2017 HP Spectre X360 15 Touch Delay Problem after Using the Pen & Stylus Compatibility Test

Well, please excuse my English, not native speaker here, also this is the first time I upload video to KZbin... Just want to show you guys the "touch delay problem" on my 2017 Spectre X360 15inch with Ntrig digitizer. Basically, the touch screen is unresponsive for about 2 seconds after using the pen, which is very annoying and frustrating as demonstrated in this video. Also, if you can bear with me till the 2nd half of the video, I tested some older generation Ntrig pens on the Spectre, to see if they are compatible the new digitizer, the result is ummmmmmm "not really".....
:-D

[@simpleatsh]

UPDATE: The nice folk from HP China Customer Service just gave me some good news, HP US is aware of this issue and has been working on a firmware to solve the touch delay problem, the firmware is expected to be released by the end of this April. I will be given a link once the update goes live. Sooo....finger crossed, the HP Spectre might be one step closer to becoming the perfect Windows laptop :-)

[@HustleHabit]

Harry Wang Awesome news. Thanks for the video.

[@hsyoon8598]

Thanks. Looking forward to your update on this issue

[@buttercrazy30]

Did they release the update and if so did it fix the problem?

[@alexandermalik1556]

Harry Wang Good Job! They always update their flagships to its best!

[@simpleatsh]

Unfortunately, still no update... :^(

[@kwinzman]

Super informative video. Thanks for the nice and clear demonstration. And also thanks for updating in the comments!

[@Finite8614]

Your English is excellent! thanks for the heads up and update!

[@AMAzOOOOOOOn]

Thank you so much bro.. For that very useful video.. 🙏

[@jarmaxka]

GREAT AND VERY INFORMATIVE VIDEO! THANKS!

[@xXStrandXx]

I'm follow the update! Very interest about this computer. I need it for solidworks at school, but this is also a replacer for all my notebooks from class.. Imagine how much paper i will save... Looking forward to see the result from HP about this issue.

[@simpleatsh]

UPDATE: Touch Delay Problem Solved with Firmware Update Sorry about the late replies, I have been traveling a lot in the last few weeks. GOOD news, HP released the firmware update, and it solved mostly the touch delay problem after pen input. Here's the link to HP support to download the update, you can find the update under "firmware" category: support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/hp-spectre-15-bl000-x360-convertible-pc/13823372 The delay of touch after pen input is now significantly reduced, it's still there, but reduced to the point that it doesn't bother me any more. Microsoft Surfaces or even the Sony VAIO Flip 15 from 4 years ago still beat the Spectre, which switch between touch and pen almost instantly without noticeable delay. However, the firmware updated didn't solve the other problems I mentioned in the video. No.1 - the Windows setting "Ignore touch while using my pen" still doesn't work with the Spectre, the display will NOT respect this setting, and touch is always "ignored" when pen is used. No.2 - The pen compatibility issue persists, If you have an older NTrig DuoSense pen from the Sony VAIO era (2012 - 2014), it won't work well with the Spectre, there will be random line breaks. Overall, the firmware update addressed the most annoying issue with the Spectre, the touch delay, which made it a much better choice for note-takers or fellow artists. :-)

[@tonysabberton7252]

Hi Harry. I have the spectre x360 13 inch model. will this firmware work for my model also? I don't see an update for my model on the HP site.

[@simpleatsh]

Hi Tony, I would NOT recommend you installing 15 inch firmware on your 13 inch Spectre. And, I assume HP has put some verification mechanism in the firmware installer to prevent that, even you can bypass the verification, the firmware might not work correctly on your 13 inch model. The firmware controls how the micro-controller (MCU) behaves on the digitizer control board, it's highly possible that the 13 and 15 inch shares the same control board (I assume, not verified), but there must be some physical differences in the digitizer layer which is embedded in the cover glass of the screen, for example the 15 inch might have more sensing lines for the MCU to scan/read through. This will cause some misbehavior. I feel sorry that HP hasn't fixed the 13 inch yet, I know how annoying this issue can be. Toastedbred (screenname) already posted a issue report about the 13inch Spectre on HP support forum. I suggest you go upvote that post, reach out to HP engineers. here's the link to that post: h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Video-Display-and-Touch/Spectre-x360-13-inch-touch-delay-after-using-any-n-trig/m-p/6138567/highlight/true#M152299

[@tonysabberton7252]

Thanks for the reply. well in a moment of frustration and madness I installed it. No verification during the process and yes it did indeed mess up my touch screen. I had to disable the touchscreen to use the laptop. It should be a simple fix of just installing the 13 inch firmware back on the laptop but for some strange reason there is no way of downloading it! I Have taken it to HP service center in Shanghai for repair :(

[@darkopz]

Interesting issue. I've a chance to use the Windows Inking system on a new HP Spectre x360 15" and didn't notice any delays. I'm wondering if I'll now notice it as it's been pointed out. If it's a major issue for anyone, it can easily be turned off using the Windows Ink settings. It's called "Disabled Touch Input while using Pen" and is typically off initially I thought. This is so that your palm doesn't count as Touch Input by accident if you slightly graze the screen. @Harry Wang I wonder if there is _ANY_ delay if you turn OFF the "disabled touch input while using pen" option? I would expect there to be 0 delay at this point as it never turns off the touch input; ergo no delay of turning it back on. I suspect also that this will be an increasingly longer delay as the battery on the pen is drained as it's using a NFC-like system to recognize how far away the pen is from the screen. I also wonder how well the Bamboo Pen's work on the HP Spectre x360. Lastly, if anyone has found a STABLE Thunderbolt 3 Charging Docking Station with Dual-4k@60hz please let me know. The only one I know of which *might* be able to work is the new one from StarTech. It took me 3 months and dozens of driver updates to get the Dell Thunderbolt Dock to work with a Dell XPS 15.. my hopes for good Thunderbolt 3 drivers for the HP are not high. And seriously.. two USB-C ports and 1 USB 3? That's it? Ugh.. HP needs to release a 4K IPS Monitor with built-in USB-3 Hub, HDMI 2.0 alt-mode over Thunderbolt3, Gigabit Ethernet with a custom Thunderbolt 3 controller instead of the crappy USB 3 Ethernet chips in the docking stations, and to have just a single (or two if needed due to charging needs) USB-C connector's for charging and docking.. A dream come true it would be. It'll happen soon.. just not soon enough at a decent price.

[@zhoutesla3351]

Harry Wang hello do u bought A new surface pen to work on hp spectre? i am confused about which pen i need choose, because i lost the hp pen. are there big different between surface 4 pen and new pen ?

[@xxslvrxx]

which 2in1 has the best writing experience? for note taking and drawing i also video edit so i need strong processors and ram such as the spectrex360

[@arstudios7654]

Is this still a problem with the latest, 2020 HP Spectre X360 models? Or have they fixed it such that the touch input is similarly good to the surface pro?

[@worldsonlyeric2610]

This may happened on 15inch spectre? I don't know, but hp's quality is still a big problem for their products.

[@IsaacSanchezDeLaCruz]

One device is the spectre, and the other? Also, very nice car sketches! Regards from México

[@MilesSpearman]

Where is the new video with the updated version???

[@irishelder7794]

Just purchased a Spectre 360 15" for my son. It does not include a pen. Which pen do you recommend? I watched the video, which was great, but am unsure which stylus to buy. Thank you.

[@Eito_]

The pen was suppose to come with the laptop

[@sabrinamerrick1271]

your English is fine, Harry.

[@oiedave]

quick question is this still a problem in your laptop?

[@shaharyarshaukat6773]

Hey Harry could you suggest a decent 2 in 1 preferably 13inch laptop with antiglare that has a decent stylus... I want to use it primarily for drawing and for CAD

[@shaharyarshaukat6773]

Under USD 900 ._.

[@medeconvaheocon3770]

Hi guys, what about its overheating issue, i just browsed on the net and saw some negativity about it, is it extremely hot or can we solve the issue so far? Hope you guys give me some good news cuz I'm gonna purchase a Spectre

[@luaacc]

Hello, i am interest in this pc, how this hp is with 3d software like blender? :)

[@alexsul]

Still watching to see if HP will fix this. They're already late by the timeline they provided.

