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.

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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
    2018-03-14T16:09:49+00:00

    Need to install the driver manually to force it onto the surface, good guide:

    https://www.reddit.com/r/Surface/comments/48swyo/how\_to\_install\_the\_most\_recent\_intel\_graphics/

    Did this on my surface 4 i5, so it now have the very latest official intel drivers. Still flickering :(

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  2. Anonymous
    2018-03-14T13:13:00+00:00

    I I will try to download the recommended version to see what happens.

    I tried installing these drivers myself and it just gives an error that the driver is not verified for my system.

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  3. Anonymous
    2018-03-14T03:31:41+00:00

    Noting this ... but my driver is dated 9th March 2018. Driver version 21.20.16.4627. 

    It seems to depend on which video card you have. I note comments on another MS blog (see screenshots) where people are having problems with video drivers on SP4 (Just scratch the Surface (pun) and you'll find plenty of problems, it seems).  Makes me wonder if wrong drivers could also be part of the flickering problem.  Mine is an Intel Iris Graphics 540 but others seem to have different drivers.  I have the 4627 driver as shown in the screenshot but that is not the recommended Inter driver (also see screenshot).  I will try to download the recommended version to see what happens.

     

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  4. Anonymous
    2018-03-14T03:30:39+00:00

    MS seems to be grabbing at straws, but I have shut it down and reinstalled twice since the changes and nothing. I bought it as is and this seems to have stopped it so hopefully it sticks.

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