Surface Pro 7 flickers with every external monitor

Anonymous
2019-12-19T15:19:53+00:00

When I connect an external display while the Surface is already turned on, the external display is flickering. When I restart the Surface with the external monitor already attached everything works fine. Disconnecting the Surface then and reconnecting

  • same problem. The flickering appears with different monitors, different cables and with different connectors (Surface Dock or USB-C). I have the 16 GB, i7 Version of the Surface 7 with an up to date OS.
Surface | Surface Pro | Display and screen

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  1. Anonymous
    2020-05-17T03:16:08+00:00

    I have the same problem with my SP7 i5. In my case after restart the issue is solved, but it seems that this would be a problem.

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  2. Anonymous
    2020-05-16T12:31:06+00:00

    I have some issue before update to version 2004. I had a Apple USB C adapter plug to TV to watch Netflix near after an hours TV screen has flicker, but it's happened very randomly.

    Today, I got anther flicker issue from Surface Pro 7 itself. I tried reinstall display driver, upgrade to latest windows with no luck. I did force shutdown and I works ok now. I guess it's Intel driver issue between display and chips.

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  3. Anonymous
    2020-04-28T20:44:49+00:00

    So Theo,

    I received my SP7 warranty replacement and so far so good. i have a HP z27n G2 monitor connected with a monoprice usb-c to usb-c cable. i have even woken the surface up while connected and the monitor came back on without flickering. fingers crossed. monitor is 2736x1824 at 60hz. 

    interesting though is that when i was setting up warranty replacement and updating. there were a lot of Intel updates and a windows update from 4/2020. I dont remember any notifications on my former SP7 about Intel updates.

    Lets see, hoping this switch out did the trick.

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  4. Anonymous
    2020-04-28T07:17:33+00:00

    I'm in exactly the same situation. I've noticed that the USB-C hub ( in my case inside the monitor) is reconnecting and disconnecting from the surface all the time, like reaching a timeout. One time in 50 or 60 trials it finally connects.

    Therefore, I conclude it's a software or firmware issue of the surface USB-C port.

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  5. Anonymous
    2020-04-27T13:42:47+00:00

    Thanks for posting. I am awaiting a warranty replacement for SP7 after several calls to MS tech support they offered no solution other than to replace. I, like all of you have had issues with any and every external monitor configuration. From surface dock to usbc. Passive cables to active cables. I even switched/bought new HP monitor. I have not tried the moshi adapter. Amazon might disown me if i buy another cable or adapter and return a day later.

    Is Microsoft really going to not fix this issue and lose all loyal former happy SP4 users that need extetnal monitor?

    Time will tell. 

    Questions, 1. has anyone had success by having SP7 plugged into different outlet than monitor? The flickering to me sometimes seems like a short or  voltagecontrol issue. 2. Does surface pro x or surface laptop have same issue?

    Thanks all for sharing your psin and aggravation.

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