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

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
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. Anonymous
    2017-11-02T06:48:10+00:00

    Thank you very much for your answer. So keep waiting, that other 600 is seems to be way much more, than it's worth, specially if it has a high chance to come with the same problem. Don't really know what to say though. :/

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-11-02T03:15:16+00:00

    I wanna join the "Club". I have an SF4 i5 4GB with the bottom half of the screen flickering issue. Unfortunately, I'm out of warranty and waiting for the solution.

    I was reading most of the comments here from the beginning but now it's too many of them to read it all. Therefore I decided to ask some questions.

    Have we got any proper solutions for the problem?

    Any chance without warranty to swap it for a working one from the UK?

    As of this moment, there is no known solution which resolves the issue completely and reliably. Some hacks exist that do alleviate the problem, albeit, temporarily. 

    I am out of warranty too, and am eligible to get a refurbished device with replaced display panel for additional cost of $600, and I live in India.

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-11-02T01:28:15+00:00

    I wanna join the "Club". I have an SF4 i5 4GB with the bottom half of the screen flickering issue. Unfortunately, I'm out of warranty and waiting for the solution.

    I was reading most of the comments here from the beginning but now it's too many of them to read it all. Therefore I decided to ask some questions.

    Have we got any proper solutions for the problem?

    Any chance without warranty to swap it for a working one from the UK?

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  4. Anonymous
    2017-10-31T22:35:28+00:00

    Your screen will eventually start flickering again, just a matter of time. There is no way a software update can fix a hardware issue. Microsoft needs to own up because people who have this issue appear shortly after their warranty expires are pretty much being scammed by microsoft.

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