How to Pair or Connect Microsoft Surface Pen

Surface Pen is an essential tool you should get for your Surface PCs since all Surface except Surface RT and Surface 2. In fact, you can use Surface Pen to sketch or draw on your Surface without prior connecting or pairing. However, pairing the Surface Pen with your laptop or tablet lets you access more Surface Pen information and functionalities.

  1. How to Pair Microsoft Surface Pen
  2. How to Check Your Surface Pen Pairing and Connection Status

How to Pair Microsoft Surface Pen

There a few approaches to pair or connect Surface Pen to your PC and here is the most straightforward way to do that.

  1. Put Surface Pen in Pairing Mode
    To put a Surface Pen in pairing mode (enable Bluetooth discoverable mode)

    1. Press and hold the tail eraser button for 5-7 seconds.
      Steps to pair Surface Pen
    2. The white LED light will flash while in pairing mode. Now you can continue the pairing process on your computer.
  2. Open Windows Settings
    First, you need to access Windows Settings by going to Start and click the Gear icon (or by using Win + I shortcut key).
    Start > Settings
  3. Go to Devices
    In Windows Settings, select “Devices“.
    Windows Settings > Devices
  4. Select “Add Bluetooth or other devices”
    Inside the “Bluetooth & other devices” page, click on the “+ Add Bluetooth or other devices”.
    Settings App > Devices > Add a Bluetooth or other device
    Important Make sure the Bluetooth is turned on your Surface by switching the Bluetooth toggle to on as in the picture above.
  5. Select “Bluetooth”
    Choose the first option with “Bluetooth” to connect to any Bluetooth devices including the Microsoft Surface Pen.
    Settings App > Add a Bluetooth device
  6. Select “Surface Pen”
    It will take several seconds to discover the Surface Pen Bluetooth signal. Select the Surface Pen when it appear on the the list.
    Settings App > Select Surface Pen to Add
  7. Click “Done”
    After the pairing process is done, click Done to close the window.
    Settings App > Surface Pen is Added

How to Check Your Surface Pen Pairing and Connection Status

If you’re not sure whether you have previously connected the Surface Pen to your PC or not, here is how to verify that:

  1. Go to Settings > Devices > Bluetooth & other devices
  2. The Surface Pen information should be listed under the “Mouse, keyboard, & pen” section. In this case, my Surface Pen is already connected with 85% battery left.
    Surface Pen Listed with Battery Information

Now you know how to connect or pair a Surface Pen to your Surface or any Windows 10 with Bluetooth enabled PCs.

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