Question MSI Optix G271 27in 1080p 144hz Monitor has Black Bar at Bottom of Screen

[NightHawkRMX]

I have an MSI Optix G271 that I acquired used with some other hardware and was unaware it had any issue. When I plugged it in I noticed the bottom of the display was blank. You can still see the top of the taskbar, and its far higher up on the screen than it should be. The cursor also cannot go below this part of the screen, its almost like the whole image is shifted up or the vertical axis is out of sync. Heres a pic of the issue

What I have tried that hasn't worked:
Inspect monitor for visible damage. The panel does not appear to have any cracks or real damage
Tried a different HDMI cable, different device, and then using displayport
Cleaned the screen (it was filthy) with some water and a microfiber
Opened the monitor and reseated the display signal cable and backlight power cable between the display control board and LCD itself.
Reset monitor settings to default in OSD

What has worked:
I did some research and came across this Reddit post https://www.reddit.com/r/MSI_Gaming/comments/vxqcjf/msi_monitor_black_bar_at_144hz/ of someone having a similar issue at 144hz, but no real solutions are offered. I noticed that it was defaulting to 144hz according to the OSD, so I changed the refresh rate in windows to 120hz.

The black bar got a lot smaller at 120hz. I changed it to 60hz and then the bar went away entirely. At 60hz the monitor appears to display perfectly fine. Good clear image.

Does anyone know what is causing this? Is it a failure of the control board or the LCD Itself? Looking at that reddit thread I do not seem to be the only person experiencing this issue.

I actually own two of these monitors, exact same model. The other one was also a used buy in a bundle from marketplace and has been used for th epast 8 months or so without any issues. Its a pretty nice monitor, good quality IPS panel, so its unfortunate this one is having issues. RMA or warranty is not an option as I am not the original owner and this monitor is 4 years old according to the sticker on the back.

Ive considered swapping parts between the two monitors and seeing if I can use that to diagnose what part is the problem so I can actually fix it, but I don't want to be left with two broken monitors.

 

[Aeacus]

that I acquired used

You should know that used hardware is sold "as is" and there is 0 expectation for it to work like brand new hardware.
And buying used, you take a solid risk.

I did some research and came across this Reddit post https://www.reddit.com/r/MSI_Gaming/comments/vxqcjf/msi_monitor_black_bar_at_144hz/ of someone having a similar issue at 144hz, but no real solutions are offered.

Well, the comment section there offers several things to try, which has fixed the issue for some people. Have you tried everything discussed there?

Does anyone know what is causing this?

There is speculation over it in the reddit comments.

Now, i don't know monitor inner workings that well, to say why higher refresh rates, on particular panel, start showing the blackness over time, whereby when reducing the refresh rate (even as low as 5 Hz steps), the black bar get smaller (or completely disappears).

I do use MSI monitor myself, but mine is VA panel and 144 Hz. Bought mine Q1 2019 and it has been in daily use (~16h per day) ever since (6 years old now). 0 issues thus far.
But you have IPS panel. Probably fundamental flaw of that specific IPS panel? 🤔 And to be expected? (Planned obsolescence.)

Ive considered swapping parts between the two monitors and seeing if I can use that to diagnose what part is the problem so I can actually fix it, but I don't want to be left with two broken monitors.

Well, a nice conundrum.

On one instance, you could get the bottom of this, maybe find out what component exactly is culprit and even fix it. Whereby you could share the knowledge with others. But you may brick both monitors.
On 2nd instance, you keep going as is and be stuck with 60 Hz (given that the issue won't go worse over time).

Nothing ventured - nothing gained.
Your call.

Given that you buy monitors cheap (2nd hand), you could easily replace both monitors, IF they get bricked by your tinkering.

 

[NightHawkRMX]

You should know that used hardware is sold "as is" and there is 0 expectation for it to work like brand new hardware.
And buying used, you take a solid risk.

Absolutely, it was a pretty low price and everything else that came with is in fully working condition making it probably worth what I paid anyhow. I am not losing sleep over this, but would like to see if I can get it working.

Well, the comment section there offers several things to try, which has fixed the issue for some people. Have you tried everything discussed there?

Yep, just went ahead and tried the other solution to unplug the monitor and hold the power button down. Did not help my monitor. I can try turning the refresh up until the issue arises and leave it there, but the comments seem to suggest this issue only will get worse. This is going to be a secondary monitor for multitasking so not having 144hz capability isn't the end of the world as long as it keeps working at 60hz

I am considering updating the monitor firmware, but I am not sure if this is possible even.

 

[NightHawkRMX]

Turns out my working monitor is an optix G272 not G271, but the only difference seems to be the housings. The panel is the same (although the faulty 271 is a few months newer and rev b vs rev a) and the board is the same. I swapped over the known good board and display cable from my monitor and the problem remained exactly the same. I think this narrows it down to the panel being the problem unfortunately. Either a design flaw or an intentional failure point, sad.

Ill just use it as 60hz and recycle when/if it stops working at 60hz

 

[Aeacus]

I swapped over the known good board and display cable from my monitor and the problem remained exactly the same. I think this narrows it down to the panel being the problem unfortunately. Either a design flaw or an intentional failure point, sad.

Yeah, rarely the PCB in the monitor is the issue. Most of the times, it is the panel itself. Dead pixels, burn-in, loss of color accuracy etc.