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
    2020-04-20T00:04:02+00:00

    I have a SP4 that 'was' suffering the flickering issue. It was out of the three year warranty period so I shelved it and purchased a new SP6. Since I'm now working from home I dug out the flickering SP4 and set it up as my work PC, through a Surface Dock and an external monitor (Dell 24"). The thing is, I've not seen the flickering using this setup.

    I 'extend' the display across both screens, so it's not that I'm not using the SP4 screen, I still am. I also had and still use the tweak that displays the clock in seconds, so that the screen is being refreshed constantly. 

    Interested to hear if this works for others?

    (Of course the firmware and other updates have been applied since I dug it out, so it could be other things that have resolved the issue, and not the extended display. Or the power supply from the dock is different to the original power supply?))

    [EDIT: the flickering has reappeared so this is not a viable workaround, however external monitor is still ok and does not flicker, so when it starts I show the display only on the external monitor]

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  2. Anonymous
    2020-04-19T12:16:24+00:00

    i replaced my sp4 with about 2 years warranty left. My replacement SP4 came with 1 year warranty and guess what, the sceen flicker came back. Now my replaced SP4 has run out of warranty, but my original SP4 warranty is still valid, expires end of May 2020.

    Microsoft is giving me all sort of excuses not to replace my SP4. They should honour my warranty of 3 years with my first SP4, coz thats what i paid for! 

    Where else can we complaint??

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  3. Anonymous
    2020-04-19T11:17:08+00:00

    Thank you Helene,

    well it is exactly 3 years and 2 months for me now... si I’m our of luck. Your reply helped a lot.

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  4. Anonymous
    2020-04-19T07:13:54+00:00

    Hello Stefan,

    Sorry to hear you too have been experiencing problems. If your Surface is still within the extended 3 year warranty and it is confirmed that it is the known hardware problem/defect that's at fault (cold soldering issue) Microsoft will replace it for free.  If the warranty has expired i.e. over 3 years sadly MS have declined offering a replacement. In my  case it was 3 years and 2 months, and all they've offered is for me to purchase a S5 as a replacement for £568 which is outrageous. So sadly I don't think there is anything you can do. 😕

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