How to manage a Synaptics pen's behaviour?

[EvilRacehorse]

Hello, I currently own a HP Active Pen (synaptics).
It is supposed to write when it is touching the screen with slight pressure applied.
However, it has been perpetually behaving like this:
https://streamable.com/mpu2c

I have been suggested the generic "calibration" option or that it may be a faulty pen (highly unlikely).

Calibration didn't do anything whatsoever of course.
I was also practically sure that there is nothing physically wrong with the pen and I have confirmed it when the pen started behaving normally  (I mean, perfectly) for a day and half before relapsing again.
In short, the pen started to write normally when I installed a Wacom writing tablet drivers, which should be totally unrelated to how a Synaptics stylus should work anyway.
I have no idea why this happened, or if it is just a coincidence.
But at this point, it is obvious that this is a software-related issue.


Could anyone point to me what file/software controls a Synaptics HP Active Pen's behaviour? (pressure sensitivity, etc)
Currently, if I take the pen away from the screen but within the detection range, it would go berserk and draw random lines, which is frustrating beyond belief.
I put my computer to sleep, and when I turned it on again, the pen started again behaving perfectly fine. So it must definitely be a software issue. But I don't know which...
Thanks to everyone in advance 🙂

[Echo_Lake]

@EvilRacehorse

Thank you for posting on the HP Support Community.

• Have you tried the HP pen functionality with a different device?

I have a few troubleshooting steps we could try to fix the issue:  

Step 1 Run Windows Updates troubleshooter -

Click on this link to run the troubleshooter. 

Step 2 Windows Updates - 
1) In the search box, type and open Windows Updates. 
2) Check for updates. 
3) If the updates are available, click on install and restart the computer. 

Step 3 HP Support Assistant Updates - 
1) In the search box, type and open HP Support Assistant. 
2) Check for updates. 
3) If the updates are available, click on install and restart the computer. 

If the issue still persists, try the next step.

Step 4 Re-install the touchscreen drivers -

1) In Windows, search for and open Device Manager.
2) Expand the Human Interface Devices heading.
3) The touchscreen device is labelled HID-compliant touch screen, or similar. Right-click the touch screen device and select Uninstall.

4) Confirm the uninstallation.
5) Restart the computer to reinstall the touchscreen driver.

Step 5 Configure the pen input -

1) In Windows, search for and open Calibrate the screen for pen and touch input.
2) On the Display tab, click Setup.

3) Click Pen input
4) Follow the on-screen directions and check if this helps you fix the issue.

Hope this helps! Keep me posted for further assistance.
Please click “Accept as Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.

[EvilRacehorse]

@Echo_Lake, thank you for your reply.

• Have you tried the HP pen functionality with a different device? I Haven't tested the HP pen with a different device as my current laptop is the only one that has synaptics-based digitizer.
  
  Regarding the rest of your solutions, I am not surprised that none of them worked whatsoever. Especially, the "configure pen" option did not work, since I am required to tap the screen with my pen for that, but just tapping the screen with the pen will cause it to go berserk and do some random clicks which aborts the setup process.
  What's confusing to me is that you are suggesting me to reinstall the touchscreen drivers when I explicitly mentioned that my issue is with the Pen input, not the touchscreen. In fact, I disabled it since the palm rejection "feature" is horrendous in my laptop and it will keep zooming in and out. Nevertheless, I re-enabled it and re-installed the driver per your suggestion, which unsurprisingly, did absolutely nothing
  Of course, I would not post my problem here forum before trying the generic solutions. In that case, would you please tell me what software/driver controls the pen software? On the device manager, I've been told that no driver is required for "Hid Compliant Pen". All I need to do is to somehow get the pen to not write unless it is touching the screen with pressure.
  I would really appreciate it if you support me in taking care of this problem, as one of the main features of my laptop is literally useless.
  Currently, just holding the pen close to the screen without touching it will make random clicks, random cursor movements and even scroll the page up and down with no input given from the user.
  
  In short, WHY is the cursor moving randomly and suddenly from right under the pen tip? 
  When the pen is touching the surface, it is perfectly stable, once it is pulled a little bit of away, it starts going haywire.
  Secondly, WHY is it making clicks? 
  Please let me know what is supposed to control the pen's behaviour instead of generic "Updating windows" which is just irrelevant to the issue. I mean, if the pen cursor is PERFECTLY following the pen tip when it is touching the screen, why can't it keep doing the same when it is away?
  This is almost driving me insane.

