I have noticed many times an issue, while using my stylus the laptop would suddenly stop registering any pressure, though it’s position is still being recognized. I had the stylus itself, motherboard and display replaced and it still happens without clean cause. The issue is temporarily fixed, once I pull out the stylus battery and push it back inside.
Hardware: Framework Laptop 12 in USI mode, i3-1315U, Framework Stylus
Software: Fedora 44 with KDE Plasma, Rnote (though the issue is system-wide)
Has anyone else encountered this issue, especially with another configuration?
If my memory serves correct on this style of stylus and the technology behind it, the battery MUST be in place to register touches correctly.
If there is a poor contact in the stylus itself it will always show the cursor when being dragged around close to the screen but fail to register any input.
This could be caused by a weak spring, slightly oxidized contacts, etc. Reseating the battery reestablishes power and a connection until it happens again. This is all presuming it is a hardware fault. If it is power/wake issue via Bluetooth that is a different story and could be different.
Suggest getting a different brand of stylus (I think the old Microsoft Surface ones are compatible) and seeing if the same issue occurs. If so, then it is something to do with the Bluetooth, firmware, or the drivers in which case that is a different avenue to investigate.
I highly doubt that the battery or power circuit is causing this issue, since without battery the stylus’ position wouldn’t be recognized either. This stylus has no Bluetooth capability, so that can’t play any role here.
I’m using the same hardware with the MPP protocol enabled instead to see if it only affects USI mode. I don’t know how to reproduce this issue reliably, and given previous hardware replacements it probably is software-related.
Oh I didn’t know that some stylus’ didn’t use Bluetooth to connect. I thought they all did to register the levels of pressure (like for drawing) back to the machines. I know there are different technologies but I do not have much background in them other than supporting some users with Surface machines.