Erratic cursor with touchpad on Type cover

[Dub]

joudbren is correct, this is evidently an RF and/or grounding issue. I've had my SP and type cover for a week and this just started today.

- only when power plugged in
- the problem did change when adjusting the kickstand, but here's why....
- I can get the pointer to stop jittering by touching the kickstand AND the surface pro case. When I remove my hand, the pointer may be stable for a moment, then starts moving around again.
- I can sometimes get it to stop the jittering by touching to the left of the touchpad with my left hand.

Going out on a limb here... I'm thinking the issue might be in the type cover. In the Reddit AMA the engineers confirmed that there are high current pins in the cover connector but they did NOT confirm what the popular suspicion is; that there will be combination keyboard/extended battery cover in the works (it was in one of the discussions about an extended battery that an engineer confirmed high current connections). If so then the charging system is somehow involved with the cover connector. If it were an RF/grounding issue in the SP itself, I'd expect that the digitizer would also be affected and it's not (it operates by RF as well).

Microsoft needs to address this post haste! Sales aren't that great and Microsoft can ill afford it if the early adopters take to the social web and the blogs about such design issues.

 

[sarpedon]

joudbren is correct, this is evidently an RF and/or grounding issue. I've had my SP and type cover for a week and this just started today.

- only when power plugged in
- the problem did change when adjusting the kickstand, but here's why....
- I can get the pointer to stop jittering by touching the kickstand AND the surface pro case. When I remove my hand, the pointer may be stable for a moment, then starts moving around again.
- I can sometimes get it to stop the jittering by touching to the left of the touchpad with my left hand.

Going out on a limb here... I'm thinking the issue might be in the type cover. In the Reddit AMA the engineers confirmed that there are high current pins in the cover connector but they did NOT confirm what the popular suspicion is; that there will be combination keyboard/extended battery cover in the works (it was in one of the discussions about an extended battery that an engineer confirmed high current connections). If so then the charging system is somehow involved with the cover connector. If it were an RF/grounding issue in the SP itself, I'd expect that the digitizer would also be affected and it's not (it operates by RF as well).

Microsoft needs to address this post haste! Sales aren't that great and Microsoft can ill afford it if the early adopters take to the social web and the blogs about such design issues.

The problem is definitely with the Type Cover. I have 2 Surface Pros with 2 different chargers and 2 different type covers in front of me. The problem occurs on both Surfaces when used with the problematic type cover regardless of the adapter, while the other type cover has no issues on either Surface.

I'm fairly certain the mouse had been working fine until this morning. I did run Windows Updates this morning (which I believe included a Firmware update) and I think the problem started after that. Possibly just a coincidence though.

 

[johnnyk]

The problem is definitely with the Type Cover. I have 2 Surface Pros with 2 different chargers and 2 different type covers in front of me. The problem occurs on both Surfaces when used with the problematic type cover regardless of the adapter, while the other type cover has no issues on either Surface.

I'm fairly certain the mouse had been working fine until this morning. I did run Windows Updates this morning (which I believe included a Firmware update) and I think the problem started after that. Possibly just a coincidence though.

To add fuel to the fire I have a Surface Pro 128GB that will not respond correctly to the trackpad on a Type Cover or a Touch Cover.

The problem I am seeing has nothing to do with a charger, because it fails to work properly whether or not the charger is plugged in. It also does not appear to be related to either keyboard, because both trackpads work just fine connected to my Surface RT.

On the Surface Pro, when you swipe across the trackpad, the cursor moves in the correct general direction. However, it barely moves and continues moving for a second or two AFTER your finger lifts from the trackpad. Several Bluetooth mice work without issue. Has anybody seen this annoying behavior?

 

[fabatist]

Same Problem

joudbren is correct, this is evidently an RF and/or grounding issue. I've had my SP and type cover for a week and this just started today.

- only when power plugged in
- the problem did change when adjusting the kickstand, but here's why....
- I can get the pointer to stop jittering by touching the kickstand AND the surface pro case. When I remove my hand, the pointer may be stable for a moment, then starts moving around again.
- I can sometimes get it to stop the jittering by touching to the left of the touchpad with my left hand.

Going out on a limb here... I'm thinking the issue might be in the type cover. In the Reddit AMA the engineers confirmed that there are high current pins in the cover connector but they did NOT confirm what the popular suspicion is; that there will be combination keyboard/extended battery cover in the works (it was in one of the discussions about an extended battery that an engineer confirmed high current connections). If so then the charging system is somehow involved with the cover connector. If it were an RF/grounding issue in the SP itself, I'd expect that the digitizer would also be affected and it's not (it operates by RF as well).

Microsoft needs to address this post haste! Sales aren't that great and Microsoft can ill afford it if the early adopters take to the social web and the blogs about such design issues.

Hi,

I am with the same problem, how I can fix it?

tks

Fabrizio

 

[johnnyk]

To add fuel to the fire I have a Surface Pro 128GB that will not respond correctly to the trackpad on a Type Cover or a Touch Cover.

