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
    2018-02-25T10:37:43+00:00

    Underlying issue has still not been resolved so changing the cursour for an animated isn't acceptable. 

    However - So far this morning I've been playing a range of YouTube videos in Google Chrome with the animated cursor towards the top of the screen and I've had no problem / No fan noise.

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  2. Anonymous
    2018-02-25T09:02:03+00:00

    As stated many many times in this thread, this is not a solution, just like adding seconds to the system clock, it only temporarily masks the issue.

    This is a hardware problem that appears when the device becomes warm / hot. No software updates or patches will fix this problem.

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  3. Anonymous
    2018-02-25T08:38:06+00:00

    Thanks Man,

    It does help a bit( flickering stops but the performance drops).

    However, as in previous thread that it's a hardware problem( of which it is a heat dissipation issue which causes the flickering issue).

    I am a bit concerned if I change the mouse to an animated one, would it cause overheating/ structural damage to the computer?

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  4. Anonymous
    2018-02-24T15:43:20+00:00

    Animated cursor works for me ... using for the past week. I tried enabling the seconds taskbar clock display but that works (well) unless the taskbar clock is hidden - as in a PPT presentation, for example. Animated cursor works in all scenarios, including PPT presentation but you must ensure that you set the pointer to "Visible" in the application.  The default is "Automatic" which means that the cursor is hidden after a few seconds of inactivity. 

    NOTE: TodFlak reported last week that all of these superficial patches ultimately stop working after a while. So its a wait and see game.

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