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.

0 comments
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]

Was this answer helpful?

100+ people found this answer helpful.
0 comments

2,779 additional answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2018-02-25T21:46:40+00:00

    No, I have the same problem (the screen moves up and down quickly).

    It started 10 days ago, and I too noticed that moving the mouse/having a video open stopped the problem, and having the clock displaying the seconds fixed it, but only for one day... now when it starts flickering the only way to stop it is to turn it off.

    Did you try it with the auto brightness disabled after the surface was turned off for some time and cooled down? If you disable it while it is hot and already flickering it doesn't work.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2018-02-25T20:49:13+00:00

    I think yours is a different problem, but one buried in terminology ... my guess is that your screen brightness fluctuates from low to bright in a random manner.  That is indeed flicker.

    Despite the name of the post, what  a lot of the discussion here is about is really what some techies call jitter - in our case the screen moves up and down quickly. The amount of movement gets increasingly worse and, in the early phase, stops when the display changes due to cursor movement or a video. 

    I tried taking off the auto brightness but that did not solve the problem.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2018-02-25T19:42:40+00:00

    Hi guys. I have disabled screen auto brightness in settings. This has cured the problem. Please check my older threads for the link.. This works and I have had no problems since.

    This is sort of working on my surface, now it starts flickering only after 3-4 hours of use, and by putting it on standby for around 10 minutes as soon as it starts flickering, it lasts another couple of hours without the issue.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2018-02-25T18:08:09+00:00

    Well I tried them both and its now a week. The jitter is now back in  a rage and no amount of cursor movement is stopping it. I tried to warn a friend about it this morning but he went ahead and purchased an SP4 this morning. Good luck to him!

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments