Surface Pro 4, Screen Flickering, Shaking

Anonymous

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:

A video being played in browser
If I keep the touch screen busy by either taping it or keeping a finger on it
If I use the touchpad
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***

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.***

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

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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2,779 additional answers

Anonymous

2017-11-17T23:11:16+00:00

I'm glad you found an acceptable solution, albeit a not so cheap one, but at least a compromise. I would offer that the reason the store owner hadn't seen the issue was because making one's way to a MS store is hard for most people, who likely already know MS response will be $450 - $600 and decided that it's not acceptable to them.
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Anonymous

2017-11-17T21:48:30+00:00

I HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM!!!!

It just started few months back, I did everything Microsoft tech guys asked including hard reset..still the problem persists...and i dont have a warranty anymore

The customer service are now suggesting replacement- ohh yeah., its gonna cost 450Euros..

Microsoft...u guys made the laptop without much R&D...please own your mistakes..thats what a good company do (if you dont remember).. hope that surface line up doesn't end up like surface phones

Otherwise you will loose your customers...We are the ones giving reviews..( i have already reviewed many places the same way)...

Remember-Samsung still has their name even though they pulled out their note 7.

"In a survey of 90,000 tablet and laptop owners,Consumer Reportsfound that roughly 25 percent of Surface users have encountered “problems by the end of the second year of ownership.” Those problems include freezing, unexpected shutdowns, and touchscreen response issues."( courtesy THE VERGE)..

Ohh yeah I would include screen flickering to this list..
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Anonymous

2017-11-17T09:03:31+00:00

I got mine replaced earlier this year and the new one is working fine so far, and has been posting in this thread before. As this seems to be escalating to #flickergate I just wanted to share my story, because it's strange to see that hat people here had to pay for their replacement and that there doesn't seem to be any clear policy regarding support for this issue.

Mine was a month or so Out of Warranty, but I had the flicker issue before mine went out of warranty waiting for a software fix. I'm in a country with no official Service Centre or Microsoft supplier (Malta). After finally getting in touch with the UK branch of the support, they were aware of the issue and offered me an Out of Warranty replacement.

I got mailed UPS tracking receipt to print and put on the package. UPS picked up the faulty device at my doorstep, and I got a new one delivered to my door a few days later. I didn't pay a single cent for my replacement, except for the cardboard box to send it off in.

I was amazed and really happy with the support and the speed of the change, and this is what I would expect everyone with the same issue would get.

Maybe I just got lucky or something? Who knows? But If everyone with the same issue got the same kind of service I got, I doubt this would be much of an issue, and people would be praising Microsoft for awesome support instead.

I hope Microsoft take notice and you would get your devices fixed or replaced, with the same kind of speed and service that I got.
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Anonymous

2017-11-17T05:49:23+00:00

KNOW I CANT POST
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