Dead zone in surface pro 6 touchscreen using the Pen

Question

I have read all topics on a similar problem on a surface 4, hoever saw no  topic of the same problem on a surface pro 6:

Having used the pen for a few months, suddenly the pen stops working in a certain 'band' area of about 2 cm across the middle of the screen, similar to what others posted on their surface 4. Sometimes the pen does work, but only using a certain speed and angle, most of the time it 'skips' the dead zone. using fingers in that zone is slightly better but also not 100%. I tried all suggestions (remove driver, update firmware, try different screen brightness, run diagnostics, etc etc,) except for revert to factory, of which most say that does not work either....

Doe someone has the same problem on a surface 6 pro? Is maynbe by now another solution available?

Answer 1

Hi RubenKos1,

Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Community.

When you ran the Surface Diagnostic Toolkit on your Surface Pro 6, were you able to trace the spiral with no issues using the pen or touch?

Please try these steps in uninstalling/re-installing both pen and touchscreen drivers then observe if still issues persist:

1. While the Surface Pen is paired on your Surface, open Device Manager.
2. Click View on top and check Show hidden devices
3. Expand Human Interface Devices > HID-compliant pen > Uninstall device

                                                                Surface pen settings > Uninstall device

**** Surface pen integration > Uninstall device

**** HID-Compliant touch screen > Uninstall device (if you see 2 of these drivers, uninstall both)

                                                                Intel (R) Precise Touch Device> Uninstall device

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

4. Expand Firmware > Surface touch > Uninstall device

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

5. Expand System devices > Surface pen pairing > Uninstall device

Surface Touch Servicing ML > Uninstall device

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

6. Restart
7. After Restart, check in Settings > Devices, if the Surface Pen is still paired on the device. If it is still paired, Removed and Add the Surface Pen again.
8. Test the Surface Pen

If still the issue persist, I suggest that we proceed to a Reset on the device. Here are the 3 kinds of Reset you may choose from (3rd option preferred):

Fresh Start:

            Fresh Start is the least intrusive form of reset.

            You will not lose any files or personal information.

            You will need to reinstall desktop programs.

            Fresh Start also ensures you have has all available updates once complete.

            If there is an issue with Windows itself, the issue may still occur after a Fresh Start.

Reset from Within Windows:

            This option uses the devices Hard Drive Partition to reimage the device.

            This option can delete personal data (You can choose Keep my files or Remove everything).

            You will need to reinstall desktop apps.

            You will need to run updates upon completion.

            If there is an issue with the partition, the issue may still occur after the reset.

 USBRecovery:

         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 answer your question, we highly encourage you to inform our Community by clicking on Yes or marking my post as an answer. This will help other members who may have the same issue as you. Otherwise, don't hesitate to update us so we can further assist you.

Kind Regards,

Marrion Y.

Answer 2

Thanks for the answer. I tried all, unfortunately without success. The dead zone is still there, in the middle of the screen. Touch and fingers work, pen doesn't in that zone. Actually quite similar to what others also encounter, even after a reset. 

The strange thing is that the pen sometimes does write/draw in that zone, albeit 'distorted, with jumps'. Finger and just touch buttons normally work in that zone. It appears therefore to be something in the pen driver, although I also saw posts of people having the exact problem 'the other way around': so pen works and finger doensn't. 

I hope Microsoft will keep investigating this problem as many people encounter it, for now I stop spending time on it, a bit disappointing that such expensive computer shows this behaviour after only a few month of use. Service appointments in NL don't seem to be possible following the site, so I give up for now.