Surface Laptop 3 screen flickering issue - I had this with the Surface Pro 4 too

Anonymous

Hello everyone,

I just noticed a problem with my two-month old Surface Laptop 3 (i7/16/256): there is screen flickering in the lower left corner of the screen. The flicker disappears when I move the mouse or play a video. I immediately panicked since I had a similar issue with my previous Surface Pro 4 and it turns out it was a hardware issue. The biggest issue is that on the Surface Pro 4 it has gotten worse over time.

Returning at this time is out of question for me, I need it for work.

Anyone else has this issue ? I'm not expecting an easy fix but who knows.

PS: Below is a video with the issue:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zE4oI9wfAk

Thanks !

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Anonymous

Ok everyone, I have great news ! (edit: not so great)

I managed to fix the issue (edit: nope).

Just as I suspected, it is indeed a power management issue where the panel tries to optimize power consumption by utilizing a technology called "panel self-refresh" which basically allows the screen electronics to refresh its current image independent of the graphics card if nothing has changed on the screen. You must disable that.

Here are the steps:

Open Microsoft Store, then search for and install "Intel® Graphics Command Center".
Open the app, go the "System" vertical tab, then go the "Power" horizontal tab
Disable the "Panel Self-Refresh" option on both "On Battery" and "Plugged In" modes.

The problem should instantly disappear, even before you leave the app.

EDIT: Unfortunately, the problem will only lessen in frequency, but will not disappear completely. But I will leave this post here, maybe it helps in some cases.

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45 additional answers

Anonymous

2020-08-08T13:23:09+00:00

Just noticed this same exact thing happening to my Surface Laptop 3 as well, in the same exact location. It seems to come and go in intensity/frequency. I will monitor this thread for more permanent fixes. Right now warranty replacement is out of the question for me because I use mine for work all day.

I purchased this laptop in November, 2019.
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Anonymous

2020-07-12T13:06:11+00:00
The issue is also present in the UEFI settings

the drivers aren't loaded when you are in the UEFI. you need to contact
Microsoft for an exchange.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4051701/global-customer-service-phone-numbers
- ask for Surface support
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Anonymous

2020-07-12T10:27:15+00:00

My girlfriend has the same issue on her Surface Laptop 3 i5 with 128GB storage since February 2020, two months after purchase in December 2019.

The issue is also present in the UEFI settings, but I still hope it's just an Intel graphics driver issue. I have tried downloading the latest ones from their page, but the installation always stops me from doing so, saying that the drivers haven't been approved by the device manufacturer.

I hope the new drivers will be in the 2004 update.
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Anonymous

2020-07-08T23:12:15+00:00

Unfortunately I didn't manage to solve the issue. If you follow the steps I have provided sometimes the issue will be fixed until the next restart, which suggests to me that it may be fixable somehow with some battery life tradeoff.

I'm now waiting for the 2004 feature update (which keeps being advertised in my Windows Update settings but is locked as of now), maybe it will contain a fix for this.
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