Rotate screen issue cannot use keyboard

Question

My screen will not rotate

Can you please help, I cannot use keyboard so screen is upside down. , hence struggling to type legible message from tiny touch screen.

Answer 1

Hi D Lumos,  

I understand how difficult this must be, especially when the screen is upside down and the keyboard is not usable.  

To help narrow this down, could you please let us know: 

• Which Surface model are you using? 
• Are you using Windows 10 or Windows 11? 
• Is the keyboard built into the device, or is it a detachable Surface keyboard/Type Cover? 
• Did this start after an update, restart, or after changing the device position? 
• Is Rotation lock visible, missing, or greyed out? 

If the touch screen still works, please try this first: 

• Tap Start > Settings > System > Display. 
• Under Display orientation, change it back to Landscape or the correct orientation. On Windows 10, this may appear as Orientation instead. 
• If you see Rotation lock in Quick Settings/Action Center, make sure it is turned off. 
• Restart the Surface. If it is hard to restart normally, press and hold the Power button for about 20 seconds until the Surface restarts and you see the logo again.  
• After restarting, please check for Windows and Surface updates.  

For the keyboard issue, if you are using a detachable Surface keyboard/Type Cover, please detach it, check that there is no dust or debris on the connector, then reattach it firmly. You can also press the Caps or Fn key a few times to see whether the light responds.  

While my initial response may not fully resolve the issue, I truly appreciate your cooperation as we work together toward identifying the most effective solution. Thank you so much for your understanding.  

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Answer 2

Use the touch screen to enable tools that let the device be used without the physical keyboard, then fix rotation.

1. Turn on the On-Screen Keyboard so text can be entered more easily while the display is upside down:
   • Tap Start (Windows icon).
   • Tap Settings (gear icon).
   • In Windows 11: tap Accessibility > Keyboard, then turn on On-Screen Keyboard.
   • In Windows 10: tap Ease of Access > Keyboard, then turn on Use the On-Screen Keyboard. The OSK appears so keys can be tapped directly on the screen.
2. Fix the rotation issue (Windows 8.1 / Server 2012 R2 scenario from context):
   • If the device is on Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1 and rotation will not change, this can be caused by a known issue where the computer quickly resumes and returns to sleep, preventing rotation changes.
   • In that case, rotation can be changed manually in Control Panel orientation settings, or by installing the update rollup 2962409, which addresses rotation problems.

If the device is on Windows 10 or 11, use the OSK to sign in and navigate, then use the normal display/rotation settings in Windows to correct orientation.

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References:

• Use the On-Screen Keyboard (OSK) to type
• Use a screen reader to explore and navigate different keyboard and text tools in Windows
• Rotation does not work on a Windows 8.1 or Windows Server 2012 R2-based computer
• Incorrect orientation for touch input when you wake up the computer from sleep mode in Windows RT 8.1 or Windows 8.1
• A touch screen does not work correctly after you resume a Windows 7-based computer from sleep
• On-screen keyboard