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
    2018-01-26T06:36:16+00:00

    Yes, the task manager method works. Then I realized as long as there's something keeps changing (text or graphic like the task manager shows), the screen stops flickering. So I installed "7+ taskbar tweaker beta" on my SP4 and chose to show second on the clock on the taskbar. It works. No more task manager needed and no more flickering. Theoretically, it didn't fix the flicking issue. But as long as you keep "7+ taskbar tweaker beta" running in the background (and showing the second on the taskbar clock), no more flickering.

    7+ taskbar tweaker beta

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  2. Anonymous
    2018-01-26T05:06:15+00:00

    1 year and 5 months using my Surface Pro 4 with no problems until a heavy Windows update (I think it's the Fall update) installed and then the screen flickering and shaking started to occur when CPU is on medium/high usage, like playing a video in browser or Steam games. For me, I think this is software issue caused by update and also could be hardware heating issue.

    My warranty is expired and Microsoft is not willing to recall this product. ($CAD2300 for what?)

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  3. Anonymous
    2018-01-25T18:26:27+00:00

    So, as I have touched on earlier I've noticed that the flickering will stop when something on the screen is animated. Of course as you all know the flicker is very annoying. 

    Therefore I created an app that opens a small window (always on top) that fades in and out by changing its opacity. 

    I call it FlickerKiller. It was created using Visual Studio 2017. It is a winforms project. I will provide a link to my github. There you can review the code, download the repo and build the exe yourselves, or simply download the FlickerKiller.exe. Please read the README.txt.

    I have only just start using it. And so far it is doing what it was intended to. 

    I hope it will be of some use to someone out there.

    Enjoy!

    And to Microsoft. Isn't it time that you respond to the +1200 comments on this thread? This is not an isolated issue. And, I personally, am not anymore recommending anyone to buy a Surface Pro (4).

    /Fabricio

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  4. Anonymous
    2018-01-25T16:34:05+00:00

    me too. I love my surface but can say I would buy another after this and so may Surface users are having this issue.

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