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The screen, when powered will display a long 4"dark yellow streak on the left side, a short streak on the top and right side. These streaks darken the longer the computer is on. I can press on the display and where my finger was will clear to normal but return to yellow quickly.
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My SurfaceBook Pro had the same issue with the addition of a screen bulge. I honestly didn't even notice the screen had bulged until I started seeking help. I contacted MS Support and they replaced my 3yo SBP at no cost to me; it was not under warranty any longer.
Here are the images I sent them: https://imgur.com/a/MJ7FPBK
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That sounds promising. How did you contact them?
Thank you for posting that. I contacted them after reading your post. Even though my Surface Pro is out of warranty (2 1/2 years old), they created a service order and are sending me a box, which will arrive tomorrow or the next day. So far, they have not talked about payment so I assume they will not be charging me.
Same Issue! I never use mine as a tablet. I have it hooked up to an external monitor. When I used it this weekend as a tablet, I noticed the screen discoloration in one small area. Hooked it up on Monday and on the external monitor, no signs of discoloration. Took my Surface out of its case and saw the screen was separating near the battery area. Called Microsoft Support and sent pictures to the link they sent me and they will be replacing it. I hope the exchange process is quick! I swear, Microsoft always has amazing customer support! and I LOVE my Surface Pro 4 powerhouse!!!!!
Same issue here. Yellow streaks on every edge. Continues to get worse. Took it to Microsoft store. Said they would get back to me after examining it. No response so I called and they stated "sorry...no longer under warranty". I was hoping for a more customer friendly response. Doesn't seem like a "warranty" issue to me. Seems like a defect. Irritating since I just changed my entire company from Lenovo Think Pad to the Surface Book. My Think Pad was bullet proof and lasted 6 years. I only get 2 1/2 out of this Surface Book. Not happy!!!
Can i ask who you contacted as I have called Microsoft and they want to charge me £400 to exchange my surfacebook, and i have the same yellow mark issue on my screen
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I had this happen on my Surface 4 Pro, on the left side of the screen. Not too long after I saw the stripe, the left side of the screen buckled out away from the backing (so it no longer folds absolutely flat. The surface still works ok. But now I see the yellow stripe on the right of the screen and wonder, if it is a glue defect, if that side will buckle out as well. Up until now, I thought this was an issue of overheating. My Surface is long past it's warranty, unfortunately.
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Here is an update, I hope it helps someone.
As I posted in response to Raymond Piller, my Surface Pro 4 was out of warranty when this happened, but after reading these posts I went ahead and contacted Microsoft Surface Support. They had me send pictures. Then, they created a service order. The title of the service order is "Expanded Battery". I thought that was interesting so I looked between the screen and the backing, and sure enough, the battery appeared to have ballooned. Just FYI, I was supposed to get shipping materials within 2 days, but they did not come, and I had to contact Microsoft several times. They finally were able to follow up, and I got the shipping materials recently, and have sent it off to them now.
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I had the same thing happen to my surface book.
It is a problem with the heat generated behind the screen. Mine happened when I left the computer in my bag and it woke up from sleep and kept running until the battery died.
I called Microsoft about it, and they had me send it back under warranty. They replaced it with a new surface book within 3 days.
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I think it's a good idea to avoid charging it while you're using the computer, if that is possible. I think you are generally okay if it has a full charge and have a Surface Dock or charger attached.
My recommendation is that if it is very warm to the touch, either shut down the computer and charge it up, or stop charging it. You can try dimming the display which may help reduce the load, but if it's already hot it's that's probably not enough to cool it down.
Just watch for overheating. If it is hot to the touch, you are headed for trouble.
Right on sir. I turned off my book and let it cool and it is all gone. Wish it wasn't a problem and hope it doesn't lead to more serious issues discussed here, but I am thankful for now that your suggestion worked! God bless
hi guys,my laptop surfacebook pro 4 has 3 yellow streat in corners and unfortunately my guarantee period is finished!which part should i order for replacement?do i need only LCD?
@babak homayounfal Don't order a new LCD! This problem is caused by an expanding battery, Replace the battery soon, or the screen will begin to peel away from the body.
