Is Flickering Brightness Still an Issue on Surface 5 (Surface Laptop)

[Floswen]

Hi everyone,

I was a Surface Pro 4 owner back in the early days, and I had to give up on it because of the flickering brightness when using it in a dark room. It was a dealbreaker for me, and I had to leave my Sp4 for an iPad + Mac.

For those who aren't aware of the problem, here is a link : Surface pro 4 screen flickering

So here is my question : Does Flickering Brightness issue has been addressed, or is it still present on the surface 5? If someone wants to try, it is very easy, go in a dark room, without any light at all, then set the brightness to 0%, then wait a few minutes.

Thanks guys.

 

[sharpuser]

There is no Surface 5, so you may mean Surface Pro?
Are you asking because you are interested in buying?

 

[Floswen]

Obviously I mean Surface Pro (2017), and yes, I am very interested in the Surface concept, but very annoyed by this issue.

I could have bought a Sp4, but apparently, the flickering is still here, even on the last versions of Sp4.

 

[convergent]

Why would you want to set the brightness to zero in a dark room?

I have not noticed anything I'd call flickering. I have notice the brightness changes in a few cases consistently for no apparent reason; like when I'm in tablet mode, hit start, and then select "all programs". It dims. My understanding is this is something related to the autobrightness in the Intel drivers. Its not a huge issue; just hopefully it will get fixed.

I'll try to remember to try what you said when I'm in a dark room the next time.

 

[Floswen]

Hey Mike,

It is because I read a lot of comics in my bed. Or Newspaper. Or anything to get me to sleep actualy. And I don't want to wear my computer glasses like I am at the office

 

[sharpuser]

I have been trying to get my Surface Book to flicker by turning the brightness to just about black. No flicker.

So I wonder if the problem you experienced was battery-saving mode kicking in, sleep kicking in, or an automatic brightness control issue.

 

[Floswen]

Thanks Sharp,

Everything was disabled, I spent so much time trying to resolve this issue, it was insane. Some users reported that disabling Hyper V worked for them, but no luck for me. My opinion is the Skylake processor wasn't working properly.

That said, some users are reporting this same issue on Sp4 bought at this very moment, and fully updated, this is why I ask if the issue is still affecting the new kaby lake Surface Pro.

 

[LeoPheonix]

I actually bought the new surface (i7,16GB,512) moving from a SP3.

I picked up my surface yesterday along with a surface laptop for my wife. Mu Surface Pro was very obviously flickering as I went through the setup process. It was really a rapid fluctuation in brightness rather than flickering but it was noticeable along with significant light bleed across the bottom.

I returned the unit back to the store and they gave me a replacement straight away. The replacement is superb and looks better than both my SP3 and the Surface laptop.

In short I think you should be fine, but if not you have the 30 day return period.

 

[Holly]

I bought the Surface Pro 2017 3 weeks ago, and mine is flickering as well. It's noticeable even in a lighted room. I have been ill and had company most of the time since I bought it, so haven't installed more than a few very basic and necessary programs. (e.g., no extra AV)

I don't want to go through the hassle of returning it, if it's a widespread problem that will be fixable with an update. But is that likely?

I've seen others experiencing the problem, but apparently not all, which makes me wonder.

Will I be forced to get a refurbished one, or will they give me a new one? I purchased it at Best Buy and had to wait a few days for it.

 

[convergent]

I have no flickering on mine.

 

[Holly]

I called Best Buy and the manager said I can return it for a new one tomorrow, even though I'm a little past my 2 week return window.

I just did a full wipe /reset to factory state. It took less than an hour.

When finished, it automatically started into a new setup, and I went ahead, skipping what I could. I'm going to watch the screen to be sure it wasn't caused by anything software or settings related.

2 things FTR:

The flickering only happened while on battery power.

I also occasionally lost the ability to adjust the light %. None of the troubleshooting fixed that. Rebooting did.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk

 

[Holly]

More FTR: I have not seen flickering since I did the full reset to factory state.

I spent an hour playing solitaire - before any internet connection, updates, connecting mouse, etc.

Then I connected my Logitech ultrathin mouse. Used windows default driver - no Logitech software.

Nothing for another hour. Connected to internet. Running windows updates now.

So far, still no flickering, on any power or light setting.

I'll keep posting as I go, in case it helps anyone else in the future.

If anyone has suggestions, please let me know. I need to return this tomorrow if it's a hardware issue. I'm assuming it isn't, if I don't get flickering until I install something I had before.

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