Surface Pro Tablet - Touch keyboard will not open

Brad 0 Reputation points
2026-06-03T15:59:01.9133333+00:00

I have a brand new, 11th gen Surface Pro, and I'm having an issue with the on screen keyboard settings for which there is no obvious, permanent solution, and Microsoft has made it virtually impossible for me to get in touch with their agents via chat or any other method.

During the initial setup of the device, the on screen keyboard would appear just fine for things like typing in the wifi password, email address, etc. However, as soon as I get through to the desktop, the keyboard no longer opens when I press/click on a text field. I have no physical keyboard attached, either via direct connection or Bluetooth, but the tablet seems to think a keyboard IS attached.

The ONLY 2 workarounds I have found are:

  1. Set "Show the touch keyboard" setting from "when no keyboard attached" to "always".
    1. I do not want it set this way, because eventually I will add a keyboard of some kind, in which case I would NOT want the touch keyboard to appear.
  2. Set the task bar to "always" show the keyboard icon, and manually open the keyboard each and every time.
    1. This is a tedious option.

Troubleshooting steps I have tried:

  1. Downloaded and installed all system updates.
  2. Rebooted multiple times.
  3. Toggled the "always" and "when no keyboard attached" settings back and forth multiple times.
  4. Uninstalled and rescanned for the touch keyboard drivers in Device Manager.
  5. Hard reset (holding power button for 30 seconds).
  6. Holding up volume and power button for 15 seconds (can't recall what process this was called).
  7. Completely reset and reinstalled the OS to start from scratch.

I just cannot figure out why the brand new tablet, which has never even SEEN a physical keyboard, keeps thinking that one is connected. There's nothing in the device manager, but somewhere in the background it seems to think there is.

Because I cannot get a hold of Microsoft support (the process just takes me in a circle or insists I request a repair), I would appreciate any suggestions on how to further troubleshoot this.

Surface | Surface Pro | Display and screen
0 comments

1 answer

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. S.Sengupta 30,991 Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2026-06-04T00:31:30.4633333+00:00

    On a brand new device, this would be a warranty replacement case, not a software fix. Given that it's new, I'd push back on Microsoft's repair loop and insist on a unit exchange rather than a repair, since this is a factory defect scenario.

    Go to Contact Microsoft Support and sign in with your Microsoft account

    Type "Customer Support" and select Get help

    Scroll down and choose Contact support

    Under Products and services, select Surface

    Under Category, choose your Surface model, then select Confirm

    Pick your preferred option:

    Chat with a support agent

    Request a call back

    Submit a repair request

    Also, X -handle:

    @surface

    @MicrosoftHelps

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments

Your answer

Answers can be marked as 'Accepted' by the question author and 'Recommended' by moderators, which helps users know the answer solved the author's problem.