Chosen Solution
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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!
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.
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.
