Stupid pen loop fell off and MS won't help.

[hopmedic]

My idea, given the size and shape of the computer, would have been to make one of the edges concave, and put magnets in it. Even a slight concavity would significantly improve the security of the pen over the magnets that are there now by the power slot.

 

[greatg67]

Pick yourself up a Leuchtturm 1917 pen loop. Way better design and stickyness

 

[wayn1ak]

You must have missed Kevroc's statement above: "I stuck it to the back of the tablet, not the keyboard, works much better there."

Lol you're right. I totally misread his comment and skipped the "not the keyboard" part. Was quite tired this morning.

That Leuchtturm 1917 pen loop looks very interesting.

 

[jedge]

Just curious, but has anyone tried attaching the loop to the Surface Pro itself? It sounds ugly and crazy but it's a thought.

In my picture above, it is stuck to the tablet, not the case. That's how it kinda snuggles into the groove there when the case is folded back.

 

[Great deal]

After losing a pen I actually purchased a loop from Amazon to use with the SP2 - I couldn't really find any good place to put it, put it in a drawer. Few months later got a Kindle and kindle case with built in note pad..used the loop so could hold pencil..job done!

 

[hopmedic]

I just ordered a gray Leuchtturm to stick on the top edge of the back side of my SP3. I think that's a better place for it than the keyboard. I still think it would have been awesome had they made one of the edges concave and used magnets. I'm guessing they're not reading my posts, though.

 

[jnjroach]

I went ahead and added my own double-sided adhesive to more permanently attach the loop where I wanted it.

 

[Alligator42]

I've tried to reattach it in other locations, but it doesn't survive more than one minute in my bag since it lost its stickiness. Good thing this was my work Surface instead of my personal one. I won't make this same mistake with mine.

I also tried the clip it on the cover method and mine hits the screen, so that won't work.

 

[Jcmg62]

My pen loop fell off after 2 days of use, and now it won't stick back on. Who designed this thing anyway? It's essentially a small sticker that attaches to a fuzzy cover. How did they expect this to actually work in real life?

So I called Microsoft to see if they'd at least send me another pen loop with a fresh sticker. They said "No, the loop isn't covered under warranty." So my options are to return the entire type cover to get just a new pen loop (environmentally unwise), or live with it.

Microsoft, it's stuff like this that Apple wouldn't let out the door. The Surface Pro 3 is an excellent computer, but you fell asleep on the last 1% of the product design. *sigh*

Sadly, I agree with the your assessment. I'm no fan of Cupertino (refer to my username for proof of this but you're absolutely on point when you say that Apple wouldn't sell a product that isn't pitch perfect. The design team would have slaved and toiled over the problem until a solution was found. There's no way they would have slapped a sticker on the side of the keyboard and gone "hey, live with it" primarily because they know that charging a premium for a product means that customers buy the right to expect perfection in every aspect of the design and performance of the product.

I refuse to believe that the big thinkers in Redmond couldn't find a better way to house the pen....magnetise it, make it smaller, create a slot to insert it into the tablet or the keyboard....hell, even attaching it to the device with a bit of string would be better than the stupid loop on the side...

This really is Microsoft getting 99% of the way there, having a sales meeting and concluding that 99% will have to do because Christmas bonuses will be missed if they don't ship ASAP.

In other words, I think commercial pressure forced an early release of the product, and that's a bad business model for the end user.

 

[WillysJeepMan]

I refuse to believe that the big thinkers in Redmond couldn't find a better way to house the pen....magnetise it, make it smaller, create a slot to insert it into the tablet or the keyboard....hell, even attaching it to the device with a bit of string would be better than the stupid loop on the side...

They didn't come up with a better way because they didn't think that they needed to. And they were right. I have yet to run into anyone who was deterred from buying an SP3 because of Microsoft's decision to go with a glued-on pen loop. The bar for the target SP3 audience is not that high.

What is even more telling about the glued-on pen loop is that it is designed specifically to be attached to an OPTIONAL accessory... keyboard cover. What do people who choose NOT to buy this optional accessory do to secure their pen to their tablet? It is just another indicator that Microsoft designed the SP3 to require the keyboard cover and didn't include it as to mask the true cost of ownership.

 

[mozman68]

They didn't come up with a better way because they didn't think that they needed to. And they were right. I have yet to run into anyone who was deterred from buying an SP3 because of Microsoft's decision to go with a glued-on pen loop. The bar for the target SP3 audience is not that high.

What is even more telling about the glued-on pen loop is that it is designed specifically to be attached to an OPTIONAL accessory... keyboard cover. What do people who choose NOT to buy this optional accessory do to secure their pen to their tablet? It is just another indicator that Microsoft designed the SP3 to require the keyboard cover and didn't include it as to mask the true cost of ownership.

Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding....we have a winner! (but it still won't stop me from buying both....:evil

So why doesn't every notebook come with a pen/pencil loop? Hah...

 

[EwingMCSE]

They didn't come up with a better way because they didn't think that they needed to. And they were right. I have yet to run into anyone who was deterred from buying an SP3 because of Microsoft's decision to go with a glued-on pen loop. The bar for the target SP3 audience is not that high.

