S3 and the Pen (SP4)

[kristalsoldier]

Hi all,

I am running into a bit of a problem here with my S3 and the new Pen that was released with the SP4. I bought that to use with my S3.

It works well on Word 2016, Drawboard PDF and OneNote which are the apps where I use the Pen the most.

But I noticed something odd. The Surface App does not recognize the Pen. It says something like either there is a problem with drivers or the Device list needs to be refreshed. I have done the latter, but I can't find a way to refresh the drivers since the roll-back or delete button is grayed out.

Last evening, I refreshed the S3 (tedious!). But the same problem remains.

Worth mentioning that the Pen is recognized within the Surface App on my SP3 though. Edit: Also worth mentioning that the S3 and the SP3 share the exact same settings.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Plantje]

Could you post a screen shot of the issue? I am using a SP4 pen on my S3 as well. I don't see any error in the Surface app but at the same time there is not much I can do with the pen in the Surface app. For example: I cannot change the behavior of the buttons.

 

[jnjroach]

Hi Kristal,

IIRC the pen works across the devices but can only paired with one device, so if the new pen is paired with SP3 the Surface App on the S3 may not "see" it..

 

[kristalsoldier]

Hi Kristal,

IIRC the pen works across the devices but can only paired with one device, so if the new pen is paired with SP3 the Surface App on the S3 may not "see" it..

Wow! Really? OK. I'll unpair it from the SP3 and see how it goes. Thanks.

But its kind of odd isn't it? Should it not be the case that though one critical accessory cannot operate on two devices simultaneously, it should be discoverable (which on BT it is) by both devices and a common app (which it is not)? Or, I may be getting this entirely wrong!

 

[jnjroach]

Typically allowing multiple devices to share the same Bluetooth device requires more capacity on the Bluetooth Firmware and a switch that change the connection string and encryption. Remember the Surface Pen Device is the Bluetooth Accessory, the writing part is interacting with the Digitizer Layer.

 

[kristalsoldier]

Could you post a screen shot of the issue? I am using a SP4 pen on my S3 as well. I don't see any error in the Surface app but at the same time there is not much I can do with the pen in the Surface app. For example: I cannot change the behavior of the buttons.

Take a look at the attached.

 

[kristalsoldier]

Typically allowing multiple devices to share the same Bluetooth device requires more capacity on the Bluetooth Firmware and a switch that change the connection string and encryption. Remember the Surface Pen Device is the Bluetooth Accessory, the writing part is interacting with the Digitizer Layer.

Well, I just checked, the Pen is NOT paired to the SP3. It is paired however to the S3. I again unpaired and repaired it. Still the same outcome as the attachment in the above post....((

 

[jnjroach]

Uninstall the Surface App and reinstall (reboot to be on the safe side )

 

[kristalsoldier]

Uninstall the Surface App and reinstall (reboot to be on the safe side )

Done that too! No change.

 

[jnjroach]

Your S3 is temperamental Kristal When I get home tonight I'll will see what I can find out on my S3.

 

[kristalsoldier]

Your S3 is temperamental Kristal When I get home tonight I'll will see what I can find out on my S3.

Thanks Jeff, I really appreciate it!

 

[Plantje]

I'll see if I can find the time to test it on mine as well