Surface Pro 2 - Surface cover telemetry driver / blank screen after putting tablet to sleep

Anonymous
2013-10-23T05:19:56+00:00

Hi, 

I just picked up my Surface Pro 2 256GB today and it ran into problems right after applying the firmware update that seemed to have been released just today on Windows Update.  I confirmed this problem was caused by the firmware update because I restored the tablet and the wireless was working fine and I applied the firmware update and that broke the wireless.

After the update, the Marvell AVASTAR Wireless Composite Device stopped working...meaning, the tablet does not recognize the wireless card.  This is confirmed by going into the Device Manager and seeing 2 unknown devices (one of them was the wireless card, the other unrecognized device I will explain in the next paragraph) When I tried running the update driver function, it tried to reinstall the driver but returned the following error.

Windows encountered a problem installing the driver software for your device

Reinstall the drivers for this device (Code 18)

I had to go the manual route and there were 2 Marvell drivers listed and one Microsoft driver listed for the Marvell card.  The 2 marvell drivers listed had exactly the same name.  However, only choosing and applying the second one worked.  So, the wireless was working again.

The other "unknown device" turned out to be something called "Surface Cover Telemetry".  However, trying the same troubleshooting process for the wireless card did not solve the problem and the devices still remains "unknown" in the device manager.  I just left it and carried on with installing my other software and apps as the tablet and the Type Cover 2 seemed to be functioning properly.

However, when I put the tablet to sleep by closing the Type Cover (while on battery power but charged up to 100%), the screen remained blank even though I opened up the cover again and tried to wake the tablet.  I knew that the tablet was still on but the screen remained blank even after I tried touching it, typing on the keyboard as well as briefly tapping the on/off button.  When I touch the Windows icon on the bottom frame of the tablet, I can feel a slight vibration and that told me that the tablet was on but the screen somehow is totally off.

I decided to do a soft reset of the tablet by holding on the on/off button for more then 10 seconds.  However, the screen only worked properly after many attempts.

My questions are, could it be that this "unknown device" that needs the "Surface Cover Telemetry" driver is causing this blank screen problem?  And if so, where can I download a driver that works?

Thanks.

Surface | Surface Pro | Install and update

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  1. Anonymous
    2013-11-06T12:31:14+00:00

    I encountered this problem for the first time tonight (which, given that I have had it for ~48 hours...) and just wanted to say thank you for this post.

    I don't see the unknown device in the Device Manager that so many people have reported, but I did apply the firmware this afternoon (blissfully ignorant of what I was getting myself into) and had the first lockup about 2 hours later.  I do use the Microsoft Arc Mouse Surface Edition (Bluetooth) and the Type Cover 2, and following your directions I have been sure to make sure the mouse is off before closing the cover.  So far, I have been able to hit spacebar after the backlighting fades and sure enough, the login screen pops up at that point.

    This has definitely been the low point of an otherwise fantastic device.  I am at least hopefully that Microsoft is listening on this, but you have earned my gratitude for providing some sort of workaround in the meantime.

    Have you peformed a reset of your device yet?  the unknown devices seems to appear after a reset and does not go away even after fully reapplying all updates.

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  2. Anonymous
    2013-11-06T08:56:35+00:00

    I encountered this problem for the first time tonight (which, given that I have had it for ~48 hours...) and just wanted to say thank you for this post.

    I don't see the unknown device in the Device Manager that so many people have reported, but I did apply the firmware this afternoon (blissfully ignorant of what I was getting myself into) and had the first lockup about 2 hours later.  I do use the Microsoft Arc Mouse Surface Edition (Bluetooth) and the Type Cover 2, and following your directions I have been sure to make sure the mouse is off before closing the cover.  So far, I have been able to hit spacebar after the backlighting fades and sure enough, the login screen pops up at that point.

    This has definitely been the low point of an otherwise fantastic device.  I am at least hopefully that Microsoft is listening on this, but you have earned my gratitude for providing some sort of workaround in the meantime.

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  3. Anonymous
    2013-11-06T04:10:24+00:00

    Just an update on my original thread...No matter what I tried, I still have the "Unknown Device" present in the Device Manager.  

    However, the system has been pretty stable and it seems most things are working as they should with the exception of putting the SP2 to sleep by closing the Type Keyboard.  If I have a bluetooth mouse connected when I close the Keyboard Cover, the system will either not wake up and I have to do the Volume Up button and Power button combo routine to reboot it or it would show me a blank screen when I open the Type Cover and when I press the power button to try to wake it up, it actually does a reboot.

    If I turn off the bluetooth mouse before closing the Type Cover up it goes to sleep and wakes up when I open the Type Cover.  However, the logon screen does not instantly show up when I open the cover, what happens is the keyboard will light up and then it goes dim and the screen is still blank.  When the keyboard backlight extinguishes, I tap on the space bar and the logon screen comes on.  If I were to press the power button to try to get the screen to light up, nothing happens and it looks like it's hung.

    Not sure if this bit of info helps or applies to anyone but I can put up with these little quirks until a MS comes up with an update.  It's a great device and I really like it - almost flawless if you use it in tablet mode without the keyboard.  :)

    I have had no problems with Internet connectivity or any other strange things happening except what I mentioned above.

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  4. Anonymous
    2013-11-06T01:31:41+00:00

    I received my replacement surface pro 2 tonight.  I booted it up and there was no unknown device in device manager.  installed all updates and everything still looked good.

    So as a test I performed a reset and booted up and there it was again.  unknown device.  performed all updates and still an unknown device.  looks like this one is getting sent back.  I think microsoft has a serious software/driver issue on their hands and they are either hiding it, ignoring it, or are incompetent.

    I went to the microsoft store and all the staff refused to let me look in the device manager or event log of any of their devices.    I don't know what to think of all this.   I guess I will have to call support again tomorrow.

    I originally replaced my device because of this unknown device issue and it was unexpectedly rebooting during use and going in/coming out of sleep.

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