The surface keyboard not working problem has been reported by many users of Microsoft Surface. it is not a very complicated issue. It can be easily fixed. The problem with the surface keyboard, you can fix yourself. You need a little guidance. So, read this post to fix the issue with the Surface keyboard and get your surface working again.
There are basically three types of surface keyboards: Type cover keyboard which is used in 2-in-1 PCs like Surface Pro & Surface Go, Second is Surface laptop keyboard, and third Surface Bluetooth keyboard like Surface ergonomic keyboard & surface keyboard with fingerprint ID keyboard.
If you are using any of these keyboards then you will be able to fix this issue by following the solution mentioned in this blog post for each type of keyboard. All the solutions mentioned in this post are applicable in Windows 10 & Windows 11 as well.
Surface Keyboard Not Working: Overview
Microsoft Surface is one of the best devices in the Microsoft product line, it is my personal favorite. I have been using this device for three years and I really like this very much. But there is a problem which is very common among users, sometimes Microsoft surface keyboard is not working. Sometimes the keyboard becomes nonresponsive. when The Surface Keyboard is non-responsive then when you press any key, it has no reaction on the screen. Either the trackpad or whole type cover may remain unresponsive.
In this post, we will try to fix all types of surface keyboards like type cover keyboards, Surface book keyboards, Surface laptop keyboards, Surface keyboards, Surface ergonomic keyboards & Surface keyboards with fingerprint ID.
Before the start troubleshooting steps, Whatever surface device you are using download & install the latest windows & surface updates. This simple update alone can fix the Surface Keyboard Not Working problem. In many cases, it is seen that by installing the latest updates, a problem is fixed automatically. Perform the below-given steps to install them.
- Go To The Start Menu
- Select The Settings Option
- Choose The ‘Update And Security’ Option
- Now Select The ‘Check For Update’ Under Windows Update Category
- The System Will Automatically Detect For Downloaded Updates And Install Them
Now we start troubleshooting steps.
if you are using a type cover keyboard for any of the models Like Microsoft Surface Go, Surface Go 2, Surface Go 3, Surface RT, Surface Pro, Surface Pro 2, Surface Pro 3, Surface Pro 4, Surface Pro (5th Gen), Surface Pro 6, Surface Pro 7+, Surface Pro 8, Surface Pro X, etc. and you are getting Surface Keyboard Not Working problem then you have to follow below troubleshooting steps.
We will cover the following issues in this suggested fix for Windows 10 &Windows 11
- Surface Pro keyboard not working
- Surface Type cover keyboard not working
- Pro 8 keyboard not working
- Surface Pro X keyboard not working
- Surface Pro 7 keyboard not working etc.
- Go keyboard not working
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Fix Surface Keyboard Not Working Problems
Surface Keyboard Not Working can be easily fixed by the user in simple and easy steps. It should fix the issue. We suggest you try them one by one in the order they are given here. In most cases, the first option should fix the issue.
- Steps To Fix Surface Pro / Type Cover Laptop Keyboard Not Working.
- Step-1 : Reboot The Surface.
- Step-2 : Detach, Clean, And Reattach Your Surface Type Cover.
- Step-3 : Check Ease Of Access Setting.
- Step-4 : Perform Force Shutdown & Restart.
- Step-5 : Update Or Reinstall Surface Type Cover Driver.
- Step-6 : Check For Windows File Error.
- Step-7 : Reset The Surface And Fix Surface Keyboard Not Working Problem.
- For Surface laptop keyboard Not Woking
- Fix Surface Bluetooth Keyboard Not Working
- Some keys on surface keyboard not working
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- Step 1
Reboot the Surface
Rebooting helps in solving complex issues on the surface. It kills any complication that may have occurred due to unavoidable circumstances. There can be some conflict issues with the device or any other matter. Rebooting the surface will give the device a fresh start. To restart the surface, do the following
- Disconnect Your Keyboard From The Surface Pro
- Now Go To Start Menu
- Take The Mouse Over The Power Option
- Now Click On The Restart Button.
- Reconnect The Keyboard
Now your keyboard should work properly. If Surface Book Keyboard Not Working still not fixed then you have to try the following.
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- Step 2.
