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
    2017-08-16T20:51:48+00:00

    Been idle here for a few weeks, here are some new observations:

    * I noticed that flickering primarily occurred while I was at work, and not: when using it as a tablet at night, when mobile offsite, or even when plugged in to my 2nd charger at home. 

    * I zeroed into the fact that my 'work charger' could be the problem.  I noticed other posts on reddit where surface users complain that the chargers go bad every 12-18 months.  This timeline seems to coincide with when I first started seeing issues with my SP4.  I also noticed that the green operational led on my work charger was very much faded compared to the home charger.

    * Purchased a new charger for work, so far have not seen any serious flickering occur since swapping it out.  However, there is still occasional minor flickering and there is no assurance that I'm not just being luck - It's only been a week or two.

    Lastly, just having to think about the issue has made me want to use the surface less, I've started moving over some of my work to another desktop and a spare android tablet, just in case the surface becomes totally unusable.

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-08-16T22:49:20+00:00

    I think I have actually found out where exactly the Surface overheats. It's on the very top left on the front where the audio jack is located (on the black border itself, not the screen). I put some flat metal in the freezer and as soon as I put it on this spot the flickering stops after about 10 seconds and comes back just as quick when I remove the cold metal. If I cool any other place the flickering won't stop.

    Can anyone try this as well?

    I did the test and bingo, the top left corner is the key. I used a small ice cube surrounded by a plastic sheet. The flickering stops immediately when the ice cube is in contact with the top left corner and starts again a minute after removing it.

    Important finding! Good job.

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-08-16T23:42:35+00:00

    I think I have actually found out where exactly the Surface overheats. It's on the very top left on the front where the audio jack is located (on the black border itself, not the screen). I put some flat metal in the freezer and as soon as I put it on this spot the flickering stops after about 10 seconds and comes back just as quick when I remove the cold metal. If I cool any other place the flickering won't stop.

    Can anyone try this as well?

    I did the test and bingo, the top left corner is the key. I used a small ice cube surrounded by a plastic sheet. The flickering stops immediately when the ice cube is in contact with the top left corner and starts again a minute after removing it.

    Important finding! Good job.

    Interesting...so I'm thinking one of 2 things:

    The heatsink is drawing a lot of heat, more than it can cool (I wonder if maybe our models all have a fan in that top left area that could have failed?) which is heating the screen and causing the flicker

    The audio hardware is overheating or overvolting and causing the issue

    I've tried disabling the audio hardware in the UEFI and I'm running prime 95 with the seconds turned back off in my system clock.  I'll update if I can induce the flickering, which would rule out audio hardware being the cause and leave us with a heatsink issue.  Those of you having the problem on SP4, do you have an i3, i5 or i7 model?  Do you know if your model has a fan in the top left? (I don't believe i3 does but I think i5 or 7 might)

    EDIT: I ran prime95 and disabled the audio hardware and the screen shaking is still occurring, so I think what's happening is you're cooling the heatsink. 

    I noticed my screen is significantly hot in that top left area around where the heatsink is. 

    Here is an image of the i5 and i7 models that have the hybrid cooling system.  The top left is where the fan is.  It looks like the fan may be failing, cooling the top left corner is offsetting the work of that fan.  Either that or something is creating more heat than the system is meant to offset and cooling it is helping.

    Either way I think we can safely say this is an overheating issue.  Great find

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  4. Anonymous
    2017-08-17T07:32:51+00:00

    I had this problem and had to get it replaced. I'm pretty sure it's heat related and maybe something to do with a display controller? I would configure my close lid action to turn off the screen, and I would have to do that for a couple minutes multiple times an hour to stop it from shaking.

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