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
    2014-01-20T14:55:53+00:00

    According to this:

    http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/20/surface-pro-2-battery-fix/

    The problems have been fixed.

    I resolved my issue manually - can anyone verify whether it did solve the problems?

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  2. Anonymous
    2014-01-20T17:19:05+00:00

    According to this:

    http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/20/surface-pro-2-battery-fix/

    The problems have been fixed.

    I resolved my issue manually - can anyone verify whether it did solve the problems?

    I didn't receive any update. Perhaps that's because I got the December update first, and afterwards an automatic roll-back to the October firmware (through windows update, before xmas).

    Anyway I'll be getting a replacement unit very soon. So I'm confident it won't be affected by any such issue.

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  3. Anonymous
    2014-01-20T17:20:13+00:00

    I checked it todqy. I still have the problem with the cover telemetry driver although I have the latest firmware installed. 

    And I still cannot install the driver manually.

    Are there any updates what I can do?

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  4. Anonymous
    2014-01-25T10:47:20+00:00

    I use my Surface Pro 2 in my daily work. I test software :-). I previously used the Surface Pro v1 for the same job. At the very beginning, way back to last Tuesday, I was pretty scared after the first few hours of running the v2. Battery life was ****. WiFi was sketchy. Type cover worked, usually. Because of my job, resetting to factory is normal for me...and after several resets, I tried something different. First, I recognized that trying the same thing over and over again, while expecting different results, is a partial definition of mental illness. Then I simply tried to work through each step I did and tried to figure out what was actually happening. After about the 7th time, I figured it out. Quit trying to do any thing. Just let it run. What I discovered was: The Surface/ W8.1 updates on its schedule, not mine If I try to rush it by doing Windows Updates manually, I only generate errors If I try to install the apps, before the Updates are finished, my apps error out, or do not completely download. The system become entirely sluggish and sometimes unresponsive. The Keyboard stops working. My Bluetooth devices stop working The Firmware pack is the exact same package downloaded by Windows Update. So, what I did was: Took WIFI out of play by connecting to the modem by wire Did NOT try to manually run Windows Update. It runs itself automatically Did not install my apps until after Windows Updates reboots the Surface Did not install any other programs Did not install my backups until every thing else was completed. Now, My Keyboard works all the time. My Bluetooth devices work all the time My battery hangs around 7:45 most of the time All my apps work My WIFI works without lag or disconnect Internet connections are snappy Downloads are fast and error free I no longer get a Black Screen on Start up. The hardest thing for me to do was keep my hands off this thing until it finished what it was doing. Now, I felt like it took hours. The reality was it was only 15-20 minutes, no more. We all think we know what's going on. We are all genius's. And, we know that a small % of anything released will be defective. But the majority of what Microsoft, or any one for that matter, releases simply works, Did I know that Windows Update automatically started on completion of Setup? No. Did I realize that my attempting to force updates to download, when in reality they were already downloading, would cause a problem? No. Did rebooting in the middle of the process because I knew this was all messed up, by Microsoft, not me, cause a problem? Probably. When left to the its own device, letting the Surface Pro 2 run until the setup was completed, the Surface Pro 2 worked exactly as I expected. I don't know why Microsoft did not put a warning on the side of the box saying " Don't do anything to the Surface until everything is finished". You know...kinda like that Hot Coffee is hot warning at McDonalds. Now I know most of ya will laugh or blow this off. But if you have Reset 7 times, you may want to try this...

    ....../FACEPALM

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