Surface Pro 4, Screen Flickering, Shaking

Anonymous

Hi All,

Update: Flickergate is now having a forum to bring all affected users at a single platform to plan for resolvement of issue. Please join at

https://forum.flickergate.com

UPDATE: Check FlickerGate.com for videos of the problem and to submit your own.

I purchased SP4 device a few months ago and it was working fine for a month. Then I noticed that when the CPU is at its max, the screen flickers a bit. Investigating further revealed that it flickers even if it is setting idle. It does not flicker if at least one of the following thing is done:

A video being played in browser
If I keep the touch screen busy by either taping it or keeping a finger on it
If I use the touchpad
If keyboard is used for typing

This resulted in making the device completely unusable while reading articles or ebooks. I am a developer, most of the time I have to read the code and to do that, I have to constantly keep a finger on the touch pad or the screen. I contacted surface support in October and November and was told that the developers are working on the patch. Looking at the updates the developers are pushing since then, I don't think anyone is even aware of the problem there.

My previous support ticket numbers are:

***deleted personally identifiable information***

Just wondering if anyone else had the same problem (and the fix) and if not, what's the procedure for the refund? I will rather go for a mac then sacrificing $2000+ for a dancing screen.

Kind Regards,

Abbas

***Personal information deleted by the moderator. Please see the Microsoft Community Frequently Asked Questions for more information on how you can protect your privacy.***

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Anonymous

Hey Everyone,

Creating the best products and experiences for our customers is our top priority.

We have heard your feedback and after careful examination, have determined that a small percentage of Surface Pro 4 devices are exhibiting a screen flicker that cannot be addressed with a firmware or driver update.

To support customers affected by this issue, we will replace eligible Surface Pro 4 devices for up to three years from the date of purchase, free of charge. If you believe your device is experiencing this issue, please visit our Surface Pro 4 screen flicker article for more details.

Bryan [MSFT]

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2,779 additional answers

Anonymous

2017-05-18T03:07:46+00:00

hi Joseph,

• Just to verify, can everyone confirm if all have installed the Creators Update?

CU updated and every other updates is up-to-date.

• When you turn on the Surface, did you notice if the Surface logo flickers/shakes as well?

no flickers/shakes for cold boot. flicker/shakes do happens if the machine is warm/heated up.

• Does it occurs immediately after you logged in to Windows, or when working on a certain task? If so, how long does flickering/shaking last?

cold boot is totally fine with no flickers/shakes. it started to get flickers/shakes after warm/heated up, in my case, watching YouTube in both EDGE and CHROME for maybe over 20 minutes, it starts to happen when the video quality is 1080P, however it won't have flickers/shakes when the video quality is 720P. when it is happening, i close the browser, the flickers/shakes do still happen on the desktop screen but, will become less and lesser after waiting, and passing by at least 20 minutes or so later, the screen was back to normal without flickers/shakes, for over at least 3 times of testing.

• Does your device connect to your external monitor/s via Surface docking station when this occurs?

not sure as do not have the docking station.

• Are you using a splitter/adapter to connect directly to an external monitor without the docking station?

not sure as not necessary to me.
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Anonymous

2017-05-17T21:58:23+00:00

Hello Joseph

I have the creators update with every update.

The surface logo has had flickering when the flickering was bad, but not always.

The flickering starts usually after using the device for some time or when playing videogames, I have monitored the temperature and it's not the problem, it flickers even with stable temperatures, for some time, it flickered constantly even when working/updating the screen/moving the mouse/having the task manager open, but some times, any screen change removes the flickering for a couple of seconds.

I don't have a docking station nor have I been using external monitors.
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Anonymous

2017-05-17T21:00:32+00:00

Hi Joseph,

I have Creators Update installed and all the minor updates afterwards

I see the surface logo flickers when I turn on my laptop. If it is heavily used a while ago then the surface logo doesn't just flickers it spreads upwards in a column of translucent logos. Same thing continues afterwards.

Firs it used to happen when my surface used to be totally idle and using it or playing video was the solution. Now its 24/7 and its worse than flickering. It renders the device completely unusable for most of the time.

No I don't have a docking station and neither used any external display

No I am not using any adapter to connect to any external device.

Hope that helps in the investigations as the number of the effected people is increasing and is gaining acceleration. Its 180 people now. And thanks that surface team finally showed interest. Hope we will get updates with time.
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