Solved Pen won't write, opens Notebook

It's not a battery issue, have 3 new pens, none of them will write or open/close apps, web pages. They will all pair and open Notebook. I was using one just fine the day I bought it, had let it drain down thinking it was charging. Charged it up, started Windows up, now no pens will write. Even tried the batteryvtrick to make sure, no go. Any ideas?

Welcome to the forum

I'm guessing these are SP4 pens? With multiple pens you may have confused the system. If your finger works so should the pen. Take the battery out of all but one of them, unpair, restart and pair again. If that doesn't work pull the tip and put it back in.

If those pens "charge up" as you say, they are not Microsoft pens.

I had an issue with that too.

sharpcolorado said:

If those pens "charge up" as you say, they are not Microsoft pens.

Click to expand...

Worded it badly, meant the Surface 4 charging, not the pen.

chiefjkh said:

Worded it badly, meant the Surface 4 charging, not the pen.

Click to expand...

Oh, of course.

Okay, here is some information that might help. Only the pen buttons use Bluetooth. The pen writes using the same pen battery, but a different technology. An electromagnetic signal leaves the pen tips (eraser button is a 'tip' also). The screen then detects electromagnetic interference in proximity to pixels, and the operating system activates sets of pixels.

So let's try a "Cold Reboot" or "Hard Reset". This is different than a "Restart".

COLD REBOOT, HARD RESET - SURFACE BOOK or SURFACE PRO 4
1) Hold power button for 25 seconds. Don't release early, even if you see the screen go black or the keyboard dim. Machine will completely shut down. Release.
2) Press and hold power and VolumeUp buttons simultaneously until you see the "Surface" logo on the screen. Release both buttons. Machine will start into the UEFI menu.
3) Exit the UEFI menu either by touch or by touchpad. Machine will restart.

Let us know of your progress.

That worked like a charm, thank you very much for your help.

Fabulous. Marked solved.

so I am having the same problems with the pen on my computer and I want to try this method, the only question I have is, is this like a factory reset for my computer? Or do I just do what was explained in sharpusers post and I will retain everything on my surface pro 4?

thanks for any help.

phycokillaman said:

so I am having the same problems with the pen on my computer and I want to try this method, the only question I have is, is this like a factory reset for my computer? Or do I just do what was explained in sharpusers post and I will retain everything on my surface pro 4?

thanks for any help.

Click to expand...

No, this does not reset to factory condition, it is just a complete shut down and then re-boot.

I have the exact same problem... yet the hard reboot did NOT fix the issue. The pen worked fine until I changed the battery, as its been over a year since doing so - guess I should have kept it in as it still worked fine except for some broken lines when drawing - system says battery is 100% full now. I unpaired/re-paired it. The eraser button opens OneNote, yet the pen won't write. Put the old battery in, doesn't work. HELP!

ArtistCarl said:

I have the exact same problem... yet the hard reboot did NOT fix the issue. The pen worked fine until I changed the battery, as its been over a year since doing so - guess I should have kept it in as it still worked fine except for some broken lines when drawing - system says battery is 100% full now. I unpaired/re-paired it. The eraser button opens OneNote, yet the pen won't write. Put the old battery in, doesn't work. HELP!

Click to expand...

Try pulling out the pen's tip and reinserting it.