Solved Pen starts to work then stops

[handwriter]

I've had my Surface for almost 3 years now. Everything has been smooth sailing until recently. At first I had battery problems, but I was able to fix them with the help of the wonderful people on here. Now I've been having problems with my surface pen over the past couple of weeks.

I'm a student and I hand write all my notes on OneNote. Lately, the pen has been spotty. I'll start writing and one or two words in, it'll stop writing. If i change pen or color on one note it starts writing - but only one or two words until it stops. It does the same when I'm writing on Word Docs and it's even spotty with just regular point and pressing. The purple button works to open OneNote.

I have changed the battery twice, re-paired the pen multiple times, disabled the pen driver, and all my updates are up-to-date. At this point I don't know what else I can do. All my notes are on OneNote and not being able to amend/ add on to the notes is really screwing me over this term. Can anyone help?

 

[sharpuser]

This sounds very much like an electromagnetic interference issue. The screen uses interference to detect the pen, but if an outside source is stronger, the pen and screen may lose communication.

Does the same issue occur elsewhere, such as in a different room, café, or classroom? If it does, interference is not the issue.
However, if the problem occurs only at one place, you may be too close to a leaky electromagnetic source: A big speaker (magnet), large electronics, a phone charger, a nearby cell phone tower, amplifier, etc.

Let us know.

 

[handwriter]

It happens everywhere, unfortunately, so I don't think that could be the issue. The problems with the battery and pen started happening around the same time (a couple of weeks ago) so I'm not sure if it could be related.

 

[sharpuser]

I wonder if your battery contacts are poor / dirty.

Suggestions:
1. Clean the pen battery contacts with a cotton swab and a very small amount of moisture, or isopropyl alcohol.
2. Borrow someone else's pen just for a few minutes, pair it, and test, to see if it is your computer, or the pen.

 

[handwriter]

Sorry I couldn't get back to you sooner, I had midterms.
Thank you so much!! I cleaned the inside of the pen with Q-tips and rubbing alcohol. So far it's been working with no breaks.

 

[sharpuser]

Excellent.
I hope the mid-terms turned out well for you.

Marking solved.