After updating Adobe Flash, I get a white screen when my screensaver runs?
This article is about a bug in the Adobe Flash plug-in on the Windows operating system that was introduced in December 2015 and fixed in January 2016. For a general discussion on the issue of seeing a blank (black or white) when your screensaver runs on either Windows or Mac OS X, please see our other help article: I get a blank screen when my screensaver runs?
A recent update to the Adobe Flash Player with version number 20.0.0.267, released on December 29, 2015, to fix a critical security problem, is reportedly breaking many computer programs that rely on Flash technology, including several of the screensavers on this website. Users of the Fliqlo Flip Clock screensaver in particular are reporting that they get an empty white screen when it runs, but other screensavers are similarly affected.
Many users are flocking to Adobe's support forums, where Adobe staff members note that they are investigating the issue. While a fix is (hopefully) in the works, the only "solution" to the white screen problem is to downgrade the Adobe Flash Player software to a previous version, which will however be vulnerable to the aforementioned security problem.
Flash is a technology used to create animations for (interactive) websites, online games and a wide range of other programs, from educational tools to screensavers. The Flash Player, a plug-in installed on at least 99% of computers worldwide, is required to load these animations. Unfortunately, multiple serious security issues have been discovered in Flash over the past years, and newer technologies such as HTML5 are quickly making it obsolete.
We will be keeping an eye on the situation and update this help page when more information becomes available. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
Update January 6, 2016: Microsoft is now distributing a new version of Adobe Flash through Windows Update for users of Windows 10. This update is numbered 3133431 and reportedly fixes the issue with standalone Flash-based applications such as screensavers, introduced by security update 3132372. Users of Windows 8 will still need to wait until the January 12 ("Patch Tuesday") to receive the update.
- If you have Windows 10, run Windows Update to retrieve and install the new version.
- If you have Windows 8, run Windows Update on or after January 12.
- If you have Windows 7, Vista or XP, download the new Flash Player here.
Update January 5, 2016: An Adobe employee writes that they "hope to see an update to Flash Player for this Windows 10 issue pushed to customers sometime this week," and that it's "definitely a high priority for both Adobe and Microsoft."
Update January 1, 2016: Adobe has released a fix for Windows 7 and older. Download the fix. Users of Windows 8 and 10 will have to wait for an update from Microsoft.
Update December 31, 2015: Adobe writes that it is "investigating these reports with the highest priority" and "hope[s] to make a solution available as soon as possible."
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