Surface Pro 7 pen misaligned - writing appears offset from the tip. How do I fix this?

Question

My Surface Pro 7 was working great until out of the blue the digital ink started to appear offset from the tip of the pen by about a millimetre, which is very noticeable when writing and trying to draw graphs. This problem primarily occurs when the pen is tilted.

I have tried the following solutions:

• I tried using different apps. The same issue occurs on OneNote, Whiteboard and Drawboard, so this is not an app problem.
• I swapped pen nibs, but this had no effect. Therefore I can conclude that it is not a nib problem.
• I tried to calibrate the screen, but the Windows calibration tool does not work on the Surface Pro 7, and this is a widely known and very common issue. **** When I bring up the "Calibrate the screen for pen or touch input" dialogue box and click "Calibrate", it asks me whether I want to make changes to the computer, and then nothing happens. See this thread regarding the problem (note that there are many other such threads on Reddit and other forums): https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/forum/all/trouble-with-digitizer-calibration-tool-on-surface/8b36cc18-a2ed-4e6e-8adf-d61af21a6905?page=2
• I was on Windows 11 when the issue began, so I did a clean reinstall of Windows 10. Note that I did not just restore back to Windows 10 since I had been on Windows 11 for longer than ten days. I did a clean reinstallation of Windows 10. No luck, the problem persists. Therefore I don't think this can be a Windows problem.
• I have made sure Windows 10 is completely up to date.
• I have changed the battery on my surface pen. Didn't help.
• I have purchased a brand new pen (without the clip, which is the same model I was using previously). No luck, meaning this is not a problem with the pen.

Therefore, I can only conclude that this is a problem with the tablet itself. However, I'm at a loss. What can I do to identify the problem? My warranty expired several months ago. Is my only option to send this to Microsoft and pay £400 for a service (or buy a new device)? Has anyone else had this problem and have they managed to fix it?

Answer 1

The media creation tool is generic and you may be missing drivers. Go to Download Surface Pro 7 Drivers and Firmware from Official Microsoft Download Center and if you clean install Windows 11, download and run SurfacePro7_Win11_22000_21.092.22602.0.msi - this will give you the SP7 drivers.

Answer 2

Hi SibylSystemX,

Thank you for reaching Microsoft Community. I'm sorry to hear about the issue that you are having on your Surface Pro 7's pen functionality. We appreciate the time and effort spent to troubleshoot the issue. We'll work together to find out the what's causing this issue.

Please try running these steps first on your Surface Pro 7 then check if the issue persist:

1: Run Surface Diagnostic Toolkit

See: Fix common Surface problems using the Surface Diagnostic Toolkit (microsoft.com)

2: Check for Windows Update

Go to Windows Settings > Update & Security and select Check for updates

Make sure all updates need are installed including Optional updates

3: Update drivers and firmware

Check what is the current OS Build of your Windows version by going to Settings > System > About. 

Go to Download driver and firmware for Surface, choose Surface Pro

Then click the link next to Surface Pro 7 then click Download on the next page.

Choose the .msi file that matches your current OS Build and click Next.

After downloading, run and install the .msi then Restart. 

4: Run System File Checker Tool

See: Using System File Checker in Windows (microsoft.com)

If the issue persist, try these steps:

Open Device Manager

Expand Human Interface devices

Right-click on HID-compliant touchscreen and select Uninstall device

Right-click on Intel Precise Touch and select Uninstall device

Note: If prompted with a checkbox stating "Delete the driver software for this device", leave it uncheck then hit Uninstall.

Expand Firmware

Do the same for the Surface Touch Firmware

Close Device Manager and restart your Surface

After the restart, test the device again

Hope this helps.

Answer 3

Hi, thank you for your response. I have already completed steps 1, 2 & 4. With regards to step 3 & the additional steps outlined at the end, I have already reinstalled the entire operating system. All drivers would have been reinstalled as part of that process anyway, so I have effectively done those too.

What would you advise next?

Answer 4

Hi SibylSystemX,

Thank you for the details.

Regarding with the re-install of Windows that you performed, was it by using a fresh Windows image through a USB Recovery or just a Reset within Windows where you'll have the option between Keep my files and Remove everything? If it was just a Reset within Windows, I suggest doing a reinstallation using a fresh Windows Image through USB Recovery. This option will reimage the entire device and reload Windows including the drivers and firmware. It is the most complete form of Reset and it will wipe out everything on the device so you might need to back up your files first. You will need also a 16GB/32GB of flash drive that must be formatted into FAT32 prior to downloading the Recovery Image. If you like to try, you can follow the steps provided below:

How to Download, Create and Use a USB recovery drive

To download the Recovery Image:

• You'll need a PC running Windows 7 or later or Surface Device.

1. Visit the page to Download the recovery image for your Surface
2. Sign in with your Microsoft Account
3. From the list of Surface devices available, select the device that you need a recovery image for
   Please note that while you will only be presented with devices that are currently registered on your account, you will also be presented with the option to get an image for a different type of device. If you try to use this option, you will be prompted to enter the serial number for that device
4. Download the recovery image using the button on the page
5. When the download bar pops up at the bottom of your screen, save the file in a location you will be able to find it.

 Format USB Drive:

• Note: Formatting a recovery drive will erase anything that is already stored on your USB drive. Make sure to transfer any important data from your USB drive to another storage device before using it to create a Surface USB recovery drive.

1. Insert your USB drive into the USB port of your PC.
2. From the desktop, open File Explorer
3. Tap and hold or right-click on the USB drive and choose Format
4. Select FAT32 as the file system and enter a Volume label to name the USB drive, such as RECOVERY, and then tap or click Start
5. Tap or click OK to erase the contents of the USB drive
6. Tap or click OK when the format is complete

Create a recovery drive:

1. On your Surface or PC, open recovery image that you downloaded by double-clicking it or right click then select Extract and then Extract all.
2. Select the USB drive you formatted earlier for the location and click Extract.

Use a USB recovery drive to reset your Surface:

1. Shutdown the Surface
2. Insert the USB recovery drive into the USB port
3. Press and hold the volume-down (-) rocker
4. Press and release the power button
5. When the Surface logo appears, release the volume-down (-) rocker
6. Surface will start the recovery software on the USB recovery drive
7. When prompted, choose your language options and keyboard layout
8. Select Troubleshoot
9. Select Recover from a Drive. Choose Remove Everything and Fully Clean the Drive. Recovering this PC.
10. If prompted, select Repartition the drives
11. If prompted for BitLocker Key, tap Skip this Drive

If this was the Reset that you performed and still the issue persist, I'm sorry that this is likely a hardware issue already on the device. I suggest contacting support for replacement options available and for further assistance. You may contact them through the numbers listed in Global Customer Service phone numbers (microsoft.com). You may also reach them through this page: Contact Us - Microsoft Support and use the details or entries given here: I need to talk to tech support - Microsoft Community.

Answer 5

Thank you for your detailed response. I used the Windows 10 media creation tool which can be found here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows10. I didn't go into settings and click reset (I was on Windows 11 at the time so that wouldn't have given me Windows 10 back). When I loaded up the tool I clicked "Upgrade this PC now" and then it gave me three options regarding what I could keep, but they were all greyed out except for "Nothing". Is this the same thing?