Bug 1322126 - Support Surface Pro 4 Type Cover (keyboard)
Summary: Support Surface Pro 4 Type Cover (keyboard)
Keywords:
Status: CLOSED CURRENTRELEASE
Alias: None
Product: Fedora
Classification: Fedora
Component: kernel
Version: 24
Hardware: x86_64
OS: Unspecified
unspecified
high
Target Milestone: ---
Assignee: Kernel Maintainer List
QA Contact: Fedora Extras Quality Assurance
URL:
Whiteboard:
Depends On:
Blocks:
TreeView+ depends on / blocked
 
Reported: 2016-03-29 20:58 UTC by fednuc
Modified: 2017-07-25 20:28 UTC (History)
8 users (show)

Fixed In Version:
Doc Type: Bug Fix
Doc Text:
Clone Of:
Environment:
Last Closed: 2017-07-25 20:28:43 UTC
Type: Bug


Attachments (Terms of Use)

Description fednuc 2016-03-29 20:58:43 UTC
The Surface Pro 4 Type Cover is non-functional as of kernel 4.4.6-300-fc23. It works at Grub kernel selection, but doesn't work for boot-time LUKS decryption, in X or in VTs (tested by completing boot using a separate USB keyboard simultaneously).

Adding support for it should only require a handful of lines to add its device ID - see https://github.com/shvr/fedora-surface-pro-3-kernel/blob/b018c6fb5949cca6859a3372ecbc42263558296b/Add-multitouch-support-for-Microsoft-Type-Cover-3.patch

Until recently shvr, the owner of the above GitHub repository, has been maintaining patched kernels that add support for the SP4 keyboard among other things, but the most recent version of that kernel is now significantly out of date at 4.3.3, adding significant security risk to the exising issue of trusting a 3rd-party patched kernel in the first place.

The Surface Pro 4 keyboard is compatible with the Surface Pro 3, a device which other than keyboard support* doesn't (seem to) require anything from shvr's patched kernels any more. Anecdotally the SP4 keyboard seems to have been purchased by many SP3 owners (as it has by me) as it is far better in terms of trackpad and keys than the SP3 one.

* There is a separate issue with the SP3 and SP4 keyboards and boot-time disk decryption; separate bug to be filed.

Comment 1 Laura Abbott 2016-03-29 23:26:55 UTC
If there is a patch available it needs to be submitted to the mainline kernel for inclusion. With new hardware support like this we really want the maintainer's ack before bringing it in.

Comment 2 Laura Abbott 2016-09-23 19:24:48 UTC
*********** MASS BUG UPDATE **************
 
We apologize for the inconvenience.  There is a large number of bugs to go through and several of them have gone stale.  Due to this, we are doing a mass bug update across all of the Fedora 23 kernel bugs.
 
Fedora 23 has now been rebased to 4.7.4-100.fc23.  Please test this kernel update (or newer) and let us know if you issue has been resolved or if it is still present with the newer kernel.
 
If you have moved on to Fedora 24 or 25, and are still experiencing this issue, please change the version to Fedora 24 or 25.
 
If you experience different issues, please open a new bug report for those.

Comment 3 fednuc 2016-09-23 20:46:41 UTC
Still present.

This is a one-line USB VID+PID fix - there is pretty much zero maintenance (since it's the same driver config as for the existing supported SP3 keyboard.

Comment 4 Justin M. Forbes 2017-04-11 14:42:23 UTC
*********** MASS BUG UPDATE **************

We apologize for the inconvenience.  There are a large number of bugs to go through and several of them have gone stale.  Due to this, we are doing a mass bug update across all of the Fedora 24 kernel bugs.

Fedora 25 has now been rebased to 4.10.9-100.fc24.  Please test this kernel update (or newer) and let us know if you issue has been resolved or if it is still present with the newer kernel.

If you have moved on to Fedora 26, and are still experiencing this issue, please change the version to Fedora 26.

If you experience different issues, please open a new bug report for those.

Comment 5 fednuc 2017-04-11 15:42:38 UTC
Still an issue; it's *supposed* to be supported under vanilla 4.10, but somehow that patch was screwed up (it wasn't actually tested by anyone with the relevant hardware?) - the trackpad is in absolute rather than relative mode, and its buttons don't work.

The patch linked to above actually works properly.

I haven't got around to chasing this with upstream yet.

Comment 6 Fedora End Of Life 2017-07-25 20:25:42 UTC
This message is a reminder that Fedora 24 is nearing its end of life.
Approximately 2 (two) weeks from now Fedora will stop maintaining
and issuing updates for Fedora 24. It is Fedora's policy to close all
bug reports from releases that are no longer maintained. At that time
this bug will be closed as EOL if it remains open with a Fedora  'version'
of '24'.

Package Maintainer: If you wish for this bug to remain open because you
plan to fix it in a currently maintained version, simply change the 'version'
to a later Fedora version.

Thank you for reporting this issue and we are sorry that we were not
able to fix it before Fedora 24 is end of life. If you would still like
to see this bug fixed and are able to reproduce it against a later version
of Fedora, you are encouraged  change the 'version' to a later Fedora
version prior this bug is closed as described in the policy above.

Although we aim to fix as many bugs as possible during every release's
lifetime, sometimes those efforts are overtaken by events. Often a
more recent Fedora release includes newer upstream software that fixes
bugs or makes them obsolete.

Comment 7 fednuc 2017-07-25 20:28:43 UTC
Fixed as of kernel 4.11 (from memory) - working perfectly on F26 without any changes needed.


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