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
    2017-04-24T20:32:21+00:00

    I was also convinced that it was temperature related but I'm also doubting that.

    In the case of my first device the shaking onset similarly to the rest of reports: after a few hours of use the shaking would start (presumably after it the device heated up) and progressively get worse with longer use.

    This case (my 2nd device) however is different.. almost reversed. The shaking starts the worst from cold boot and the longer I use it would slowly go away. If I put it to sleep/ hibernate for a few hours the shaking would come back. The longer its off the longer it seems to take to go away.

    I guess this is better than the first instance but still not acceptable. Also gives me hope it might be a fixable firmware issue rather than a hardware component gone bad.

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-04-24T18:55:06+00:00

    I made a test today. I used my sp4 for 6 hours (almost just Excel and Chrome) with no problem. I was checking the computer temperature with CPUID Hardware Monitor and all day long the temperature ranged form 30 to 45 (Celsius). Now with a temperature of 35 the screen started shaking. I really thought that it was a temperature issue, but with this test I not sure anymore. 

    Anyone with another computer (not surface) is having similar problem? Anyone tried to downgrade to Windows 8?

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-04-24T09:36:52+00:00

    I’m still experiencing this issue, but over the weekend it became increasingly worse when using my SP4 outside – to the point where not even a moving video would ease the symptom and the screen was shaking so badly it was unusable. The main reason for this difference would be heat – it was a hot day (by UK’s standards for April!) and clearly the SP4 could not cope with the sun on the device for any length of time. This was not an issue the previous summer where temps were 12 degrees hotter!

    Has a recent firmware update accidentally reduced the cooling capabilities of the appliance? Are there long-term cooling issues with the tablet?

    I’m still awaiting an official response from MS support who are looking into the issues after I got the Surface UK twitter account to pass on my details. Silence is not helping matters here – if I need a replacement device, I’m almost certainly not considering a Surface in the future unless MS somehow change this around. Too many issues with my old SP2 and SP4 now.

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  4. Anonymous
    2017-04-23T23:20:17+00:00

    Sorry to hear that the shaking came back.

    The service rep that handled my first replacement guaranteed me the same thing, that it should not come back on the replacement.

    Not only was I disappointed in the quality of the replacement (it has terrible light bleeding that my first didn't), but the shaking also came back on the second within 2 months.

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