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
    2017-03-30T17:21:28+00:00

    Hi All,

    We are still investigating on this issue and will need your help to isolate the problem. We suggest that you try the following:

    1. Troubleshoot Surface touchscreen issues.
    2. Disable the Display Adapter in Device Manager.
    3. Restart Surface and try to use it again.
    4. Create another user account and check if screen flickers on the other user.
    5. Change screen resolution to low. Is issue still the same?
    6. Perform a clean boot in Windows and check the performance of Surface again.

    We'll be waiting for your response with the results.

    Hi Charline,

    I got the same problem one week after the one year warranty expired.

    I tried all your solutions and they all failed.

    Could it be that flickering began after applying cumulative update KB4013429 on March 17?

    Simultaneously with the screen malfunction my SP4 began to warm up more than before, making the fan to work almost always at full speed.

    My SP4 is 256 GB, 8GB RAM, Intel Core i7.

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-03-28T18:50:27+00:00

    We need some forum to raise our voice. Maybe sending a petition to MS through Change.org or contacting some customer support organizations. Because looking at the stories of the users who got defected device om even third replacement, it makes us worry that we might meet the same fate.

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-03-28T17:07:01+00:00

    I have the same problem with the screen (shaking, flicking...) for almost 1 month. I tried all the solution hat I could found.

    also I asked solution from many sources, but all said that there's hardware issue and the only way to fix is send back to MS for replacement. 

    For the MS IT team, I appreciate that you're working on software solution, but please remember we buy this product at very high price and we expected it shoud work smoothly (doesnt need to be perfectly as you advertised) 

    plus, most of us buy this for work, so this problem is directly affects my job, and we dont have time waiting for your solution month to month. This really annoy and destroy your fame and reputation.

    it's terrible for me  , I bought surface pro 4 for a year, and now a stupid decided I buy a new surface book after day my surface pro 4 is jumping, ok if only my device have an issue, I will ratify, but a lot of people are having this problem, this is bad news for my new surface. and in Vietnam don't have any Microsoft store for replacement or repair

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  4. Anonymous
    2017-03-28T16:40:28+00:00

    I have the same problem with the screen (shaking, flicking...) for almost 1 month. I tried all the solution hat I could found.

    also I asked solution from many sources, but all said that there's hardware issue and the only way to fix is send back to MS for replacement. 

    For the MS IT team, I appreciate that you're working on software solution, but please remember we buy this product at very high price and we expected it shoud work smoothly (doesnt need to be perfectly as you advertised) 

    plus, most of us buy this for work, so this problem is directly affects my job, and we dont have time waiting for your solution month to month. This really annoy and destroy your fame and reputation.

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    0 comments