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
    2017-12-04T12:49:38+00:00

    I had FB message them my issue, waiting for reply, and send my story to flickergate.com too. 

    If they din't reply or don't want to replace for free, then I am done with this, will move on to different brand except MS product... at least I still got a 6 year old IPAD 2 functioning for the moment LOL

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-12-04T12:11:24+00:00

    on microsoft homepage under Contact Us > Contact Microsoft Support , go through some steps will open a "chat" page, have to wait some time for queueing to chat with their customer support staff.

    then i followed two steps suggest by the staff which are:

    1)Disable the HyperV

    2)Disable two services : Windows Error Reporting Service and Problem Report and Solutions Control Panel Support.

    but the flickering \ shaking still there...

    then when talking about replacement, there is no free replacement, and nothing they can do

    Try not to go to Microsoft webpage for online support/help.

    What I did was, FB message them, and received an email from the helpful guy, and sometimes the guy is not replying me in 3 days or so, I then FB message them again, till the guy offered me, like i said twice, duration nearly a month of the troubleshooting steps/process.

    Additionally, during that period, i did always post the link of this issue, every time their FB (Surface & Microsoft Malaysia) got posted any new/existing hardware's promotion and such (not their software's promotion)

    You should try, never try never know. Good luck mate.

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-12-04T11:39:50+00:00

    yes we should warn people on purchasing MS product! NO MORE MS PRODUCT!

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  4. Anonymous
    2017-12-04T11:37:35+00:00

    guess which one is the 6 year old IPAD 2?

    LoL. I wish there is a way to tag Apple on this thread. Really embarrassing Microsoft!!!

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