Surface Book 3 - external keyboard and mouse

If you use the SB3 internal Bluetooth tou pair and connect to the wireless keyboard and mouse it appears to work. Don't use USB dongles.

David

I am seeing the same issues with multiple wireless keyboards connected to my device both through a surface dock, a third party dock (USB A), and connected directly to the device without a docking station. I have used both Logitech keyboard & mouse combo as well as a Microsoft keyboard & mouse combo and the behavior is the same. I have updated drivers, reset the device, updated drivers  with manufacturer drivers instead of Microsoft pushed drivers, updated power settings, disabled Cortana and  Realtek Audio and nothing has helped. This is a software issue on Microsoft's part and its so bad I'm frankly impressed no one on their team has caught and resolved this by now. If this wasn't a work machine I would have returned it and gotten my money back on it months ago. At the moment I'm so over it I'm just setting it up to dual boot into Linux so I can actually get work done.

I know its a software issue because the behavior goes away when I boot into safe mode.

The behavior I see is this:

1. Delayed mouse movements and clicks as if the mouse has briefly disconnected.
2. External keyboard randomly delays typing and misses letters. It will randomly resume several characters past where it stopped.
3. This relates directly to #2. The keyboard will stop responding and then resumes after a delay and acts as if keys are being held down. If you do not try and stop this behavior by pressing other keys, Windows will continue to act as if this key is depressed indefinitely. This includes keys that do not insert characters but perform functions. This includes the space bar, enter key, and back space (this one is particularly frustrating).

If you do not interrupt the repeating letter with a back space (or space bar in the case of a sticky back space) it will continue to repeating character behavior with one of the letters you typed after the behavior began.

For the record, turning on Filter Keys in the accessibility features limits the repeated characters but makes the delays after the keyboard stops responding much longer. I'm going to type an example below of the average sentence without correcting the errors from this bug.

Example:

This is a test sentence that ssssssssssssssssssssaysssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss nothing in particular, but is an example of all of the troubles I've been rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnningggggggggggggggggg into with Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiindoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooows. This isssssssssssssssss ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo frustratinganddddddddddddddddddddddddddd I really aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaam dddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddisappointeddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd with Microsoft's producccccccccccccccccccccccccccts these days.

How am I supposed to get work done on a machine that behaves like this?

**Update: If I unplug the computer from the docking station, remove the surface keyboard, and then plug the wireless keyboard directly into the tablet the behavior seems to disappear. Its definitely something software related on Microsoft's end and not the docking stations causing it.

***Edit: Changed "Sticky Keys" to "Filter Keys"

I have, for many months, been running Folding@Home at 30%ish CPU usage to prevent this issue occurring.

In that entire time I have not once had the issue occur, as long as the F@H client is operating. This is with normal wired keyboard and mouse, external USB hub attached to the dock, and multiple USB devices.

As soon as I stop running F@H, the issue returns. So it's demonstrably related to some level of power management caused through low CPU / idle CPU states. Keep the CPU somewhat busy, problem does not occur.

So while running a third party piece of software like F@H just to make an expensive laptop work properly is not ideal, it's worth pointing out that as long as you do so, the SB3 runs completely 'normally' with no further workarounds required.

It's the best workaround solution I've found so far as it requires zero change to any other usage or preference - no need to use special keyboards or dongles or anything. Run F@H in background, problem goes away, use SB3 as normal.

Try running any Razer input devices with Synapse 3.0. Surface Book 3 goes insane. Devices disconnect every 3 seconds. etc. Never had it on ANY OF my computers in 25 years of IT work.

If you do have a Razer mouse, or a keyboard, Id love for you to install Synapse, and let us know.

Thanks =)

Is there anyone who has figured out the exact circumstances when this happens?

For me for example, this morning it was completely unbearable. Mouse got stuck, keys autotyping like crazy. I tried reconnecting stuff, rebooting etc.

Then I gave up and used it as a laptop in the couch for a couple of hours. In the afternoon, I tried plugging it in again and (knock on wood) it has been working fine for the last few hours...

It seems to me that it starts when the computer has been idle for a while, and once it occurs there is no way to stop it, even shutting down doesnt help.

Until it decides to work again, x hours later.

Would be good to have some kind of work-around, or things-to-avoid until we get the fix...

The thing is, I really love this machine except for this problem. There is no other laptop I want to buy instead at the moment.

Been using a Razer Blade the last 2 years. Noisy, battery swelled, no dock, doesnt work well with multiple screens. The Surface Book is the computer I need!

PLEASE MICROSOFT FIX THIS NOW!!

I got sick and tired of this problem, and got myself a Razer Blade Advanced 2020.

What a laptop. Battery lasts just shy of Surface Book 3. Lets be honest surface battery is nowhere near advertised. I get about 6-7 hours on Surface Book 3, and I get around 5-6 on my new Razer.

OLED Display is... OMG to die for. 

Havent connected it to multiple monitors yet, but instead of getting a TB3 dock, I went on eBay, and got myself a Core X Chroma for 200 bucks. Pretty much same price as a non functioning MS Dock 2, but with an option for an external GPU.

I wanted to love Surface Book 3, but Microsoft is not helping

And lets be honest. Yes, Ive had a swollen battery in my old 14" Razer, but for 30 bucks and 10 minutes of work, I replaced it.

YOU CANT REPLACE ANY OF THE BATTERIES in Surface Book 3, and you have 2 of them. At least I can replace a battery in Razer laptop. Imaging swollen battery in a tablet portion of Surface Book lol