Type Cover (3) touchpad not working on Surface Pro 3

[Saverio Miroddi]

The Type Cover (3) touchpad is not working on the Surface Pro 3.

The keyboard works out of the box.

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 16.04
Package: linux-generic 4.4.0.7.8
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 4.4.0-7.22-generic 4.4.2
Uname: Linux 4.4.0-7-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 2.20-0ubuntu3
Architecture: amd64
AudioDevicesInUse:
 USER PID ACCESS COMMAND
 /dev/snd/controlC0: xubuntu 3087 F.... pulseaudio
 /dev/snd/controlC1: xubuntu 3087 F.... pulseaudio
CasperVersion: 1.367
Date: Sat Feb 27 13:33:53 2016
LiveMediaBuild: Xubuntu 16.04 LTS "Xenial Xerus" - Alpha amd64 (20160224)
MachineType: Microsoft Corporation Surface Pro 3
ProcEnviron:
 TERM=xterm
 PATH=(custom, no user)
 LANG=en_US.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
ProcFB: 0 inteldrmfb
ProcKernelCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/casper/vmlinuz.efi file=/cdrom/preseed/hostname.seed boot=casper quiet splash --- cdrom-detect/try-usb=true noprompt persistent
PulseList: Error: command ['pacmd', 'list'] failed with exit code 1: No PulseAudio daemon running, or not running as session daemon.
RelatedPackageVersions:
 linux-restricted-modules-4.4.0-7-generic N/A
 linux-backports-modules-4.4.0-7-generic N/A
 linux-firmware 1.156
SourcePackage: linux
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)
dmi.bios.date: 06/05/2015
dmi.bios.vendor: American Megatrends Inc.
dmi.bios.version: 3.11.0950
dmi.board.asset.tag: 0
dmi.board.name: Surface Pro 3
dmi.board.vendor: Microsoft Corporation
dmi.board.version: 1
dmi.chassis.asset.tag: 0
dmi.chassis.type: 9
dmi.chassis.vendor: Microsoft Corporation
dmi.chassis.version: 1
dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnAmericanMegatrendsInc.:bvr3.11.0950:bd06/05/2015:svnMicrosoftCorporation:pnSurfacePro3:pvr1:rvnMicrosoftCorporation:rnSurfacePro3:rvr1:cvnMicrosoftCorporation:ct9:cvr1:
dmi.product.name: Surface Pro 3
dmi.product.version: 1
dmi.sys.vendor: Microsoft Corporation

[Brad Figg (brad-figg)]

This change was made by a bot.

[Saverio Miroddi (64kramsystem)]

Updated the system to the latest firmware, and the issue still happens.

[BitBurners.com (lasse-penttinen)]

Still reproduced with the Ubuntu 16.04 final beta .ISO

[X (pvh-ubuntu)]

I can confirm this bug is still present in Ubuntu 16.04 Beta 2, including after updating all packages.

[X (pvh-ubuntu)]

This defect might be due to Microsoft changing the USB identifier on the keyboard. See these links:

https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=100341
https://www.reddit.com/r/SurfaceLinux/comments/3diwsy/surface_pro_3_type_cover_touch_pad_works_but_not/

Partial patch
https://gist.github.com/cransom/945ed65bda1db7b8b57a

[X (pvh-ubuntu)]

Keyboard Model Number Location

[Saverio Miroddi (64kramsystem)]

Still happening on Ubuntu 16.10 Final beta. Looks like the 16.10 kernel works on some type 3 covers, but not others.

[Corben (tobias-krummen)]

I'm on Ubuntu 16.04.2 with 4.8.0-39-generic kernel.
The product ID 0x07e2 is recognized by the hid-microsoft driver (modinfo hid-microsoft lists this id), but I have no mouse pointer. I can click on the pad which is acting as a left-click and even right-click when pressing the bottom right corner of the touch pad.