Detach, clean, and reattach your surface type cover
Sometimes dirt and dust over the surface keyboard connectors can lead to the surface keyboard not working problem. A simple cleaning of the connector can resolve this problem. To clean connectors detach the type cover but before detaching & cleaning make sure that your surface is completely powered off & unplugged.
you can use a cotton swab & rubbing alcohol to clean the connector of both sides (Surface & keyboard sides connectors). Wet a cotton swab with rubbing alcohol & rub the cotton swab over connectors. You can use a pencil eraser alternatively. Take a pencil eraser and gently rub it back & forth over both sides of the connectors. It will clean & make the connectors shine like new. After cleaning both the connectors reattach the type cover with your surface. Make sure that the connectors are attached completely.
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- Step 3.
Check Ease of access Setting
Ease of access setting is meant for people with disabilities to help them but this feature can cause your surface keyboard not working issue. There are possibilities that you unknowingly activated some features of the ease of access setting which is causing problems with your surface keyboard. Try verifying if it has happened. To check this, follow the below steps
- Search “ease of access” in the search box on the taskbar.
- Select the Ease of access keyboard settings.
- Under the keyboard, setting makes sure that the sticky key & filter key both are off.
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- Step 4.
Perform Force shutdown & restart
Only a normal restart is not enough to solve a problem like software conflict or corruption which may be the reason for some hardware to perform weird. We need to perform a force shutdown & restart to give the device a completely fresh start. It can solve problems like surface keyboard not working issue. To perform Force shutdown & restart follow the below steps as per your surface model.
For Surface Go, Surface Pro 6, Surface Pro (5th Gen)
- You need to press & hold the power button for 10 seconds it will turn the Surface off.
- Now press the power button & release it, it will turn your surface on again.
If it does not work, to shut down & restart your surface completely
you keep the power button pressed until the surface restart & you see the windows logo. It will take approx. 20 seconds.
For Surface Pro, Surface Pro 2, Surface Pro 3, Surface Pro 4, Surface 7+, Surface Pro 8, and Surface Pro X, perform these steps to force shutdown & restart the device
- You need to press & hold the power button for 10 seconds it will turn the Surface off.
- Now press the power button & release it will turn your surface on again & you will be able to see the surface logo.
If it does not work then perform two-button shutdown steps as below to ensure your surface turns off completely.
- Press & hold the power button for approx. 30 seconds & then release it.
- After this press power & volume up button at the same time and keep it pressed for 15 seconds, even if you see the surface logo keep it pressed for 15 seconds.
- Wait for 10 seconds after releasing the button.
- Now press the power button & release it, it will turn your surface on again.
For Surface 2, Surface 3 & Surface RT follow the below steps to force shutdown & restart the device
- You need to press & hold the power button for 10 seconds it will turn the Surface off.
- Now press the power button & release it, it will turn your surface on again & you will see the surface logo.
In most of the cases, it fixes the surface keyboard not working issue.
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- Step 5.
Update or reinstall surface type cover driver
Surface keyboard drivers may also be the reason for the Surface Keyboard Not Working. The driver may have become out of date. It is also possible that your driver has become corrupt. Fix this issue by reinstalling the surface type cover driver. It is really simple to reinstall the driver for type cover.
To update the keyword driver, you can use a specific tool called DriverFix to update the most recent & compatible driver for your Surface keyboard along with other required drivers for your system without any hassle, in a single click. It will keep all system drivers updated always. To update the driver automatically.
- Just Download the DriverFix and install it.
- Now run the tool and click on scan to find all outdated, missing, and corrupted drivers.
- Now Click on “Update all Drivers Now” to update them.
You can use a manual update also but you may find it confusing and you may not be able to update all the relevant drivers required for your system. To update the driver manually.
Follow the Manual steps to reinstall the driver.
- Search “device manager” in the search box on the taskbar.
- Select device manager.
- Go to keyboard & expand it.
- Right-click on Surface type cover filter device.
- Select Uninstall then OK.
- Restart your surface now, it will automatically download & install the updated surface type cover driver when you connect your device to the internet.
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- Step 6.
Check for windows file error
There are possibilities that system files or driver files may have been corrupted of windows. This could be the reason for your surface keyboard not working problem. But you do not need to be worried this problem could be fixed. Windows itself provided a utility that will scan & verify the windows system files for errors. If it finds any error it will automatically try to fix it. There are a few steps you need to follow to check & repair the windows file errors.
- Search “command prompt” in the search box on the taskbar.
