Surface Book 2: External Monitor Flickering

GeorgeW, 

Initially I thought my HP 32Q 4K monitor was too graphics intensive for my Surface Book 2. I'm fortunate to have a friend who works for Microsoft, and is very much an advocate of the Surface Book.  He said the Book should easily be able to accommodate the monitor.  He came over and spent a couple hours diagnosing the issues with my Surface Book 2. He swapped multiple cables, adapters, docks, monitors, he attached his Book to my system, he cleaned the connectors between the tablet portion and keyboard, and ultimately he narrowed it down to potential problem with one of the two graphics processors.  He recommended I take it into the Microsoft Store, tell them everything he had done, and see if they could diagnose. They did confirm it was the graphics processor in the keyboard portion of the Book and they replaced it (luckily I had one day left on my warranty otherwise it would have been $600). They said it was a rare malfunction that they had only heard about but not seen at their store until I brought mine in.  My new Book works fine now.

Hi, thanks for letting us know. I still have the issue and it’s driving me crazy. How much time did they need to repair it?

Pardon me for jumping in.

As Scpr stated, they replaced it. Surface devices are not repairable. Something to keep in mind when considering the extended warranty.

I have been struggling with this exact same problem ever since I took my Surface Book 2 out of the box, approximately six months ago. Today, the problem has been solved.

I had tried two different HDMI cables (one with an HDMI to USB C adapter, and another that didn't need the adapter), and had the same problem. I tried hooking my laptop up to two different monitors and two different HDMI TVs and had the same problem. I spent HOURS on the phone with Microsoft support, all for naught. Then, I took a four-hour round trip to the Microsoft store in San Diego; there, we were unable to replicate the problem. I was frustrated beyond belief.

Once back home, I started wondering what was different at the Microsoft store as opposed to home (other than being a different monitor, and I knew that wasn't it), so it had to be the cable since I had not taken either of my cables with me. I went to Staples.com and ordered this cable: https://www.staples.com/StarTech-com-USB-C-to-HDMI-Male-Male-Adapter-Cable-1-m-Black-CDP2HDMM1MB/product_IM17M4376. It worked! No more flickering! 

It seems that the two cables I was using before were both 6' long, and the new cable is 3' long. Apparently, past 3', the signal gets lost on the way to the monitor. Of course, the Surface Book 2 *should* be able to drive a 6' cable, but I'm not going to complain, now that everything seems to be working as it should. The 3' cable is barely long enough to go between the monitor and my laptop, so this may not be an option for everyone, but if you can bring the monitor and laptop closer together, this may be the fix you've been looking for. Good luck!!

This worked for me. No more blinking.