Surface Pro Screen flicker issue.

Question

A little over two years ago I bought my first Surface Pro, and after about a year of usage, I started noticing this screen flicker problem.It's widely reported with&nbsp;thousands of threads and reports of screens flickering on surface pro products. Most reports mention heat as a factor and cooling it down can sometimes reduce the flicker.Here is a link to a 2000 post long thread just about this issue.https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/forum/surfpro4-surfdrivers/surface-pro-4-screen-flickering-shacking/570165cb-50a0-4d71-bcb1-310ddd869d1d?rtAction=1517820905738I just got my 2nd replacement device last month. And noticed flicker again only 1 month after I got the new one. This time there is no idle flicker.... for now at least. And it only flickers when the device get hot. When gaming or doing some other heavy task. Luckily I've always been under warranty when this problem occurred so I've been getting my device replaced a few times now, but it's getting a bit tedious.My first one (my original purchase) got flickering after about a year. Idle flicker when nothing was moving.My second (replacement device) got flickering about 8 months after I got it. Idle flicker and constant flicker under heavy load.My third (the latest one) got flickering while gaming after just 1 month. So far only under heavy load.I'm starting to think that ALL Surface devices are defective. Some people just don't get the problem because their device never really get hot enough to cause any damage. It seems that Surface Pro's can't handle heat very well at all, and is not suitable for any heavy tasks, gaming, or anything else that might cause it to get hot.&nbsp;Since some people are reporting it even on new models like Surface Pro 2017 it seems they have not fixed the issue. And probably won't be fixed any time soon, as this is probably an engineering or design flaw, that causes some chip to be unstable and damaged due to heat.It seems the only fix is to downclock your surface device to keep it from not getting hot enough to cause the damage in the first place, and don't use it for any heavy tasks.Some people that don't use the device for any heavy tasks still report this issue so it's not the CPU/GPU getting too hot, but rather this little part here.
Even on an idle machine with low CPU temps touching the lower part of the screen with the back of your hand this area is the hottest part. And is probably housing the chips that get unstable due to heat.Replacing the LCD will fix the flicker issue, so It seems like chips related to the LCD will get damaged over time. Weather it be from the heat produced by the device itself or external heat, as there is no active or passive cooling for any of the chips related to the LCD screen.If there's any engineers on this forum, place fix this issue in future devices. It's a great device and the CPU/GPU will get cool enough even under heavy load, but the LCD must chips have been overlooked.

ricard jensen · Answer

JeremyChapmanMSFTNydia CavazosIs there any engineers on this forum that can confirm that this is an LCD heat problem, and if there's any know fix, or is it being fixed for future devices?

nydia cavazos · Answer

Hi Ricard,
The best way to get ahold of the latest on this topic is contacting Surface Support:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/products/surface-devices
&nbsp;
Hope this helps,
Nydia

fabian b · Answer

I tried it - but contacting the support is not possible (in germany) as my guarantee has passed.
&nbsp;
Could the problem perhaps be caused by the fan (some part of the elctronics that starts or controlls the fan)? Some kind of emc problem?

shashwatk · Answer

Screen flickering that as per my own experience is when the screen blinks/runs random color vertical or horizontal lines or shows double.

To remove please follow the below steps in a particular manner:

1. restart the surface pro 3 in safe mode. (i hope everyone know how to do that if not please ask me.)

2. run task manager and go to the services tab.

3. search for windows error reporting and problem reporting and solution - disable both of these services, basically, we are disabling them from restarting manually or by any trigger.

4. now go to settings > update and security > windows insider program here join the insider program and choose an option from the drop-down that says it will give you beta os updates.

5. now after this wait a little as registration will take a while.

6. check update now you will see few security patches and one os file.

7. after the update please restart the system.

8. now the system will restart normally, go to device manager see under display driver and uninstall the driver > note that surface pro 3 driver is Intel HD graphics 20.19.15.4568 (this is the latest driver according to Microsoft).

9. So uninstall and delete that driver, the system will put you in the generic driver and here is the big secret you will see that flickering will stop as soon as the driver is changed.

10. Goto this link (https://drivers.softpedia.com/get/GRAPHICS-BOARD/INTEL/Intel-HD-Graphics-Driver-20-19-15-4568-Beta-64-bit.shtml) and download this particular driver and notice it is same as previous but this is a beta version of same.

11. Install the above driver and see the magic.

Shutdown the machine and let it sit for a while.

Now you will never face those nasty flicks.

zionicplaz · Answer

Ricard Jensen&nbsp;Before you read i just want to make this clear i live in Florida,Sounds like you live Somewhere were theirs no air conditioning for all of Ur previous surfaces to just fail when gaming or idle.So Basically I Teared The Surface Pro apart and replaced the thermal pasted and it did some benchmarks and stressed the system, And even through all the tests the fan doesnt even kick in It doesn't even get warm which is a good thing Tho when benchmarked it still flickers so your&nbsp;assumption of the screen being an issue isn't true if&nbsp;the motherboard possibly couldnt heat up the screen/the chips on the screen (i have tested ur theory by leaving the Surface open) It could be the cpus fault for the flickering, over time the solder balls gets cracked from underneath And looses connection To the Motherboard Causeing (flickering/scramble) Probably a reflow could fix the problem but if thats the case why doesn`tscreen captures not show the flickering..&nbsp;Seems weird Altough ive heard some ppl say that When using an external monitor it doesnt show the flicker on there monitors which is weird..not have tested it yetCould be an easy fix its just weird why no one is taking actions to fix there 1500$ Laptop Investment that they spent there hard earn money Instead of leaving there surface in a fridge.

Forum Discussion

Surface Pro Screen flicker issue.

10 Replies

Resources