Microsoft Ergonomic Keyboard stops working randomly (but not the mouse nor number pad)

Let me assure you that the MS ergonomic keyboard has some underlying design issues (could be software related) that causes it it not work well with some laptops. In my case, I had one that worked perfectly well with my Surface Pro 5 but had intermittent issues with my surface pro8. I did all kind of things from unistalling and reinstalling software (including Windows as advised by Microsoft). Nothing woirked. Finally Microsoft volunteered to replace my laptop (not keyboard!) I refused it because they were going to replace a 2 month old brand new laptop woith a refurbished unit which I found to be totally unreasonable.

My solution - I bought a new MS Keys keyboard from logitech and have been using it interchangeable with my surface pro 5, 8 and IPAD PRO with absolutely no issues. So you guys decide where the problem is.

Based on input from my other techie freinds, many seem to have an issue with the build quality of the Ergonomic sculpt keyboard. intermittent issues with doingle, keypad etc. Many have gotten warranty replacements in the first year of purchase.

Microsoft should do something about this like coming up with a brand new design but they are skrting around the issue. Really sad.

I had this problem with my keyboard. Number pad was working fine. Tried everything... new batteries, reboot, reinstall drivers, check for stuck keys, etc. Nothing worked. I opened the battery compartment and took out the batteries. Turns out that one of the -ve battery contacts inside the compartment was tarnished. (The -ve contacts are the spring-loaded ones at the wider end of the compartment). It was blackish when it really should be silver. I used a small piece of fine sandpaper to gently remove the corrosion and then replaced the batteries. Keyboard worked fine after that.

Wow - this just worked for me! I was losing my mind. Hope it lasts

Okay, check this out.

It is possible that it is the power management of the keyboard and / or bluetooth that goes off after a certain time.

Go to the device manager again and right click on the name of the keyboard driver and select "Properties".

If there is a "power management" tab, uncheck the box "Allow the computer to turn off this device..."

Check also in the bluetooth drivers in the same list of the device manager.

If you see the name of your keyboard, go and deactivate the same box.

Ohh ! In Device Manager, the Bluetooth box for "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power" was on, unchecked it, I'm going to restart the computer to see it if helps !