Can Microsoft make a pen that is 100% reliable?

[Gizmo2005]

I have had my SB2 now for over a year. 95% of the time, it's a notebook. But for the other 5%, I use it as a note taker. So I use my pen quite a bit. The pen is so unreliable. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it won't. This morning, it worked. Then I detached the screen and started to write some notes. You can see it started to fail. Lines would disappear, like it's running out of 'ink'. Soon, nothing would write.

I've tried:

1. Uninstalling/reinstalling the Surface Pen
2. Uninstall video drivers in Device Manager and restart
3. Replacing batteries on Pen
4. I have two pens (the stock Pen with the elongated button and an older style pen with two buttons). Neither of them works.
5. Restarted the PC numerous times along with repairing the pen

Nothing works. This notebook replaced my Samsung Galaxy Note Pro (purchased in 2014). I used the pen with that for nearly 4 years and NEVER had a single problem. Perhaps it's the pen technology. It had no batteries. But it was also 100% reliable, where this Surface Pen is not.

Any suggestion? Last thing i want to do is go into a Microsoft store. But if I need to, i will.

 

[sharpuser]

Neither of my Surface Book 2 devices has this problem. So let’s try to get you fixed up, @Gizmo2005

What version of Windows 10 are you running? (Settings, System, About ...)

Also, your pen nib (tip) may not be seated. Pull it straight out, then back in.

 

[Gizmo2005]

RunningWindows 10 Pro. Tips has always been in. There's no movement in it when I try pulling on it. It's fully seated.

So I just tried it, Made a line. Whoooppeee...seems to work. Then I detached the screen and tried it again. It was fluttering. Like running out of ink. Then it stopped altogether. Nothing.

 

[sharpuser]

You have Windows 10 Pro edition, got it.

What Version number of Windows? 1903?

Settings, System, About, look under Windows Specifications

 

[Gizmo2005]

Great. Now the thing won't turn on. I let the battery go down to 5% before I left work. Then overnight, it must have drained down. This morning, with it plugged in, I press on Power and nothings shows up. Any fix here?

 

[ScottyS]

Let it sit plugged in for 20 minutes and try it again. If that doesn't work hold power button in for > 15 seconds, then wait a few seconds and press power button. If that doesn't work try holding power+volume up for > 20 seconds.

Even if pen tip is seated in deep and right, others have found that pulling tip out and then pushing it back in again fixed some pen problems.

 

[Gizmo2005]

Well fixed the power issue. None of the tips online worked, including pressing various buttons at the same time. The trick was to pull out all USB dongles and SD Cards. Once I did that, she powered up. But pen still doesn't work. I have both the OEM pen and a 3rd party pen. They both are connected, but neither of them writes. Frustrating.

 

[sharpuser]

Well fixed the power issue. None of the tips online worked, including pressing various buttons at the same time. The trick was to pull out all USB dongles and SD Cards. Once I did that, she powered up. But pen still doesn't work. I have both the OEM pen and a 3rd party pen. They both are connected, but neither of them writes. Frustrating.

Still waiting to know what version of Windows 10 Pro you are running, so we can help you, as you requested.

 

[Gizmo2005]

Sorry. OS Build 18362.476.

Does the fact that I have a 2nd Pen have anything to do with it? Like I said, I have an OEM pen with the long button. But I bought a 2nd 3rd party pen with two buttons. I tried pairing both. Both connected successfully. But neither writes either.

 

[sharpuser]

Thanks. Yes, only one pen can be reliably paired, and my guess is, the OEM pen is the one you want. It is made to properly be detected on the digitizer.

So let’s try that first.

 

[Gizmo2005]

Well I removed the battery from the 3rd party pen and so it's disabled. I repaired the OEM pen, restarted the laptop, and it seems to work. But then this morning, bring back the laptop from sleep, it doesn't work. I still see it paired. I unpaired it and paired it again. Nothing. This is what I mean by frustrating. It doesn't work 100% of the time. I got it to work yesterday afternoon at 3pm. Packed it up and took it home. Opened it this morning and it doesn't work again.

 

[Gizmo2005]

I should add that the pen seems to be working. If I press the 'eraser', my sticky note appears on screen. But it still won't write.