Surface Pro 4, Screen Flickering, Shaking

Anonymous

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:

A video being played in browser
If I keep the touch screen busy by either taping it or keeping a finger on it
If I use the touchpad
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***

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.***

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

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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2,779 additional answers

Anonymous

2019-11-07T16:37:36+00:00

I'm not sure what you can do after the 3yr date, as mine was under that time
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Anonymous

2019-11-07T07:10:21+00:00

I AM TWO MONTHS PAST 3 YEARS ON THE WARRANTY TRYING TO REGISTER FOR THE MS SURFACE PRO FLICKER FIX. THE FLICKER BEGAN MILDY BEFORE I KNEW IT WAS A THING SEVERAL MONTHS AGO AND IT IS ONLY NOW BECOMING A REAL PROBLEM. I JUST FOUND OUT ABOUT THE FIX. GIVEN IT STARTED WITHIN THE 3 YEAR WARRANTY WINDOW, WHAT CAN IT DO TO GET HELP WITH THIS PROBLEM..?
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Anonymous

2019-10-28T21:10:35+00:00

See Barb's response above. It's a hardware issue. There is nothing you can do to stop it. See the comment below yours regarding keeping it cool to minimize the flickering. If you owned the machine for less than three years you can get a refurbished replacement, which will probably eventually flicker also.
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Anonymous

2019-10-28T15:37:17+00:00

After having this flickering for several years now, there is only one solution to use your sp4: Keep it cool!

So click on the Battery icon in the Taskbar and set the Powermode (plugged in) to 'Recommended' (to the far left). Then set the Brightness to the lowest possible setting...

I have a fast Core i7 processor in my sp4, but its power is never used....
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