Surface Book 2: External Monitor Flickering

Anonymous
2018-06-21T02:17:54+00:00

I bought a Surface Book 2 last month.  Yesterday, I started using it with an external monitor (connected to the SB through a HDMI to USB-C adapter). 

The external monitor flickers and disconnects once every 2 minutes, and then returns, only to flicker/disconnect again, repeatedly.  This makes working with an external monitor unbearable.

I see that many people have asked similar question re. the SB, but I could not find a reliable and actionable solution.

Can you please help me?

Thank you.

Surface | Surface Book | Display and screen

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  1. Anonymous
    2019-08-17T22:23:31+00:00

    I have the same problem.

    I bought my Surface Book 2 in April 2018. And connected it to my existing Samsung UE590 UHD 4K monitor with no problem. I was using a Microsoft HDMI-to-USB-C adapter.

    But a few days ago, I had the Surface Book 2 doing a 3D render, disconnected from the Samsung. And I connected my Surface Pro 3 to the Samsung to work on other things. When the render was done, I reconnected the Surface Book 2. And the flickering began. I've switched both Surface devices on the Samsung before with no problem. But the fact that the problem started after a switch is very odd. 

    BTW, the Surface Pro 3 still connects to the external monitor. And works as expected.

    I've connected the Surface Book 2 to my Sony TV. The flickering happens there too. So, the Surface is clearly the problem.

    I have the latest updates, including drivers. And have exhausted the different troubleshooting methods suggested by Microsoft. Nothing fixes the problem.

    I'd really appreciate any help.

    Thank You.

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  2. Anonymous
    2019-08-17T22:20:45+00:00

    Hello Danilo, 

    Yes, turned out to be a bad base unit (keyboard) graphics card. I was a day away from expiration of warranty (lucky) otherwise the swap would have cost me $600.  They said it was a rare occurrence.  First they'd seen in our local store even though they'd heard of it happening in other parts of the U.S.  They swapped-out the units, moved over all my data, and I haven't had a problem since. 

    Steve

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  3. Anonymous
    2019-01-22T08:51:05+00:00

    I think I can safely say Surface Dock works. I use my Surface Book 2 mainly as workstation and in my office I have the dock and never had any issues with external monitor.

    Tried working from home and got the flickering issue using the USB-C to HDMI connector. However the external monitor is different at home so could be related to that, but my Surface Pro 4 don't have any issue when using mini display port and the same external monitor.

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  4. Anonymous
    2019-01-05T06:11:37+00:00

    Has anyone found getting the Surface Dock fixes this problem?  I don't wish to spend hundreds of dollars if it doesn't help.  My problem has only suddenly started happening but since I use my computer for interviewing people, not only is it frustrating but it renders the computer totally unusable for this while this problem persists.  Really tearing my hair out!

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  5. Anonymous
    2018-11-07T03:47:49+00:00

    I've discovered that at least one flickering monitor issue is related to Bluetooth. No idea why but if I'm sitting in front of the monitor and move the mouse or tap the keyboard after they have been idle for a while the screen flickers and will continue to do so. Restarting solves the problem for a while. I've set the Bluetooth radio and devices to not let the computer turn them off but that has only helped a little.

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