Home display icons unresponsive to pen touches

Computer is Surface Pro 7 running Win11 Pro, version 26100.5074. Only area not responsive to my Microsoft pen is every icon on home page- every icon DOES respond to finger touches as do all icons on task bar. Pen touches work successfully everywhere else on the computer, including to all loaded programs. Once a home page icon is touched, the program immediately loads & said pen works in/on all functions within. Any ideas why home page icons do not respond to my otherwise perfectly working pen?

Well, this was one I had to totally use AI for since I've never owned a surface. I usually use Chatgpt but since this involves a Microsoft product, I asked co-pilot.
I asked this question to co-pilot in this shared link.
surface pen works everywhere but opening desktop shortcut

You can see the answer it gave me as possible solutions as well as you can continue on with the co-pilot chat I started to ask more in depth questions about your pen. You can also ask for instructions how to do something co-pilot tells you to do. Co-pilot can even tell you what to check in the registry. Surface Pen Not Opening Desktop Shortcut Troubleshooting

It’s an AI dance off..

This is what I got, interesting reading even if not helpful:

The desktop is technically a different “layer” in Windows than app windows or the taskbar. If the pen input service or shell misinterprets taps there — often due to a gesture setting, driver quirk, or shell glitch — you get exactly what you’re seeing: finger works (touch layer), pen works in apps, but pen taps on icons are ignored.


Surface Pro 7 – Pen Won’t Activate Desktop Icons (Win11 Pro 26100.5074)

Symptom:
- Surface Pen works everywhere except tapping desktop (“home page”) icons.
- Finger touch works fine on all icons.
- Pen works inside all apps once opened.

Possible Causes:
- Pen tap interpreted as right‑click (press‑and‑hold) on desktop layer.
- Windows shell (explorer.exe) not registering pen input on desktop.
- Input mode or driver quirk affecting only the desktop layer.

Troubleshooting Steps:

1. Disable Press‑and‑Hold for Right‑Click
- Control Panel → Pen and Touch → Pen Options.
- Select "Press and hold" → Settings → untick "Enable press and hold for right‑clicking".
- Apply and test.

2. Toggle Tablet/Desktop Mode
- Settings → System → Tablet.
- Switch modes and test pen taps on icons.
- If one mode works, it’s a shell/UI bug.

3. Check Pen Settings
- Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Pen & Windows Ink.
- Ensure "Ignore touch input when using pen" is OFF.
- Confirm pen button actions aren’t remapped in a way that blocks taps.

4. Restart Windows Explorer
- Ctrl+Shift+Esc → Task Manager.
- Right‑click "Windows Explorer" → Restart.
- Test again.

5. Update Firmware & Drivers
- Open Surface app → Help & support → Check for updates.
- Install any Surface Pen firmware or graphics/input driver updates.

6. Adjust Icon View / Disable Overlays
- Right‑click desktop → View → set to Small icons.
- Disable any third‑party desktop icon managers or overlays.

7. Reset Pen Calibration
- Search "Calibrate the screen for pen or touch input".
- Select Reset for pen input.
- Reboot and test.

Thanks for the info- will try these today...