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

2017-02-10T19:07:37+00:00

Hi Charline,

Just checked it and unfortunately there is no Duet Display in the list of the apps installed. I hope the developers get a fix soon because the problem is getting more aggressive and even the task manager is not able to stop it. I have been hearing that a fix is being prepared since September 2016 and Its February now. My career depends on my laptop. With all my projects on surface pro along with most of my budget spent on it, changing the device is not possible for me now else I would have done it.

Thank you for your polite reply. With no offence to you, I think the mistake is mine. With Microsoft creating windows full of problems, failing its windows phone, trying to run bing while drowning yahoo by too by purchasing it, its all my fault that I purchased a device created by them.

Anyways, Looking forward to the developers who might fix it. Hope, we don't have to wait for next 4 months or years.

Regards,

An Unlucky Customer
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Anonymous

2017-02-08T11:16:07+00:00

Hi Charline,

I wish the support team awaited "my response" Its been a week since I have replied. Unfortunately the device is now having a shaky screen even when the Task Manager is in active window. Its not stopping anymore by mouse clicks or by using keyboard. I haven't changed anything on the device.

I will be really glad if you anyone of you just pretend to care for the problem. I am also happy to smash the device out of frustrations the against the face of the Surface team. Your developers should be ashamed. And your marketing team should have enough guts to warn new buyers against the problem.
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Anonymous

2017-01-20T13:40:56+00:00

Surface Support team is going to call me this week, I have already provided the necessary details. Hope they will be able to figure out the problem and fix it ASAP. I will keep this thread updated with the details from the surface support team here.
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Anonymous

2017-02-14T02:27:12+00:00

Hi Kevnt,

Exactly same issue here. Seems to be worse when the device heats up and has become progressively worse to the point where I have to use an external display via the dock to get any work done. If you hover the mouse over the display then it is ok, but as soon as I leave it idle it then blurrs). After a couple of hours of remote login by Microsoft today I was informed it was a hardware issue. (I had previously tried all recommendations in this thread and other forums such as reinstalling drivers, deleting 3rd party apps, reset etc). So Microsoft will now replace the devise (mine is under warranty). I am hopeful that a new device will not have the same issues, but given the amount of people experiencing it I am not confident. I intend to repost once I have my new machine back to see if the problem arises again.

My suggestion to anyone with this problem, don't waste your time searching for fixes. It is a hardware issue and the machine needs to be replaced.
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