Solved Microsoft Surface Pro 3 Type Cover Trackpad Quit Working

[VickiFL]

My typecover track pad just stopped working yesterday. It's just sporadic, but I can't copy and paste at all anymore via the trackpad. This makes me sad because I really like the typecover a lot, especially purple.

I decided to pick these up and try them out. (I hate having to touch the screen to copy and paste. I'm too old school I guess, lol)

http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/en-us/p/wedge-mobile-keyboard/U6R-00001

http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/en-us/p/sculpt-comfort-mouse/H3S-00003

How long are these typecovers supposed to last anyway? Mine is only about 3 months old.

 

[nipponham]

I don't know how long they're supposed to last but I'm sure it's more than three months. All MS hardware have a limited one-year warranty so you should looking into getting it exchanged. Be warned though, before they take it back, they will most likely get you to do a bunch of resetting which includes deleting the hardware, reinstalling, and the all-dreaded refresh!

 

[VickiFL]

I hate to do a refresh just to make my keyboard work again. ::sigh::

Wouldn't they charge me a deductible for my Microsoft Complete?

 

[jnjroach]

Do a two finger start up from a cold boot, that is Volume Rocker Up and Power the device on with the cover on, make no changes exit and reboot and see if the keyboard works again.

If that doesn't work from Device Manager uninstall the Cover Firmware and reboot again with the cover on the device....

 

[nipponham]

Wouldn't they charge me a deductible for my Microsoft Complete?

They shouldn't because it's still part of the one-year coverage that everyone gets, regardless of whether they purchased the extra insurance or not. The MS Complete coverage kicks in when the regular warranty has run out.

 

[VickiFL]

Ok, great. I'll give them a call tomorrow. Thank you!

Do a two finger start up from a cold boot, that is Volume Rocker Up and Power the device on with the cover on, make no changes exit and reboot and see if the keyboard works again.

If that doesn't work from Device Manager uninstall the Cover Firmware and reboot again with the cover on the device....

I will give this a try first, though. Thank you!

 

[olimjj]

Ok, great. I'll give them a call tomorrow. Thank you!




I will give this a try first, though. Thank you!

Agree with the advice given above
There is one more "Keyboards" entry in Device Manager. You can disable the entrees then re-enable.
Of course I am assuming you disconnected and reconnected the keyboard

 

[markusbeutel]

First one I had stopped working after a month - took it in to the MS store, couldn't figure it out, got a replacement which worked... for another 2 months, then stopped working. Did the above workarounds, took it in again, turned out there was something wrong with the SP3 itself, as it wouldn't recognize typecovers anymore. Got a new replacement SP3. Best exchange experience I've ever had - if you have any issues, just take it into a MS store if that's an option and they'll sort it out for you no questions asked.

 

[sharpuser]

This failure happened to me once, but I fixed it by blowing out the magnetic connection area, both on the Surface and the Type Cover. Because it uses a magnetic connection, debris of small metallic fragments sometimes collects, hindering a good connection.

 

[olimjj]

This failure happened to me once, but I fixed it by blowing out the magnetic connection area, both on the Surface and the Type Cover. Because it uses a magnetic connection, debris of small metallic fragments sometimes collects, hindering a good connection.

This I have done also, but my expectation was to clear accumulations that would impede contact, not to dislodge any metallic debris if any. I am not sure air pressure alone would be sufficient to do this. The magnets on the surface are quite powerful. Using an appropriate "weak" magnet might serve better.

 

[VickiFL]

If that doesn't work from Device Manager uninstall the Cover Firmware and reboot again with the cover on the device....

That worked! Thank you so much!!!

I'm going to keep the Bluetooth keyboard and mouse as back up, and I may see how I like using them vs. the typecover.

Thank you for all the other suggestions as well!

 

[RémiM]

For some reason my trackpad stopped working too. Exactly the day I am spending 9h in the train, leaving Toronto (where the closest MS store is) and when I wanted to work a bit.

It's like the click is always clicking, making the keyboard completely useless.

The only thing I did was to wipe my keyboard with a Lysol wipe.

If the keyboard is not able to survive the wipe, then it is annoying.