Brightness flickering

Question

Brightness flickering

Joel Cox 0

I have a Microsoft Surface 7th edition, which I got in October. Since I got the car, the screen flickers 5-10 times an hour with the brightness changing for an instant and then going back to normal. I have automatic brightness, night light, adaptive color, and HDR all turned off, and I just changed the refresh rate to 60. None of this has completely gotten rid of the problem. Can you help me resolve this?

3 answers

Your answer

Answer 1

Hello Joel Cox,

Thanks for the video.

There is a small personal information that is accidentally exposed in the first part of the video. So I have moved the link to the private message box to protect any information. You can access it by clicking on the private message button.

I have watched the whole video you sent, and the screen seems to be completely static with no change whatsoever. In this case, the issue is very likely to be from the hardware. The built-in screen capture of Windows will capture the screen before they reach the physical panel (the monitor), so any physical defect will not show on them. System level issues will be recorded, however. In this case, I suggest that you bring your computer to a local technical store to be looked at, since this kind of issue won't appear even in a remote session.

Thank you for your understanding.

Joel Cox 0 Reputation points

2026-03-07T15:41:50.1333333+00:00

Carl,

I expected that that might happen. Thanks for your help and your patience!

Answer 2

Carl-L 9,660 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hello Joel Cox,

Thanks for getting back to me.

It'd be best if I can have a short video about the issue so I can check it better. If you decide to do so, please remove all personal information before posting.

Disclaimer: In the meantime, let’s try performing an in-place install or in-place upgrade which will refresh your Windows files and operating system without removing files or applications. That being said, we always recommend that if you have important data, you should back it up before making large system changes. If you want to back up your data first, please do so. Once you are done backing up, you can follow the steps in the following guides:

How to run In-place upgrade in Windows 11 - Microsoft Community

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

Carl-L 9,660 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-02-27T13:38:50.3333333+00:00

Hello Joel Cox,

Sorry I just want to check if you have tried out this method yet. If you did, may I know how is the result?

I'm waiting for your reply.
Joel Cox 0 Reputation points

2026-02-27T16:20:44.24+00:00

Is it safe to download and run the in-place upgrade? The Microsoft website linked to in the comment had a few typos, so I want to make sure
Joel Cox 0 Reputation points

2026-02-28T22:53:40.0666667+00:00

So I did in fact download the upgrade, but I could not get it to work on my computer. It wouldn't run when I followed the instructions on the website. I tried it a few ways and restarted my computer a few times, but it would not run
Carl-L 9,660 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-03T13:44:37.2833333+00:00

Hello Joel Cox,

Thanks for letting me know.

May I know what it says when you're trying to run the file?

I'm waiting for your reply.
Joel Cox 0 Reputation points

2026-03-03T14:55:54.22+00:00

If I remember correctly, it gave me the message that it couldn't complete the setup. I'm not sure exactly, because I had my software engineer friend help me out with it and he tried it multiple times and got a few different error message I believe
Carl-L 9,660 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-04T10:09:02.55+00:00

Hello Joel Cox,

Thanks for getting back to me.

Can I have a photo of 1 of them to check for you (Or the error code is enough)? Also, can I have a short video of the screen flickering to see what happen?

I'm waiting for your reply.
Joel Cox 0 Reputation points

2026-03-04T15:51:08.9066667+00:00

I am still unable to get a video of the flickering because it happens at random. Even when the screen dims and I move the moues to brighten the screen it doesn't always happen like it did before. The computer is totally up to date, so I don't know if reinstalling Windows would help. Is it possible it's a hardware issue? Thank you again for all your help!
Carl-L 9,660 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-05T13:10:51.4333333+00:00

Hello Joel Cox,

Actually, it can be a hardware issue, but we are not sure of that. That is why I want a short video or photo of the flickering if possible. Hardware related flickering usually won't appear in a video using screen capture. If that is the case, then even a clean install of Windows won't work. However, if you want to, you can back up your data and clean install it just to make sure.
Joel Cox 0 Reputation points

2026-03-05T16:30:56.4066667+00:00

I'd rather not do a clean install. I will try to get a video. Thanks!
Joel Cox 0 Reputation points

2026-03-05T16:40:55.8733333+00:00

I just recorded a video of the flicker, but I can't figure out how to attach it. I did watch the video back and it didn't show the flicker on the video
Carl-L 9,660 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-06T12:52:22.24+00:00

Hello Joel Cox,

You can upload it to your OneDrive and share the link here.

If you need help, please let me know.
Joel Cox 0 Reputation points

2026-03-06T15:37:12.7733333+00:00

Carl,

Here's the link: <Removed for PII exposure>

I saw the flicker around the 4:55 mark of the video, but I didn't see it on playback.

Answer 3

Carl-L 9,660 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hello Joel Cox,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum.

Before we proceed, may I know if this issue is associated with any specific action on your computer? (Playing a game, opening an apps or watching a specific video)?

In the meantime, can you please try to update or reinstall the graphics driver of the Surface to see if it helps with the issue?

Type "Device Manager" in the search bar and press Enter.
Find your Graphic card driver, right click on it and choose whether "Update driver" or "Uninstall driver"
Restart your PC.

I'm waiting for your reply.

Joel Cox 0 Reputation points

2026-02-21T15:17:27.6633333+00:00

As far as I can tell, there is no pattern to when the flickering happens. The only time it consistently happens is when the brightness of the screen dims before the computer is about to go to sleep. If I move my cursor to get the screen bright again, there is a tiny flicker every time. Otherwise, the flickers happen seemingly at random
Joel Cox 0 Reputation points

2026-02-24T15:22:51.3033333+00:00

Thanks for the advice! I will see if I can record the problem.

For the driver, it said it was up-to-date and that I would have to go online to find a newer one. I looked and there are many options. Should I pick a driver online (if so, which one?), or should I just uninstall the driver?
Carl-L 9,660 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-02-25T13:49:31.74+00:00

Hello Joel Cox,

You can find the driver online. However, the best drivers would come directly from Windows update or the manufacturer. You can check the driver on the Microsoft official site.

I'm waiting for your reply.
Joel Cox 0 Reputation points

2026-02-25T14:52:23.5666667+00:00

It looks like I have the most current driver on the website
Carl-L 9,660 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-02-26T12:54:38.5733333+00:00

Hello Joel Cox,

Thanks for the information.

May I know if you have tried the suggestions on another answer that I have posted?

Please let me know.
Joel Cox 0 Reputation points

2026-02-26T15:17:59.4933333+00:00

I haven't been able to record it, since it happens randomly. I did change the setting "Change brightness based on content" to "Off" and it is flickering much less now. It still flickers occasionally but much less.

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Brightness flickering

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