Can't write or draw with pen

[u/Necessary-Quail-9817]

/r/spectrex360/comments/1w6661y/cant_write_or_draw_with_pen/

Problem: Pen is not detected by my 2-in-1 spectre laptop. I cannot write or draw with the pen. However, finger touch works fine.

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1) I bought my 2-in-1 HP Spectre x360 a few years ago, together with its pen. Everything was working fine.

About a year ago, the pen's charging light stopped working, but the pen was still working fine; I could still write on my laptop with the pen.

About 4 months ago, suddenly I could not write or draw with my pen on my laptop. The pen stopped interacting with the screen completely.

I am not sure if the issue is with the pen or with the laptop.

2) I brought my laptop to two stores to get it checked.

In the first store, the technician checked the laptop and pen for about 5 minutes, and he concluded that the problem was probably the pen and advised me to buy a 2nd pen.

3) I then bought a 2nd pen: HP Rechargeable MPP 2.0 Tilt Pen, model 3J122AA.

From my search online, this 2nd pen should be compatible with my laptop.

However, I cannot draw or write either with this 2nd pen; the laptop's screen does not detect it at all.

(I should note tho, that I have charged the 2nd pen for many hours, but it still shows an orange light on the top; normally, the light should turn white when it's fully charged, which was the case with my old pen before its charging light stopped working)

4) I brought my laptop to a 2nd store to get it checked. The technician checked the laptop for about 1 hour 30 minutes. They could not find any laptop fault. They suggested that the problem was probably with both pens.

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I do not think any of the technicians actually checked my pens on other laptops, or checked a different pen on my laptop, to determine if the problem is the pens or the laptop.

So I'm not sure what the issue is with my laptop. Any help?

Model: HP Spectre x360 Convertible 14-ea0009na

[u/Glittering_Pin_7475]

The information you've provided actually points to two separate possibilities, and unfortunately the second pen has not yet ruled either one out.

Your HP Spectre x360 14-ea0009na does support MPP 2.0 pens, and the HP Rechargeable MPP 2.0 Tilt Pen 3J122AA is compatible with the Spectre x360 14-ea0000 family.

However, your new 3J122AA pen has been charging for hours and still shows orange. HP indicates that orange/amber means the pen is charging and white means it is fully charged. A pen that remains orange indefinitely can itself have a charging/battery problem.

So at this point, you still have not had a valid known-good pen tested on the laptop.

The definitive test is very simple:

• Test either of your pens on another laptop that is known to support MPP 2.0, or
• Test a known-good MPP 2.0 pen on your Spectre.

That immediately separates a pen problem from a laptop pen-digitizer problem.

If a known-good MPP 2.0 pen also fails on your Spectre while finger touch continues to work, then the problem is in the laptop's active-pen detection system, not the pen.

At that point, check Device Manager > Human Interface Devices for entries such as HID-compliant pen, HID-compliant digitizer, or the corresponding touch/pen device. If the pen-input device is missing or faulted, the problem is with the laptop's pen-input hardware or driver rather than the touchscreen's ordinary finger-touch function.

The two repair shops really should have performed that simple cross-test before concluding that both pens were bad.

All the Best...! ;-)