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
    2017-09-16T19:56:40+00:00

    I'm also experiencing the same problem with my surface pro here... My device is 1.5 year old and it's been working okay until a few days ago the flickering issue show up. The flickering happens constantly and has been very annoying... 

    Reading through this thread, I'm surprised to find out how common this problem is. And also disappointed that it's a issue that Microsoft don't seem to have a solution, or don't intend to solve (?) except charging for repair. Unfortunately my warranty has also expired.

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-09-14T20:41:20+00:00

    This may seem like a fix, but unfortunately it's not.The problem will continue to get worse with time, and the adding seconds to the taskbar time will no longer work.

    Please read previous comments in this forum.

    Also, this has proven to be a heat related hardware problem.

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-09-14T20:35:38+00:00

    Hello Abbas, hello everyone,

    I managed to bypass this issue by making the taskbar clock display seconds. 

    Here's a link on how to do that: https://winaero.com/blog/taskbar-clock-show-seconds-windows-10/

    You can also try this to fix the problem. I haven't tried this one yet: 

    If you have multiple display adapters, you'll need to disable the added adapter (often an Intel HD 400 or AMD Radeon HD 4200) by right-clicking it from the list in Device Manager and selecting Disable > Yes. Then, turn off your PC, disconnect installation or recovery media (if you're using it), and turn your PC back on. If that doesn't fix the flickering, restart your PC in safe mode, re-enable the added display adapter, and then disable the other adapter.

    Hopes this helps

    Kind regards,

    Ovi

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  4. Anonymous
    2017-09-14T20:03:27+00:00

    I did an extreme test,not by purpose,  which was to use surface pro 4 i5 8gb with a sketching program when tablet gets direct sunlight (the weather is 26°). You can definitely cook an egg on it, but the fact is no flicker happened. After it gets cold (because of the material it gets cold really fast) , when you don't move the mouse,  after 3-5 seconds each time,  flickering happens. When moving the mouse, no flicker.

    Above what I read from the article, I ended up that this shouldn't be a hardware problem, one or more driver, or programs on the background, or both causes this problem. Just because of that the possibilities are so much. 

    Why? Because when I start to use a heavy program after about 15 min you get this issue, but when you just ignore it and let the time pass -like 30 min- you don't see any flicker. That also multiplies the possibility of the main problem

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