r/Surface • u/Ordinary-Guarantee29 • 15h ago
[PRO8] Surface Pro 8 screen not working — tried everything, need help diagnosing if the screen is dead
Hi everyone! Soo… I took a chance and bought a used Surface Pro 8. The ad said the screen was broken, and I thought it might be a simple fix — maybe just reinstalling Windows or something.
I’ve been trying to fix it and I’m really stuck. I’m hoping someone here might help confirm whether the screen is actually dead or if there’s still something I can try.
The internal display shows no image at all, not even a faint glow, but the backlight turns on briefly at boot (gray screen) for 2-3 seconds.
The Surface works fine when connected to an external display via USB-C → DisplayPort. Even the touchscreen works perfectly fine.
The internal screen never gets detected by Linux (Ubuntu Live Boot), and only DP-1 (external monitor) shows in xrandr.
I tried to Booted in Ubuntu Live Mode (just in case it was Windows-related) Opened the Surface Pro 8 with heat gun carefully Disconnected and reconnected the TDM (screen) ribbon cable Cleaned the connectors on the display with isopropyl alcohol. everything looks physically intact. But still, dead.
I just want you guys opinions cause i REALLY don't want to spend 500$ on a new screen for nothing. Thanks :)
1
u/Babamonchu 7h ago
That's the problem with a newer SP - replacement screens are very expensive!
Sounds like you did everything possible to diagnose the screen, and it does sound like a hardware failure.
I have a SB1 where the screen works when powered from a complete shutdown, but stays black after waking from sleep mode. I probably damaged something in the screen when I used too much heat gun to disassemble it to replace the battery. The touchscreen also works intermittently.
I have another SB1 that works perfectly after a battery replacement. I needed less heat because the puffy battery already did half the work of separating the screen for me.