Keyboard on new Surface Pro 11 does not always pair with unit upon startup

I am reporting back to say that, after a little more than a week -- maybe 10 days -- and on our second keyboard cover, the coupling issue has evaporated. I did nothing in particular, other than go into the EUFI screen every time the keyboard wasn't recognized upon start up (pressing the START and Volume button) and getting the keyboard to be recognized. I'm not saying this will work for anyone else and I'm skeptical of the problem "just working itself out," but there you have it. I hope others on this thread have experienced similar results.

Just bought a SP11 and have issue with keyboard not working after a complete shutdown. This happens every time. The only solution is to detach and reattach the keyboard, very annoying.

Temporary solution is not shutting down the laptop, but just close the lid.

This is definitely not keyboard problem, but something wrong with the Microsoft driver/firmware. So many users are having the exactly same problem. The old pin type keyboard has no such problem, this new concept keyboard is useless, not many people will use it with keyboard detached.

Just found out this new keyboard has tiny pins too, so it is physically connected, why is it not working when the windows starts. In bios the keyboard is working good.

Literal same issue with me I find if you turn on fast start up in power options. It works for a good amount of time.

The keyboard always works in bio. I’m assuming it’s a software issue but I still have two weeks to return this so I don’t know if I will or not.

Yes, I really hope Microsoft supports its early adopters and fixes this issue. I like the Surface Pro 11 very much otherwise - and would rather not to the whole "return game."

Microsoft are you listening? Help?

Just for fun, I asked Bing AI chat about this and got this answer:

Yes, there have been reports of issues with the keyboard on the new Surface Pro 11 models with Snapdragon not being recognized upon startup^1^^2^. Users have mentioned that the keyboard sometimes fails to respond after the device has been turned off overnight^2^.

Microsoft has suggested several troubleshooting steps, such as detaching and reattaching the keyboard, ensuring the connectors are clean, and running the Surface Diagnostic Toolkit^1^^3^. If these steps don’t resolve the issue, it might be necessary to check the keyboard’s functionality in UEFI mode or consider a service order if the problem persists^1^^2^.

If you’re experiencing this issue, have you tried any of these troubleshooting steps yet?

Learn moreAlso, see this: Surface Pro 11 Keyboard Not Responding when Turning off at Night and - Microsoft Community