Surface Pro 4 type cover suddenly not working.

Question

I don't know what happened. I turned my Surface Pro 4 on the other day and the type cover is dead. No lights. No response. No indication that it's working at all.  I rarely take my surface anywhere. 

This started on July 9th 2018. My system information is below. I've gone through all of the steps in the "Troubleshoot your Surface Type Cover or keyboard" page. I've tried to manually download and install the latest firmware and drivers from the "Download firmware and drivers for surface" page. I picked SurfacePro4_Win10_16299_1801701_1.msi. My device manager does not show the "Surface Touch Cover Filter Device" under keyboards or anywhere. It only shows the HID keyboard and cannot detect my type cover. The type cover is completely unresponsive. Also, my windows updates are completely up to date. I've provided the links to the troubleshooting pages I used below.

AGAIN, WTH

Troubleshoot your Surface Type Cover or keyboard

Download drivers and firmware for Surface 

Edition

Windows 10 Professional

Version

1803

OS Build

10.0.17134.165

Serial #

035060755053

Processor

Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-6300U CPU @ 2.40GHz

Graphics card

Intel(R) HD Graphics 520

System

OSType64BitX64

RAM

8 GB

Answer 1

Hi E_C_H_O,

You can boot into the Surface UEFI to check if the Type Cover will be responsive. To boot into the UEFI, refer to this page. If it does not work in the UEFI, then it means that what you're having is a hardware problem. I would recommend that you take the device to a Microsoft Store or contact Microsoft Support for assistance.

If the Type Cover works in the UEFI, then the problem is related to the software. Please run the Surface Diagnostic Toolkit to check for any errors. To download the tool, open this link.

In case you need further assistance, please reply to this post.

Regards.

Answer 2

Type cover is still dead/unresponsive in UEFI. The Diagnostic tool found and did nothing. I also disagree with your assessment. A hardware problem implies something PHYSICALLY wrong. My SP4 hasn't left my dock in weeks. Also, without the correct drivers, the type cover is unable to communicate with the Surface. The reason I believe this is because I had a windows app that could execute commands by mutli-point touch and swipes. That app is also suddenly not working. 

I did a full windows reset last night and that did nothing. SO DO NOT DO A WINDOWS RESET TO FIX THIS PROBLEM!!!! DO NOT!! IT WILL NOT FIX YOUR PROBLEM!!! It will just add to your headache. This product has been nothing but a headache since the day I got it.

Answer 3

Hardware issues can be physical damages or whole equipments/devices being faulty. Since the Surface did not recognize the Type Cover after performing a reset, let's check for physical connection issues. Try to disconnect the Type Cover and wipe the connectors using a clean, soft cloth. After doing that, reconnect it to the Surface. Do this 3 times and see if the Surface will recognize the Type Cover.

I'll be waiting for your update.

Answer 4

There are unfortunately many people with this issue (including a neighbor and a

friend). For most, the problem occurs after some random Windows Update. My

theory is that it isn't a particular update, but something in the update PROCESS

that corrupts the firmware somehow. Microsoft has not commented on this, nor

have they come up with a fix. If it does not work in the UEFI, no amount of

reimaging will fix it. Cleaning the contacts has not fixed this for anyone.

See

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/forum/surfaccesso-surfkeyboard/surface-pro-4-jul-2017-update-type-cover-not/1c188925-c234-4369-8c93-af74417534d1

and other threads

https://www.computerworld.com/article/3215225/microsoft-windows/surface-pro-4-type-cover-suddenly-stops-working.html

Your only solution is to spend $450US for an out of warranty refurb exchange.

Answer 5

Dear Ruz_San,

There are dozen of people complaining about this issue and all you can suggest is to clean the connectors? How about you provide some evidence that Microsoft did actually something about this April windows update? I had no issues with my surface pro 4 device until the windows update. To date after hours spent fixing the problem, I still can't use the type cover . Yet every engineer is suggesting to wipe clean the connectors. What a joke!!