The Surface Pro 4 keyboard is a detachable keyboard from Microsoft. This outstanding device can turn your tablet into a laptop and laptop into a tablet. Surface Pro 4 is in demand for quite a few years now for its immense durability and usefulness amongst users.
However, Surface Pro 4 is recently in reports due to some entirely different reasons. A lot of users have reportedly said that the Surface Pro 4 keyword has suddenly become unresponsive. It is either the keyboard or type cover is not working smoothly or has become totally passive, which leads to no reaction on the screen. The issue gets very annoying; however, there are enough fixes available to resolve it. Today, in this article, we will discuss such fixes that will help you get rid of the “Surface Pro 4 keyboard not working” issue.
Page Contents
Causes- Surface Pro 4 keyboard Not Working
The below-mentioned scenarios can lead to a “Surface Pro 4 keyboard Not Working” issue.
- If the keyboard is broken.
- When the keyboard drivers are corrupted or outdated.
- If the Surface gets into an error state.
- If the Type Cover is disabled in UEFI.
- Due to outdated keyboard Firmware.
- Outdated Windows.
How to fix when “Surface Pro 4 keyboard is not working”?
FIX 1: Update all keyboard drivers:
Surface Pro 4 is a specialized keyboard that comes with some particular drivers. And like various other errors, these outdated or corrupted drivers can be one of the primary causes of the keyboard not working issue. In that case, installing the updated drivers might help. For doing so,
- Go to the Windows search bar and open the Control panel.
- On the Control panel window, go to Hardware and Sound and select the option View devices and printers.
- From the list, locate and right-click on Surface Type Cover and select Properties.
- Go to the Hardware tab.
- Now go to associated devices (each), right-click to open Properties, and then click on Uninstall. (Wherever available, do check the option Delete drivers.)
- Once you are done with Uninstalling, close the window.
- Again, go to the search bar and open Device Manager.
- On the next window, click on Action and select Scan for hardware changes from the list.
- Now update all the drivers in Firmware. For that, expand Firmware & Keyboards and select the option Search Automatically for updated driver software.
- Under keyboards, you may see several HID Keyboard Devices. Again, update all the keyboard drivers by selecting the option Search Automatically for updated driver software.
- Once done, restart your system and check whether the Surface Pro 4 keyboard not working issue is resolved or not.
FIX 2: Check For Windows File Error:
Corrupted Windows files can also lead to ‘Surface Pro 4 keyboard not working’ error. Verifying and fixing such corrupt system files might help you also get rid of the keyboard not working issue. For doing so, follow the steps given below:
- Go to the search menu, type “cmd” and locate Command Prompt.
- Select Run as administrator. You would receive a prompt warning stating Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device?, click on Yes.
- Now in the administrator window, type SFC/Scannow and press Enter. It will now start scanning your device and fix corrupt files (if any). The process might take some time, hence do not close the window.
- Once done, you may now check whether the Surface Pro 4 keyboard issue is resolved or not.
FIX 3: Perform a Two-Buttons Shut-down:
If the problem is with connection modules of the device, then performing a two-button shut-down may help. It will remove the cache files and delete all temporary configuration. Do not need to worry about files as once you start the computer again, the files will also get generated by default. To perform two-buttons shut down:
- Press and hold the main power button of your device for 30 seconds.
- Now press and hold the main power button and volume up button (+) altogether for 15 seconds.
Note: Even if you see the system starting up, do not leave the buttons before the said time.
- After that, wait for a minute or two before starting your device again.
- Once it has started, connect your keyboard and check whether the issue has resolved or not.
FIX 4: Update Firmware of your keyboard:
Updating Firmware of your keyboard might help your get rid of the ‘Surface Pro 4 keyboard not working’ issue. For updating Firmware, follow the steps given below:
Note: Before you proceed with this step, make sure the keyboard is attached with your Surface and is turned on.
- Firstly, go to the official website of Microsoft to download drivers and Firmware.
- Set the language as English and then click on the red Download button.
- Now right-click on the program and select the option Run as administrator. It will start the updating process.
- Once the updates are installed, restart your system and check whether the issue has resolved or not.
FIX 5: Ensure that the Type Cover is enabled in UEFI:
If the Surface Pro 4 Type Cover has a fault with it in the UEFI, it might result in not working. Here disabling and then again enabling the Type Cover in UEFI might help. For doing so,
- Turn off your Surface Pro 4 and perform a two-button restart (Follow the 2nd step from FIX 3)
- Once you see the UEFI screen navigate to the list on left and select the option Devices.
- From the list of Devices locate and disable Type cover, save changes and exit the window.
- Now shut down Surface Pro and again perform two-button restarts.
- Enter UEFI and then go to Devices.
- Here enable Type cover.
- Finally, save the changes, restart your system and check whether the issue has resolved or not.
FIX 6: Check if the Type Cover works in BIOS:
Another fix that would help you get rid of the ‘Surface Pro 4 keyboard Not Working’ issue is by accessing BIOS on Surface Pro. For finding out whether the issue is caused by your hardware or software you can access BIOS:
Method 1:
Boot to BIOS and check whether the Type cover works there.
OR
Method 2:
- Go to Settings and open Update & security.
- From the left pane, select the option Recovery.
- Now on the right pane, navigate to Advanced start-up and click on Restart now.
- Now go to Troubleshoot and select Advanced options and then UEFI Firmware Settings.
- Finally, click on the Restart button.
- You may now check whether the issue is resolved or not.
Apart from the fixes explained above, you can also try some basic and quick solutions to get rid of the ‘Surface pro 4 keyboard not working’ issue.
- Check whether the keyboard itself is in working condition or not? A damaged or broken keyboard may also result in ‘Not working’ problem. Also, if the keyboard is corrupt or broken, none of the fixes will work for you.
- Form a backup point and reset your system. Resetting the system will remove all the recently installed application which might be a cause for ‘Surface pro 4 keyboard not working’. (Note: It will delete your user profile as well).
- Update Windows (and ensure that you are logged in as an administrator) if you haven’t done it for quite a while now. By doing so, Microsoft’s latest features or updates for bug fixing might help you get away with the keyboard not working issue as well. (Note: Make sure your keyboard is attached while you perform Windows update).
- Clean dirt and dust from the connectors. It might be possible that dirt or dust particles are blocking the connectivity. Hence take a cotton swab and clean the connectors and surface cautiously without damaging any component.
- Detach and reattach the Surface type cover, and it might help you get rid of the issue.
- If none of the above fixes works for you, the last resort we recommend you is ‘connect with Microsoft support’. If your keyboard has some physical damage and is under warranty, then it will quickly get replaced. And if it is not under warranty, the support team will still fix the issue for you.
CONCLUSION
The unresponsive or unsmooth working behavior of Surface Pro 4 keyboard is not a big deal and can be solved conveniently. These were all the possible fixes that can successfully help you get rid of the Surface Pro 4 keyboard not working” issue.
By the end of this article, we hope you have found all the answers for your queries related to the Surface Pro 4 keyboard working problem. We have tried to mention enough solutions and hope that one or another will indeed work for you. If you have any queries or feedback, please write down the comment in the below comment box.