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Surface Laptop 4 + dock - Mouse & keyboard lag / freeze

Anonymous
2021-12-17T17:47:47+00:00

Hi,

This issue has been plaguing the Surface products - and I'm "glad" to report that the Laptop 4 is also suffering from it.

The problem: When I connect USB peripherals (especially gaming mice and keyboards) to the Surface Dock, they lag and/or hang every X time.

The same issue has been reported for the Surface Book 2 and Laptop 3. I own the latter and I've experienced this issue on that device personally. It has been fixed since, so I'm kind of disappointed to see the same issue on the Laptop 4 now.

To make matters worse, I've also experienced this issue with a Logitech MX Keys keyboard (not a gaming device). Every few minutes, sometimes more often, a key haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaangs <- and causes stuff like that.

As I understand, the high report rate of gaming devices causes the Dock to disconnect-then-reconnect the usb devices every so often. Another cause I've read about was recent Windows versions powering down USB ports or something like that.

I can confirm that the same Dock (v1, in this case) with a Laptop 3 does not suffer from this issue. It's just the Laptop 4.

The only way to work around it is to connect the device via bluetooth (not always an option as many gaming devices do not have BT) or plug the USB in the laptop (not the Dock). This works for one device, but unfortunately I'm one of those guys who insist on using both a keyboard and a mouse :))

I would really appreciate a fix for this issue. Thanks!

Related support topics (barely scratching the Surface (ha!) here:

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/forum/all/mouse-scrolling-lag-surface-dock-connection-issues/bdd8362c-e176-4d37-9298-c21dd260be04 https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/forum/all/mouse-scrolling-lag-surface-dock-connection-issues/bdd8362c-e176-4d37-9298-c21dd260be04

Surface | Surface Laptop | Performance and maintenance

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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  1. Anonymous
    2022-10-25T00:35:49+00:00

    Here are the scenarios I've reproduced the exact same symptoms with:

    Keyboard/Mouse -> Surface Dock 2 -> Surface

    Keyboard/Mouse -> Generic USB-C Hub -> Surface

    This *only* happens with keyboards and mice. Example: My webcam plugged into the same hub/dock works 100% of the time.

    I can reproduce this issue with three keyboards. The problem isn't the keyboard. The problem isn't one particular hub or dock.

    When the keyboard/mouse is plugged into the surface directly, I have no issues - unfortunately, there are a *very limited* number of USB ports, so this isn't a viable solution.

    I can only solve this issue by editing the power plan. Pwrcfg is super complex, so I haven't been able to spend *more* time figuring out exactly whats happening here. I only know when I make the change (somewhere in this thread), I can get the keyboard working for long periods of time.

    The issue isn't outdated firmware. I will scream if someone tries to tell me to reinstall windows, or to "check my firmware". All of these devices are up to date (including my Surface device, which is a Surface Laptop Studio).

    This thread clearly shows something systemic (likely with the pwrcfg plans for processors related to power saving, specific for surface devices). I encapsulated the pwrcfg command in a powershell script run each time the system starts.

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  2. Anonymous
    2022-10-24T22:49:51+00:00

    It looks like my problem has been solved by updating to Windows 11 22H2 :-)

    I keep watching to see if the error appears.

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  3. Anonymous
    2022-03-26T02:37:52+00:00

    Hello,

    I have the same problem. My new Surface Laptop 4 with Surface Dock 2 not work correctly. Every few minutes, sometimes more often, the mouse and keyboard freeze / lag. I'm trying a different mouse, a different keyboard, updates, diagnostics, upgrading to Windows 11 and the problem is still the same.

    Is the repair permanent and working without problems?

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  4. Anonymous
    2022-01-14T08:05:09+00:00

    Not entirely.

    I did find a newer firmware for my 1st gen Dock and that did fix the issue between the SL4 and the 1st gen dock I have at home - at least 99% of it. I still get an occasional hiccup but it's very possible I'm just taxing the system to its limits on those occasions :)

    The 2nd gen dock was (and is) up to date and still suffering from this issue.

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  5. Anonymous
    2021-12-18T07:37:26+00:00

    Thanks.

    Unfortunately, I'm already on the latest firmware (16 dec) and still experiencing the issue.

    I haven't upgraded to Windows 11 yet. This is my workstation and I need a stable machine so I'm a bit reluctant to be on the bleeding edge like that. And, to be honest, I need a taskbar that doesn't combine my applications into a single icon.

    Besides, the Laptop 4 shipped with Windows 10 so I would assume a first-party accessory like the Dock, which is officially supported, should just work correctly.

    I would try installing Windows 11 if I had a spare Laptop 4 lying around, but unfortunately I don't :)

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