External display flickering+mouse cursor issues on Wayland (not X11), arm, MacBook Air M2

[VladimirKadlec]

Hi,
when I login to Wayland my external display flickers when the mouse moves, see the video. On the video I press right mouse button for desktop context menu, only half of the menu is shown. The top bar sometimes disappears.

Also the mouse cursor behaves erratically. For example I move mouse to window edge (expecting to see re-sizing pointer) the mouse cursor changes to a random pointer (like move-window pointer). The issues are only on the external monitor, not the notebook monitor.

Notes:

• the problem appears only on Wayland, not on X11
• the problem appears only when I have hardware acceleration on. If I boot to a kernel incompatible with Mesa version (this effectively turn off the hardware acceleration) the problem disappears.
• I can workaround the mouse cursor issues by setting KWIN_FORCE_SW_CURSOR=1
• it is very similar to: Issue 489 but the workaround doesn't work for me anymore.

========
Docking station:

• i-tec USB 3.0 / USB-C / Thunderbolt 3 Dual Display Docking Station + Power Delivery 65W
• PN: CADUA4KDOCKPDL
• EAN: 8595611702754

========
Operating System: Kubuntu 24.04
KDE Plasma Version: 5.27.12
KDE Frameworks Version: 5.115.0
Qt Version: 5.15.13
Kernel Version: 6.14.0-1001-asahi-arm (64-bit)
Graphics Platform: Wayland
Processors: 4 × Apple Avalanche (M2), 4 × Apple Blizzard (M2)
Memory: 23.0 GiB of RAM
Graphics Processor: Apple M2
Product Name: Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, M2, 2022)
U-Boot Version: 2024.10

========
packages from https://www.synaptics.com/sites/default/files/Ubuntu/
evdi: 1.14.10-151
displaylink-driver: 6.1.1-17

