Surface Pen – Full information, tech specs and more

Surface Pen is a digital stylus manufactured and sold by Microsoft within the Surface tablets line-up. It has a replaceable tip and two buttons: the right-click button in the pen body and the eraser button on the end. A set of four tips is available for an extra cost, three for imitating pencils of various numbers and one for a brush-pen. Surface Pen recognizes 1024 pressure levels, it combines the functionality both of a stylus and of a mouse. One click opens OneNote, double click captures a screenshot, click-and-hold gives access to Cortana.

Contents

1 Surface Pen
- 1.1 Specifications
2 Surface Pen with Two Side Buttons
3 Writing, drawing…
4 How to Get New Pen Tips
5 How to Change Tips
6 Price
7 Miscellaneous
8 Links

Surface Pen

The device has been designed for effortless writing and drawing, as well as for an easy one-click access to OneNote so the workflow are easy to capture and easy to find.

Important note: Before you use your Surface Pen you should install the AAAA battery and pair the device with your Microsoft tablet.

Specifications

Type: tablet stylus.
Connection: Bluetooth 4.0 LE (Bluetooth technology links the top button of the Surface Pen to the Microsoft Surface tablet.
Compatibility: Surface Pro 3, Surface 3, Surface Pro 4, Surface Book.
Back Compatibility: Yes.
Pressure sensitivity levels: 1024.
Functional buttons: right-click button, eraser button.
Color: silver, black, blue, gold.
Battery: 1 AAAA. The battery powers writing, right-clicking, and erasing functionalities of your Surface Pen. To install the battery, unscrew the top of the pen from the bottom; insert the battery, wrapped in the label from the top of the pen, with the positive (+) end of the battery pointing toward the writing tip; screw the top back on.
Dimensions: 5.67 x 0.37 x 0.40 inches Weight: 0.04 lbs.
Warranty: 1 year.

Surface Pen with Two Side Buttons

Surface Pen with two side buttons has three buttons and a tip:

The Top button: clicking this button opens OneNote. Double-clicking the top button captures a screenshot.
The Right-click button: In many apps, the right-click button acts like the right-click button on a mouse. The user holds the button down as he or she taps the screen. Note however than in some apps, the right-click button may behave differently.
The Eraser button: This button is used, as its name suggests, when the user wants to erase something: the user holds down the eraser button and moves the tip over the area he or she wants to erase.
The tip: The fine tip, along with Palm Block technology and multi-point sensitivity in the Surface tablet, lets users write and draw naturally, as if they used paper and a classic pen.

Writing, drawing…

According to Microsoft, you can use your Surface Pen in any app that supports inking, like the Windows Ink Workspace, Office apps, or Microsoft Edge. As soon as your Surface Pen with two side buttons is close to the touchscreen of your Surface device, a point will appear on the screen. Now the screen will ignore other input, and tit will have no reaction to your mouse our your hand. Then you can write or draw on the screen like you would with a regular pen and paper.

Even if the app doesn’t support inking, you can use the Surface Pen to enter text. To perform the action you can use the handwriting panel on the touch keyboard:

Select Keyboard in the lower right corner of the screen.
On the touch keyboard, select Keyboard Close > Handwriting Close.
Enter the text by writing on the handwriting panel. Your Surface device automatically converts your words to text.

Note that the handwriting panel adapts to your writing over time, becoming more and more accurate the more you use it.

How to Get New Pen Tips

If your Surface pen tip wears out, or if it is lost, or breaks, you can order a new pen tip from MicroDevice Support. To get a new pen tip you should follow these steps. But remember that your Microsoft Surface device must be registered and you must sign in with your Microsoft account before you can proceed further:

Select Sign In and register your Surface device if you haven’t already registered it.
Under My Devices, find the Surface device that you’re using your Surface pen with.
Now select Manage > Replace an accessory.
Make sure your Surface device is selected, and select Continue.
Verify your shipping address.
After verifying the shipping address, select the Loops and Tips option.
Now select Continue.
Select the Surface Pen Tip for Ver.2 Pen to purchase a new pen tip
Select Continue.
Complete the remaining steps to finish your order.

How to Change Tips

Grasp the tip that’s attached to the Surface pen, pull the tip straight out and take it off.
Insert the base of the new tip into the pen opening.
Now push the tip in until it locks into place.

Price

Price: $59.99.

Miscellaneous

At the moment of writing, the Surface Pen applies to Surface Book, Surface Book with Performance Base, Surface Pro 4, Surface Pro 3, Surface 3. Using Microsoft’s Surface Pen with two side buttons the user can capture every idea quickly and easily. Users can also use it with Surface Pro 4 or Surface Book but not with earlier Surface models. If you have Surface Pro or Surface Pro 2, you can use the Pro Pen.
AAAA Battery: If you have Surface Pro 3, you’ll find the battery under the Surface Pro 3 booklet the box Surface Pro 3 came in. If you bought Surface Pen with two side buttons separately, you’ll find the battery in the Surface Pen box.