What is even more telling about the glued-on pen loop is that it is designed specifically to be attached to an OPTIONAL accessory... keyboard cover. What do people who choose NOT to buy this optional accessory do to secure their pen to their tablet? It is just another indicator that Microsoft designed the SP3 to require the keyboard cover and didn't include it as to mask the true cost of ownership.

I don't understand people who think they were supposed to attach the loop-sticker to the keyboard. The instructions that come with the sticker make it very clear (aka a picture) that the sticky part is meant to be attached to the smooth-metal back of the Surface 3. I followed the directions with mine and that sticker is latched on like a barnacle. It's going nowhere.

I'm actually worried about how hard it will be to remove the sticker if I get used to clipping the pen to the keyboard when it's closed as another posted showed us a picture of.

I can't believe anyone tried to put something sticky on a felt surface.

 

[WillysJeepMan]

I don't understand people who think they were supposed to attach the loop-sticker to the keyboard. The instructions that come with the sticker make it very clear (aka a picture) that the sticky part is meant to be attached to the smooth-metal back of the Surface 3. I followed the directions with mine and that sticker is latched on like a barnacle. It's going nowhere.

I'm actually worried about how hard it will be to remove the sticker if I get used to clipping the pen to the keyboard when it's closed as another posted showed us a picture of.

I can't believe anyone tried to put something sticky on a felt surface.

You don't understand?

Every photo that shows the loop, shows it on they keyboard. Does the loop come with the keyboard or the Surface? If it comes with the keyboard, then what does someone do that doesn't have the keyboard?

 

[WillysJeepMan]

addendum:
Here's a photo from the Microsoft Store itself....

 

[hopmedic]

They didn't come up with a better way because they didn't think that they needed to. And they were right. I have yet to run into anyone who was deterred from buying an SP3 because of Microsoft's decision to go with a glued-on pen loop. The bar for the target SP3 audience is not that high.

What is even more telling about the glued-on pen loop is that it is designed specifically to be attached to an OPTIONAL accessory... keyboard cover. What do people who choose NOT to buy this optional accessory do to secure their pen to their tablet? It is just another indicator that Microsoft designed the SP3 to require the keyboard cover and didn't include it as to mask the true cost of ownership.

Can't argue with a word of that.

I don't understand people who think they were supposed to attach the loop-sticker to the keyboard. The instructions that come with the sticker make it very clear (aka a picture) that the sticky part is meant to be attached to the smooth-metal back of the Surface 3. I followed the directions with mine and that sticker is latched on like a barnacle. It's going nowhere.

I'm actually worried about how hard it will be to remove the sticker if I get used to clipping the pen to the keyboard when it's closed as another posted showed us a picture of.

I can't believe anyone tried to put something sticky on a felt surface.

YOU'RE THE GUY! The one who reads directions! I knew you really existed!
But yes, I put the sticky thing on the felt thing, just like it was in the Best Buy store, and actually, mine is stuck pretty tight. I don't expect it will last forever, which is why I ordered one of those ones mentioned above, but for now it is good and stuck.

 

[mozman68]

YOU'RE THE GUY! The one who reads directions! I knew you really existed!
But yes, I put the sticky thing on the felt thing, just like it was in the Best Buy store, and actually, mine is stuck pretty tight. I don't expect it will last forever, which is why I ordered one of those ones mentioned above, but for now it is good and stuck.

Ummm WillysJeepGuy is more on point....and to his point, it would have actually been smarter to sell the pen loop separate from BOTH the Surface and the keyboard tray. That way one could get the color they want and attach it to the tablet as intented...even if they didn't want to buy the keyboard.

 

[hopmedic]

Ummm WillysJeepGuy is more on point....

Which is why I wrote what I wrote in the only part of my comment that you didn't quote.

 

[mozman68]

Which is why I wrote what I wrote in the only part of my comment that you didn't quote.

I simply meant regarding the instructions...haven't come across one picture or even worse, one reviewer who put it on the tablet. Everyone is following form by attaching it to the keyboard as it is shown in every single picture.

I mean, seriously MS....who would ever read the instructions seeing something so simple applied in a certain way in every image and YouTube/online review?

 

[acsn]

I don't understand people who think they were supposed to attach the loop-sticker to the keyboard. The instructions that come with the sticker make it very clear (aka a picture) that the sticky part is meant to be attached to the smooth-metal back of the Surface 3. I followed the directions with mine and that sticker is latched on like a barnacle. It's going nowhere.

I'm actually worried about how hard it will be to remove the sticker if I get used to clipping the pen to the keyboard when it's closed as another posted showed us a picture of.

I can't believe anyone tried to put something sticky on a felt surface.

You are wrong about the instruction. The picture that came with the loop shows it attached to the keyboard. You can see the "Surface" name as how it is shown on the keyboard. The "Surface" name on the actual SP3 device is not in that location. So you can see how people "followed" the instruction and attached it as shown. Sure, we can always use our common sense as to gauge which surface might sticks better but people followed the instruction. :smile:

The unit that I looked at the Microsoft Store also stuck it on the keyboard. Here is a picture that I took at the store.

I agree with you in that the sticky part will stick better to the smooth-metal surface but you can see how Microsoft wasn't helping.

 

[onysi]

I stuck it to the back of the tablet, not the keyboard, works much better there.

Brilliant. Just unstickied it for the 3rd time. Glad it still sticks.. It is now off my keyboard. And it makes more sense since when you detach the kb, u would need the pen with you.