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

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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Answer accepted by question author
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
    2017-11-23T16:18:16+00:00

    I got flickering problem 2 month ago. Updated all that I can update and tried every suggestion that I can find, but nothing changed.  The flickering area was only lower part of the screen at the beginning. Now it is getting bigger and bigger. I see so many people got same problem and MS did nothing here. So angry... Finally, order a HP and going to throw this flichering-face  away.

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-11-23T11:36:44+00:00

    The whole Screen Flickers, can't see a single thing a few minutes after boot up or restart, no matter how long it's left unused. Still waiting for a solution ever since Haroon's February out cry

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-11-23T10:17:13+00:00

    I have the same problem with all you guys. I'm from Vietnam and I bought surface pro 4 from Jan 2016 in Best Buy. It's working good until Mar 2017 it's flicking and shaking a lot

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  4. Anonymous
    2017-11-23T09:10:51+00:00

    Here I am, another poor soul with the same problem. 

    Did anyone tried to revert to Windows 8/8.1 and check the issue?

    For myself the issue only started to appear a month ago, with the latest windows 10 update, before never had any issue.

    I firmly believe there must be some sort of problem with the way windows 10 handles the fan of the Pro 4 (or just uses more resources and so it heats up more). My wife and I work in the same room, on the same desk and she is using a Pro 3. Her laptop fan runs full throttle while my Pro 4 is dead silent, how that can be possible? No way the Pro 4 cpu is so optimize to not even whistle...

    I am looking for a software to manually control the fan speed.

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