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

2018-03-17T00:24:16+00:00

When you look at the reviews on Amazon of the replacement screens, this is a common complaint, they are probably cheaply manufactured and not an exact replacement for the Surface Pro 4 screen.

What was the model number of the screen you received?

I just picked up my pro4 used. The glass was broke & replaced poorly. They super glued it on, touch screen didn't work due to a ribbon left unplugged. Unfortunately the ribbon was damaged from being out of place and a new screen is necessary. The display works great otherwise. Beautiful resolution, no bad pixels or anything. I ordered a screen online and it arrived today. Installed it and the lower half of the screen is flickering, & everything looks doubled up. The top half looks perfect though. I see that some others have the same issue with their original screens. Can they just be a bad screen? I went back to the screen with the bad touch & the display is perfect again so I assume that this screen is just a defective part, also the touch didn't work under my finger tip but instead across the screen. The part number matches the screen I have but I cannot be sure what was original equipment.
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Anonymous

2018-03-16T03:19:52+00:00

this is the same problem I encountered when I managed to call into the support line. given that my Surface Pro 4 is no longer under warranty, I will need to pay $600 etc. for the replacement. this is the worst customer support especially they don't have a Singapore site office to send in.

Looking at the whole support structure, I would seriously not want to purchase any more surface related product.
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Anonymous

2018-03-15T12:20:10+00:00

Definitely more complex a problem than the ribbon cable as the problems with my Surface change as it just sits there. I've been working in servers for half my life and this really looks like a hardware design flaw.

On another note, I get flickering / ghosting problems from boot when the machine is cold and has just been started. All this started just after the warranty passed conveniently. I tried to get Microsoft to replace for free but they just stated I had to pay £400 for a refurb model. Can I ask how you got Microsoft support to replace outside of warranty?????

Kind regards

Gavin
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Anonymous

2018-03-15T10:09:47+00:00

I just picked up my pro4 used. The glass was broke & replaced poorly. They super glued it on, touch screen didn't work due to a ribbon left unplugged. Unfortunately the ribbon was damaged from being out of place and a new screen is necessary. The display works great otherwise. Beautiful resolution, no bad pixels or anything. I ordered a screen online and it arrived today. Installed it and the lower half of the screen is flickering, & everything looks doubled up. The top half looks perfect though. I see that some others have the same issue with their original screens. Can they just be a bad screen? I went back to the screen with the bad touch & the display is perfect again so I assume that this screen is just a defective part, also the touch didn't work under my finger tip but instead across the screen. The part number matches the screen I have but I cannot be sure what was original equipment.

I give you credit for maintaining your sanity under such appalling treatment.
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