Surface Pro 4 Type Cover Stopped Working

Anonymous
2017-09-20T12:40:04+00:00

The type cover on my Surface Pro 4 suddenly stopped working.  There are several similar issues on this forum, but none quite fit what I am experiencing.

I tried cleaning the contacts, doing the 2-button reset, using system refresh, and finally I "restored" windows from a USB drive.  And then it worked again! Until the next day, when the type cover no longer worked.  

So, I tried 2-button reset again, didn't help.  I did a little more research, looked at the device manager and noticed only the HID keyboard driver showed up.  I saw online that upgrading Windows 10 to version 1703 seemed to fix things for some folks experiencing this issue, so I tried that, and it worked again! Until the next day.  I tried 2-button reset again, didn't help. So I tried downloading the latest firmware and drivers from Microsoft; no help. I ran the SFC utility, it didn't find any issues.  I created a new USB restore drive, and restored from it, but that didn't help this time!  I have not tried restoring from my "old" USB restore drive, because I think that may be a temporary fix, but wouldn't help permanently. I have taken the type cover off and  put it back on, giggled it like crazy, etc, but I really don't think this is a hardware problem.

So, as a final step, I am going to re-image my machine.  In the meantime, any suggestions?  I'd be willing to buy a new type cover if I thought it would help (my type cover is a #QC7-00001). I'm tired of spending 3 hours a day trying to get my keyboard to work!

Moved from: Surface / Surface Pro 4 / Install, update, and repair

Surface | Accessories | Surface Type Cover

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.

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Barb Bowman 80,810 Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
2017-10-02T17:05:46+00:00

Ruth,

My contact gave me the following for you to try (this is only for non US typecovers for  SP4). Please let me know if you try these and results either way:

Workaround #1

  1. Power+volume up to boot into UEFI settings.
  2. Choose Devices.
  3. Toggle Type Cover Port off and then on.

Workaround #2

  1. Check Settings > Ease of Access > Keyboard and ensure that Filter Keys is disabled.
  2. Check BIOS and make sure Type Cover is enabled in Devices.
  3. In Device Manager, click on the View menu > Show Hidden.
  4. Under HID (Human Interface Devices), scroll down and find Surface Pro 4 Typecover Integration > right-click - Uninstall. (chose option to delete driver/software.)
  5. In Device Manager, under Keyboard, if you do not see the type cover, no need to do anything else. I; if you do see it, right-click, uninstall (check to remove software).
  6. Shut down (hold shift for a clean shutdown).
  7. Hold power and volume up for 30 seconds. The device will flash to EFI and back until it eventually powers off fully.
  8. Power on the device. Now the keyboard should work, and all the drivers should be re-installed that we removed earlier.

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  1. Anonymous
    2018-03-01T00:38:47+00:00

    Problem was solved after reinstall of windows 10

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  2. Anonymous
    2018-02-28T21:19:57+00:00

    I had the same problem today.  Suddenly, my type cover didn't work.  Neither did my ArcTouch Bluetooth mouse.  The OS reported that it couldn't find the type cover drivers.  I wrestled with it for 6 hours, looking at the various boards, but many of then were talking about the Surface Type Cover Filter Device -- which I no longer had displayed.  Then the bluetooth mouse on my laptop stopped working, also...  I went to Windows update and checked the history -- and lo and behold, the latest update -- KB 4074588 -- has a 'known issue' -- to wit: 

    "After installing this update, some USB devices and onboard devices, such as a built-in laptop camera, keyboard or mouse, may stop working.  This may occur when the windows update servicing stack incorrectly skips installing the newer version of some critical drivers in the cumulative update and uninstalls the currently active drivers during maintenance."

    Workaround steps are available in KB4091240.  You run a DISM command from a command prompt and reboot.  That fixed BOTH of my machines!

    Of course, now Windows Update wants to put 4074588 BACK on my machines...

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  3. Anonymous
    2018-02-28T07:49:19+00:00

    Hi all, 

    So my latest update is that our surface was still under manufacture warranty after all and after hours working with the Microsoft technician over the phone, they first sent us a replacement keyboard. After trying it it was still the same and not working , we had to call again to go through another sets of steps of troubleshooting over the phone and finally the technician had us send in the tablet itself. Once we got it and to this day, there are definitely no problems.

    Ofcourse, there hasn't been official word yet about this issue, but the technician did say it could've been a bad port. I also mentioned that all this happened after the fall creators update. Maybe it's just safer to take care of individual issues than make a massive recall. 

    Good luck everyone, at best try to get a replacement under warranty, if not, hopefully they figure it out soon. Its been almost 2-3 years of this issue.

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  4. Anonymous
    2018-02-28T00:46:17+00:00

    My surface pro 4 type cover not working. Tried many options but faild. what to do?

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