Touchscreen stops responding

[tgrsnpr]

I'm having trouble with my SP4. Sometimes when I am on it the touch screen stops working. Touching it or using the surface pen won't respond and the only one to get it to work again is if I connect the keyboard to the SP4 or do a hard restart using the power button. Is anyone else having this issue or know how to fix this? It's getting annoying having to connect the keyboard every time it wants to stop working.

 

[boltman2013]

Return/exchange? Seems Odd.

 

[tgrsnpr]

Return/exchange? Seems Odd.

If no one else is having this problem on the SP4 I definitely would exchange it. Are you not having this issue as well? I use my SP4 more as a tablet than a laptop with the keyboard so I do want it to be fixed.

 

[eastbayrae]

I use mine as a laptop and it happens frequently. There are times when the pen stops working too.

 

[snakebitten]

I've had it happen randomly. And while quickly attaching the touch keyboard can return it to responsive status, I still will do a quick reboot if it acts flakey in any way.

It seems that "flakey" and random freezes are much less seldom than after the early release. So while all the updates haven't yet perfected it, the evidence is that software IS the culprit. If I felt differently, I would exchange it for another.

 

[kwill]

I have the same problem. It's popped up a few times over the last week or so and is quite annoying as i ha e to reboot to fix it. I thought of exchanging it, but felt software was thr problem also and dont feel like setting my SP4 up again since there's noe no backup/restore function.

 

[ollyooky]

Happening to me to. Both screen and pen stopped working... First day I've had it..
There's a reddit forum with quite a few people experiencing the same problem...

 

[navierstokez]

been getting this a lot more than when I just got the device during launch.

Can other ppl confirm the same behaviour? has anyone got a replacement for this issue?

 

[69Siko69]

That happens to me sometimes But it work again after a reboot

 

[navierstokez]

Heh, ya it recovers after reboot, but since i use my SP4 touch and stylus only. Reboot is a force reboot........... :S

Is this related to an HID touch driver or intel driver?

 

[Jazake]

Exact same thing happens to me. In fact, I sent the first one back thinking it was an issue with the first one. Nope, same issue with this one. Completely random. Happens about every other day I use it. So having to reboot every other day because of this is extremely annoying. There has actually be a few times where I rebooted and it didn't fix the issue. Took about 2 or 3 reboots. FRUSTRATING BEYOND BELIEF. If everything else wasn't so awesome with it, I would return it for my money back. Hope Microsoft fixes soon. It has to be some type of driver issue with the Touch Screen. These issues should have been caught in bug testing, or at least patched by now, a few months later.

 

[CraigCole]

I've had it happen randomly. And while quickly attaching the touch keyboard can return it to responsive status, I still will do a quick reboot if it acts flakey in any way.

It seems that "flakey" and random freezes are much less seldom than after the early release. So while all the updates haven't yet perfected it, the evidence is that software IS the culprit. If I felt differently, I would exchange it for another.

In my opinion the whole Surface Pro 4 is flaky, from the battery-draining sleep issue, to a black screen on wake up, from random display driver crashes, to unresponsive touch screens, it's as half baked as raw cookie dough. It really needed, like, ANOTHER YEAR of development. Personally, I wish I never bought this steaming pile of fail even though I LOVE the form factor ... Makes me wonder why I also got a Lumia 950. What's the definition of insanity again?

 

[snakebitten]

Well, I understand someone having your opinion, but I use both a Surface Pro 4 and a 950Xl every day. I am on the grid and supporting networks all over the world 24\7. They are my go-to devices when not actually sitting at my desk in the data-center. So while they are both still right out of the gate, I trust them and get great pleasure from them both.

And I can have anything I want for my "tools". They get expensed without question. I have no regrets. But I AM looking forward to what Windows 10 is going to bring this year.

 

[CraigCole]

Well, I understand someone having your opinion, but I use both a Surface Pro 4 and a 950Xl every day. I am on the grid and supporting networks all over the world 24\7. They are my go-to devices when not actually sitting at my desk in the data-center. So while they are both still right out of the gate, I trust them and get great pleasure from them both.

And I can have anything I want for my "tools". They get expensed without question. I have no regrets. But I AM looking forward to what Windows 10 is going to bring this year.

The promise of Windows 10 is extremely alluring, but it's far from "there" yet.

