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
    2017-06-15T14:27:32+00:00

    It's true that the best way for now is to replace it... but many users do not have the capability to call for a replacement, due to geographic limit or othre reasons. Besides, as mentioned before in this thread, there's chances that you get a second surface with the same problem...

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-06-15T19:59:30+00:00

    That doesn't prove that firmware isn't involved unless you ensured that the new and old hardware aren't running the same versions.  Firmware isn't impacted by drive changes - that's why it's firmware and not a driver.  Firmware is written to flash hardware memory on the motherboard, not the disk.

    However, I don't disbelieve that hardware plays a significant role here - I suspect gradual thermal damage.    I just believe that the MS has been tried to tweak the firmware so that the systems run slower w/ greater cooling so that the damage progression is slower and so that whatever damage that has occurred is less of a problem.  It's also possible that a bad firmware update in the past might have increased the risk of damage. 

    No one expects these surface pro devices to last forever.  But, yes, if due to hardware defects or firmware software, the devices have a limited lifetime under 5 years than all surface users have the right to expect much better from Microsoft, and if the average lifetime is indeed much less than 2-3yrs possibly to sue.

    Why am I so sure? Because I took my SP4 in the Microsoft Sydney store and demanded that it was replaced with a brand new one. I then sat in the store and cloned my HDD onto an external device, and then cloned it back on to the new SP4.

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-06-15T20:44:16+00:00

    I've sent a message to the official surface Facebook page, that page is primarily used to promote the new Surface product but hopefully someone will at least give me some sort of a response.

    I encourage people to post directly on threads started by the facebook surface page.

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  4. Anonymous
    2017-06-15T23:24:05+00:00

    Hi!

    I've saying this for weeks and I'm sending tweets and commenting in youtube videos so people notice this issue.

    https://twitter.com/Diego\_Lorberg/status/875493023559413760

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCamh7tdwCs

    Maybe if we sent ton of messages, they will care. I've payed a lot of money for this product. This is unacceptable.

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