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
    2017-09-11T03:00:55+00:00

    Had the same problem, screen shaking, jumping up and down like 1-2 pixels. 

    I went to two microsoft stores but since i am in a different country now then when i bought the device, they wouldn´t even look at it. 

    Went to some independent shop, they replaced the screen, changed the hardware. Now everything works again. (i was out of warranty already, so i would ahve had to pay anyway, probably) 

    in conclusion - I am not buying any microsoft hardware anymore. Too expensive to start breaking down after 2.5 years like that. No wonder they are not recommended devices anymore.

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-09-11T05:03:05+00:00

    Bad news..... the battery was swelling and now the screen popped open at the bottom right. Flickering stopped (probably no more structural stress). Put your SP4 on the table and give it a spin. If it spins, bad news!

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-09-12T06:00:45+00:00

    Is the swelling serious and does it affect daily use? I also observed slight popping out at the top of my surface

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  4. Anonymous
    2017-09-13T15:31:12+00:00

    I am also hit by the same problem starting about a week ago. My surface pro 4 is slightly more than 1 year old. The screen flickers rapidly (shaking up and down) from 1 or 2 lines of pixel below the top, rendering images and characters blur. Slight movement of cursor or keystroke would stop the shaking immediately, but only to have it returns 1 or 2 seconds later. 

    By the consistency of the symptoms, I have no doubt this is a systematic reliability issue of surface pro 4 either due to design flaw or poor quality parts, or both. I also have no doubt that the withdrawal of recommendation by Consumer Report is fully justified. It is a shame that Microsoft is being so irresponsible, instead of addressing and acknowledging the issue, they simply resorted to marketing spin to deny the persistent quality and reliability problems.

    It is fortunate that I didn't place an order for surface pro 2017, which I almost did a few weeks ago. I will never buy another product from Microsoft again.

    I am not sure how much the issue is going to escalate. The shaking used to stop with slight motion of the cursor. But it seems harder and harder to stop the shaking now, in fact, the shaking seems a lot more persistent now. I am afraid I might just be seeing the end of this SP4 very soon. 

    I tried to reduce the severity by installing 8GadgetPack, and activated the clock with second hand turned on and always on top, hopefully the constant refresh of the second hand position update could alleviate the shaking issue. Unfortunately it is not very effective. In fact, no suggested solutions work at all. This is frustrating.

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