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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  2. Anonymous
    2019-04-05T08:11:01+00:00

    I am now on my second Surface Pro 4

    2 weeks into my second device and screen flicker on this machine now as well

    These faulty devices should be recalled and replaced :-<

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  3. Anonymous
    2019-04-04T21:37:38+00:00

    Dear All,

    I have written before.  I think the three year limit is arbitrary and insufficient.  Moreover, there should be compensation for loss of time and installed software.  The time is worth more than the machine, quite frankly.  If somebody files a class action suit, I would love to participate.

    I do have a technical hint, though not a solution, however.  I am pretty sure that the flickering is associated with the fan in the machine going full blast because of overheating.  I can feel the Surface very hot, humming, and vibrating a little.   If you look at your usage using Task Manager (control-alt-delete) you will find that if you have chrome, it is consuming a lot of memory and usage.  From reading in the internet (maybe even in this forum) I found that each open tab in chrome consumes power, I think because chrome is going from tab to tab to check on content.  I also found that there is a free software called The Great Suspender which makes each tab go to sleep after a predetermined period.  I set mine to just 2 min.  After using this, I found that the flickering was significantly reduced.  You get back usage of the tab by just clicking on the refresh curved arrow on the top left of your screen.  Please let me know if this is useful!

    Ted

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  4. Anonymous
    2019-04-04T19:46:08+00:00

    Sir/Madam, I bought my SP 4 in Dec 15. I looked after it so well that even now it was as good as new. But a week ago the lower part of the screen started flickering and now with time the whole screen trembles off and on. It all starts after about half an hours use. Tried all sorts of driver updates etc but no avail. Even had to reset my SP which is painful but didn't help. External monitor works fine so it is the screen issue. I saw in your forum that 3 years was the limit. Seems fair but for people like us who kept good care for it hoping that it would give them the 4th year before they have to buy a new one this is disappointing. I bought it from LA, USA and am now in Pakistan. I have to buy a new latop but cant trade this one in even because its faulty . They advise to keep it away from any magnetic thing. The most magnetic thing is the bottom of laptop and keyboard. Ive always thought that my next upgrade will be a new surface pro but after this magnet and lower screen problem with top half of screen projecting in the lower one I'd be very afraid. Can Microsoft consider any thing further here. They claim that it happened to very few machines so it should not be a problem for MS to compensate a little for people slightly over 3 years because we have gone down from top to zero suddenly. I can send my build and hardware numbers if MS is interested. 

    Thanks

    Dr K. Mirza

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