Pen input becomes unresponsive and system tray icons start flashing/blinking

Question

I'm having problems using pen & touch input apps like OneNote, Journal, Scrble, etc. After starting to write something, suddenly the pen stops working and then the system tray icons start to flash. Then, until it stops flashing, I cannot write anything.

This is super annoying because I need to use my surface book as a pen & touch input device!

This started to happen after the April and May Windows 11 updates.

Anyone with this problem that has been able to find the solution?

A video of the issue can be found here.

EDIT: this issue return and now is even worse. Every time this issue happens, the whole system becomes unresponsive.

Thanks!

Answer 1

Hello f-hoelderlin,

Thanks for reaching Microsoft Community. We're sorry to hear about this issue on your pen and device. Definitely not the experience we want you to have.

May I know what pen model were you using? See Identify your Surface Pen and features (microsoft.com).

Does this issue only happen when you're using the pen?

Does the issue only occur when writing? How about launching an app using the pen buttons?

In the meantime, please give these methods a try and observe your device:

Force a shut down and restart your Surface

• Press and hold down the power button until your Surface shuts down and restarts and you see the Windows logo screen (about 20 seconds), then release the power button.

Run the Surface Diagnostic Toolkit

• In the search box on the taskbar, type Surface Diagnostic Toolkit, then select it in the list of results.
  If it's not already installed, you can download it from the Microsoft Store.
• Follow the on-screen instructions in the Surface Diagnostic Toolkit.

Update Windows. Ensure all pending updates are installed.

• Select Check for Windows updates. Or select Start > Settings > Windows Update.

Manually install drivers and firmware for Surface

• Check what is the current OS Build of your Windows version by typing winveron the search barnear the Windows logo.
• Go to Download driver and firmware for Surface**,**choose (your Surface model) then click Download.
  Choose the .msi file closest to your current OS Build and click Next.
  After downloading, run and install the .msi then Restart.

Otherwise, you might also want to try these:

Reinstall touchscreen driver

• Open Device Manager, and locate Human Interface Devices category.
• Right-click Intel(R) Precise Touch Device, select Uninstall device, and then, in the Uninstall Device dialog box, select Uninstall.
• Right-click HID-compliant touch screen, select Uninstall device, and then, in the Uninstall Device dialog box, select Uninstall. If you see two HID-compliant touchscreen drivers, right-click the first, select Uninstall device, select Uninstall, and then repeat the process for the second driver.

Reset touch calibration

• In the search box on the taskbar, enter calibrate, and then select Calibrate the screen for pen or touch input.
• Press Tabuntil you select Reset, and then press Enter. Then, press Tabuntil you select Yes, press Enter, and follow the onscreen instructions to recalibrate your Surface.
• Restart your Surface and test the touchscreen to check whether it responds appropriately.

I hope this helps. Feel free to respond on this thread to let us know how it goes.

Kind regards,

StevenK

Answer 2

Hi, I have a Surface Pen with no clip and yes, this issue happens only using the pen.

From your steps, what has worked was: I have removed and resintalled the drivers Intel(R) Precise Touch Device and HID-compliant touch screen. Then, I installed the Surface Book 3 drivers. Now things are working fine again. I will continue testing and if the problem returns I'll post again here.

Thanks for your help!

Answer 3

Thanks for keeping us posted, f-hoelderlin.

That's really good to know that things are working fine again.

For now, if this answers your question, please let our Community know by marking this post as an answer. This helps others who may have the same concern as you.

Best wishes,

StevenK

Answer 4

Argh. I had this same issue with Windows 10, so I upgraded to 11, and it was fine for a while, and now it's back! It makes things nearly unusable!

Answer 5

I'm having again this issue. Every time I use pen input, the icons on the syste tray start to blink and everything on Windows becomes unresponsive until they stop blinking.