The problem I am seeing has nothing to do with a charger, because it fails to work properly whether or not the charger is plugged in. It also does not appear to be related to either keyboard, because both trackpads work just fine connected to my Surface RT.

On the Surface Pro, when you swipe across the trackpad, the cursor moves in the correct general direction. However, it barely moves and continues moving for a second or two AFTER your finger lifts from the trackpad. Several Bluetooth mice work without issue. Has anybody seen this annoying behavior?

Closing the loop here. Today's Surface Pro Update (included firmware) fixed the issue with my trackpad(s). The type cover trackpad is working as expected now. I'm not sure what it was in today's update that fixed the problem, but I don't care.

My love and appreciation of both Surface RT and Surface Pro continues to grow. I chuckle when I run a Ubuntu 12.10 VM in Hyper-V on my Pro.

Life is good. Thank you Microsoft!

 

[Rygar]

Hi,

I am with the same problem, how I can fix it?

tks

Fabrizio

I have exactly the same problem, unplug the power and it works just fine

 

[[email protected]]

I have just purchase a Surface Pro 128 and have exactly the same problem.
Remove the charger from the Surface and the problem dissappears.
Installed the Trackpad Settings app and found it totally useless.
Definately a bug. A fix would be wicked.

 

[whiteblazer01]

I'm not experiencing such erratic behavior so much as I am experiencing an non-sensitive trackpad (in addition to the cover occssionally not working). I find I rarely use the trackpad simply because its lack of precision is too frustrating to use. When typing documents in Word, simply adjusting the tab markers on the ruler is quite a challenge. I think I may just get a mouse.

 

[MKlicious]

I'm experiencing the exact same thing!

Hi!
I have a Surface Pro 2 128GB and a type cover 2 and I was just googling to see if anyone else had had the same problem as me.
My type cover does the exact same thing!! I have had my surface for like 4 months or so but it's not untill the past few weeks that my cursor have started to go crazy. Reading your description of how it only acts weird in particular situations I came to think that I too have only encountered the problem when my surface is in my bed!?
Should I take it to the store where I've bought it or what do I do?

I'm somewhat happy to see I'm not alone with this problem

- Karina

 

[Ed3]

Having same problem, did updates.... no avail. My issue doesn't appear to be affected by the power cord however I think I found the problem.... When using the touch pad, place some pressure to the right or left, similar to the pressure of your hand when resting and using the touch pad... With mine, I immediately replicated the problem. When putting pressure of the right side of the pad (outside the box) the mouse pointer erratically went to the right of the screen and took a min to recover when release of pressure. So basically, the housing is weak and sensitive to pressure, which sucks. Next step, gonna try and disable the touchpad feature of the keyboard and use a mouse, but I fear is impossible to select such settings.

 

[Gary]

Finally have my Surface Pro 128 and love it so far. One issue though... when I have the Type keyboard attached and the Surface Pro is plugged into its charger, the cursor moves all over the place on its own as soon as you put a finger on the touchpad. You don't have to even move your finger... the cursor just shoots all over the place.

I spent an hour and a half on the phone with Microsoft and first they heard of this. What is weird is that as soon as you unplug the charger from the tablet and its just on battery, then everything behaves as it should. Cursor stops jumping around and only moves when you move your finger on the touchpad.

Microsoft couldn't figure it out and even had me re-load the system. No go. Exchanged the unit today at the MS Store and the new one is doing exactly the same thing even with another new Type keyboard. I'm totally baffled. The girl I dealt with at the store did mention that someone else returned their Pro last night for exchange for the exact same reason. Is this some new problem that is starting to show up?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions and also curious to hear from any others that have seen this.

I have the new Surface Pro 3 and have to continually restart to get rid of the jitters. Tried detaching and reattaching the keyboard - no good. Tried turning the bluetooth mouse off and on, no good, played with the power cord and find that it has a relationship but only once the jitters have started, prior to that I can unplug and plugin without issue. NO

 

[Gary]

Finally have my Surface Pro 128 and love it so far. One issue though... when I have the Type keyboard attached and the Surface Pro is plugged into its charger, the cursor moves all over the place on its own as soon as you put a finger on the touchpad. You don't have to even move your finger... the cursor just shoots all over the place.

I spent an hour and a half on the phone with Microsoft and first they heard of this. What is weird is that as soon as you unplug the charger from the tablet and its just on battery, then everything behaves as it should. Cursor stops jumping around and only moves when you move your finger on the touchpad.

Microsoft couldn't figure it out and even had me re-load the system. No go. Exchanged the unit today at the MS Store and the new one is doing exactly the same thing even with another new Type keyboard. I'm totally baffled. The girl I dealt with at the store did mention that someone else returned their Pro last night for exchange for the exact same reason. Is this some new problem that is starting to show up?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions and also curious to hear from any others that have seen this.

Any answers? Surface Pro 3 does the same thing and only a full restart seems to fix the problem - For sure they need a mouse/trackpad Off button for touch typist. If you touch the pad at all the cursor is all over the place - a pain.