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. Anonymous
    2017-04-15T15:58:03+00:00

    Hey AbbasHaroon,

    I apologize as I know this isn't the response anyone wanted to hear regarding replacement, but I don't want other international customers to go through the trouble with such low certainty of it being a solution. I find it extremely disrespectful that Microsoft is seemingly doing nothing but encouraging customers to replace the faulty devices, when they're most likely aware that the issue will recur with the replacement.

    We can just hope that they're working behind the scenes to solve this. The fact that the number of reports has gotten so large and they have yet to offer and official acknowledge or proper response irritates me to no end.

    As I stated in my prev reply I'm going to try contacting Microsoft over the phone. If they cannot acknowledge the issue and promise a fix, I'll be requesting a refund. I absolutely won't accept any suggestion of doing another replacement.

    Also I strongly agree with your suggestion to file a complaint to the CRO, or to start a petition to voice our frustration on the issue. I do not have the experience or time to do so myself, but I will definitely support any such efforts if anyone else decides to.

    Regards.

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-04-15T15:35:17+00:00

    Anyway, call 1-800-Microsoft and explain your situation to a person. I managed to arrange a replacement without paying for the dedicated Surface support line.

    Like many, I am international and had to spend hundreds of dollars shipping my machine to and from the US for replacement. The lack of transparency and acknowledgement on this issue is insulting and infuriating.

    Thanks for the advice, I'll try to contact them @ 1-800-MICROSOFT.

    However, I won't be accepting anything but a full refund.

    I feel that it is unlikely they will agree to this, but I have no intention of spending the time and money yet again to receive a third device with the same issue.

    I love everything about Surface but I'd trade 'innovative features' for reliability any day. I don't see myself choosing Surface hardware anytime in the near future.. save myself the frustration of this experience

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-04-15T12:43:39+00:00

    This fueled my worries regarding the replacement. I have now 3 months warranty left (it was 10 months warranty when it).  Microsoft is like "We don't f** care, We got you $$$$ now bear with the s**y product that you purchased." We are almost screaming here and all we get is a message asking us to run few diagnostics (already tried by most of us) and yet they didn't got back to any of the user who reported there logs. 

    Furthermore, the service agents are also running dual policy, if you approach them and tell them that most of people are replacing their devices. Then they will ask you to replace yours one two, but if you are not aware of this issue on the web and went straight to the support agents then they will ask you to wait till the end of earth while their developers develop a patch. Its been 6 months that I was told that, I wonder what's taking the developers so long? They already have defected devices returned to them for tests. Simple is that, its not fixable and if its a hardware issue with all of the devices or majority of them then Microsoft should process refund instead of simple replacements.

    I suggest that WE should take this issue to Consumer's Court and Consumer Rights Organization.

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  4. Anonymous
    2017-04-15T06:39:31+00:00

    Strange. I didn't pay for anything for my 'out of warranty service'. I had problem getting reaching support so I chose support for the surface pen instead. (i couldn't reach chat support any other way and I didn't have to pay for this option). When I finally got to chat with a support agent I explained that I had the issue for a while, and my device went out of warranty waiting for a fix. He was very nice, said it was a known issue and I will get a replacement device, even if i was out of warranty. Got a prepaid UPS label in my inbox. UPS picked up my package at my doorstep, got a new one back 4 days later delivered at my door. Didn't cost me anything except for a box and some bubble wrap, to get mine replaced.

    I find it odd that there's no consistent policy for replacements with this issue, but I guess I just got lucky? For me the service was super..

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