How can I fix my ACER Swift 3-314's flickering screen?

CharmaineWho

My laptop is almost 2 years old but a few months in when I bought it, it showed some screen flickering. It occurred when I used Illustrator or Microsoft Word and sometimes VLC or just when showing the desktop. I tried pressing my screen to see if it was a hardware problem. Didn't seem like it. I ignored it for it eventually went away. But now, it occured again and more often than not especially when I'm using Illustrator or Microsoft word and watching some movies on VLC. And it is so annoying because I get 10 flickers in a minute when I am editing a particular document (not all documents/projects exhibit screen flickering)! My graphic drivers are up to date and I have tried troubleshooting but to no avail, I haven't fixed it yet---I keep on just waiting for my screen to flicker everytime I work on something and it's really disturbing my work. My laptop has never been dropped before or whatever. I always doubt it's a hardware problem because it doesn't happen when I'm browsing or doing other things...and the screen doesn't change whenever I put pressure on it. And I really hate this. I managed to record a video of thr flickering because it was happening constantly that it gave me a chance to record it compared in the past that it occurred once in two days or something. 

My laptop has a 2-year warranty so it's still eligible for a consult, but I want to avoid thatbas mucj as possible because I don't like my laptop to get disassembled; might do more damage. So please, can anyone share if they have a similar experience with ACER SWIFT 3 314? This is so frustrating.

It's always in that same area. In the beginning it was not as thick as that.
Here are some screenshots from the video:

billsey

That type of artifact could be a loose or corroded cable between the display and the motherboard, it could be the same cable with wires cracking near the hinge area, where it bends each time you move it, or it could be a hardware issue on the motherboard in the video circuitry. If you have double checked that the drivers are current then I'd bite the bullet and contact support for a warranty repair.

CharmaineWho

billsey said:

That type of artifact could be a loose or corroded cable between the display and the motherboard, it could be the same cable with wires cracking near the hinge area, where it bends each time you move it, or it could be a hardware issue on the motherboard in the video circuitry. If you have double checked that the drivers are current then I'd bite the bullet and contact support for a warranty repair.

Hi. Thanks for the speedy response. I am this close to having it checked. But, how do you account for the fact that it only happens in Word or AI? It doesn't happen when I'm browsing or using other apps. Curious. Also, I tried flexing the screen and hinge. It doesn't exhibit flickering.

billsey

If you open Word then resize the window to only cover the left third of the screen, does it still happen? Same test with Illustrator...

CharmaineWho

billsey said:

If you open Word then resize the window to only cover the left third of the screen, does it still happen? Same test with Illustrator...

Yes. It's always on the same area. However, if i zoom it out on that area, it doesn't flicker. i already updated the bios..thought it was the problem. Still the same.

CharmaineWho

billsey said:

If you open Word then resize the window to only cover the left third of the screen, does it still happen? Same test with Illustrator...

I tried switching from illustrator to other open windows...the flickering in AI is so bad but it immediately goes away when i open the other windows...

billsey

The only thing I can think of is a bug in the video drivers that Word and Illustrator trigger. I can't visualize any hardware issues that would affect only specific software packages. Check on Acer's site for updated video drivers. Which SF314 model do you have? Should be something like SF314-52T...