Thanks in advance

[EvilRacehorse]

Just a small update, the pen was behaving insanely yesterday, it was oscillating up an down crazy fast while simultaneously making clicks everywhere even if it was held still . Restarting the laptop didn't help. Neither did manually shutting it down and turning it back on soon after. After leaving it off for the rest of the day and turning it back on, it is surprisingly behaving normally. After an hour passed, it is still behaving normally. I put my computer to sleep for a while to see whether that may be the culprit, but that doesn't seem to affect it either.
Right now, the pen behaves as it would as if I was holding an actual pen, I can't really ask for more if it stays like this.
But the question is, how long will this last? What could possibly interfere with the pen? 

[Echo_Lake]

@EvilRacehorse

I am glad to know that you managed to resolve the issue,
This is very strange behaviour, I would suggest you can try with different HP pen in order to corner down the issue,
If it's a faulty pen then you can replace with one.However, work on it as per your convenience and keep me posted on the results.

Just to make sure, I can keep this case open for a day and check with you after 48 hours. 

Keep me posted for further assistance.

[EvilRacehorse]

It came back again. I have no idea why my original request is being ignored though.
Could you please inform me about what file is responsible for pen's behaviour? This way there is a possibility to check the file and compare its state when the pen was behaving normally to when it went insane.

[Echo_Lake]

@EvilRacehorse

The HP Pen Control app uses tools like Google Analytics to collect usage data. 

Download the HP Pen control app from the Microsoft Store.

1. In Windows, search for and open Microsoft Store.

2. In Microsoft Store, search for and open HP Pen Control.

3. Click Get, and then follow the on-screen instructions.

And, also refer to this document Touch Screen Stylus Pen Is Inaccurate or Stops Working.

Keep me posted for further assistance.

[EvilRacehorse]

@Echo_Lake

Actually, during the 8 hours or so that the pen behaved normally, the only thing I did was to install HP Pen Control around 3-4 hours into my "experiment"
I actually decided to uninstall it and this time try without it.
But in the case that it might help me to solve this issue, does it actually track the cursor movement or driver data, etc. to detect what the problem is?
In that case, I might give it a try again.
But I installed HP Pen Control by downloading the installer online, as the Microsoft store says that "This app is not compatible with my device", although I have installed HP Pen Control the first time through the Microsoft store

In the meantime, is there a specific reason you are not telling me what file is controlling the pen behavior so I may look at it?

I really don't understand why such a simple issue is getting dragged this long.

[Echo_Lake]

@EvilRacehorse
To get the answer to this question, there is no special file to control pen behaviour. 

• An active stylus (also known as a digital stylus) uses a digitizer built into the screen to allow communication between the touch screen and the pen. An active stylus might support many or all of the functions supported by a mouse, such as right-click, hover, and more. Many active stylus models can block stray m My marks from your hand resting on the screen or the sweep of your palm while writing so that the screen only registers marks made by the pen.

  Non-HP branded active styluses are not supported on HP computers and might not be compatible.

• A passive stylus (also known as a capacitive stylus) functions the same as your finger on the screen. Passive styluses do not require batteries, do not have any configurable options, and do not have specific pen software. Passive styluses work on any touch screen device.

Hope this helps!

[EvilRacehorse]

Well, before I got this Pen, I was using Dell Active Pen, which I just found and decided to test. It did the exact same thing, 
Basically, the pen tip is detected as long as it is within roughly 7millimeters (quarter of an inch) of the screen.
If the pen tip is at the lower end of this range it moves the cursor PERFECTLY with no disturbances. As you increase the distance, it will suddenly go into the insane mode and will start drawing random lines well, well away from where the tip stands and also make clicks, which the pen is not supposed to do unless it physically comes into contact with the screen.

I know that restarting  doesn't help.
But if I leave the computer off long enough, say overnight, upon turning it back on, it would behave back normally.

In this case, what should I change? Can I change the distance at which the pen is detected? I assume increasing it isn't an option but maybe decreasing is? 
Maybe I should update some driver that controls the digitizer?
I'm willing to provide whatever info necessary and sincerely hope that this issue is taken into consideration by HP.