Surface Pro 4, Screen Flickering, Shaking

Anonymous
2017-01-19T07:47:47+00:00

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:

  1. A video being played in browser 
  2. If I keep the touch screen busy by either taping it or keeping a finger on it
  3. If I use the touchpad
  4. 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***

***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.***

Surface | Surface Pro | Display and screen

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Anonymous
2018-05-11T17:59:00+00:00

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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  1. Barb Bowman 80,805 Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2020-11-09T12:36:08+00:00

    I was wondering if this is the only model that had the shaking

    It is the only model where this is widely reported - I have not seen this on my
    Surface Pro 2017 5th generation.

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  2. Anonymous
    2020-11-09T12:18:32+00:00

    Is that true, that the newer ones also have this issue?  My husband has a Surface 3, and it have never had an issue.  I was wondering if this is the only model that had the shaking - how to confirm that the new ones also are junk?

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  3. Anonymous
    2020-11-09T11:51:25+00:00

    Keeping this a secret from people who have asked for help long enough for their surface devices to run out of time for recall makes me absolutely never want to buy anything related to Microsoft.  The last I was told is that I can have a small discount on a new Surface. I understand those newer models are showing this same issue. Do you take us for idiots? Why would we pay more for another piece of junk?

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  4. Anonymous
    2020-10-26T01:36:13+00:00

    I had the same problem, im no techie but researched online found plenty of conflicting info, bottom line. I replaced my Surface pro 4 V 1 screen with a pro 5 screen, new cable and it works perfectly. Frist tried new pro 4 screen but had the same flicker ghosting problem, so tried pro 5 and it worked. Staff at wholesale gadget parts were great and provided what I needed at great price 126.00 for pro 5 screen and cable with doubled sided tape for install.

    During original pro 4 screen removal I demolished the screen and the three antennae located at the top center of the screen. several good video to watch to show how to remove the screen. But didn't know the antennae were ez to destroy with screen removal and the replacxement part is not available, so be warned.

    Had to rebuild the 3 antennae using copper conductive tape, not difficult to do but try to avoid .Use hair dryer on hot to soften tape under edge os csreen and then work loose starting on bottom ends of screen and work loose until all thats still connected is top of screen, use heat and slow easy moves to work loose so antennae and camera lense are not compromised.

    Take about 1 hr, glad I did it and now how my pro 4 working again.

    Thanks for the advice and congratulation of getting it back.  It's a nice machine if it works as it is expected.

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