Surface Pro Pen (2017) Input Lag & Writing Issues

Question

Hi, I've been experiencing issues with my Surface Pro pen while writing on apps such as OneNote or Windows Ink Sketchpad. Occasionally, the input from the pen (which can be seen by turning on the cursor) lags behind and seems to have trouble keeping up with my writing, which results in jagged or crooked lines. The cursor itself would jump from one place to the next and create non-smooth or undesirable lines and shapes, which can be quite frustrating when I am writing or drawing. I have also updated to newest software and have reinstalled all available drivers but the problem is still present.

Examples of this can be seen below, with the top sentence written and the first two lines drawn in the instance when the pen is working fine and the rest being examples of the pen having issues. I have more examples if the problem is not seen clearly.

Is there anything else I can do to fix this?

Answer 1

Hi Anthony,

The issue you're experiencing maybe a software-related.  In order to fix this issue, let's do some troubleshooting steps.

Run the Surface Diagnostic Toolkit (SDT)

The first step we need to do is to run SDT which checks your device for any drivers that needs to be updated.  Sometimes, the lagging and pressure detection maybe due to lacking drivers that needs to be installed in order for the application or software to recognize the pen.  To find out more information and steps on how to run SDT, simply click on this link.

Run the Pressure Sensitivity Test from your Surface App

Surface has its own application where you can run the pressure sensitivity test.  After running SDT, we would suggest that you run the pressure sensitivity test on your pen to check if you would need to adjust the sensitivity.  Once you're in the app, just click on the "Pen" icon and follow the instructions that will allow you to adjust the sensitivity and pressure of the pen.

Please let us know if the issue still persists after following these steps as more likely, if that would be the case, we may need to further troubleshoot on the issue.

Answer 2

Hi, I have followed all of your your steps. I have also contacted a Microsoft online agent and they attempted to fix it through remote control but the problem still persists. What do I do?

In addition, this appears to be quite a common problem, and I have heard some have tried the older Surface Pro 4 pen which worked better for them. Is there a way to get an exchange?

Thanks.

Answer 3

Hi Anthony,

Thank you for providing us an update. This may be similar to the pen inaccuracy issue that we have been looking into. Just to confirm, does the pen work accurately when your hand is not resting on the screen?

I'll be looking forward to your response.

Answer 4

Hi Ruz,

No, the problem still persists even if my hand is off the screen. It seems no matter what I try to do, the pen is still inaccurate and lags behind the cursor.

Let me know if you need to know anything else.

Answer 5

Thank you for getting back to us. See if installing KB4093105 will resolve the problem. To get this update, go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update and select Check online for updates from Microsoft Update. Restart your device afterwards and see if there will be changes.

Regards.