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
    2017-08-13T12:57:36+00:00

    Warranties should never run out on issues like this that are blatant mistakes by companies. I've hard to Lumia, that had issues and because I purchased at Amazon did not have a warranty (Unlocked).  Fortunately, my 950 seems fine after two years, but Microsoft must do better. I must be a sucker for punishment when I purchased this Surface Pro 4. I know in future, I need to do better research before I buy a product.  Buying an expensive device ($1400) and having issues like these ones do not speak well for a company I have supported...and I've been fighting to stay loyal. Each time something like this happens, the competition is looking a lot more appealing. At least my Dell desktop is still working fine after two years.

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-08-13T00:22:00+00:00

    I have the same exact problem as described by everyone here.

    I've noticed that disabling bitlocker slightly reduces the occurances of this, but certainly doesn't solve the issue.

    I would suggest to everyone here that they make the issue known on sites such as Newegg and Amazon in the reviews section under Surface Pro 4.

    MS:  please either give us all refunds or let us exchange our SP4's for the latest iteration of the SP.

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-08-12T18:18:45+00:00

    I went through the Microsoft technicians online.  They worked on my system via their remote control.  I live in Trinidad and they gave me a call back while they remotely did updates; new installation of Windows 10; any many other steps to try to resolve the problem.  So their technicians saw first-hand what my problem looked like.

    They could not fix it.  Why doesn't Microsoft just recall the pro4.  It is not working.  I bought four surface pro: two surface pro 3 and two surface pro 4.  They surface pro 3 is working very well.  The both pro 4's are having the same screen flickering problem.

    This is obviously a manufacturer's problem.

    Microsoft please recall these equipment.  This is not fair.

    Beulah

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  4. Anonymous
    2017-08-12T12:40:24+00:00

    Trust me, it's a hardware problem...

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