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It is continuing to degrade, now on all 4 edges. The entire detachable has screen has slightly "curled". The stripes get larger and darker as the day progresses. So far i can still work with it. It really shows itself when the monitor is showing "gray scale". If i am watching a vid or a program that displays colors it is less annoying.
I have read somewhere that it may be a glue issue. At the end of each day, I place padding between the screen and keyboard and then used binder clips to apply pressure to reseat the glue. So far, no joy.
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I was one of the first to buy the Surface Book. I’m in Europe and had to order from the US. The whole experience was pretty crap and it failed to boot up when it arrived. I worked that out with MS support online, but then followed months of issues requiring update after update. Then just after the 12 month warranty expired I got the yellow blotches (screen ungluing apparently). MS agreed to fix it but only if I paid a lot of money. I was amazed at being asked to pay to repair what is obviously a build fault, and after so many teething problems MS had with the SB which they obviously launched way too early. I had already forked out $4k+ for the machine - f..k them, never buying MS hardware again, went back to Lenovo who actually make (better) laptops that seem to last.
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From your description of the screen on your surface book, your battery is beginning to swell up and soon the screen will begin to bulge outward and eventually become disconnected at the top of the screen. Your battery needs to be replaced in the screen portion of your surface book. The surface book is one of the hardest laptops to repair. The screen is glued in place with a double sided tape material.
The screen will need to be removed as well as the motherboard before the battery can be replaced. The battery is also glued into place and a scraper will need to be used to remove the bad battery. It is best to have someone who knows how to do this perform the repair. It is extremely easy to break the digitizer (screen) when trying to remove it. A heat gun is required to heat the screen to loosen the glue enough to use a pick to separate the digitizer from the screen back.
Removing the motherboard is also tricky because special torque screw drivers are needed to remove the screws holding the motherboard to the back. The size of the needed screw driver is 3T. There are 3 different sizes of very tiny screws that will need to be replaced in the correct spots. Great care is needed so the 3 micro switches for volume and on/off are not broken.
The speakers can be unscrewed and the latch cables unplugged. The cooling fan will need to be loosened from the sponge retainers. The the motherboard can be moved out of the way enough to get access to the battery. It takes me about 3 hours to change a battery and put everything back into place after cleaning all the old glue.
This happened to the surface book I’m using to write this response. It is working great again and the discolorations and bulge are now gone.
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So, you think that if discoloration started, you only need to replace the screen battery, nothing else?
@burek.sirovic Yes, you only need to replace the battery in the screen portion of the Surface Book. The Keyboard part also has a battery in it and can also begin bulging. The bulging is the result of a sealed battery producing a gas that fills the seal material around the battery. It blows up like a balloon. It is the pressure from the bulging on the back of the screen that causes the discoloration. Replacement batteries can be purchased from ebay or Amazon for around $35 to $45. The battery is flat and is almost as long as the screen. The hardest part in changing the battery is removing the screen without damaging it. But it can be done. Also when putting the motherboard back into place great care must be taken to not break the little on/off and volume switch buttons.
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My Surface Book display started with the yellow spots, then the display started to detach from the frame. I noticed the display frame was getting warped. After about three weeks I couldn't detach the display from the keyboard and discovered that removing power from the keyboard would shut down the computer. I figured out how to manually remove the display and discovered the display battery was not charging and when power was removed from the display only, it would shut down. It would work on battery, but since it wouldn't charge I didn't do that. It was at that point I sent it in for repair. It was an expensive repair, but I now have a like new Surface Book.
My theory was that the fan failed in the display (I'm assuming there is at least one) and the display would overheat leading to all the problems. I can't prove that as I never got a report on what was wrong, but I do know my display would get very hot to the touch at times.
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What repair did you use??
As I mentioned, I sent it into Microsoft for repair. Unfortunately it was no longer under warranty, so it was expensive. But I got what looks like a new Surface Book out of the deal so I'm happy. When it started as just a display problem, it wasn't worth it to me, but when it failed to charge and the display was warping and coming detached, I opted to send it in. The repair just looked to difficult for me. And it may have required fans, batteries, a display and who knows what else.
How much did it cost bcuz I have the same problem as you.
