Black and Grey / incorrectly rendered UI panels on Windows with AMD Radeon PRO Graphics

[Ariel-Glickman]

Intro

Hi!

I'm a mechanical engineering undergrad student at BGU, and I use MuJoCo for research on drone dynamics and controls for my final project. I'm new to MuJoCo and don't have much experience troubleshooting graphics drivers, so I'd appreciate some guidance on what to try next.

My setup

Laptop: Lenovo ThinkPad P14s Gen 2 AMD (machine type 21A0)
Operating system: Windows 11
GPU: AMD Radeon PRO Graphics
Graphics driver: 31.0.21924.4004
Python: 3.14
MuJoCo versions tested: 3.15.0 and 3.13.0
Installation: Python package installed with pip inside virtual environments
IDE: Visual Studio 2026

My question

When I launch the MuJoCo viewer on Windows, the 3D viewport renders normally, but the UI panels and sidebars appear black, dark, or incorrectly rendered. Some controls appear to be present, but the UI does not display normally.
The problem occurs even when launching the viewer without loading a model, using:
python -m mujoco.viewer
I can see the MuJoCo version information and the central viewport, but the UI rendering makes the viewer difficult to use.

Does this look like an AMD OpenGL/graphics-driver compatibility issue, or could something else be responsible?
Is there a recommended workaround or known-good AMD driver for this particular laptop and GPU?
Is downgrading the graphics driver a reasonable next step? If so, how can I identify a compatible, official driver safely?
Are there any other diagnostics I should run before changing the driver?
Could my use of Python 3.14 be relevant, and would it be worth testing with another supported Python version?

Thank you for any suggestions. I'm happy to provide additional logs, screenshots, or system information if that would help.

Minimal model and/or code that explain my question

The issue appears to affect the viewer UI rather than the model geometry itself. To help isolate the issue, here is a minimal standalone MJCF model that can be loaded into the MuJoCo viewer.

File: minimal.xml

This is a complete MJCF model and does not require any external or binary assets.

Confirmations

• I searched the latest documentation thoroughly before posting.
• I searched previous Issues and Discussions, I am certain this has not been raised before.

[Wahaj18]

This matches a long-standing AMD + Windows viewer UI bug, not a problem with your MJCF or with Python 3.14.

Maintainers have tracked the same failure mode in:

• #639 (open) — AMD GPU: GUI rendered incorrectly
• #3577 (closed as duplicate of AMD GPU: GUI is rendered incorrectly all over the window #639) — same black / misaligned panels on a recent AMD driver; Yuval noted they still don’t have a code fix

Typical pattern (same as your screenshots): the 3D viewport is fine, basic-style rendering works, but the simulate / mujoco.viewer side panels go black or shift while the invisible controls still click in the old places.

What has actually helped people on that thread:

1. Downgrade the AMD display driver (most reliable workaround so far).

   • In #3577, switching from Adrenalin 31.0.21925.x to the Lenovo OEM driver 30.0.13040.1002 fixed UI rendering on a similar AMD laptop while keeping the same MuJoCo build.
   • Others reported older Adrenalin builds such as 22.5.1 or 21.12.1 working when newer ones did not.
   • Prefer the laptop OEM package from Lenovo for a ThinkPad P14s over a full Adrenalin wipe, so you don’t lose the vendor profile.

2. Quick check that it’s the UI panes: in the viewer, press Tab / Shift+Tab to hide the side panels. If the center view looks normal with the panes hidden, you’re on the same bug as AMD GPU: GUI is rendered incorrectly all over the window #639.

3. Python version: I don’t think 3.14 is the cause. The same UI corruption shows up in the native simulate binary and across MuJoCo 2.x–3.x on AMD Windows, so swapping Python is optional for diagnostics, not the fix.

4. Hybrid GPU laptops only: if you also have an NVIDIA discrete GPU, force python.exe / the viewer onto NVIDIA under Windows Settings → System → Display → Graphics. That won’t help a pure AMD Radeon PRO machine like yours.

5. If you need a usable UI without touching drivers: drive the sim from Python (mujoco.Renderer / your own GUI) or use the viewer with panes hidden for visual checks. Painful, but it unblocks research while AMD GPU: GUI is rendered incorrectly all over the window #639 stays open.

Worth posting your exact driver string (31.0.21924.4004) and the Tab/Shift+Tab result on #639 as well so it stays linked to the tracking issue.