The Surface Laptop represents the best of what Microsoft has to offer in the laptop space, and they often rank among the best laptops you can buy on the market. But just the fact that they’re made by Microsoft doesn’t mean they’re entirely immune to all the common, yet frustrating, Windows problems. In fact, there are multiple reports about the Surface Laptop’s keyboard having issues that may cause it to stop responding entirely.
Thankfully, there are a few simple ways to fix this issue, so you don’t have to put up with a non-responsive keyboard all the time or replace it with an external keyboard. If your Surface Laptop keyboard is not working either, then read on to find some simple troubleshooting methods to fix it.
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Try disabling and re-enabling it
“Did you try turning it off and on?”
One of the easiest ways to fix your Surface Laptop’s keyboard is by disabling and re-enabling it. Doing this will reset the keyboard and fix minor issues that may cause some problems frequently. Disabling and re-enabling your laptop’s keyboard isn’t guaranteed to solve the problem permanently, but it’s a quick way to potentially get it working again, so you don’t have to go searching for an external keyboard. To do this:
- Press the Start button and type Device Manager.
- Open Device Managerand select the Keyboards option to expand the list.
- Right-click on the first keyboard entry (HID/Standard) and select Properties.
- Confirm the (HID/Standard) entry is the right keyboard by looking up the Location section in the General tab, and ensuring it says Location 1 or Plugged into keyboard port.
Bluetooth and USB keyboards will show On Bluetooth Low Energy and On USB Input Devicerespectively.
- Close the Properties window, and right-click on the keyboard entry again to select Uninstall device.
- Click Uninstall to confirm the action.
And that’s how easy it is to disable your laptop’s built-in keyboard temporarily. Simply restart your laptop after disabling your keyboard to let Windows look for the connected but unrecognized devices and fetch the necessary drivers to enable it again.
Force shutdown your Surface laptop
A simple troubleshooting method
If you don’t want to go through the hassle of disabling and re-enabling the keyboard, then you can also perform a force shutdown to see if that fixes the issue. To do this, simply press and hold the power button for 20 seconds. You can once again press the power button to boot your laptop after it shuts down to see if the keyboard works. Alternatively, you can also check if your keyboard works in UEFI by booting to the UEFI screen.
The Surface utility can help
Microsoft’s Surface Diagnostic Toolkit essentially checks for updates and checks different parts of your Surface for abnormalities. Using this toolkit can be a quick way to check what’s wrong with your system, and also what’s causing it. To use this:
- Press Start on your Surface Laptop, and Search for Surface Diagnostic Toolkit. You can download it from the Microsoft Store if it’s not already installed on your laptop.
- Select it to launch, and then follow the on-screen instructions to check for any issues on your Surface Laptop.
Update your keyboard’s drivers
Updated drivers are key to a smooth functioning device
While you don’t have to update your device drivers manually as Windows’ system update fetches all the necessary and relevant drivers for your system automatically, you might want to give this a try to see if it prevents the issue that causes your Surface Laptop’s keyboard to not respond. To update your keyboard’s drivers:
- Press the Start button and type Device Manager.
- Open Device Managerand select the Keyboards option to expand the list.
- Right-click on your keyboard’s entry, and select Update Driver.
- Select Search automatically for drivers to check if there are any new drivers available for your laptop’s keyboard.
Don’t eliminate the possibility of a hardware issue
If none of the troubleshooting methods have worked for you, then you might want to consider the possibility of a hardware issue that’s causing your Surface Laptop’s keyboard to not respond. It goes without saying that no amount of software troubleshooting can help you fix the underlying hardware issue, so you might want to contact Microsoft’s live support for available options and for further assistance.