On-screen keyboard does not display in tablet mode - Surface Pro

Anonymous
2013-02-13T07:57:49+00:00

I am having trouble getting the onscreen keyboard to display when my Surface Pro is not connected to its type cover.

I noticed this when I was in the Metro UI.  The issue occurs when I select the search option from the charms menu.  Once I do this, the onscreen keyboard does not appear, so, I am unable to type anything into the search box.

This also occurs when I attempt to access the Surface Pro from sleep mode.  The password box appears, but, I cannot input into it without the onscreen keyboard.

I have already tried the refresh option - it did not work.

Any thoughts on a fix for this issue?

Surface | Surface Pro | Install and update

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Anonymous
2016-09-19T15:45:17+00:00

I am having trouble getting the onscreen keyboard to display when my Surface Pro is not connected to its type cover.

I noticed this when I was in the Metro UI.  The issue occurs when I select the search option from the charms menu.  Once I do this, the onscreen keyboard does not appear, so, I am unable to type anything into the search box.

This also occurs when I attempt to access the Surface Pro from sleep mode.  The password box appears, but, I cannot input into it without the onscreen keyboard.

I have already tried the refresh option - it did not work.

Any thoughts on a fix for this issue?

Hi. I had the same problem and it was really bugging me but I finally got it sorted. Basically, while your in laptop mode press the little keyboard icon (at the bottom right of the screen where the time is) and the on-screen keyboard should come up. Without pressing 'x' on the on-screen keyboard, un-clip your real keyboard so it turns into tablet mode. Now you can press 'x' and go onto the internet or something to test out whether it worked or not. Press on the search bar and it should come up. I had to do it twice but it worked. Hope this helped someone.

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Anonymous
2013-02-13T09:11:34+00:00

when waking it from sleep, only remove the keyboard when the lockscreen is displayed. Thus is also a bug with the surface rt when waking from connected standby.

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  1. Anonymous
    2013-03-08T20:33:40+00:00

    I just don't feel too confident to get a replacement now. I hate to see this happening while I am on a trip.

    Another thing was...when I put the Surface sleep with the touch cover, tapping on the windows key ( on screen or the touch cover) never wakes it up. I have to always use the power switch on top and takes long time to start up. I'll have to say...IPAD lacks capabilities but it sure is durable and very dependable.  Glad I didn't sell my IPAD. My unit wasn't the initial build... I got it on 3/4.

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  2. Anonymous
    2013-03-08T20:38:03+00:00

    Well, if you change your mind and have further issues with a replacement, feel free to post here and I'm sure the community will work to help you out.

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  3. Anonymous
    2013-03-14T13:03:01+00:00

    Not so much solutions as work-arounds:

    1. You can use a 'picture password' to log in. This is probably more secure anyway since a keylogger won't pick it up.

    or

    1. Turn off the password requirement. You can do this by going to Control Panel > Power Options > "Require a Password when Computer Wakes" then clicking "change settings that are currently unavailable" and deactivating password requirement.

    Note: you will still have to enter a password after shut-downs and restarts. However if you hate entering a password fifty times a day, this is a great time saver.

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