPU firmware using low level Linux tools

          diop Is there anywhere online to find out what version firmware/OS Macs are originally shipped with

          I don't think so, because it can change based on manufacturing batches of the same model

          I can confirm, that the majority of problems began to arise somewhere around 2016-2017.
          This includes (for me) all kinds of products with displays and even some software, like some games.
          Yesterday i tried again World of Warcraft out of curiosity and after an hour already felt the discomfort. Today my eyes are still having this kinda focus-problem and probably tomorrow it will be gone again, as always before.
          I'm not happy... Again...

          14 days later

          JTL As for this, my closest working theory is either a system BIOS or VBIOS (GPU firmware) update may have been installed by an OS upgrade that borked something

          This matches my own thoughts... I have gone looking for BIOS updates for this Macbook Pro (late 2013) version and there aren't any public updates for many many years, which sort of dampens this theory.

          • JTL replied to this.

            JTL They're included in the OS updates, and can be unlisted.

            Yeah, which is why I went looking for OS updates that might have sneaked something in, and I couldn't see anything that corresponded to the onset of problems.

            • JTL replied to this.

              AgentX20

              AgentX20 Yeah, which is why I went looking for OS updates that might have sneaked something in, and I couldn't see anything that corresponded to the onset of problems.

              That's not an easy thing to do without actually taking apart the update files.

              Even the update changelogs or Apples support site won't always list the firmware updates.

              10 months later

              AgentX20 hey did you find a solution to this? literally just happened with me and my 2017 Macbook Air...

                devilgrove hey did you find a solution to this? literally just happened with me and my 2017 Macbook Air...

                I'm now running a fairly clean Mojave install and it's A-OK (for me). [touch wood]

                  poliakov I dont want to get ahead of myself, but I must say you might be onto something with the switchresx and the fact that it has to be exactly half of native resolution (and set to the non HDPI option in that resolution).

                  I will test this with the most difficult task for my eyes on new tech - writing and reading, and report here if that is successful. The enlarged and visible pixels definately help with eye fixation.

                  If its annoying and uncomfortable but doesnt trigger a bad headache like the normal resolution, then this is a definite breakthrough.

                  AgentX20 I tried that too, didn't work sadly, especially cause Mojave used to work for me perfectly. Glad you found a solution though.

                    devilgrove I tried that too, didn't work sadly, especially cause Mojave used to work for me perfectly. Glad you found a solution though.

                    It's just as well it works otherwise I'd have no 'work' computer to speak of...! [big phew]

                    4 months later

                    JTL

                    I have iPhone XS, weirdly it causes me no symptoms provided reduce white point is on and brightness is low. Iā€™m completely stuck finding a laptop to work on though :-(

                    dev