- Select “Run as administrator” even if you are logged as Admin.
- You may get a warning prompt, tap ok.
- In the command line type SFC/scannow and tap enter.
- This will start the process of scanning.
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- Step 7.
Reset the Surface and Fix Surface Keyboard Not Working Problem
If the above methods are unable to fix your issue then there might be a problem with windows corrupt files or a bad configuration of the device. It can be easily fixed by resetting the surface device. Resetting the windows will remove all recently-installed apps, software, drivers, and a recent update that might be causing problems. Don’t worry it will not affect your personal files & folders. This method is known to fix problems of the Surface keyboard not working. Try resetting the surface pro by the following method.
- Go To The Start Menu And Select Settings Option.
- Here Look For ‘Update And Security’ And Click On It.
- Now Select The Recovery Option From The Pop-Up Menu That Appears And.
- Click On ‘Get Started’ Under The Reset This PC Option.
- Choose to keep your files & apps, so that your all personal file will be intact.
- Keep following the screen instructions.
- Now start your surface & check the keyboard.
It should be working again…
Fix For Surface laptop keyboard Not Woking
In this section, we will specifically guide you to fix the Surface laptop keyboard Not Woking issue. If you are using any model of Surface laptop like Surface Laptop Go 2, Surface Laptop Studio, or Surface Laptop 4 then the solution provided in this section will help you fix issues with any of these surface laptops.
We will cover the following issues in this suggested fix
- Laptop Go 2 Keyboard not working
- Surface laptop 4 Keyboard not working
- Surface laptop 3 Keyboard not working
- Microsoft surface laptop 2 Keyboard not working
- Surface book keyboard not working
- Surface laptop Studio Keyboard not working
- Now let’s start with troubleshooting steps.
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- Step 1
Use Windows keyboard troubleshooter
- Go to the start menu and click on the Settings (Gare Icon) option.
- Then click on the Update and security Option.
- After that click on troubleshoot, option from the left of the menu.
- Now click on the Additional Troubleshooter option.
- Now Select the keyboard and click on the Run the troubleshoot button.
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- Step 2
Update or Reinstall Surface Hd mini Driver
To update Driver
- Right-click on the Windows menu and select Device Manager.
- Find the Human interface devices and expand it from the left side arrow.
- Now right-click on the Surface Hd mini driver and click on Update driver.
- Right-click on the start menu & click on device manager
- Finally, click on the search automatically for the driver.
To reinstall the Driver
- Perform the above steps for line 3
- Right-click on the Surface Hd mini driver and click on Uninstall driver.
- Then right-click on the Human interface devices and choose scan for hardware changes.
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- Step 3
Update or Reinstall HID keyboard driver
To Update HID Driver
- Press the Windows key + R together to open Run Box
- Type “devmgmt.msc” in the run box and hit enter key.
- Find the “Keyboard” and expand it.
- Now right-click on the Hid Keyboard and select the Update driver option.
- Follow the above steps for the rest of the HID Keyboard Driver to Update all drivers.
To Uninstall Driver
- Follow the above step through line 4.
- Right-click on the Hid Keyboard driver and select Uninstall option.
- Follow the above steps for the rest of the HID Keyboard Driver for Uninstallation.
After completing the uninstallation process Restart the surface laptop, after the restart, the laptop driver will automatically be installed.
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- Step 4
Alter ease of access settings
- Go to the start menu and click on the setting option.
- Click on the Ease of Access menu.
- After that click on the Keyboard option from the left menu option under the interaction option.
- Now Turn off the toggle “use sticky key” and uncheck the options allow the shortcut keys.
- Follow the above steps for “Use toggle keys” and “Use Filter Keys” both.
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Fix Surface Bluetooth Keyboard Not Working
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Let’s start if your surface keyboard is not working, if the surface keyboard not pairing with your surface device, if Error message while pairing, if stopped working & if not responding when you type.
First thing you need to do that you need to pair it with your surface device. To pair the surface keyboard with your device Press & hold the pairing button for 5-7 seconds then release the button. You will see a light above the arrow key blink. The pairing button is on the left side of the kickstand on the Surface keyboard & bottom of the keyboard is next to the battery compartment on the Surface Ergonomic Keyboard. Now follow the below steps.
- Click the start button on the surface device.
- Select settings.
- Click device.
