The Microsoft Sculpt is currently my favorite keyboard, but it suffers a nearly fatal flaw: sometimes keypresses fail to register. This happens apparently at random, and often enough to make the keyboard unusable. My best guess at the cause is wireless interference, but the keyboard does not come in a wired version.
It stands to reason that the receiver might just need to get closer to the transmitter, so I might be able to solve the problem by making the keyboard semi-wired. Effectively, I would extend the receiver and tape it to the back of the keyboard:
This works flawlessly.
Better yet, taping the receiver to the keyboard is unnecessary: simply plugging the receiver into a usb extension cable lets keystrokes register without fail. I surmise that the extension cable becomes an antenna, but whatever the reason, keystrokes now register without fail and the receiver can be just as far from the keyboard as before.
Should Be Simple 
thank you, this was driving me crazy.
Hello from 3 years later. This also helped me. For the benefit of those coming after, I first thought it might be a USB version issue because I switched from a computer with a USB 2 port to going through a USB-C dongle, but I connected a USB 3 hub with a longer cable and voila, works again. Now it occurs to me that even in the original desktop I had it plugged into front IO, so it had a cable between the port and the motherboard.
Same problem on a 5K iMac. My problem seems to be with a USB-3 to USB-C cable I recently started using (delivered with the otherwise terrific Samsung T5 SSD); needed the USB-C to USB-C cable for something else, switched it out and suddenly had problems. I moved the cable three USB slots away from the Sculpt transponder, and everything seems to be fixed. I’d seen something elsewhere about unshielded USB cables being a source of interference.
Same issue for me on a new Macbook Air. I was going mad thinking the keyboard was wearing out, but simply plugging the transceiver into an extension cable solved the issue.
This has been a problem for me for some time. Initially, it was only if I had my keyboard on the left side of my desk (using my work laptop in the center). But I recently upgraded my PC to an Intel NUC that is attached on the underside of my desk. Now, my normal keyboard position is *just* on the edge of the range, as sliding it a few inches closer or keeping it in my lap gives great reception, while its normal position is pretty flakey.
Thanks a ton for the tip!