========
grep -i evdi /var/log/syslog

--------Boot----------
2025-08-13T15:22:52.443734+02:00 asahiair systemd-modules-load[437]: Inserted module 'evdi'
2025-08-13T15:22:52.444798+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: loading out-of-tree module taints kernel.
2025-08-13T15:22:52.444798+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: module verification failed: signature and/or required key missing - tainting kernel
2025-08-13T15:22:52.444799+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] Initialising logging on level 4
2025-08-13T15:22:52.444799+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] Atomic driver: yes
2025-08-13T15:22:52.444800+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] Increasing device count to 4
2025-08-13T15:22:52.444800+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Opened by Task 437 (systemd-modules) of process 437 (systemd-modules)
2025-08-13T15:22:52.444801+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi evdi.0: [drm] Cannot find any crtc or sizes
2025-08-13T15:22:52.444801+02:00 asahiair kernel: [drm] Initialized evdi 1.14.10 for evdi.0 on minor 1
2025-08-13T15:22:52.444802+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] Evdi platform_device create
2025-08-13T15:22:52.444802+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card2) Opened by Task 437 (systemd-modules) of process 437 (systemd-modules)
2025-08-13T15:22:52.444804+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi evdi.1: [drm] Cannot find any crtc or sizes
2025-08-13T15:22:52.444805+02:00 asahiair kernel: [drm] Initialized evdi 1.14.10 for evdi.1 on minor 2
2025-08-13T15:22:52.444805+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] Evdi platform_device create
2025-08-13T15:22:52.444806+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card3) Opened by Task 437 (systemd-modules) of process 437 (systemd-modules)
2025-08-13T15:22:52.444806+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi evdi.2: [drm] Cannot find any crtc or sizes
2025-08-13T15:22:52.444807+02:00 asahiair kernel: [drm] Initialized evdi 1.14.10 for evdi.2 on minor 3
2025-08-13T15:22:52.444808+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] Evdi platform_device create
2025-08-13T15:22:52.444815+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card4) Opened by Task 437 (systemd-modules) of process 437 (systemd-modules)
2025-08-13T15:22:52.444816+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi evdi.3: [drm] Cannot find any crtc or sizes
2025-08-13T15:22:52.444838+02:00 asahiair kernel: [drm] Initialized evdi 1.14.10 for evdi.3 on minor 4
2025-08-13T15:22:52.444839+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] Evdi platform_device create
2025-08-13T15:22:52.988996+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Opened by Task 1710 (Xorg.wrap) of process 1710 (Xorg.wrap)
2025-08-13T15:22:52.988999+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Closed by Task 1710 (Xorg.wrap) of process 1710 (Xorg.wrap)
2025-08-13T15:22:52.989000+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card2) Opened by Task 1710 (Xorg.wrap) of process 1710 (Xorg.wrap)
2025-08-13T15:22:52.989000+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card2) Closed by Task 1710 (Xorg.wrap) of process 1710 (Xorg.wrap)
2025-08-13T15:22:52.989001+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card3) Opened by Task 1710 (Xorg.wrap) of process 1710 (Xorg.wrap)
2025-08-13T15:22:52.989002+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card3) Closed by Task 1710 (Xorg.wrap) of process 1710 (Xorg.wrap)
2025-08-13T15:22:52.989003+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card4) Opened by Task 1710 (Xorg.wrap) of process 1710 (Xorg.wrap)
2025-08-13T15:22:52.989003+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card4) Closed by Task 1710 (Xorg.wrap) of process 1710 (Xorg.wrap)
2025-08-13T15:22:52.998991+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Opened by Task 1710 (Xorg) of process 1710 (Xorg)
2025-08-13T15:22:52.998993+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Closed by Task 1710 (Xorg) of process 1710 (Xorg)
2025-08-13T15:22:52.998993+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card2) Opened by Task 1710 (Xorg) of process 1710 (Xorg)
2025-08-13T15:22:52.998994+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card2) Closed by Task 1710 (Xorg) of process 1710 (Xorg)
2025-08-13T15:22:52.998994+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card3) Opened by Task 1710 (Xorg) of process 1710 (Xorg)
2025-08-13T15:22:52.998994+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card3) Closed by Task 1710 (Xorg) of process 1710 (Xorg)
2025-08-13T15:22:52.998994+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card4) Opened by Task 1710 (Xorg) of process 1710 (Xorg)
2025-08-13T15:22:52.998995+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card4) Closed by Task 1710 (Xorg) of process 1710 (Xorg)
2025-08-13T15:22:53.040008+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Opened by Task 1710 (Xorg) of process 1710 (Xorg)
2025-08-13T15:22:53.040020+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Closed by Task 1710 (Xorg) of process 1710 (Xorg)
2025-08-13T15:22:53.040021+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card2) Opened by Task 1710 (Xorg) of process 1710 (Xorg)
2025-08-13T15:22:53.040022+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card2) Closed by Task 1710 (Xorg) of process 1710 (Xorg)
2025-08-13T15:22:53.040023+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card3) Opened by Task 1710 (Xorg) of process 1710 (Xorg)
2025-08-13T15:22:53.040024+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card3) Closed by Task 1710 (Xorg) of process 1710 (Xorg)
2025-08-13T15:22:53.040025+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card4) Opened by Task 1710 (Xorg) of process 1710 (Xorg)
2025-08-13T15:22:53.040025+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card4) Closed by Task 1710 (Xorg) of process 1710 (Xorg)
2025-08-13T15:22:53.161021+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Opened by Task 1710 (Xorg) of process 1710 (Xorg)
2025-08-13T15:22:53.168005+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card2) Opened by Task 1710 (Xorg) of process 1710 (Xorg)
