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
    2017-08-17T16:32:44+00:00

    My SP4 screen is shaking too. Video: https://youtu.be/Jaeit4-c2-4

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-08-17T16:56:36+00:00

    So just to point out, high processor loads AND charging are both things that create heat in general.  If ONE component is creating more heat than it was intended to, the heatsink could get overwhelmed and start heating the screen up since it's so close to it (which is what I've noticed - the top of the screen gets really hot).

    So this could be an issue for example with power management - the battery is drawing too much and it's overheating the bottom copper plate (the plate that condenses the liquid for the cooling system), leading to the upper portion of the heatsink to be diverted more heat than it was intended to.

    It could also be an issue with the processor overheating - I've noticed if I run prime 95 I can induce the issue after a while.  Initially it took a long time, so I assumed it was not heat related, but it's getting more frequent and prime95 which stresses the CPU intensely is a reliable way to reproduce the issue. 

    Basically, if any component is getting too hot, it could lead to the heatsink overheating which would lead to the screen overheating.  This still doesn't rule out a firmware issue - firmware could affect power management and temps.  The reason I'm still leaning towards firmware is so many have had the issue in the past 2 months, whereas before this was something much rarer. 

    I'll be calling MS support tonight and biting the bullet on the $30 fee, there's no MS store near me anymore to walk into unfortunately.  I'll report back if they have any decent input besides outright replacing the device.

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-08-18T07:56:06+00:00

    Have you tried actively cooling the screen while using it? I'm wondering if it would be possible to locate the faulty part by locally cooling the screen at different places and measuring the time until it stops. It doesn't take too long to stop the screen jumping when I'm cooling it with the fan. It might go away very quickly if you put some water in a small metal container, freeze it and then put it on the right position on the screen.

    For me it appears to be the bottom center of the screen. Though my issue seems to be worse than normal tonight, My CPU is reading 35C and nothing on the screen or back is noticeably warm and I'm still getting the flickering on inactivity.

    Really disappointed in Microsoft here.

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  4. Anonymous
    2017-08-18T18:37:14+00:00

    512replies, and still no solution. 

    I gave up on the issue, and went ahead and bought myself a new desktop computer. 

    I wish someone gets an email list so that once someone figures it out, they just give us the final update.

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