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FIXED: Touch/Type Cover Issue

ColoKaren

New Member
Hey folks,

I ordered my SP 128 from MS store online, and my white (if that matters) touch cover from Amazon, received both a few days after launch. Had no issues with either until yesterday, when the SP stopped recognizing the touch cover. I have *usually* left the cover on the tablet at night, with the tablet plugged into an outlet. Two nights ago, the adapter was disconnected from the unit at some point during the night (I blame the dog), and the next day the keyboard's key recognition was very erratic. That night, I neglected to plug the AC adapter to the tablet, and left the cover on and covering the unit. OOPS. The next morning, on resuming from sleep, the unit stopped recognizing the cover at all.

Tried all the recommended steps, removed/reattached the cover 20x, cleaned the connectors on the cover with rubbing alcohol, yes all six connector "dots" are present on both the cover and the SP, shut down/rebooted in various configurations (cover on, cover off, cover on before login, cover off before login... blah, blah, blah). I turned off auto-updates, uninstalled the last updates, let them all reinstall, etc. I spent an hour on the phone with MS Tech Support last night, who recommended I refresh the system--NOT optimal!! Since we'd spent an hour on the issue, he had to reschedule a follow-up for tonight. I decided to try to fix the issue myself.

Today, I uninstalled the HID keyboard device in Device Manager, shut down (not plugged into AC adapter), waited for 20 minutes, and rebooted without the keyboard attached (kickstand down), logged in, did another hard shut down, waited 20 minutes, rebooted without the keyboard attached (kickstand closed), logged in, THEN opened the kickstand and attached the cover. IT WORKED.

I'm convinced that the issue is related to something in the firmware not releasing/refreshing drivers after sleep--the system doesn't seem to have a way to check in with the hardware. I'm convinced that this is NOT a hardware issue, just a firmware/driver issue. I'm not willing to allow the unit's battery to completely discharge, as this will damage the already terrible battery, which isn't easily replaced.

HTH!
 

giddyup69

New Member
my wife has the type cover. she has a numeric password enabled. we noticed that if the sp is off and you disconnect the type cover then turn the unit on... the on screen keyboard will not pop up onto the screen. so i believe you are correct... the unit should run a quick check from sleep to see what is connected and what is not.
 

J515OP

Super Moderator
my wife has the type cover. she has a numeric password enabled. we noticed that if the sp is off and you disconnect the type cover then turn the unit on... the on screen keyboard will not pop up onto the screen. so i believe you are correct... the unit should run a quick check from sleep to see what is connected and what is not.

This. It is covered in a few threads here though the particular problem above could have been something else but there is certainly a problem with disconnecting the Keyboard when the Surface isn't on.
 

STLPilot

New Member
does anyone have a solution for the type key board deciding when and when not to work? is there a solution? it's getting aggrevating.
 

bosamar

Well-Known Member
does anyone have a solution for the type key board deciding when and when not to work? is there a solution? it's getting aggrevating.

The only solution I know of is to reboot the tablet. I'm sure MS is working on a firmware fix.
 

J515OP

Super Moderator
does anyone have a solution for the type key board deciding when and when not to work? is there a solution? it's getting aggrevating.

Don't connect it or disconnect it when the device is not on. The change of state doesn't register and creates the issue. Make sure you have all the updates (may or may not help). In many cases you may just need to disconnect and reconnect to get it to work instead of reboot. There are a few threads discussing all of this so you may want to search and read through them for tips.
 

dougpaw57

Member
There was a windows update yesterday that updated the touch cover.

The only update I show for the 28th of February was definition update for Windows defender. I looked at every update since the beginning and I see no updates with keyboard in the title.
 

jnjroach

Administrator
Staff member
Dougpaw57 - Completely unrelated to the thread, but I notice you're from Lancaster, CA!!! I grew up there, I left in '91 but was there from 1971 - 1991 and still have family there.
 

Bran

New Member
I have a Surface Pro with Type Cover that chooses to work when it wants to. I have never taken the cover off when unit was off, yet I turn it on the the cover decides not to work, the on screen keyboard pops up. I reboot in various configurations as I believe the OP mentions above to no avail. It is getting quite frustrating. I have only had the Surface for three days, so I am well within my return window. Strongly thinking of taking it back.

I just rebooted five times trying to get the type cover to work. In frustration I took the cover off, the screen orientation changed to portrait, I reattached the cover, orientation corrected, and the type cover worked...until I opened Word. So I am typing this on my MacBook Pro.

I have installed all available updates. Hopefully something will come out soon to fix this, otherwise I am returning the Surface and once again giving up on Windows.
 

J515OP

Super Moderator
Some units are actually bad and it sounds like you got one. Return it and you should only see an issue if you remove while asleep.
 
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