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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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
    2017-05-25T18:16:08+00:00

    Yeah, it is a concern that their answers are almost robot like and only big MS stores answer to the  issue with brand new devices. Very bad on MS's part to treat us like that. First and Last surface purchase, I'll sell this device ASAP. Wont be keeping it. As for the Drivers, thanks for the answer. And yeah throttling the CPU diminshed the issue greatly. Sadly my SP4 has already been sent to the US. I will make a thorough examination of the device when i get it back, if  it seems a refurb I will keep you posted. If it is brand new, I will sell it at a loss and be rid of this. I own 2 Ipad pro's, several laptops and 2 desktops and only THIS device has had so many issues. For the record, my FIRST type cover for this device was also exchanged since a whole row of keys didnt work. So it is 2 out of 2 MS hardware products that failed in less than 1 year of use for me. 

    I might be willing to overlook this many issues if their warranty was of global coverage. Asus, HP, Lenovo, Dell, Apple, Samsung, Toshiba and even MSI have warranties that can be claimed from Mexico.

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-05-25T20:08:30+00:00

    They didn't stress the SP4 enough, during their quality control, I guess and it sucks. There shouldn't be a i7 version then and they certainly shouldn't be advertising it as an AutoCAD and Photoshop machine. A medium sized 3D model in AutoCAD makes the PC run hot. I use Bitwig Studio because I love music and using it with about 15 tracks with some plugins stresses the SP4 a lot. That's why I bought a 8GB RAM, 256 GB SD, Core i7. 1600$ wasted in a 1.5years.

    Now I can't push the SP the way I need because it flicks even with the seconds in the clock running. If I turn off the taskbar the shaking starts automatically after seconds of not doing anything with the SP cool as ice. In the end, it's getting worse and without an answer, I feel cheated.

    I'm Bolivian citizen, 30 years old, civil engineer and I've been using windows since 95. I bought the SP4 because I believed that this tablet could replace my laptop and It did while it was working but now I can't push it and I'm stuck with a 1600 $ Facebook machine. I used my hard earned money and this is my only device. Microsoft should be ashamed!  They must give us a definitive answer, I'll help them, they can say something like this. "The SP4 has hardware issues and If your warranty is expired, you should be looking to buy another PC" That's it!, then I can start saving again to buy something else and stop suggesting this product to people I love.

    I tried to spread this issue in mspoweruser and windowscentral because some people are looking to buy second hand SP4s because of the new SP, but no one seemed to care and I even got downvoted a lot in WC. Guess they will have to experience this issue themselves. 

    I'm praying for Revit and at least one good structural analysis software to be available on mac and I'll be all in on a MacBook Pro.

    I'll be silently reading this forum but my hopes are gone.

    Good Luck to everyone!

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-05-25T20:15:35+00:00

    Speaking as someone who almost exclusively uses my i5 SP4 to take notes in school with OneNote, I can say that you definitely don't need to be pushing it hard for this to happen. I only do processor-lite stuff like OneNote and a third of my screen jitters like crazy to a point where it gives you a headache. It happens even when the machine is idle, so the CPU throttle didn't do anything for me, it still shakes.

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  4. Anonymous
    2017-05-26T01:36:32+00:00

    Microsoft just push new firmware for SP4, not sure it help to fix the fickering problem or not, as mention in article below

    https://www.onmsft.com/news/a-new-surface-pro-4-firmware-update-is-now-available-for-download

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