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
    2017-08-19T17:27:26+00:00

    Solved this problem! It was so frustrating to me, but here is solution.

    1. Go to incognito window (ctrl+shift+T)
    2. type "make taskbar show seconds in W10"
    3. follow instructions 

    Hope it will work for you as fine as it did for me

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-08-19T17:13:23+00:00

    I solved this problem! It was so frustrating to me. But now, here is the final answer. 

    For Windows 10: 

    1. Win + R
    2. regedit
    3. Ctrl + L

    4) 

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
    1. Press menu key to create new file in this directory 
    2. Create 32-bit DWARD value and name it ShowSecondsInSystemClock
    3. Open this file and change value data from 0 to 1
    4. restart your pc

    Source with some pictures: http://winaero.com/blog/taskbar-clock-show-seconds-windows-10/

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-08-19T16:30:53+00:00

    Alright, I also made a link shortener which anyone can use when they contact the tech support (no one wants to spell out the entire thing)

    https://goo.gl/DsKTbz

    As of this message, there are 20 responses. Not enough to shake anyone, but I think it is fair to assume that if multiple people contacted customer support and asked to connect to a manager and then told them to check out this link and to pass it on to their managers.... that this issue might reach the right people. 

    Remember the customer support are just people, don't be angry at them and ask them kindly to pass this on forward.

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  4. Anonymous
    2017-08-19T15:52:09+00:00

    That response is horrifying.

    Here, I made a google form which anyone can respond to in 2minutes

    https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1iJwnv5X5nEAQb27wo6B9bRdb61wRMb8WBFgaxLXyimw/viewform?edit_requested=true

    You can also see the responses which we can later show to MS team so that they can take notice, it can also help us figure out what we have in common so that we can pinpoint the problem.

    https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfNfkn90oE-faNPJQp0kUCgWx64cqMFirqH3tGP5KPDAQlCSA/viewanalytics

    The google form is a really good idea...and something that actually Microsoft should provide. Anyway, well done.

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