Surface Keyboards or Type Covers have shortcut keys for common tasks like searching, playing audio or video, and more. The keys that appear on your keyboard or type cover vary and depend on what model you have.
Top row function keys
The special keys on the top row of the keyboard or type cover double as function keys when you press the Fn key and then press a top-row function key.
The function keys are used to perform specific tasks. They’re labeled as F1, F2, F3, and so on, up to F12. The functionality of these keys differs from app to app.
You can deactivate the function keys by pressing the Fn key again so the LED turns off.
Some Surface devices support an option within Surface app to change what the top row keys do, see Customize Keyboard Settings.
Top row special keys
When the Fn key is not enabled, the special keys on the top row will perform these actions:
| Key icon | What it does |
|---|---|
|
Toggles microphone muting on/off. |
|
Toggles audio muting on/off. |
|
Decreases the volume. |
|
Increases the volume. |
|
Decreases or increases keyboard backlighting—cycles through the levels of keyboard backlight brightness, including off. Some Surface devices support the option to change the keyboard brightness automatically based on lighting changes in the room that it is being used, see Change keyboard brightness automatically. Note: Not all devices have the keyboard backlight feature (button). |
|
Dims the screen. |
|
Brightens the screen. |
|
Plays or pauses audio or video. |
Other special keys
| Key icon | What it does |
|---|---|
|
The behavior depends on whether the Fn key is enabled or disabled.
|
|
Opens Copilot. If Copilot is unavailable or turned off, it opens Windows Search instead. |
|
Opens a contextual menu. |
|
Opens Windows Search. |
|
Opens Start. |
Customize Keyboard Settings
The following Surface devices support options to customize keyboard settings within the Surface app to change how the Copilot and top row keys function:
Surface Pro 8
Surface Pro 9 with Intel
Surface Pro 10 for Business
Surface Pro 10 with 5G for Business
Surface Pro for Business (11th Edition)
Surface Pro for Business (12th Edition)
Surface Laptop for Business 13-inch (Intel)
Surface Laptop 6 for Business
Surface Laptop 5G for Business (7th Edition)
Surface Laptop for Business (8th Edition)
Use the Surface app to customize keyboard settings. To open it, select Start
, enter surface, and select it to open the app. If you don't have the app installed, download it from the Microsoft Store. Once the app is open use either of the following steps depending on your device model to customize the keyboard settings:
On a Surface Pro with the Keyboard attached, open Surface app. Once the app is open, select the keyboard at the bottom, then choose Customize keyboard to adjust your settings.
On a Surface Laptop, open Surface app. Once the app is open, select the Surface Laptop at the bottom, then choose Customize keyboard to adjust your settings.
If the Customize keyboard settings are not available on a supported device, make sure you have installed the latest updates for your Surface, see Surface update history. After installing the latest updates, also update Surface app to version 76.2010.145.0 or later, see Get updates for apps and games in Microsoft Store.
Change keyboard brightness automatically
The following Surface devices support the option to change the keyboard brightness automatically based on lighting changes in the room that it is being used:
Surface Pro for Business (12th Edition)
Surface Laptop for Business 13-inch (Intel)
Surface Laptop for Business (8th Edition)
To turn on this setting, select Start
> Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Keyboard and enable the toggle, “Change keyboard brightness automatically when lighting changes”.