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
    2018-03-12T20:58:40+00:00

    Sadly, my surface is also flickering or ghosting the windows now....and the warrantly has just run out.

    What makes me very suspicious that this is a design flaw of the device is this test......

    When flickering / ghosting begins:

    1. Connect display port to an external monitor with screen duplication set
    2. Connect display port to an external monitor with screen extend set

    You will see with duplication the flickering is also on the external monitor. With extend set you get a perfectly good second desktop with no flicker while the surface screen is still flickering away :|

    So this proves that the graphics hardware works no problems on an external monitor and has no fault there.... come on Microsoft pull the finger out!

    Generally, this has not been my experience.  Even when the SP4 is flickering wildly (see image 1) the external monitor on Duplication is stable (see Image 2).  I will test it on Extension when flickering occurs again (usually after a few hours of use).  The only time I had a problem with Duplication was once when playing a video on the SP and some slight flickering appeared in the video on the external monitor but not on the rest of the monitor screen.

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  2. Anonymous
    2018-03-12T20:43:23+00:00

    Go here and contact these lawyers:

    http://www.classlawdc.com/2018/02/06/microsoft-surface-pro-4-class-action-investigation/

    If they have enough people, they may attempt to do something to call Microsoft's attention.

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  3. Anonymous
    2018-03-12T14:46:47+00:00

    Sadly, my surface is also flickering or ghosting the windows now....and the warrantly has just run out.

    What makes me very suspicious that this is a design flaw of the device is this test......

    When flickering / ghosting begins:

    1. Connect display port to an external monitor with screen duplication set
    2. Connect display port to an external monitor with screen extend set

    You will see with duplication the flickering is also on the external monitor. With extend set you get a perfectly good second desktop with no flicker while the surface screen is still flickering away :|

    So this proves that the graphics hardware works no problems on an external monitor and has no fault there.... come on Microsoft pull the finger out!

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  4. Anonymous
    2018-03-12T10:31:42+00:00

    Just to speak up that I have the same issue. It appeared after the warranty expiration and the only thing I did differently before it first started was connecting an external screen I had not connected before.

    Is there any solution? I am not paying 29 dollars for a phone call just to learn my issue is not fixable or that I need to pay hundreds of dollars for a replacement. Is it even worth opening a ticket with Microsoft? Thank you.

    Unfortunately there is no solution  it is a hardware problem.

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