Eye pain, headaches vision issues after using surface pro 3

Question

Wow 2 days in and the nausea and eye issues from this display are driving me crazy. I am about ready to return this thing. How can I fix this? I feel like I am always out of focus. It has nothing to do with small font, etc. My eyesight is fine. I have read about issues with the display on the surface pro 2 but not the 3. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Hi JAttwood,

Thank you for taking the time to reach out to the Surface Community. I appreciate your contribution, and sincerely apologize for the experience with the Surface Pro 3.

I understand that the screen is causing discomfort in your eyes and giving you headaches. Assuming that the device itself is working properly, have you taken a look at some of the articles on changing the settings for the screen?

• Check the brightness settings
• Run the automated troubleshooter
• Check the screen resolution
• Install Surface and Windows updates
• Restore, refresh, or reset your Surface
• Get the best display on your monitor
• Organize your Start screen

If none of the suggestions above help improve your experience, or you decide that Surface does not suit your needs, it is a good idea to familiarize yourself with the return policy of the retail store you purchased the Surface from.

I hope this helps!

Answer 2

Hello Pakpoom.T,

Thanks for stopping by the Microsoft Community. Sorry to hear about the troubles you're experiencing with your eyes.

We strongly suggest you reach out to our assisted support for help with the issue you're having.

Please click hereto reach support.

Answer 3

The Surface Pro 3 relies on pulse width modulation to dim the backlight under 50% brightness. It's a cheap, energy-efficient way to dim the screen, whereby the backlight is not reduced in brightness but rapidly pulsed on and off at a frequency invisible to your naked eye. This is what's causing your eye strain and headaches. If you hold a cell phone camera with a low shutter speed up to the screen, you'll see the scrolling bands caused by the PWM. As of yet, there is no evidence, however, that the Surface 3 uses this cheap backlight dimming technology.

Answer 4

Hey Jamie,

     I'm currently trying to get in contact with them at the moment. Yesterday I went to the Microsoft store and tried to explain my problem, and all they did was give me an odd stare... I did try out some of the demo models in store too see if it was any better, and it did seem to be "different" it could of been a placebo type thing, but I messed around for a good 30 min, and looked away my eyes didn't have to readjust like I have been doing with the surface currently. Granted that the store is a lot brighter then some areas I tend to use the surface. Hopefully something gets worked out. I like the hole factor of the surface I'm able to run all of my school software ( multisim, eagle, matlab. etc) better then some other using their laptop.

Anyhow, did you ever try looking at another surface to see if the same problem occurred?

Answer 5

Peter,

Unfortunately, after a full month of struggles, buying an external monitor, etc. I sold my Surface Pro 3. Besides losing out on the resale, it was a real bummer to lose the machine - it was fast and everything that a PC should be, except it had a terrible display. From what I could deduce, it is a combination of poorly rendered clear type, disparity between extremely  large and small font sizes and cheap LED backlighting using PWM technology. For me there was no solution despite trying EVERYTHING in the book and beyond. I see you have been asked to contact assisted support which probably means that they are listening to us now!

Cheers,

Jamie