Surface Pro 4, Screen Flickering, Shaking

Hi All,

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.***

What I can tell you in advance....i

I made my diagnosis :

1)

Screen flickers for about half an hour and then:

2)

I get several overlapped goths images and it impossible to distinguish which “window” is active (this make me laugh #windows# ..

3)

After some couple hours of work the screen seem to work normal yet the tones are a little bit “smoothened”.

This is undoubtedly a hardware problem! Isn’t it?!!!

What makes me mad is that this the FITH (5^TH^) SP I GET.

After several problem with a sf3 now this sf4 (I own it for few months) I get this and Microsoft does not even make the slightest idea of the work I need to do for uninstall and reinstall another sf4....

Warmest part on my SP4 during heavy flickering and just before completely crashing is right above the F7 key.

Temp was 45.8 degrees celcius on the screen just before the laptop crashed and restarted.

At the backside, in the mid of the top half - app 43-44 degrees C

After cooling off 30 mins I detached the SP keyboard and connected a wireless keyboard. But still same problems.

I monitored the temp at the spot above the F7 and it rose from 25 to 40 degrees within 10 mins and now staying around the 40 degrees 

I was hoping the external keyboard would help, but it didn't.

Anybody know if the cooling channels on these laptops are so narrow that they need a proper cleaning every year? 

Front

https://i.imgur.com/vTBWGyR.jpg

Back

https://i.imgur.com/sw5YUGG.jpg

Zoom

https://i.imgur.com/yoNnJbQ.jpg

Sad to see so many people with problems on the SP4s.

I have an I7 16gb 256gb unit and the flickering started app. 1 month after MS warranty ran out.

Microsoft support was very helpful when I first contacted them, but only rendered my SP4 locked in a "safe mode" and I had to order the docking station to connect with LAN cable - 4 days off.

The docking station fixed the problem for 1-2 weeks, but now it is back and after app. 3-4 hours of usage I have to shut down the thing and let it cool for minimum 30 mins.

Luckily I still have my I7 Samsung Nine series working flawlessly on the 6th year.

Will keep an eye on the posts here, but dont want to spend more time talking to MS support as long as it looks like there is no solution to the problem.

I have a thermal camera, so I will try to take some shots when the problem starts (exactly about 1 hour from now) and post if any parts of the screen or back is hotter than rest.

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

5. Press menu key to create new file in this directory 
6. Create 32-bit DWARD value and name it ShowSecondsInSystemClock
7. Open this file and change value data from 0 to 1
8. restart your pc

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

This isn't a fix, really; it's a workaround and only helps for the more minor symptoms, like taskbar flickering. Also many people here have said this workaround stops helping eventually.