Static phantom / ghost touch / point on Surface pro 4 on display boarder

Question

Hi Microsoft Community,

I received a used Surface Pro 4 and completely formatted Windows 10.

The here explain problem started in the Windows Welcome screen at the start of the Windows 10 installation.

I do not know for sure if the problem was present before the formatting, although the previous used claimed that there was no issue.

One or sometimes two ghost touches appear on the right side of the screen (power cable side) - Middle right and upper right corner (see pictures).

The problem seems to be described by the Microsoft Support team here: Surface Pro 4 or Surface Book experiences "phantom" touch input on the screen.

Although the hotfix doesn't exist anymore, the solution via screen calibration did not work for me.

Detailed behavior of the ghost points:

• As soon as the ghost touch appears, the mouse disappears and the touchscreen is not usable anymore (Keyboard still works)
• The ghost touch in the middle sometimes transforms into a square (see picture)
• By touching the points via touchscreen and moving them towards the middle of the screen and then letting go, removes them temporarily
• The points appear with or without using the screen randomly
• The points appear with or without USB, charger cable, keyboard plugged
• They can be removed completely by disabling the touchscreen in the Device Manager
• When rotating the Surface Pro they remain on the side of the USB port / charging port even though the screen rotates.
• The points usually appear randomly but their appearance can be forced by touching the screen on the middle right or top right corner (where they then appear)
• No change in behavior when connecting the Surface Pro to a screen

The problem remained after:

• Completely updating Windows 10
• Updating touchscreen drivers
• Screen calibration

As none of common solutions worked for me, I suspect a damaged touchscreen or some electromagnetic interference.

Is there any other troubleshooting or possible solutions out there?

[moved from German Windows forums]

Answer 1

Hi Microsoft Community,

I received a used Surface Pro 4 and completely formatted Windows 10.

The here explain problem started in the Windows Welcome screen at the start of the Windows 10 installation.

I do not know for sure if the problem was present before the formatting, although the previous used claimed that there was no issue.

One or sometimes two ghost touches appear on the right side of the screen (power cable side) - Middle right and upper right corner (see pictures).

The problem seems to be described by the Microsoft Support team here: Surface Pro 4 or Surface Book experiences "phantom" touch input on the screen.

Although the hotfix doesn't exist anymore, the solution via screen calibration did not work for me.

Detailed behavior of the ghost points:

• As soon as the ghost touch appears, the mouse disappears and the touchscreen is not usable anymore (Keyboard still works)
• The ghost touch in the middle sometimes transforms into a square (see picture)
• By touching the points via touchscreen and moving them towards the middle of the screen and then letting go, removes them temporarily
• The points appear with or without using the screen randomly
• The points appear with or without USB, charger cable, keyboard plugged
• They can be removed completely by disabling the touchscreen in the Device Manager
• When rotating the Surface Pro they remain on the side of the USB port / charging port even though the screen rotates.
• The points usually appear randomly but their appearance can be forced by touching the screen on the middle right or top right corner (where they then appear)
• No change in behavior when connecting the Surface Pro to a screen

The problem remained after:

• Completely updating Windows 10
• Updating touchscreen drivers
• Screen calibration

As none of common solutions worked for me, I suspect a damaged touchscreen or some electromagnetic interference.

Is there any other troubleshooting or possible solutions out there?

[moved from German Windows forums]

Hi VictorNB,

Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Community. This more likely a phantom touch, it can be cause by some factors like the touch driver is not up to date or could be cause by a hardware. We can try these troubleshooting steps to get it fix: 

Step 1: Run SDT or Windows Updates

• Updates have fixes to common problems, or issues. Ensuring the customer has all the latest updates on their Surface will ensure they have the best possible experience.
• Run Surface Diagnostic Toolkit. It is a self-healing tool which looks for potential issues and fixes them, as well as ensures your device is completely up to date.

Step 2:Force the device to shut down and restart.

• Press and hold the volume-up button and the power button at the same time for at least 15 seconds and then release both.

Step 3: Boot****to UEFI and see if the issue is present.

• Once the device is shutdown, **press and hold the volume up button,**and single press the power button.
• The device will boot to the Surface logo, and you should see spinning dots. After the Surface logo, the device should boot to UEFI.
• If the issue exists in UEFI, then we know it’s a hardware failure.

**Step 4:**Uninstall HID-Compliant Touch Screen driver and restart

• Open Device Manager
• Go to Human Interface Devices.
• Expand Human Interface Devices, and Right-click HID-Compliant Touch Screen.
• Right-click on HID-Compliant Touch Screen and select Uninstall. If there is more than one driver, uninstall those as well.
• Restart the Surface and attempt to reproduce the issue.

**Step 5:**Reset- USB Recovery Image

USB recovery

The customer will need to download and set up a recovery image on a USB drive. Send the USB recovery linkto the customer and help them get started. Information on what size and type of drive is provided at the destination page.

• This option reimages the entire device, including the partition on the hard drive.
• It is the most complete form of reset.
• Customers will need to back up their personal data.
• Customers will need to reinstall desktop apps. Customers will need to run updates after completion.

For the mouse, may I know what type of mouse you are using? Is it Bluetooth mouse? If it is what is the make an model of it? When does the issue started? 

If this works, 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,

Rom G.

Answer 2

Hey Rom,

thank you for the detailed troubleshooting guide.

What I previously tried but did not work was:

1. Surface diagnostic toolkit
2. Windows Updates
3. Uninstalling drivers
4. USB recovery

Booting to UEFI resulted in the following:

Mouse and touchscreen worked initially. After repeatedly touching the mentioned areas on the screen, the touchscreen stopped responding and I couldn't switch through the UEFI menu via touchscreen. However the mouse was still working (differently than when not being in UEFI). UEFI does not show touch feedback so I cannot be sure about the touchscreen. 

As soon as the touchscreen stopped working, I couldn't "fix" it by touching the problematic area (middle and top right) and pulling the finger towards the middle of the screen. This usually worked outside of UEFI and resolved the issue for a couple seconds. 

So - Hardware failure?

I am using the original Surface typecover (same as the user before me). But using it or having it far away did not change anything.

Thanks for the help!

All the best,

Victor

Answer 3

Hey Rom,

thank you for the detailed troubleshooting guide.

What I previously tried but did not work was:

1. Surface diagnostic toolkit
2. Windows Updates
3. Uninstalling drivers
4. USB recovery

Booting to UEFI resulted in the following:

Mouse and touchscreen worked initially. After repeatedly touching the mentioned areas on the screen, the touchscreen stopped responding and I couldn't switch through the UEFI menu via touchscreen. However the mouse was still working (differently than when not being in UEFI). UEFI does not show touch feedback so I cannot be sure about the touchscreen. 

As soon as the touchscreen stopped working, I couldn't "fix" it by touching the problematic area (middle and top right) and pulling the finger towards the middle of the screen. This usually worked outside of UEFI and resolved the issue for a couple seconds. 

So - Hardware failure?

I am using the original Surface typecover (same as the user before me). But using it or having it far away did not change anything.

Thanks for the help!

All the best,

Victor

Hi VictorNB,

 Thank you for your response. If the issue occurs in the UEFI then it is a hardware failure. After you have performed a USB recovery, everything should work fine if the issue is just a software related. You may contact support to have it replaced, if the device is under warranty replacement is for free. If it is outside warranty, you can do an Out of warranty replacement.

Please keep us posted...

Kind Regards,

Rom G.