What to try if your Surface screen is distorted, is flickering, or has lines running through it

Ensure your device is powered

Make sure the device is plugged into an appropriate power supply or Surface Dock to reduce issues that can occur when you're on battery power.

Refresh the screen with keyboard shortcuts

If the device has power, try refreshing the screen with keyboard shortcuts. Connect your Surface to a keyboard, then press the Windows logo key  + Ctrl + Shift + B.

Force a restart

You can try to force a shutdown and then restart. To do this:

1. Select Start  > Power  > Shut down , and wait a moment for your Surface to shut down.
   If you have any apps open, you may be prompted to close them prior to shut down.

2. Press and hold the power button  for 20 seconds. If you see the logo screen appear after a few seconds, continue to hold for the full 20 seconds until you see the logo screen again.

See Force a shut down and restart your Surface for more info.

Check for updates

You can quickly check the health of your Surface drivers and firmware using the Surface app.

Open the Surface app

1. In the Surface app, expand Help & support to check if the update status is "You're up to date" or something else.

2. If needed, select the option to update the devices.

   Note: If you don't have the Surface app installed, you can download the Surface app from the Microsoft Store. When it has downloaded, select Start, search for Surface, then select the app from the list of results.

Fully turn off your device for an extended time

Some issues may occur when the device is powered on for extended periods of time—this includes time the device is in Sleep mode. 

To resolve flickering and lines through your screen, try fully turning off the device. Closing the lid or toggling the power button only puts the device to sleep, which won't work. You'll need to fully turn off the device for at least 48 hours (the longer you can keep the device off, the more successful this method will be—this may work best if performed over a weekend, for example). 

To shut down, select Start  and then select Power  > Shut down  . 

After the issue has been resolved, we encourage turning the device off (not just sleep) for at least one full night per week to prevent the issue from reoccurring. 

Check your display settings in Windows

Try adjusting adaptive brightness to see if that will resolve the issue.

1. Select Start   > Settings  > System  > Display. 
   Open Display settings

2. Adjust the brightness under Brightness and color, then clear Change brightness automatically when lighting changes.

3. Set the toggle to Off for Adaptive color. This setting isn't available on all Surface devices.

4. Select Advanced display settings and under Refresh rate, try changing the setting to 60 Hz, 120 Hz or Dynamic. This setting isn't available on all Surface devices.

5. Make Intel Graphics Command center app adjustments (if these app setting options are available on your Surface device).

   1. Download and open the Intel Graphics Command Center app, available from Microsoft Store. 

   2. Select System from the left menu, then, if available on your Surface device, select Power from the top menu.

   3. First try sliding the Power Efficiency setting to the right to improve the graphics quality—this adjustment may impact battery life.

   4. If available on your Surface device, you can also set the Panel Self Refresh setting to Off and the Display Power Savings setting to Off.

      Note: To maximize battery life, we recommend that you keep this feature enabled and keep power efficiency set to level 6 for Surface Go, Surface Laptop 3, Surface Laptop Go, Surface Laptop Go 2, and Surface Pro 7—and to level 4 for other devices. 

Check your power settings

Try running our troubleshooter

The troubleshooter can automatically determine if you have the optimal power settings for your screen and it can adjust if needed.  

1. Select Start  >  Settings  > System   > Troubleshoot. 
   Open Troubleshoot settings

2. Select Other troubleshooters , and next to Power , select Run.

Adjust the Power Mode setting

Newer devices have an adjustable power mode that allows you to balance your preference between best battery life and best performance.

To view this setting, select the battery icon on the task bar. If your device supports it, move the Power Mode slider to the Better performance or the Best performance setting. 

Test the screen in the UEFI of your Surface

UEFI settings aren't in Windows, so display issues in UEFI suggest a problem with hardware, rather than with a Windows driver. Here's how to check if the screen issues only happen when you're using Windows:

1. Turn off your Surface and wait 10 seconds.

2. Press and hold the volume up button on your Surface, and at the same time, press and release the power button . The logo screen will appear.

3. Continue to hold the volume up button . Release the button when the UEFI screen appears.

4. View the screen and see if the problem is still present.

   • If the screen is working correctly within UEFI, the problem is likely with the software installed on the Surface. Proceed with reinstalling the OEM panel driver and display adapter section.

   • If the screen is not working and the issue is still present in UEFI, proceed to Reset Surface.

Reinstall the display adapter and OEM panel driver

Some drivers may create display issues. To update your display driver and panel driver, you'll need to uninstall the current drivers and then check for driver updates.  

1. In the Search box on the task bar, type Device Manager, then select it in the results.

2. Expand the Monitor section, select and hold (or right-click) the Surface panel driver(s), then select Uninstall device. Read the warning, then select Uninstall and restart your PC.

3. Expand the Display adapters section, select and hold (or right-click) the listed adapter, then select Uninstall device. Confirm by selecting Delete the driver software for this device, then select Uninstall and restart your PC.

4. After your PC restarts, select Start  > Settings .

5. From Settings , select Update & Security  > Windows Update > Check for updates , and install any available updates.

Check for Windows updates

Reset Surface

If you’re still having a problem with your display, try resetting your Surface. To learn how, see Restore or reset Surface for Windows and follow the recommended steps, or see create and use a USB recovery drive to reset your device to factory settings and drivers.  

If you've reset your Surface and you are still experiencing a display issue, you'll need to submit a service order. 

Submit a service order

If these steps don't resolve the problem, you can submit a service order to Microsoft to access available repair or replacement options. Go to Device Service and Repair, register, and then select your Surface to start a service order.

If your Surface is no longer within warranty, you can find out about out-of-warranty service fees.