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
    2018-07-26T20:34:24+00:00

    I have mentioned before that when I touch the screen, the flickering stops but unfortunately, now it doesn't work. It is a serious problem with Surface Pro 4. I regret to pay 2000 euros, it doesn't worth.

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  2. Anonymous
    2018-07-26T20:24:11+00:00

    I have been following this thread for eight months. 1.5 years is the average of most SF 4 users. I think some hook their SP 4 to a monitor to avoid the flickering.

    Neither I (SP 4) nor my friend (Surface Book) ever hooked it to anything. I only used SF 4 while traveling (just to check email and handle documents). So the flickering came up after 1.9 years. Flickering alone already makes the laptop useless. You should read the earlier posts. Some posters have more scientific reasons for it (the heat issue, the magnet,...). Also, you should see how MS deals with them. (I dont want to spend the time and effort to uninstall/install and store files. For MS and the class act, I dont exist.)

    That's all.

    XXX  MICROSOFT

    I have a Surface Book 2...same problem?

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  3. Anonymous
    2018-07-26T20:23:24+00:00

    The flickering problem started after 1.5 years for most of us (depending on how much you use). For the new Surface Go, the problem may only appears after 2 years! My friend's keyboard of Surface Book also stopped working after 1.3 years and it costs $600 for any fix!

    Is this problem only for hooking up these computers to a monitor? As stated above, I just bought a surface book 2 but am now not planning on hooking it up to a monitor, just using it by itself.  Are there other problems that relate to flickering or stopping working all together after 1.5 years?  This is a very expensive laptop to have to deal with the potential of that later...please advise.

    Hope u also purchased an extended warranty which is around $150 and well worth the price since it extends the warranty an additional year and includes accidental breakage.

    If you haven't there may still be time to purchase it!

    That's great advice but you didn't answer my question....see above.

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  4. Anonymous
    2018-07-26T19:53:31+00:00

    I ahve same experience like you, when I touch the screen the flickering stops or when I tap the screen when it flikers. But, I found that when I connect to internet, it flickers more that other times.

    Also, when I use the internet of my mobile, it flickers.

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