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.***

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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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

2017-06-01T16:35:14+00:00

Hi!

I started to spread the news about this issue. Everyone should do it too.

https://twitter.com/Diego\_Lorberg/status/870315947629977600

https://twitter.com/Diego\_Lorberg/status/870288612151218176

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCamh7tdwCs

There's probably more people with the problem. At least lets make people conscious about this.

Regardas
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Anonymous

2017-05-31T21:24:08+00:00
Hi Joseph,
1. Has there been any progress with this?
2. If not, would you be able to ask when any progress is expected to happen?
3. Also as a side note, is there any chance at all that Microsoft would replace our shaking devices, or is that definitely not happening and we all just have to go out and buy new devices.
It's been months now and it's very frustrating working on a device with this problem, but I also don't want to go out and buy a brand new one at full cost only to have Microsoft provide a solution for this the next week.

Thanks,

Sebastian
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Anonymous

2017-05-31T21:04:02+00:00

Update:

I submitted my surface for warranty repair through family members in Canada. The support website had an issue and said my device had been repaired, shipped and delivered a couple days after I submitted it. Then, it had two repair orders appear both with unsubmitted. I spoke with a chat agent and they said they had an issue with the system and they had to create a new support order. She said they had it marked as ready for pickup and I asked for a tracking number.

Overall it took a couple weeks from submission for it to be shipped back to my relative's address. Upon arrival, I asked them to open the box, take photos and send me the serial number. To my surprise, it is what looks like a brand new surface in an original box. I had my relatives submit just the tablet and the box that was sent was a new box, so there was a pen and adapter included even though I hadn't sent those in.

I'm unfortunately travelling and won't be able to get it for another month or so.

I was surprised and rather pleased to get a new vs. refurbished surface. I really hope it doesn't have the screen shaking issue. The lot number on my original surface was 1604, the lot number on the replacement is 1603 so it's a possibility as the new one is basically from the same time period, thought hopefully it won't happen.

Of note, mine is a Core I5, 16GB Ram 256g hd. It was a unique configuration (I specifically hunted for a version with more ram) I could only order from a random seller on Amazon so it is possible mine was replaced with new because they simply didn't have any matching refurbs.
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Anonymous

2017-05-29T08:15:14+00:00

hi, ya, you are right, maybe the 'us' are only minority to microsoft, so they don't care.

in my mind now, i will comment like this 'surface pro 4 screen is having issue of flickering/shaking whether it is cold or hot in using, please re-think again if you are going to buy it as microsoft did not solve the problem yet till now more than 1 years, because i am still facing the issue of it right now and my device's warranty is expired and nowhere i can replace or repair (at high cost) since i am very far from microsoft store' in every pages of their promotion and advertisement.

this is the ONLY way i can do for escalating the issue to public.
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