2025-08-13T15:22:53.174996+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card3) Opened by Task 1710 (Xorg) of process 1710 (Xorg)
2025-08-13T15:22:53.180993+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card4) Opened by Task 1710 (Xorg) of process 1710 (Xorg)
2025-08-13T15:22:54.371997+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] Attaching to usb:2-1.2
2025-08-13T15:22:54.377018+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Opened by Task 2328 (DisplayLinkMana) of process 2312 (DisplayLinkMana)
2025-08-13T15:22:54.377029+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Added i2c adapter bus number 5
2025-08-13T15:22:54.377032+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Connected with Task 2336 (DisplayLinkMana) of process 2312 (DisplayLinkMana)
2025-08-13T15:22:54.377034+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Connector state: connected
2025-08-13T15:22:54.386000+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Connector state: connected
2025-08-13T15:22:54.386997+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Edid property set
2025-08-13T15:22:54.387002+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Connector state: connected
2025-08-13T15:22:54.387004+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Edid property set
---------Login to X11-----------
2025-08-13T15:32:41.245104+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Connector state: connected
2025-08-13T15:32:41.245114+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Edid property set
2025-08-13T15:32:41.623987+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Connector state: connected
2025-08-13T15:32:41.623990+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Edid property set
2025-08-13T15:32:41.849002+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [W] evdi_gem_mmap:411 Don't allow imported objects to be mapped: owner: (efault)
2025-08-13T15:32:41.850013+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Notifying display power state: on
2025-08-13T15:32:41.850016+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Notifying mode changed: 2560x1440@100; bpp 32; pixel format XR24 little-endian (0x34325258)
2025-08-13T15:32:41.850017+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Notifying display power state: on
2025-08-13T15:32:41.935000+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [W] evdi_painter_connect:900 (card1) Double connect - replacing 0000000076b1d672 with 0000000076b1d672
2025-08-13T15:32:41.935010+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Connected with Task 2321 (DisplayLinkMana) of process 2312 (DisplayLinkMana)
2025-08-13T15:32:41.935011+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Connector state: connected
2025-08-13T15:32:41.942009+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Notifying mode changed: 2560x1440@100; bpp 32; pixel format XR24 little-endian (0x34325258)
2025-08-13T15:32:41.942016+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Notifying display power state: on
2025-08-13T16:58:10.192013+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Notifying display power state: off
2025-08-13T20:20:29.069008+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Notifying display power state: on
-----------Log out and login to Wayland----------
2025-08-13T21:40:14.910018+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Notifying display power state: off
2025-08-13T21:40:14.967023+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) VT switch detected
2025-08-13T21:40:14.967040+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Notifying display power state: off
2025-08-13T21:40:14.970017+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card4) Closed by Task 1710 (Xorg) of process 1710 (Xorg)
2025-08-13T21:40:14.970027+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card3) Closed by Task 1710 (Xorg) of process 1710 (Xorg)
2025-08-13T21:40:14.970030+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card2) Closed by Task 1710 (Xorg) of process 1710 (Xorg)
2025-08-13T21:40:14.970033+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Closed by Task 1710 (Xorg) of process 1710 (Xorg)
2025-08-13T21:40:14.998023+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Opened by Task 30669 (Xorg.wrap) of process 30669 (Xorg.wrap)
2025-08-13T21:40:14.998035+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Closed by Task 30669 (Xorg.wrap) of process 30669 (Xorg.wrap)
2025-08-13T21:40:14.998037+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card2) Opened by Task 30669 (Xorg.wrap) of process 30669 (Xorg.wrap)
2025-08-13T21:40:14.998039+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card2) Closed by Task 30669 (Xorg.wrap) of process 30669 (Xorg.wrap)
2025-08-13T21:40:14.998041+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card3) Opened by Task 30669 (Xorg.wrap) of process 30669 (Xorg.wrap)
2025-08-13T21:40:14.998043+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card3) Closed by Task 30669 (Xorg.wrap) of process 30669 (Xorg.wrap)
2025-08-13T21:40:14.998045+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card4) Opened by Task 30669 (Xorg.wrap) of process 30669 (Xorg.wrap)
2025-08-13T21:40:14.998048+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card4) Closed by Task 30669 (Xorg.wrap) of process 30669 (Xorg.wrap)
2025-08-13T21:40:15.004022+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Opened by Task 30669 (Xorg) of process 30669 (Xorg)
2025-08-13T21:40:15.004032+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Closed by Task 30669 (Xorg) of process 30669 (Xorg)
2025-08-13T21:40:15.004035+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card2) Opened by Task 30669 (Xorg) of process 30669 (Xorg)
2025-08-13T21:40:15.004037+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card2) Closed by Task 30669 (Xorg) of process 30669 (Xorg)
2025-08-13T21:40:15.004039+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card3) Opened by Task 30669 (Xorg) of process 30669 (Xorg)
2025-08-13T21:40:15.004041+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card3) Closed by Task 30669 (Xorg) of process 30669 (Xorg)
2025-08-13T21:40:15.004043+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card4) Opened by Task 30669 (Xorg) of process 30669 (Xorg)
