How do I fix my screen glitching?

Question

I purchased my Microsoft surface pro 7 three and a half years ago. I used it maybe 6 times before now but just now is when the screen started glitching. My computer is updated to the latest update so I'm not sure what could be the issue. The screen will glitch for a while, and nothing will help to the point it won't let me do anything but turn my computer off. And then the next day it will be fine. However, I use this computer for school, and it keeps glitching out of nowhere so I can't have this unreliability. I just don't know if there is a problem with the software or if there's anything I can do to fix it?

***Moved from Microsoft Edge / All other issues / Windows 11***

Answer 1

Hi Bri795,

Thank you for reaching Microsoft Community. I understand that you're experiencing issues with your Surface Pro 7's and how important it is to sort this out considering that the device is need for school.

I would like to ask a few questions on this for us also to further isolate on the issue:

• What Windows version, edition and OS build is currently installed on your Surface? To check, go to Windows Settings > System > About then see under Windows specifications.
• Whenever the device starts glitching, what do you see on the screen? Is there any error message or it's just that the device freezes?
• Does it occur immediately when turning the device on or the device would work fine for a while then issue occurs?
• How about any white bubbles, are there any white bubbles showing on the screen?
• Does the glitch occur when you are running specific applications, or it just happens random where it also happens even when there are no applications running?

To start troubleshooting, kindly try first checking for the Surface drivers' health through the Surface app then run the Surface Diagnostic Toolkit on the device to run some system checks and repairs. See this page for reference: Fix common Surface problems using the Surface app and Surface Diagnostic Toolkit - Microsoft Support. After running the tool, kindly observe if still the issue persists.

Let me know how it goes and we may recommend other troubleshooting steps once we have received your responses to the questions above or if we need you to refer to the support that suits your problem. We will be sure to let you know in advance so that you save time.

Kind regards,

Marrion

Answer 2

I have the Windows 11 Home edition, 22H2 version, and 22621.1778 OS build. My device will start glitching, but no error messages pop up. There will be black thin lines that are flickering at the very top of the screen, and at the very corners of the screen it's orange. My computer starts glitching at any time, it's not very predictable. There are also no white bubbles, and my computer will glitch whether I'm running or not running any applications. It seems my computer is fine and working one day but the next day it looks like I just might have to get a new computer. I have tried many troubleshooting tips but none of them have worked because the glitching doesn't go away. Thank you for your help.

Answer 3

Hi Bri795,

Thank you for the response. I'm sorry but yes, it seems that the issue on the device is already a hardware issue. We could test this if the glitch also occurs on the UEFI environment of the device though. Please try booting the device to its UEFI page then observe if the glitch would still occur while you are on the UEFI environment. Follow the steps provided here on how to get to the UEFI page: How to use Surface UEFI - Microsoft Support. Once you are on the UEFI page, just observe the device for a while if the glitch would also occur. After observing, just select Exit > Restart now then let me know how it goes.

If the glitch also occurs on the UEFI page, we could then isolate that the issue is already a hardware issue, and I would recommend reaching out to our live support for options available and for further assistance. You may reach them through these steps below:

1. Go to Contact Us - Microsoft Support
2. Choose how you would like to get support for your Surface device.
3. Type in the problem you need help with.
4. Look at any available solutions offered and select Contact Support.

However, if in case the issue does not occur on the UEFI environment, it is possible that the issue may just be due to a software on the device, and I would suggest that we procced in doing a clean installation of Windows on the device through USB Recovery. This option will reimage the entire device and reload Windows including the drivers and firmware. It is the most complete form of Reset and it will wipe out everything on the device. You will need also a 16GB/32GB of flash drive that must be formatted into FAT32 prior to downloading the Recovery Image. See the steps below for guidance.

How to Download, Create and Use a USB recovery drive

To download the Recovery Image:

• You'll need another working device running on Windows.

1. Visit the page to Download the recovery image for your Surface
2. Sign in with your Microsoft Account
3. From the list of Surface devices available, select the device that you need a recovery image for
   Please note that while you will only be presented with devices that are currently registered on your account, you will also be presented with the option to get an image for a different type of device. If you try to use this option, you will be prompted to enter the serial number for that device
4. Download the recovery image using the button on the page
5. When the download bar pops up at the bottom of your screen, save the file in a location you will be able to find it.

 Format USB Drive:

• Note: Formatting a recovery drive will erase anything that is already stored on your USB drive. Make sure to transfer any important data from your USB drive to another storage device before using it to create a Surface USB recovery drive.

1. Insert your USB drive into the USB port of your PC.
2. From the desktop, open File Explorer
3. Tap and hold or right-click on the USB drive and choose Format
4. Select FAT32 as the file system and enter a Volume label to name the USB drive, such as RECOVERY, and then tap or click Start
5. Tap or click OK to erase the contents of the USB drive
6. Tap or click OK when the format is complete

Create a recovery drive:

1. On your Surface or PC, open recovery image that you downloaded by double-clicking it or right click then select Extract and then Extract all.
2. Select the USB drive you formatted earlier for the location and click Extract.

Use a USB recovery drive to reset your Surface:

1. Shutdown the Surface
2. Insert the USB recovery drive into the USB port
3. Press and hold the volume-down (-) rocker
4. Press and release the power button
5. When the Surface logo appears, release the volume-down (-) rocker
6. Surface will start the recovery software on the USB recovery drive
7. When prompted, choose your language options and keyboard layout
8. Select Troubleshoot
9. Select Recover from a Drive. Choose Remove Everything and Fully Clean the Drive. Recovering this PC.
10. If prompted, select Repartition the drives
11. If prompted for BitLocker Key, tap Skip this Drive

Kind regards,
Marrion

Answer 4

Hi Bri795,

We haven't heard from you, so we assume that your issue has already been resolved. We will not be monitoring this thread moving forward so, if you need further assistance, please create a new thread to discuss these concerns by clicking this link: Create a new question or start a discussion (microsoft.com)

Thank you for understanding. 

Kind regards,
Marrion