What to try if your Surface touchscreen doesn't work (2024)

If you're experiencingSurface touchscreen issues such astouch not responding on part or all of the screen, multi-touch gestures not working or your Surface Pen not inking, touch behaving inaccurately, your Surface experiencing"phantom" or "ghost"touches, touch beingslow to respond, or not knowing how to disable touch on Surface, here are some solutions you can try.

If your Surface is displaying an image and is accepting touch or pen input, but is having video issues such as a distorted image, flickering, or lines running through the image, seeWhat to try if your Surface screen is flickering, distorted, or has other display issues.

Note:Depending on your issue, you may need to connect a keyboard or a mouse to perform these steps. We recommend using a Surface Type Cover, USB keyboard or mouse, or Bluetooth keyboard or mouse.

If your Surface touchscreen doesn’t work, try these steps first

To try to resolve these issues, you can begin by following the steps below toboot to UEFI and test touch functionality,reinstall the touchscreen driver,check for Windows and Surface updates,orreset Surface.If that doesn't resolve the issues, you can find more info inIs your touchscreen still not working?.

Solution 1:Boot to UEFI and test touch functionality

Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) is a type of software that helps Windows communicate with your Surface’s hardware. Because UEFI operates independently of Windows, testing hardware in UEFI will work if you have a hardware issue.

• If touch does not work in UEFI, your device likely has experienced a hardware failure and needs servicing.

• If touch works in UEFI, the issue probably involves Windows or the touch driver.

Follow these steps to boot to UEFI and test touch functionality:

1. Go to Start > Power> Shut down .

2. When Surface is off, press and hold the volume up button and press the power button untila Microsoft or Surface logo appears onscreen.

3. Once you are in UEFI, touch your Surface screen and see if it responds normally. Try to navigate in UEFI by tapping various menu items. Then, depending on how your Surface responds to touch, follow one of these steps:

   • If touch doesn't work on your Surface, your touchscreen most likely experienced a hardware failure. Your next step is tosubmit a service order.

   • If touch works on your Surface, select EXIT, follow any onscreen instructions, and restart Windows. Then go to reinstall the touchscreen driver.

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Note:This video is available in English only.

Solution 2:Reinstall the touchscreen driver

Warning:Do not perform this step on a Surface Pro X;it can put your Surface in an unusable state and put your data at risk. You can continue troubleshooting by going toreset Surface.

1. In thesearch box on the taskbar, enterdevice manager, and then select Device Managerin the list of results.

2. Expand the Human Interface Devices category.

3. Right-click Intel(R) Precise Touch Device, select Uninstall device, and then, in the Uninstall Device dialog box, select Uninstall.

4. Right-clickHID-compliant touch screen, selectUninstall device, and then, in theUninstall Devicedialog box, selectUninstall.If you see two HID-compliant touchscreen drivers, right-click the first, select Uninstall device, select Uninstall, and then repeat the process for the second driver.

   

5. From the Actionmenu, select Scan for hardware changes.You may also need to restart your Surface. It will automatically download and install the touchscreen driver when connected to the internet.

To check whether this solution resolved the issue, use touch to open an application like Microsoft Edge or another web browser, and try to scroll, pinch to zoom, swipein from the right, and long-pressto test touch functionality.

Solution 3: Check for Windows and Surface updates

You can quickly check the health of your Surface drivers and firmware using the Surface app.

Open the Surface app

1. In the Surface app, expand Help & supportto check if the update status is "You're up to date" or something else.

2. If needed, select the option to update the devices.

   Note:If you don't have the Surface app installed, you can download the Surface app from the Microsoft Store. When it has downloaded, select Start, search for Surface, then select the app from the list of results.

Solution 4:Reset Surface

If you’re still having a problem with your touchscreen, try resetting your Surface. To learn how, see Restore or reset Surface for Windows and follow the recommended steps for "Reset this PC."

After the reset and device setup, use touch to open an application like Microsoft Edge or another web browser, and try to scroll pinch to zoom, swipe in from the right, and long-press to test touch functionality.

Is your touchscreen still not working?

Check below for the description that best explains the issue you are facingand find the appropriate next steps to follow. If your issue isn't listed, and you did the troubleshooting above, you might be experiencing a hardware failure. In that case, your next step is tosubmit a service order.

Warning:During troubleshooting, it may be determined that your Surface must be reset or replaced. For more information about how to back up your data, see Back up your Windows PC.

If touch still won't work on your Surface, submit a service order

There's one last step you can take. If these steps don't resolve the problem, service and support options may be available to assist you.

Note:Availability may be limited for some countries or products.

To learn more, go to How to get service or repair for Surface.