2025-08-13T21:40:15.004072+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card4) Closed by Task 30669 (Xorg) of process 30669 (Xorg)
2025-08-13T21:40:15.048045+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Opened by Task 30669 (Xorg) of process 30669 (Xorg)
2025-08-13T21:40:15.048057+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Closed by Task 30669 (Xorg) of process 30669 (Xorg)
2025-08-13T21:40:15.048060+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card2) Opened by Task 30669 (Xorg) of process 30669 (Xorg)
2025-08-13T21:40:15.048062+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card2) Closed by Task 30669 (Xorg) of process 30669 (Xorg)
2025-08-13T21:40:15.048064+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card3) Opened by Task 30669 (Xorg) of process 30669 (Xorg)
2025-08-13T21:40:15.048066+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card3) Closed by Task 30669 (Xorg) of process 30669 (Xorg)
2025-08-13T21:40:15.048068+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card4) Opened by Task 30669 (Xorg) of process 30669 (Xorg)
2025-08-13T21:40:15.048070+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card4) Closed by Task 30669 (Xorg) of process 30669 (Xorg)
2025-08-13T21:40:15.069011+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Opened by Task 30669 (Xorg) of process 30669 (Xorg)
2025-08-13T21:40:15.075004+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Connector state: connected
2025-08-13T21:40:15.075009+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Edid property set
2025-08-13T21:40:15.075011+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Connector state: connected
2025-08-13T21:40:15.075013+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Edid property set
2025-08-13T21:40:15.075014+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card2) Opened by Task 30669 (Xorg) of process 30669 (Xorg)
2025-08-13T21:40:15.081010+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card3) Opened by Task 30669 (Xorg) of process 30669 (Xorg)
2025-08-13T21:40:15.087020+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card4) Opened by Task 30669 (Xorg) of process 30669 (Xorg)
2025-08-13T21:40:15.105002+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Notifying mode changed: 2560x1440@100; bpp 32; pixel format XR24 little-endian (0x34325258)
2025-08-13T21:40:15.105014+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Notifying display power state: on
2025-08-13T21:40:15.122002+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Notifying display power state: off
2025-08-13T21:40:15.326001+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Connector state: connected
2025-08-13T21:40:15.326007+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Edid property set
2025-08-13T21:40:15.330997+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Connector state: connected
2025-08-13T21:40:15.331994+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Edid property set
2025-08-13T21:40:26.107034+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) VT switch detected
2025-08-13T21:40:26.107057+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Notifying display power state: off
2025-08-13T21:40:26.731037+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card4) Opened by Task 1295 (systemd-logind) of process 1295 (systemd-logind)
2025-08-13T21:40:26.737008+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card3) Opened by Task 1295 (systemd-logind) of process 1295 (systemd-logind)
2025-08-13T21:40:26.740987+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card2) Opened by Task 1295 (systemd-logind) of process 1295 (systemd-logind)
2025-08-13T21:40:26.744987+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Opened by Task 1295 (systemd-logind) of process 1295 (systemd-logind)
2025-08-13T21:40:26.779984+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Connector state: connected
2025-08-13T21:40:26.779987+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Edid property set
2025-08-13T21:40:26.779988+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Connector state: connected
2025-08-13T21:40:26.779988+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Edid property set
2025-08-13T21:40:26.800990+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card4) Closed by Task 31116 ((sd-close)) of process 31116 ((sd-close))
2025-08-13T21:40:26.800994+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card3) Closed by Task 31118 ((sd-close)) of process 31118 ((sd-close))
2025-08-13T21:40:26.801986+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card2) Closed by Task 31119 ((sd-close)) of process 31119 ((sd-close))
2025-08-13T21:40:26.878987+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Notifying display power state: on
2025-08-13T21:40:26.878992+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Notifying mode changed: 2560x1440@100; bpp 32; pixel format AR24 little-endian (0x34325241)
2025-08-13T21:40:26.879002+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Notifying display power state: on
2025-08-13T21:40:26.928991+02:00 asahiair kernel: evdi: [I] (card1) Opened by Task 31063 (kwin_wayland) of process 31063 (kwin_wayland)

[VladimirKadlec]

Update:

• the problem doesn't appear on Gnome (Wayland).

To summarize:

• X11 -- no problems
• Gnome (Wayland) -- no problems
• KDE (Wayland) -- described issues.

Additional details:

• I'm using SDDM running X11 as display manager.

[VladimirKadlec]

After extensive research I found a workaround. Set (for example in /etc/environment):

KWIN_DRM_DEVICES=/dev/dri/card0:/dev/dri/card1

With this the problem moves from the primary external display to the notebook screen (but there is not so visible, appears much less frequently)

So in my view not evdi issue but rather KDE Plasma issue.

[merizrizal]

@VladimirKadlec I just want to confirm, so this issue is not valid for evdi?
context: I plan to use Ubuntu 25.10 which does not support X11 anymore, so I am afraid I will face this issue

[VladimirKadlec]

I think it might be KDE Plasma bug, I'm using Ubuntu 24.04 which has older version of Plasma. So it might be fixed already. As I wrote, no problems under Gnome.