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
    2017-10-20T21:55:36+00:00

    So many have tried. We all get ''our engineers are aware there is a problem and are working on it. We'll let you know'' or ''We've never heard of this issue/are not aware of anyone else reporting this issue'' and that's all you'll ever get. BUT I got that in 2015...and that's what they're still telling people in 2017...and nothing more. No working on it, no fixes offered, no refund, no re-call, no follow-up communication. Nothing. Some who have managed to get a replacement because they still had the warranty, ended up with a defective replacement which conveniently no longer was under warranty. Swell isn't it, how they swindled us for 1.7k bucks?

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-10-20T18:24:43+00:00

    I have the same issue.  I strongly suspect overheating. 

    The Task Manager didn't do that trick as it does for you.  It's been intermittent for me and usually stops when I interact with it as you described.  However, today after a lot of video processing over a couple hours, it's shaking into a constant blur and won't stop at all.  When I stop the video process for a while (i.e., minimize the app), it will stop.  It will stop more quickly if I place my hands on the top/back of it, which feels notably hot, but not burn you hot (i.e., probably 60C, but I don't have a temperature monitor for the CPU, nor do I know that it's CPU temperature necessarily).  Touching it will conduct heat away faster than ambient air, so I believe I'm effectively cooling it faster by holding the back of it.  I started blowing on the back as well, it would cool and then heat up, stop shaking and then start again, repeat until it finally cooled. 

    I've repeated this about 4 times consistently by maximizing and minimizing a video application.  Not terribly scientific, but I think it's an overheating issue with one of the components.  Could be video processor, cpu, memory, or the display itself.  I don't know, but I'd bet it's more related to video/gfx processing or the display since I minimized rather than closed the video application.  So if the memory and cpu usage remained about the same, and the shaking would start and stop based on video/gfx processing, that provides a pointer.

    Anyway, try some form of external cooling

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-10-20T13:45:22+00:00

    Has anyone had any official feedback from Microsoft yet? I bought this device specifically to demo our products to customers. And this is making that almost impossible now. The second I pause to discuss anything the screen starts shaking and I have to explain that this high end device from Microsoft is having issues and then no it's not just mine etc. You'd think that on something they've tied so closely to their brand we'd at least get some feedback.

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  4. Anonymous
    2017-10-20T13:37:09+00:00

    Very frustrating.  Is Microsoft considering a recall? My flickers whenever there is no movement on the screen.

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