Why won't my slim pen 2 charge?

Question

I have had my Surface Pro 11 with Flex Keyboard and Slim Pen 2 for less than one month (at which point they were new). Last night, my surface had displayed a warning that my pen battery was below 5%, so I put the pen in the charging cradle of the keyboard, plugged in the charger to the surface (and let the keyboard remain attached to the surface). This morning, when I tried to use my surface, the pen was not working.

When I open my bluetooth devices, it shows that the pen is not connected, and it intermittently shows that the pen is connected with 0% battery. When I open the surface app, it shows that the keyboard and the surface are both at 100% charge and it says the pen has 0% charge. I've followed all the steps that I've seen recommended within the help queries that seemed relevant, with exception to using a separate charging device or trying to charge a different pen with my own keyboard (I understand why these are suggested, but I don't have a spare pen, charger, or keyboard). I will attempt these when the option becomes available, but I use the pen daily for work, and it I can't find a way to acquire a new charger today, while acquiring a new Pen or Keyboard would be quite expensive.

The surface app claims that the keyboard firmware is up to date. The surface itself has no pending updates.

When I remove the pen from the charger, it vibrates.

When I place the pen back in the charger, the indicator light on the pen lights up for about a second. The light then either turns off or fades out.

I have restarted the surface several times. I ran the Surface diagnostic software (which did not seem to do anything related to testing the pen, let alone the keyboard's ability to charge the pen).

I think that is a fairly complete summary of the relevant details, but I'm happy to provide more information if it could be helpful. My suspicion is that the charger on the keyboard is not charging fast enough to allow the pen to hold a charge. I am hoping for an alternate explanation or at least a fix to this as this keyboard has only been used for a couple weeks.

***Move from Windows / Windows 11 / Devices and drivers***

Answer 1

Hello Dylan,

Welcome to Microsoft Community.

Thank you for your detailed description of the problem.

Your thoughts are actually quite correct, because these two possibilities need to be examined first:

1. Flex keyboard no longer charges Slim Pen 2.
2. The Slim Pen's battery is damaged and no longer rechargeable.

But it's true that not all customers will have a spare pen and keyboard, perhaps I can recommend that you go to the Microsoft product store near you (if it is nearby) before bringing the device, and explain the purpose of the store staff, I'm sure they will be happy to assist you with testing and troubleshooting.

But if such testing conditions are not available, my most direct recommendation is to take your Surface, along with the Flex keyboard and Slim Pen, to the Surface support team for inspection. But if you still want to make some effort, I can give you some suggestions at the software level:

1. Download and install the driver and firmware package for Surface Pro 11:

Download Surface Pro 11th Edition Drivers and Firmware from Official Microsoft Download Center ****

After the installation is complete, restart your Surface and check to see if the problem can be improved.

2. Use Windows Update to check if new updates are being pushed, and if so, don't hesitate to install them.
3. After backing up all your important data, reset your Surface. Go to Start menu -- Settings -- System --Recovery--Reset PC. You can try selecting "Keep my files" as a priority to reduce the impact on the data in the Surface.

But if the problem persists, I would still recommend you contact the Surface technical support team. You can connect with live support through the Surface App:

Open the Surface App (usually built into your Surface device, or you can download it from the Microsoft Store if you don't have one) and follow the procedure below:

1. Click "Help and Support" and then click "Get Help".
2. Briefly describe your problem in the text box, such as "Slim Pen 2 won't charge in the Flex keyboard", and then press Enter.
3. Click "Contact Support" at the bottom.
4. Select "Technical Support" and click "Confirm".
5. You will see "Chat support" or "phone support" options, please contact them during working hours, you will get one-to-one support services.

If necessary, they will assist you in creating a service order. I wish you all the best. 

Best Regards,

Mitchell | Microsoft Community Support Specialist