I love the SP4 form factor. It's light, the screen is GORGEOUS and its flexibility is unmatched by anything else on the market. I appreciate the 950's screen as well, which is AWESOME; I also enjoy its light weight. However, the quality issues with these devices are, in my opinion, unacceptable. The SP4 is not a cheap device and it should have been near perfect at launch. Sleep/wake issues, display-driver crashes, Bluetooth woes are maddening. Who allowed all these shortcomings into production? How did no reviews note these issues? It's a similar story with the 950.

If there's any solace for me I'm glad I didn't get a Surface Book. Perusing that forum it appears they're EVEN MORE problematic than the SP4.

 

[snakebitten]

Again, valid comments. But I'm just saying that although the first few days with each device I personally WAS affected by some, not all, of the various issues documented. But now it's been a few weeks and various OS updates and firmware updates have been applied and now I just use the devices with nary a glitch. Keep in mind I have admittedly tweaked the SP4 with various settings changes (power plan, host file, manual display driver install....) and that could mean I am ahead of the average consumer curve. And having said that, I do think it is a drag that you have to know so much about the SP4 to get it running well. I suspect most folks that walk out of the store with their sweet new package are less likely to make the efforts that many of us have.

The 950XL has been far less effort. It simply needed a hard reset and fresh config without restoring from a backup. Since build 10586.29(?) it's been smooth sailing for me. (YouMail for VVM since Dual Sim is an issue there)

 

[CraigCole]

Again, valid comments. But I'm just saying that although the first few days with each device I personally WAS affected by some, not all, of the various issues documented. But now it's been a few weeks and various OS updates and firmware updates have been applied and now I just use the devices with nary a glitch. Keep in mind I have admittedly tweaked the SP4 with various settings changes (power plan, host file, manual display driver install....) and that could mean I am ahead of the average consumer curve. And having said that, I do think it is a drag that you have to know so much about the SP4 to get it running well. I suspect most folks that walk out of the store with their sweet new package are less likely to make the efforts that many of us have.

The 950XL has been far less effort. It simply needed a hard reset and fresh config without restoring from a backup. Since build 10586.29(?) it's been smooth sailing for me. (YouMail for VVM since Dual Sim is an issue there)

Yeah, I'm not that tech savvy, :grin:! I can tweak the registry, but only with very clear and specific instructions; I'd never go in there without proper direction.

I just want reliable, high-quality products and both of these have let me down. My buddy that's all Apple never seems to have any issues or complaints, and he does heavy-duty video editing, ditto for most of my coworkers who use Macs and iPhones almost exclusively.

Speaking of reliability, Windows 7 had a weird taskbar problem where the icon "highlight" effect would get stuck for some reason. It happened all the time on my old computer and it would drive me crazy. It only took a shift+right click on the taskbar to correct it, albeit temporarily; it would come back again in a few minutes. Microsoft never fixed the issue, and guess what? It's still here in Windows 10! If this truly is the "best Windows ever" they should just scrap it and start over again, LOL!

 

[onlysublime]

Once the Intel graphics driver stabilizes, it'll fix a lot of the problems and probably will fix any touchscreen issues as well. Even though the touchscreen is a separate device, it still depends on the GPU. Did you ever have the display driver crashing on you?

Anything with Skylake is going to have teething problems. It's not isolated to Microsoft. It just happens that Microsoft was pretty much the first vendor to get Skylake products out there. Remember, it's not just the CPU/GPU but also the motherboard chipsets that are new. And it's exacerbated by the fact that Windows 10 is new.

 

[snakebitten]

Good point. There may not be a more new package with more new than the SP4. Almost a perfect new storm?
Kind of like mass producing a technology prototype. Gutsy move if you think about it that way. And not surprising that it would catch a lot of folks off guard early on.

Hopefully history treats the whole thing kindly after the dust settles.

 

[slysy]

Happening to me to. Both screen and pen stopped working... First day I've had it..
There's a reddit forum with quite a few people experiencing the same problem...

Could you link this reddit thread please?

 

[Gareee]

I ran into touchscreen issues that involved first the pen, and then any touch input. The keybard worked fine, but anything related to the touch screen was dead. After a replacement surface 4 pro 16 gb i7 and seeing the exact same issues I researched further, and the answer was right in front of me... a plasma lamp! I turned it off, and the surface worked perfectly again! I saw the same issue with aa led lamp I also have as well. If you have any electrical devices near your surface, move it or turn them off and see if it cures your issues, like it did for me.