[@JohnDoe-fz5cz]

After a week or two agonizing over the hp 15" spectre vs the dell 15" xps, I finally settled on the spectre. I moved the machine into the best buy shopping cart and was getting out my credit card when I decided to look at it one last time. Yes it was the 7th generation i7, not the 6th generation. The 512 ssd not a hard drive. And 16 Meg's of ram. I've never had that much ram before. Only one little problem. In the specs there was an issue that I decided I had to get to the bottom of before shelling out $1499. It's about the 4k UHD display. In the description they say it's an LCD - LED screen. I chatted with them. I asked the tech or bot which it was. Was it LCD or LED. He told me it is both. He said it's an LCD screen backlit by an LED in place of a cathode ray tube. That blew my mind. I haven't even seen a cathode ray display in forever. The answer made no sense and still makes no sense to me. If you look at the 13" spectre, the display is described as 4k LED. The tech did acknowledge that unlike the 13", the 15" is not a true 4k display. He didn't go into detail beyond what I've already told you. But it's a deal breaker for me. For some reason, rather then producing a true 4k display on the 15" display, either to save costs or due to technical issues, they've done some kind of stitch up with a combination of. LCD and LED combined. I would bet dollars to donuts, that is the source of your 2 second delay. And yes, it's a huge deal. Especially for anyone artistic. Some people who stream video are finding that momentarily, the picture flips for just a brief period, and rights itself. I suspect the 15"er has even more surprises in store. I hope they come up with a work around for the problem for you and everyone else who has one. As for me, I'm back in the land of indecision. Good luck.

[@peterchlpek]

LCD is pixel technology and LED is its backlit. For both 13" and 15" and all other notebooks or computer screens out there marked LED. LED panels with LEDs being used for colour and light at the same time are advertising panels on the buildings or on concert podiums or special screens.

[@AliG.G]

which pens are compatible and what do you call the HP pen that comes with x360 late 2017 version?

[@RobinUrton]

I’ve been searching for hours to figure this out. I just ordered a used (refurb) 2017 Spectre, and I want to make sure that whatever stylus I buy works with it, off the bat. Should I buy the stylus designed for HP, the surface pro stylus, bamboo ink, or something else? Anyone else who happens to be searching, thought I’d let you know that I found out that the 2017 model Spectre can be upgraded up to 32 GB RAM, whereas the newer models are soldered. With the same specs as newer models for almost everything else, seems like a very good deal.

[@Mo_Honcho]

Hey, Did you tried to update / reinstall the drivers? Or maybe it's better to reset your Spectre.

[@simpleatsh]

Hi, I ran the update check with the HP support app that came with the computer, no driver or firmware update so far, and, there's actually no Ntrig driver to download from HP or Microsoft. I also tried to restore the system once. The problem is more of an implementation choice done by HP or Ntrig (Microsoft), I am speculating we have the "Windows Universal Pen Protocol" to blame, the purpose of the universal protocol is to make Ntrig and Wacom AES pens compatible with each other, and I did notice similar delay issue with Wacom AES digitizers.

[@Mo_Honcho]

Ow, that really sucks Maybe you can try to send it to HP and that they gonna repair it, because they have to come with a solution. The 2 seconds delay is not normal! 😅

[@alexsul]

stupidly enough, it is normal for HP. It's listed in the HP touchscreen FAQ as a deliberate feature.

[@forota209]

Helped

[@babyblu5590]

I've been testing my surface pro 4 with creator's update 1703...try it out seems better now. It's capturing everything I jot well. I advise installing it for those who own Surface products. It might also help with your HP problem. Be forewarned though, it will not function well with many PCs. It doesn't work well with my Asus gaming laptop for example.

[@babyblu5590]

Looks like needs a software calibration. Seems that the laptop is saving the edit / writing information before it lets you move the image around. It shouldn't take 3 weeks to solve it though. I hope it doesn't last. Almost ordered that laptop. Stuck with the Surface Pro 4. Sort of glad I did.

[@educationalchannel3815]

Would be really helpful if you can address my query: Can I do screen recording while writing using stylus (inking pen) and produce the same in form of a video?

[@mayurkumarnanda6551]

stylus performance is not that good , I purchased the same laptop thinking since it is a high end laptop stylus will be good but its really bad . please dont purchase this laptop for stylus and also there are heating and fan issues

[@pancakeface777]

Hey there, have you tried using the wake button of the surface book ntrig pen on the hp to see if you can open onenote with it? Also have you noticed any difference in using the surface pen on the hp?

[@simpleatsh]

Hi ASK, I did give it a try briefly. After pairing the Surface Pen with the Spectre, the button worked, but not reliably, it sometimes had problem waking up the Spectre when it was in sleep.

[@Sandersthoz]

Hi Harry, i was wondering if you have had any further information from HP about this issue??