I can get a mouse pointer, when adding /usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d/10-evdev.conf:

Section "InputClass"
        Identifier "Surface Pro 3 cover"
        MatchIsPointer "on"
        MatchDevicePath "/dev/input/event*"
        Driver "evdev"
        Option "vendor" "045e"
        Option "product" "07e2"
        Option "IgnoreAbsoluteAxes" "True"
EndSection

But then I don't have 2 finger scrolling.

I was using the tigerite kernel https://launchpad.net/~tigerite/+archive/ubuntu/kernel before, but had to upgrade as veracrypt wasn't working. With this kernel everything worked as expected (without any manual additions to 10-evdev-conf). Looks like this is either a bug or another patch is missing.

Or is there a solution to get 2 finger scrolling on the microsoft type cover touch pad with a custom setting in /usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d?

[BitBurners.com (lasse-penttinen)]

FYI, the Manjaro 17.02 is supporting the Surface Pro 2 out of the box. Type Cover, touchpad with 2-finger scrolling. Everything works straight off the live media.

https://cd-rw.org/t/running-linux-on-the-surface-pro-3/175/37

[Saverio Miroddi (64kramsystem)]

> FYI, the Manjaro 17.02 is supporting the Surface Pro 2 out of the box. Type Cover, touchpad with 2-finger scrolling. Everything works straight off the live media.
>
> https://cd-rw.org/t/running-linux-on-the-surface-pro-3/175/37

Thanks. I've also just noticed (and it's worth pointing out) that Fedora has out-of-the-box support as well, since v24.

Looks like Ubuntu SP3 support will have to wait, in best case until 17.10 (worst case, later versions), since 17.04 still supports it insufficiently.

[Viking (viking298)]

ButBurners.com... How is this comment constructive in the slightest??

So the person is having an issue with Ubuntu on an SP3 on an Ubuntu forum. So a recommended solution is to purchase a SP2 and install a completely different variant of linux!? How is that helpful??

[Saverio Miroddi (64kramsystem)]

> ButBurners.com... How is this comment constructive in the slightest??
>
> So the person is having an issue with Ubuntu on an SP3 on an Ubuntu forum. So a recommended solution is to purchase a SP2 and install a completely different variant of linux!? How is that helpful??

I think it's fair to give information about the status of the support for this machine. Right now Ubuntu SP3 users are forced to use an obsolete, custom kernel, and a bug report can be a good reference, for people, to have a clear idea of the situation.

There's very likely a typo though - I think he's referring to the SP3.

[BitBurners.com (lasse-penttinen)]

> Fedora has out-of-the-box support as well, since v24.

It does not have Touchpad multi touch patch included. F25 was quite unstable on my SP3, for whatever reason.

> How is that helpful??

Since the support on Ubuntu is not going anywhere. This is a year old bug, and unofficial patched kernels have been around for ages. Since we are here at stand still, but someone may actually want to use the device, it is worth pointing out that there are alternatives.

Since Ubuntu/Canonical is so friendly with Microsoft, I wonder why there is no interest in improving support for partners hardware.

[Saverio Miroddi (64kramsystem)]

I've tried the 4.11 (rc8) mainline kernel, and the keyboard/touchpad work out of the box.

Would be great to have it backported, but in absence of that, it's now possible (although very awkard due to GUI issues, at least on XUbuntu) to install [X]Ubuntu on an SP3, then install the 4.11 mainline kernel, and have a usable machine (can't vouch for all the functionality, as I use a very specific subset).

[Kai-Heng Feng (kaihengfeng)]

commit 0a76ac80e84d0be0aba24ab60ac3bc14bc49bbc9
Author: Dennis Chen <email address hidden>
Date: Thu Jan 19 06:32:09 2017 -0500

    HID: multitouch: enable Surface 3 Type Cover Pro to report multitouch data

I cherry picked the commit to Zesty kernel, please try it: http://people.canonical.com/~khfeng/lp1550704/

[Saverio Miroddi (64kramsystem)]

I'm closing this, since it's been a long time that this made it into the kernel.

In the former discussion, I haven't noticed @kaihengfeng's comment (otherwise I would have followed up), apologies :|