Unable to Detach Clipboard from Keyboard

Question

When I first got my surface book I could detach it without any issues, however I am no longer able to.

Now when trying to detach it the detach button's light blinks green but nothing happens. When I hover over the software detach option it says "Surface Detach: Detached" and when looking at the battery status it say "Battery 1 not available." Everything appears to indicate it does not think it is currently attached to the keyboard, when in fact it is.

I did confirm the battery is fully charged. Also, I just did a factory reset, again no change in this. With me doing a reset I'm assuming it's some sort of hardware issue.

Any thoughts on this? Is there some sort of service or app I could reset?

RESOLVED:

I got this issue resolved. To give credit where credit is due I referenced information from the following two pages:

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/forum/surfbook-surfdrivers/surface-book-thinks-the-keyboard-is-not-attached/85fd37bf-5fb3-4708-ab2b-8c537ddae506

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E47f7n8N4PA

I believe many people previously suggested doing a two button shutdown, but maybe I was doing something incorrectly. Essentially you need to enter the Surface Book Bios, then exit.

Here are the steps I took to resolve the issue:

• Shutdown the Surface Book.
• Hold down the power button just long enough to turn it back on.
• Hold the volume UP button until you enter the bios (this is the left side of the volume control, if you are facing the screen. This is also the side of the volume control closest to the power button).
• You do NOT need to make any changes in the bios.
• Exit the bios, you will be prompted that changes will be saved.
• The computer should restart.

After doing this the behavior for my button completely changed and it gave some errors about needing elevated permissions which wouldn't go away, but I was able to restart it again and before I logged in I was able to detach it completely from the device without any issues.

Normal operations have now been restored and I am able to detach and re-attach it like normal.

EDIT: Something I forgot to include, which olykwik pointed out in another response, is that you may need to reset windows prior to performing this fix. I say "may need to" because I did not test this prior to resetting windows, so I don't know if resetting windows is required or not, but I did reset windows before I did these steps.

I would suggest first attempting this BEFORE resetting windows (as this will cause you to lose all files/applications, depending on your selection), but if it still does not work you might need to reset windows, then follow these steps.

If this resolved your issue, please mark its as the answer/helpful so others can find it more easily.

Answer 1

FIXED

Solution:

So, instead of just going into the BIOS but pressing the power button, releasing, then holding the volume UP button. When the device is powered down, I held the power + the volume up button at the same time. After a few seconds, the keyboard detach light blinked a bit, then the device quickly powered on then off. Then, after I powered on, I was able to get normal function. YAY!!

Answer 2

I got this issue resolved. To give credit where credit is due I referenced information from the following two pages:

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/forum/surfbook-surfdrivers/surface-book-thinks-the-keyboard-is-not-attached/85fd37bf-5fb3-4708-ab2b-8c537ddae506

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E47f7n8N4PA

I believe many people previously suggested doing a two button shutdown, but maybe I was doing something incorrectly. Essentially you need to enter the Surface Book Bios, then exit.

Here are the steps I took to resolve the issue:

• Shutdown the Surface Book.
• Hold down the power button just long enough to turn it back on.
• Hold the volume UP button until you enter the bios (this is the left side of the volume control, if you are facing the screen. This is also the side of the volume control closest to the power button).
• You do NOT need to make any changes in the bios.
• Exit the bios, you will be prompted that changes will be saved.
• The computer should restart.

After doing this the behavior for my button completely changed and it gave some errors about needing elevated permissions which wouldn't go away, but I was able to restart it again and before I logged in I was able to detach it completely from the device without any issues.

Normal operations have now been restored and I am able to detach and re-attach it like normal.

EDIT: Something I forgot to include, which olykwik pointed out in another response, is that you may need to reset windows prior to performing this fix. I say "may need to" because I did not test this prior to resetting windows, so I don't know if resetting windows is required or not, but I did reset windows before I did these steps.

I would suggest first attempting this BEFORE resetting windows (as this will cause you to lose all files/applications, depending on your selection), but if it still does not work you might need to reset windows, then follow these steps.

If this resolved your issue, please mark its as the answer/helpful so others can find it more easily.

Answer 3

Hello AustinTS

Sorry to hear you are having trouble detaching the Clipboard from the Keyboard of your Surface Book.  Thanks for reaching out to us.

Please ensure that all possible updates are installed.  Check manually, install everything and restart.  Repeat this cycle as long as more updates are available.

Do a full shut down and start.  Does Surface Book detect that the Keyboard is attached? 

What state was the Clipboard in when reattached to the Keyboard?

Best regards

Answer 4

Thanks for the response!

I have ensured all updates we applied including a firmware update released by Microsoft in the last day or so. I've also performed a factory reset then re-applied all available updates. I have also performed the 2 button reset throughout this process (at appropriate times).

The clipboard is attached to the keyboard, but appears to behave as though it does not detect that it is. The software icon in the taskbar says "Surface Detach: Detached" and I'm unable to interact with it. The battery shows battery 2 is fully charged, while battery 1 is "not available."

Despite all of these things behaving as though the keyboard is not attached, I am able to use the keyboard and charge the laptop by plugging the power cable into the keyboard.

The clipboard was (and currently is) attached to the keyboard facing down when closed, I would consider this the default position.

Answer 5

I just got my SB about 30 minutes ago. Of course I could detach the Clipboard at my first look. And now, I think mine is having physical problem. It DOES detach from keyboard, but part of them. The very end of right part just sticks to the keyboard so now I can see that the clipboard is not detach at all. "Latch failed to open" with red mark keeps showing off, and I don't think this is software problem. Something is wrong with my device.

• One more problem. NOW I AM HAVING RAG during the typing. Plus, I saw that this device is from CHINA. CHINA? I know that China keeps growing in devices, but I don't believe their quality. The first look of my SB was, horrible. The clipboard's left and top line shows minor scratches, which is not welcome to me since this is NEW SB. It really has a CRACK on the top line. Comes with dusts, but I understand that, but now? I don't know I just feel really bad.

Worst thing is, I know that if I want to exchange this SB, I'm probably going to wait for another month or even more because I've tried to exchange my dad's surface pro 3 last year when it launched, and it took 3 months, and eventually we returned it because of so much troubles on SP3.

Can I go to near local Microsoft store and get my another SB? Do you think it's possible? I really need help right now.

+The screen keeps showing blackout several times. This one just shuts down by itself...