[@pancakeface777]

Would you say that using the surface pen has the same quality of unput as the HP Spectre pen?

[@simpleatsh]

Still no update on the issue unfortunately, I will try to contact HP again in the next few days.

[@simpleatsh]

I don't have a Surface Pro 3 pen with me at the moment, the Surface Pro 4 pen worked fine on the Spectre, but the pressure curve is obviously different, the Spectre pen produced more expressive strokes. If I remembered correctly, the Spectre pen feels more like the Surface Pro 3 pen, they even share very similar rubberized pen tips.

[@xxslvrxx]

I do video editing and lots of note taking, drawing, is this laptop recc. for me? Ive compared to other surface laptops but they dont have the horsepower like the spectre x360.

[@Winter-booty-Icicles]

Norton Nieves it could be just enough but if you do a lot of heavy photo editing you might want to get a laptop with a dedicated graphics card

[@xxslvrxx]

is the surface book better for that case then?

[@abdullahqaiser6050]

The 15 inch does have a dedicated gpu tho?

[@a.t.2023]

How is the battery life on spectre x360? I heard it last about 5 hours under power saving mode, which is really disappointing. I am thinking of getting the spectre with 1080p display if it will increase battery life.

[@simpleatsh]

My Spectre is 2017 15.6 inch model with 4K display. With the display brightness set to "suggested" and WiFi on, I can easily get about 6-7 hours of battery life if not longer. Battery life is never as good as manufacturer claims, but my Spectre is actually pretty good.

[@a.t.2023]

That is good, either way I think I will go with the 1080p display. Just wish the one with the 1080p display came in the same color the 4k comes with lol. Thanks for answering my question.

[@a.t.2023]

Any updates on hp fixing the problems?

[@vangarus]

May be this is the palm rejection in place, when you use the pen the screen should not react to other gestures. Still, the delay could be less, you are right.

[@mikeszrx1100]

Its suppose to do that. The delay is adjustable too

[@ThatTattooGuyOfficial]

Where do you adjust the delay

[@gabrielfermanelli]

hi someone has the firmware to share? is the softpaq sp79862.exe thanks!!!

[@AJay-vy1hi]

Just installed the Firmware Update for the touch screen (firmware, not bios update!) dated from Apr, 20 on my Spectre X360-15 and it seems to solve the issue. support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/hp-spectre-15-bl000-x360-convertible-pc/13823372

[@alexsul]

any chance you can post a video showing that it has been fixed?

[@charlese665]

Christoph I have the 13.3 4k version, I have a random blinking black screen and heating problem. Do yours have this issue? and how did you solve it.

[@brahmadevarasaivarun]

I have the same issue... Disabled the touchscreen for now. But waiting for a fix from HP

[@est9949]

Sai, which issue did you have? I am deciding if I should buy or avoid this laptop. Im looking for 13in but might be willing to get the 15in instead if it doesn't have the pen and heating issues that the 13in ones seem to have.

[@iyadart]

Actually, you only got me more excited, all I care about as an artist is to use the stylus...I bought all my wacom tablets without touch functionality for a reason...

[@simpleatsh]

Hahaha...I am glad the video had that effect on you. But the truth is, the delay doesn't really help with palm rejection. Based on my experience with Ntrig or Wacom AES and EMR technology, what matters the most to palm rejection is hover distance and how fast the digitizer can detect the pen, to have the palm rejection to work effectively, the digitizer has to detect pen first before your palm touches the screen, so higher hover distance and faster refresh rate helps, not so much the 2 second delay. Further more, Ntrig and Wacom AES has software palm rejection built-in too as a fail-safe mechanism, basically, if the capacitive display sense a touch area larger than finger tip, it treats it as a palm. Just try putting your hand on a Ntrig screen like you are holding the pen (but don't hold a pen of course), the screen won't respond.

[@iyadart]

That's a good point, I have to agree!

[@AlbertoGonzalez-hi1og]

iyadart just bought a spectre, after two returns i am returning it, mine is intermittent when used in tablet mode while touching with palm...bought a surface pen...same thing...sorry...getting my money back..1600 dls should work 100% of the time

[@PaulNickleson]

Would you recommend one of these over a Surface Book?

