Surface Pro 7 pen pressure issues with palm rejection

Anonymous
2019-11-01T19:50:11+00:00

Pen works fine when only the pen is making contact with the screen. However, when my palm is resting on the screen, the pressure detection of the pen becomes extremely inaccurate. As soon as skin (palm, fingers, etc) makes contact with the screen, the pressure curve of the pen becomes a staircase, as if the pen could only detect 5-20 levels of pressure, instead of 4096 like it's supposed to. Here's a screenshot from the Surface app:![](https://learn-attachment.microsoft.com/api/attachments/cdc3b0c5-bfcc-4409-b0a1-318885287f48?platform=QnAAnd here is how it looks like when drawing:

Is this normal? How can I fix it?

Device: Surface Pro 7 Model 1866 i5 (8GB RAM, 128GB SSD)

OS: Windows 10 Home Version 1903 build 18362.449 (edit: I've since updated to 1909 build 18363.628, issue persists)

Pen: Microsoft Surface Pen Model 1776 (Burgundy) 

I have:

  • paired my pen
  • unpaired and repaired the pen via Bluetooth options
  • rebooted the Surface Pro
  • soft reset the Surface Pro (volume+ and power buttons down for 15 seconds)
  • removed and reinserted the battery into the pen (only way I could think of turning it off and on again)
  • checked Windows Updates
  • checked for app updates via Windows Store
  • run the Surface Diagnostic Toolkit, no problems detected
  • tried with and without Settings → Devices → Pen & Windows Ink → Ignore touch input when I'm using my pen
  • set the correct hand I'm using from pen settings
  • tried in multiple different apps, including Surface app, Adobe Photoshop, Krita, Sketchable, Autodesk SketchBook and others — same problem everywhere
  • tried calibrating the pen (search "calibrate" from start menu and choose pen calibration), a dialog opens after choosing "Calibrate..." → "Pen input", asks for permission, and just makes a sound and closes after I grant permission, so I'm not sure if it's not working correctly, but nothing changed either way — tried to do this multiple times, rebooting in between, but doesn't seem to do anything
Surface | Surface Pro | Display and screen

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments No comments

87 answers

Sort by: Most helpful
  1. Anonymous
    2019-11-22T11:58:08+00:00

    Not restricted to  MS Surface, I'm having similar problems with an Asus Flip S, all was fine until the last update (1909). All good until I touch the screen with hand, then inking happens without even touching pen to screen, inking skips and lags but somewhat randomly. Sometimes the pen is not recognised for several seconds. I have "write in panel with finger" switched off. (Note the Asus pen is not paired by bluetooth to function.) 

    I will uninstall 1909 at the end of today to see if that makes any difference.

    *Update*

    Uninstalling 1909 certainly improved things. I lost my patience with the irrational behaviour and uninstalled it, I then managed to continue my working day normally. For the record, I am a med editor and use only the pen with handwriting to edit (have done so since 2010!), so yes, I am well aware of how well it works when it does work properly.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  2. Anonymous
    2019-11-14T15:48:59+00:00

    That sounds like a similar problem. different in a few key ways, but it is encouraging to think that the likelihood of them being able to fix this is high. Hopefully we can get a response from Microsoft and an acknowledgement that there is a problem. Until then....

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  3. Anonymous
    2019-11-14T15:15:22+00:00

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  4. Anonymous
    2019-11-07T11:16:28+00:00

    It is unlikely to be something that can be seen remotely. You can PHONE support

    at

    https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4051701/global-customer-service-phone-numbers.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  5. Anonymous
    2019-11-07T11:14:53+00:00

    Are you near a physical retail Microsoft Store? If yes, it would be good if you

    could go there and test their display models. If those work as they should, then

    you know your Surface needs to be exchanged.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments