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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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]

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  1. Anonymous
    2018-09-14T00:00:25+00:00

    This is not my first post, I have posted about the problems several times before. This problem has hit me repeatedly, despite several replacements. I already had 2 SP4 pro (i5) replaced and the terrible problem of screen flickering consistently returned after just a few months of normal usage. I finally got a SP5 (i5) around Dec last year, since the cooling system on SP5 is fanless and different from SP4, I naively thought that the saga of screen flickering would be finally over. Guess what, even with SP5 and just normal usage with MS Office most of  the time, and always operated in environment that is air-conditioned or with fan under 30 C, the screen flickering simply hit without warning suddenly after barely 9 months of usage. 

    It really came out of the blue, it has been working well for 9 months. Last night it got very hot for no obvious reason, but I suspect the background download of Windows update was the culprit as an update became available which required me to restart the SP5. Before restarting, the screen already turned really dark appeared to be close to 0% brightness with images burnt into the screen, even though the setting still remained at my usual level of 35% brightness. Soon after restarting, the screen flickered persistently all the time. So the symptom is even worse than my past SP4 (usually started flickering after about 30 mins of usage).

    I am totally disappointed with MS, this is a very dishonest company that only specialises in making expensive paper weight. It remains silent despite the problem became viral and widely reported everywhere, and withdrawal of recommendation by Consumer Report. It only finally admitted the screen flickering is a real issue and offered half-hearted replacement with another (refurbish?) SP4, however, never honestly disclosed what the causes really are. Without the root cause identified and disclosed, how does MS expect unfortunate customers to be confident with the replacement? Many of the unfortunate customers here had their SPs replaced several times and only to be hit by the problem again and again after several months. 

    Now it is confirmed for sure that SP5 is also hit by the problem (perhaps it has been reported in previous threads). What is causing the problem? Flawed design? Cheap and unreliable components? Or perhaps both? Then what is the tangible fix to address the problem? There will be no more MS product for me, it seems to be only good at making bad and unrealiable product and then slaps customers with horrible after sales service that never address the issue causing customers to spend even more time, effort and money until giving up. Frustrating. 

    I am now desperately looking for a non-MS replacement of similar form factor (eg. Lenovo Carbon X1-Tablet / Lenovo Mii 720 / Acer Switch 7). Any advice and recommendation on these or similar products will be greatly appreciated, thanks.

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  2. Anonymous
    2018-08-30T11:28:05+00:00

    I installed Intel Extreme Utility either, I hope if I keep the temperature below 60 degree,the problem would be solved.

    However, when I want to work a bit with it an sometime it is connected to internet, it starts to be too hot,it is not reasonable.

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  3. Anonymous
    2018-08-30T10:58:54+00:00

    Thank you for the information in this reply.  I wonder if using the Intel Extreme Utility would solve the problem, without going through the pain of the exchange.  Has anyone else used this solution...letting the core temperature stay below 60 degrees celcius?

    Cam

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  4. Anonymous
    2018-08-30T09:46:09+00:00

    Hi

    I have replaced my SP4, two times. in fact, last week I have received the third SP4.

    I wish I have bought a laptop from another companies.

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