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
    2017-03-06T00:22:06+00:00

    Can we please get an update on this issue? Given that the cause has not been disclosed, yet devices are being replaced makes this unknown issue reek of a product defect being swept under the rug. Seems fairly easy to replicate if it isn't hardware related given that hundreds of people appear to be having the same issue.

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-03-05T10:40:46+00:00

    @Charline We request that Microsoft kindly pay some attention to this problem as no thread is showing any helpful activity from Microsoft Employees. 

    Besides, the support said that the device will be refurbished which is further adding to our stress. There are a lot of threads stating that how they got a faulty device in replacement. And as its because of a faulty hardware shipped at the time of purchased, I don't think we all deserve a refurbished device.

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-03-03T15:49:12+00:00

    Hey

    I have had this exact same problem!

    It started sometime in November/december of 2016.

    This is very annoying since I cant read a PDF document without having to move my mouse pointer continuously.

    I tried uninstalling re installing updates. Tried Hyper V disable but none of it seems to work.

    Will try the ss display in the task bar. But we definitely need a proper fix for this issue.

    Thanks

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  4. Anonymous
    2017-03-03T12:35:31+00:00

    Thanks for the followup, I'm preparing to send mine in as well though I still hope to avoid it if there's a firmware fix

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