[@simpleatsh]

Hi Paul In short, I would recommend both the 13 and 15 inch Spectres over Surface Pro 4 / Book, if you are looking for a good drawing tablet. The pen tracks way way better on the Spectre compared to Surfaces, the result inking is far more faithful to your handwriting or sketch strokes, and I personally prefer the 15inch's bigger canvas. In terms of performance, The Spectre 15inch beats Surface Book generally, CPU is slight faster, the SSD leads with a big margin, the 940M GPU with 2GB memory beats the Surface Book with original base but falls behind the one with performance base (965M with more VRAM). Battery life is comparable is not longer on the Spectre. In terms of convertibility and versatility, The Spectre and Surface Book is very different. It's a bit awkward to yoga flip a 15inch laptop into a "tablet", but once you do, it works just fine for drawing and note taking on the table, but I do often press the keys and trackpad when I am holding the "tablet" and I had to add few more rubber feet to the palm rest / C cover to prevent scratching. Surface Book handles convertibility with slight more elegance, but keep in mind the tablet portion alone only has battery life of 2 hours, so most of the times I have the tablet attached to the base facing up, my Surface Book still crashes once every five to seven times I detach or reattach the tablet after all the updates, also since the CPU and fan is right behind the screen, the right edge of the screen (where the fan is) turns yellow once the CPU gets hot, and all of my friends who have Surface Book experienced the same issue. Again, yes, I would recommend the Spectre over Surface Book, but it's ultimately depending on your need and usage, the Spectre is a laptop first tablet second device, the Surface Book tries to be both for fall short on either. I am hoping VAIO will bring back the 15inch flip line of laptops, it's still the perfect convertible laptop in my opinion.

[@PaulNickleson]

I ended up purchasing the 15" HP. Your comment let's me know I made the right choice, and I appreciate your reply greatly!

[@andreloureiro4447]

Really ?

[@mariobianchi1909]

HP should easily fix this. Looks like it needs software calibration of palm detection.

[@Amb3r1981]

what about palm rejection? I guess Hp is much better?

[@adams2558]

thats what i thought

[@mayurkumarnanda6551]

worst palm rejection ever

[@dianamaldonado74]

i just bought my spectra 360. And when I wright on one note 2016 the hand writing come out horrible it looks like skip ink. I tried to calibrate but it did not do anything. I have used the stylus for years on other computers and never had an issue. I had an I pad, a surface, a samsung tab...etc. I do not know how to fix it can you please help me.

[@simpleatsh]

Hi Diana, could you clarify which model of the Spectre X360 you bought? If your Spectre is the 2017 model (which only comes in dark brownish gray with copper trim), they come with NTrig pen, which is actually pretty good and shouldn't "skip ink", I suggest you try replacing the battery, or simply take the battery out and put it back in to reset the pen. If that doesn't work, you might have a defected pen. If your Spectre X360 is in sliver color, I am afraid you got one of the earlier models, which might come with the horrible Synaptics pen, it doesn't surprise me if that pen "skips ink". In that case, I suggest you pack up the computer and return it asap, no one deserves the Synaptics stylus. HP had made some really bad choices in terms of stylus selection in the last few years which resulted in a very confusing stylus model situation. Hope they stick with NTrig or Wacom (or Universal?) from now on.

[@dianamaldonado74]

hello...my spectre is 2017, dark grey with bronze trim.

[@simpleatsh]

Good, have you tried the battery trick?

[@JPTDesign]

Hi Harry. Are you sure the silver models have synaptics instead of NTrig? I´ve read opinions about the silver model (same design) that say it has NTrig.

[@JeanMarcFeghali]

THIS IS SOOOO BAD. I've been putting up with this shit for the last month with my spectre and it's incredibly frustrating.

[@buttercrazy30]

Did they release a fix to the issue?

[@SlaVeofCoRe]

Looks like they removed the firmware update from the link, ughh.

[@gabrielfermanelli]

hi do you find it somewere?

[@SlaVeofCoRe]

@@gabrielfermanelli nope, I wish

[@mikeszrx1100]

I turned my delay to .5 sec

[@RobinUrton]

Where is this setting?

[@woofinu]

Your English is fine, but it would help if you set the microphone a bit louder.

[@simpleatsh]

Thanks, definitely will do if I ever post another video. :-)

[@woofinu]

Harry Wang Oh you should.

[@mastersaitama3070]

Spectre palm rejection is suck

[@salehpaz]

Why you explain the problem hundred times...

[@ambitionary2048]

just use a mouse to scroll down lol

[@forota209]

Helped