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
    2017-08-17T08:07:34+00:00

    Yes, definitely heat related, and I agree with your suspicion that the icepacks are "cooling the heatsink" as opposed to an Audio component or something directly touching it.

    Originally, I started suspecting audio too, since my shaking is always worse at home rather than in the office, and in the office I use external USB/HDMI audio while at home I use headphones.

    BUT today in the office I experienced a severe shaking episode while external USB audio/video was connected. It happened when my Surface was working hard simultaneously running a Skype bridge, screensharing PowerPoint presentation, and external audio all at the same time (with Chrome and Outlook etc still open too), and you could hear the internal fan progressively working harder until the screen shaking started.

    Interesting to note:

    • After the call finished, and peripherals disconnected, the shaking/ghosting still continued even after the fan calmed down.
    • I went away for a coffee, when I came back, the screen had been sleeping (cooling down a bit in the meantime), and when awoken, the shaking was still there but not as bad as before.
    • I took the opportunity to grab an icepack from the office freezer and hold it around on different spots both front AND back over several minutes - nothing made an immediately noticeable difference. Eventually it cooled down and stopped shaking (mostly), but there was no "magic spot" to put the pack that I could find.

    Now that I'm back at my desk with a USB fan and the Surface fan/heat has calmed down, it has now eventually stopped shaking after about 30 minutes of 'resting' with fan (and the applied cooling from the test).

    So in short:

    • Definitely overheating related.
    • I can use all day with no issues, but once it starts that day, it will stick around for a long time (residual heat inside somewhere?).
    • Putting cooling on a "specific spot" doesn't work for me.
    • Even after Surface "cools down" to touch, front-and-back, I suspect something inside is remaining warm since the shakes are easier to come back now-and-again after it happens the first time,
    • Shutting down overnight almost guarantees a good run without shakes the next day, until it overheats again.

    Adding to the frustration is the fact that I've moved country twice since the purchase, so I have no idea what my consumer return/repair options are if it does indeed get proven to be a hardware fault. :(

    Edit: My model is also the i5 and with fan: Microsoft Surface Pro 4 - 512GB / Intel Core i5

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-08-17T08:41:10+00:00

    Just to see if I understand you correctly; do all i5 models have this hybrid cooling system? I have the i5/8 GB/256 GB model. Sounds reasonable what you're saying. Maybe the fan has just collected too much dust? I think I'll buy some canned air and see if this helps.

    Right now cooling the top left corner has worked for 2 people but also didn't work for 2 people. Would be cool to see some more people trying this and also mentioning which model they have.

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-08-17T10:14:55+00:00

    I have the i5 model, 8GB

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  4. Anonymous
    2017-08-17T10:39:10+00:00

    Ok we have the same model in that case

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