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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Answer accepted by question author
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
    2017-11-08T07:47:35+00:00

    I only started getting this after the Creator's Update as well. This is very bizarre and I guess I'm not the only one getting it.

    Its hard to say whether the update caused the flickering or not. Because every time there is a new update, people complain about flickering. I feel like the issue is the heat during updating somehow triggers the flickering to start. Just a guess though.

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-11-08T07:50:39+00:00

    I have the same problem with a surface pro 4 i7 device.

    Contacting Surface sup they tried everything together even reinstalling with no success. since warranty was for few months expired (Murphy's law) , I would think that is normal to happen sometimes

    But seeing all these messages in forums is generic problem not rare....

    I bought this Surface for business and its so disappointing to realize that spending all this money didnt succeed to buy a professional equipment from Microsoft.

    They proposed and created a case number for replacement but since my Country is Greece I can not fill the exchange form and even for service request.

    then they provide me a telephone number to call to fill this form but this phone never answers!!!!

    Last 4 months I am in same situation with no solution....

    It was the third AND LAST SURFACE I will ever buy so much disappointed . I think that a company with status of Microsoft should react differently in a generic problem like this.

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-11-08T08:13:27+00:00

    It was the third AND LAST SURFACE I will ever buy so much disappointed . I think that a company with status of Microsoft should react differently in a generic problem like this.

    Just bumping flickergate.com. For everyone with the same issue, please submit a complaint and a video of the flickering.

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  4. Anonymous
    2017-11-08T10:49:54+00:00

    #flickergate is getting some traction mostly from "non-affected" users.

    Tweet the problem to @surface & @MicrosoftHelps whenever they try to sell this **** to users. A lot of users inquire via tweets.

    Search keywords like Surpface Pro, SP4 etc to find such users and inform them about. 

    Also as Tim has mentioned, please submit your issue at https://flickergate.com 

    We all have to play our part if we want Microsoft to take our problem serious. If only few of us put the effort then it will go wasted. Kindly spare some time for it. 

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