Surface Pen or Multi-touch not working after Fall Creators update is installed on Surface Pro 4 or Surface Book

My pen is not writing, even though my button still opens up One Note and my bluetooth settings show that it is connected. I have updated and restarted many times, with nothing working.

Please help!

Moved from : Surface /Surface Book / Display and screen

Hi Jaya,

The Surface Pen may stop working due to the battery running low. Replacing the battery most of the time resolves the issue.

If after replacing the battery and still issue persists, please refer to this article abut troubleshooting Microsoft Surface Pen.

Let us know if you need further assistance.

I use my Surface very heavily for pen input, and so this problem is incredibly frustrating. The main issue is if I'm giving a presentation and it stops working, suddenly I'm forced to interrupt everything and reboot the surface to resolve the issue. It sucks for those who have to watch and wait, and it's embarrassing. It is a total deal breaker for a product which if it worked as it's supposed to, would be perfect for my needs. Hence my buying it.

The problem has in actual fact been occurring since the beginning, but I put it down to bugs that I thought might get patched out. I also used my Surface less often for pen input when it was new. Anyway, the problem never went away, and seemed to be becoming more frequent the more I used the Surface.

So, I complained. After hours of troubleshooting that I had already tried, Microsoft decided to send me a new pen. The issue persisted. I then convinced them to send me a replacement Surface. So, now I have a shiny new replacement of the exact same model. For a while it seemed the issue had gone away, but no... it's back. Yes it occurs less frequently, but it still occurs, and it's just as frustrating.  What gives?

Here are some additional points:

• When pen input fails, so does multi-touch. I can no longer pinch zoom in any app.
• When it fails, the eraser button still functions (brings up Ink Workspace), and Bluetooth devices are unaffected.
• There is no 'cursor' under the pen tip once it has failed.
• I have two pens now - neither works once it has failed.
• Occasionally, pushing the pen button reveals the cursor. This is like a half-failure that can be recovered from by "push writing" on the start menu. I have not yet managed to recover from the full-failure.
• Disabling/enabling all the associated drivers doesn't fix the issue - only a restart of the surface solves it, and it usually always solves it. There have been occasions it hasn't but these were very rare. Scary, but rare.
• Upgrading to Insider versions appears to make the problem less frequent (I did this on the one I had replaced), but other pen input bugs exist on these newer builds, so this isn't really viable.
• It happens completely randomly, but always during heavy pen use. It has never occurred prior to my use of the pen, i.e. I've never gone to use the pen and had it not work. It always works, and then after some amount of time using it regularly (approx 20-40 minutes) it will fail.
• On the replaced Surface I used the latest Intel Display drivers; these didn't change anything (but I could use custom resolutions; hooray!)

I've noticed posts complaining about this issue go back years. I feel I must conclude the Surface Pro 4 (namely the Core M variant) might just have this flaw across the board, and there just aren't enough heavy pen users for Microsoft to care enough. But gosh darn it, I still have a few months warranty left, and I want a device that works as it is supposed to!

(Please don't reply with generic troubleshooting advice. I am not resetting my surface. I am not disconnecting and reconnecting my pen. But if you have this same issue, I'd still love to hear from you. If you have a genuine fix, I'll give you my very best internet point!)

Edit:

Here is a video This demonstrates the issue after it has occurred. It's impossible to predict when, but essentially it just stops working in the middle of writing.

Note that I am running build 16299.19 with the latest firmware.

Hi,

You have presented some great points and details in your post about your concern with your Surface Pro Pen. Random issues like this is one of the toughest to diagnose. Before we get into more advanced troubleshooting, there are some few things we need to confirm:

• Have you tried installing and updating the drivers and firmware specifically for Surface Pro 4? If not yet, it will be a good idea to do so: Surface Pro 4 Drivers and Firmware.
• We recognize that you've made an emphasis on providing generic troubleshooting. However, we need to clarify if you've tried the solution steps found in this support article: Troubleshoot Pro Pen.

We look forward to hearing from you.