- Under Bluetooth & other devices.
- Select add Bluetooth or other devices (Make sure Bluetooth is turned on of your Pc).
- Select Bluetooth & find a surface keyboard or Surface Ergonomic Keyboard in the list.
- You need to enter a code and tap enter but you will not be able to see the code you type on the screen.
- Follow further instructions if any then select done.
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To pair the surface keyboard with fingerprint ID follow the below steps
-
- You will find a USB cable in the box, connect it with the keyboard and your surface or device.
- Turn on the power switch of the keyboard.
- You will get a popup message in the bottom right corner of your surface or Windows 10 device.
- Once you will tap on the message, the keyboard driver will download & install. Your keyboard will automatically be paired with a surface or Windows 10 device.
- You will find a USB cable in the box, connect it with the keyboard and your surface or device.
Hope your surface keyboard started working
if it is still not working follow these steps
-
- Make sure your PC is compatible with Bluetooth 4.0
- Ensure that your surface keyboard has power, to confirm press caps lock or num lock & see light above the key turns on.
- Try to turn Airplane mode on for a few seconds & then turn it off. You will find airplane mode on the taskbar and select action center. If you do not see airplane mode in the action center click to expand. Pair your keyboard again.
- If any other Bluetooth devices are connected with your Surface or Pc turn it off. Many Bluetooth devices connected at once can cause a problem.
- Remove your surface keyboard from your pc & pair it again. To remove the Bluetooth device follow the below steps
- Click the start button on the surface device.
- Select settings.
- Click devices.
- Under Bluetooth & other devices.
- Select Surface keyboard or Surface Ergonomic Keyboard.
- Click remove the device.
- Click yes to confirm.
- Click the start button on the surface device.
- Close all open apps & restart Surface or Pc once. Again, pair your keyboard & check if it’s working or not.
Now Your surface keyboard should be working,
if it is still not working…?
Now, need to test your keyboard because it is possible that the problem is with your surface keyboard itself. If possible then try to use this keyboard with any other device of your friend or relatives & see if the keyboard is working or not. If it is not working, it means there may be some hardware fault or some physical issue with the keyboard.
Some keys on Surface keyboard not working
If some keys of the surface keyboard not working then you may be using a different keyboard language & layout. So, we need to check it.
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- Step 1
Check the Region & language of your device
- Right-click on the start menu & select settings.
- Click on time & language.
- on the left-hand side click on the region.
- from the drop select your region & regional format.
- then click on language on the left
- now check correct language is selected.
- if you want you can add language by clicking on Add language.
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- Step 2
Check keyboard layout
- Again, right-click on the start menu & select settings
- Click on time & language
- On the left click on a language
- Select your language & click on the options
- Here you can add your keyboard layout by clicking on add a keyboard
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- Step 3
Alter ease of access settings
Ease of setting could be one of the reasons for some keys not working problem on your surface. So, you can follow the steps same as mentioned in the previous section above.
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- Step 4
Clean the surface laptop keyboard
If all the settings are correct on your surface and still your surface some keys are not working then most probably this could be due to dust. You need to clean your keyboard thoroughly. But before starting cleaning make sure to shut down your surface laptop completely.
Take a keyboard brush and clean the keyboard gently. After that, you can use canned air to blow the dust from under the keys of the keyboard. You can use cleaning gel as well.
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Word of advice to avoid future problems
Keep your Surface & surface keyboard updated. You need to keep your Surface & surface keyboard updated because Microsoft releases regular updates so that system runs smoothly & it updates drivers & other Microsoft programs. It makes your pc less vulnerable to malware & malicious programs.
Contact Microsoft Customer service
Still, your surface keyboard has not been fixed, if there is some hardware fault or any other issue with your surface keyboard then you can contact Microsoft Surface Support. You can visit the Microsoft store as well. Microsoft surface device comes with a one-year limited hardware warranty and 90 days of technical support. Microsoft provides best-in-class customer service.
Conclusion
Hope this post helps you resolve your surface keyboard not working problem. We have covered all the possible solutions and most of the time it has worked for me as well as for others. Do let us know – did you able to fix your surface keyboard not working problem?
Really detailed and simple steps to follow through. You’re a angel!!!
The rubbing of the connector with the eraser was really helpful. Thanks!!
THANK YOU!!!! You saved me $$$!!!