Clipboard doesn't charge and it's out of warranty
It was roughly $600, but I did get what looks like a new Surface Book. My original Surface Book had two years of wear to the keyboard and display. The back of the display had a dent in the cover, some keys on the keyboard had wear from fingernails, and the keyboard unit had scratches where I used a binder clip as stress relief for the power cable. It was nice to get a like new unit for the high repair price.
I had this 'issue' on a Surface 3 and a Surface Pro 3 (the latter has been sold). In both cases someone had applied a lot of pressure to the display from the front, I think someone sat on my Surface (don't ask how, no one admitted it anyway). It doesn't bother me but then your Surface Book cost 4-5 times more.
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Take a stiff ruler and lay it across the screen horizontally. If it has gaps on either side then the screen is bulging due to a swollen battery. This causes yellow streaks
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To avoid having this problem in the future, I try to avoid charging the Surface Book when I’m using it. When I shut it down I usually recharge it at that time. I have been using my replacement Surface Book for two years now without any display issues.
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Hi all,
Many people have been reporting this issue with no official recall . This is a large issue with Surface Books and Microsoft needs to be held accountable.
There is now a FB group to get together and see where all of us can go from here. Even if you already spent the $599+ to fix the surface book, still join in case there is a chance for financial retribution.
Go to FB and search for the group: Microsoft Surface Book Problems with Screen Discoloration and Bulging
Thank you everyone, we can figure this out together!
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I have this issue as well on my surfacebook 1 purchased in October, 2016. I never used the laptop outside, but decided on a sunny afternoon to use it under a covered patio in indirect sunlight and noticed the discoloration begin. Immediately put it cool temperature under a fan, but too late, the yellow streaks on all three sides of the bezel 1 inch long are permanent. I spoke with MS support, it is out of warranty, they can only offer a replacement for $810 CAD.
If anyone has any more luck, please post.
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I have the same issue on a Surface Book bought May 2017. I noticed the yellow streaks some time ago but thought it was screen bleed. However - recently noticed a bulging and the left side of the screen becoming detached. Now I notice the whole screen is bulging on both sides.
I’m in the UK - anyone know where I contact Microsoft as links online are a loop of dead ends.
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Go here, https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/cont... make sure you're logged in then click: "Contact support in the browser instead", I think their online chat is open from 2pm GMT. Click no on the automated questions until it asks if you want to speak to a person. There's a drop down item for bulging screen. The rep will probably get you to take pictures of the issue and get you to lay a ruler over the swollen area to show the defect. They should then escalate it to the next level support. If your device is out of warranty they'll ask you for £600 and tell you to have a good day. In warranty they seem to be shipping refurbished units which will probably fail again. I think Microsoft should get some more media attention for this. I'm pretty sure no airline will want a surface book on their flight. (not that we're flying much at the moment)
This is also a support email address but but I don't know if it works without a ticket open: SURFC.SURF.NA.00.EN.STR.CEB.TS.T01.SPT.00.CH@css.one.microsoft.com
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After I had my Surface Book repaired and it was good for years. I followed my own advice and tried not to use the machine while charging to keep the temperature down. As the years went by with no issues, I got lax and it was starting to show the beginning signs of the problem. It wasn't bad and the display wasn't bulging, but what did happen was the battery in the display went bad.
I wasn't going to put more money into repairing it this time so I bought a new laptop. Obviously I avoided buying one of the Microsoft products this time. I may try to fix it myself now that it's not being used, but it sure seems like a little more difficult than I want to take on. And it will just happen again in the future. The unit still works when plugged in, so it's still functional if I need it for something.
That Surface Book was such a great idea and a nice product if not for the battery failure mode. They should have implemented a temperature sensor to throttle back the charging function when the unit gets too hot. The heat is what seems to reduce the life of the battery and create the issue.
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I purchased my Surface book in November 2016. Love it. But this morning now seeing a yellow tint on left side of the screen. Was not there before. Is my screen about to fail?
by Michael Charles
Curious that Microsoft replaced the screen without charge. They didn’t do so in my case, even though I sent them this and other links discussing the problem, which goes back years. I only learned of the issue when I noticed the symptoms a few weeks ago.
Their behavior is outrageous: a known product defect, which they keep from their customers, so the warranty runs out and they can hope for more money to replace the defective part: $599. The one time they finally start making good hardware, and they end up ripping off their customers, not standing behind the product. Shame on them.
by Loomis Pound