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
    2017-06-22T14:26:41+00:00

    Hello all,

             I think I may have found the cause of the screen flickering for my Surface Pro 4. I notice it did not happen for a long time (Almost 1 month as I am away) but start happening again when I use the USB port on the power adapter to charge my iPhone (Using an older version power cable than the new one that come with the phone).

              I will do some more trial and error test.

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-06-22T14:50:43+00:00

    It happens for me on battery power too. So how the issue can be related to the USB charging port on the power adapter?

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-06-24T11:36:51+00:00

    On my SP4 flickering occurs when there is nothing going on the screen. 

    Even when the date and time open where the seconds are ticking the screen does not flicker. 

    The flicker stops on every passing minute but starts again in few seconds. 

    Screen even flickers in UEFI mode and Advanced startup mode.

    Tried to remove Intel Graphics driver, but didn't help.

    So the only solution was to make the task bar show the seconds ticking. 

    Here is the tutorial:

    https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/73967-hide-show-seconds-taskbar-clock-windows-10-a-2.html

    Now I don't have flickers, but will have to see for how long that solution helps.

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  4. Anonymous
    2017-06-27T19:30:15+00:00

    So, I managed to go almost 10-12 days w/o any significant screen shaking, but it re-occurred this morning.

    What is interesting about today is that when I went to turn on the SP4 for the day, I noticed that it had not powered down from the night before...the power rule about shutting down after x hours of inactivity hadn't triggered.  And, I remember that on the days I had shaking in the past, the same behavior had occurred.  So, it almost seems like there is some kind of software/firmware bug that when it gets triggered first disables auto-hibernation and then later when the system heats up causes shaking.

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