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
    2017-09-07T20:37:20+00:00

    Hi

    Thanks for helping out.   I don't want to seem too dumb... but which package version?  

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-09-07T19:32:11+00:00

    I had the same problem on my surface pro 4 but I was able to fix it after a few weeks by downloading the "surface pro 4 drivers and firmware.msi" package and running it. I hope this helps some of you out there. Here is a link to the download page.

     https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=49498

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-09-07T18:55:47+00:00

    I've got the same issue.  I suspect its a software issue and I'm upset and disappointed to see MS not acknowledging the issue, doing anything about it or offering a fix.  

    The jittering results from a single-pixel black line that intermittently  inserts about 20 pixels from the top of the screen.  Above that line is stable, below that line drops down by one pixel and back.   Clearly a software/firmware problem.  Goes away for 30 seconds if any thing changes on the screen... eg a mouse moves.

    One fix is to run a video constantly, like Youtube, but has to be in the foreground.

    Losing faith in this hardware very fast. I have 10 of these machines in the office.

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  4. Anonymous
    2017-09-07T14:00:01+00:00

    Over the last couple of months, this issue has begun appearing when I use my Surface Pro 4 (i5, 4GB). It begins with a single black line appearing on the topmost row or pixels, which then turns into multiple lines. During this point, its still possible to use the screen without issues. However, the entire screen begins to jump up and down really fast, almost like refresh-rate being caught on a camera. If I press the sleep button, switch off the display and turn it back on, the flickering stops for sometime, but it returns randomly. It progressively gets worse to the point where I cant read anything on the screen and it causes a migraine.

    To confirm if this is software or hardware related, I tried booting into the boot menu since that is independent of OS. It occurs there as well, at the same rate.

    I performed a quick google search to know if this is common, and it turns out its not been mentioned a lot, so I'm wondering if I've stumbled upon a new type of issue.

    When I start my device for the first time, its always perfect, with no issues. Its only after some time has passed after usage that this issue slowly crops up. I thought maybe its got something to do with heat, so I capped by processor to 99%, and even enabled seconds timer on the Clock.. but to no avail.

    Please help!

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