Keyboarrrrrrd issues as of late...

[DMWagner]

I have been having keyboard symptoms lately just like what I had before when my keyboard died on my original TP. I hold my breath everytime, but it always seems to come back to working.

here is what I noticed in my case.

I am typing and all of a sudden a letter repeats itself indefinetly just like what people say when the keyboard goes out

I soft reset the phone.. sometimes this works and I am good.. other times it doesn't.

So then I power down the phone again and remove the battery and then the keyboard works after booting it up. Removing the battery seems to be the key here as if I just power it down the keyboard still doesn't work.

So anyways, I hope my keyboard doesn't go out. I just got this phone in October as a warranty replacement... I don't know if the warranty restarts again. I can not afford to replace this phone on my own right now with the crappy economic situation we are in. If it goes out and I have to pay for the phone, I will just go back to my old flip phone I guess.

[mdiaz33685]

my keyboard was acting flacky for the past 2 weeks, a few days ago it quit all together.
someone mentioned, take out the battery and push on the space bar and inside where the battery goes under the space bar... there is a flex cable and apparently gets loose, for the past 2 days it started working again...
hope that helps, it sure did help me...

[DMWagner]

Yaa, that is what I have to do now also. Hope it keeps taking care of the problem.

[namopereht]

After multiple times fixing the keyboard plug I am having this problem now. The problem is definitely in the ribbon cable. Will not change back to landscape mode no matter what I do. You can see the crack in the ribbon cable where it is having the problems. The magnet reacts with some kind of switch on the keyboard side, signal is then sent along that ribon cable to the phone. This is the same problem as the space acting as a "keystroke send" button as when you hit the space bar it flexes the bend in the ribbon cable directly behind it. I had it temporarily fixed by putting a small piece of tape on it to hold the connections.

So, here's my issue. I am not anywhere I can get parts or a new phone for a little over a week (truck driver). I need a way to force this darn thing into portrait so I can use it. Even a hardware mod by crossing 2 connections on the ribbon cable would work for me if anyone knows which they are. Otherwise a software solution is what I need. Only other cure would be if there is someone around the PA/MD area that has a keyboard I can buy off them :P Any suggestions?

Update: Got frustrated after finding nothing about schematics on the internet, and seeing all software solutions only last until the screen powers off then revert back to landscape after waking. Attempting a hardware mod and will post what my results are. Left with a broken ribbon cable I have found 2 traces that make it go back to portrait when a small amount of resistance is added between them (my finger). Going to solder them to each other and see if it works. Hopefully I don't let all the smoke out of the darn thing!

[namopereht]

Update 2:

I seem to have some success. Soldered it up (picture attached) and now I have full portrait. So far the only adverse effect seems to be no lights on front buttons and ring. I may have knocked something about while I was in there, but I can live with no lights until I get back home to pick up my fleabay keyboard I just ordered. If you are not very skilled at soldering things as small as .25mm do not attempt this. Practice on a dead gadget with Surface mount components and ribbon cable. Insulate the works before reinstalling (I used a piece of scotch tape folded over the end due to space constraints). YMMV. I may have just had extremely good luck and you may blow up your phone or turn it into a 30' tall Pokemon. If you need instructions on how to get to the little ribbon cable there is a tear-down guide somewhere on these forums or XDA.

Remember though... Although this looks hard it was done in the sleeper of a Peterbilt truck, with a small soldering iron, a universal tip micro screwdriver, and a retractable blade sheetrock knife.

namopereht

For those of you that need a new keyboard and have already opened the case (voiding the warranty) or have no insurance: $26.00 on fleabay for a replacement. Fairly easy to replace if you can handle a bit of delicate work. I will be doing mine in a week or so when I get home and will make a how-to with pics if anyone is interested in one. $26 is a small price to pay to have that damn keyboard problem fixed!

[DMWagner]

Nice work!

I am now having to squeeze my phone around once a day now. It's getting annoying. I think I still have warranty on it, just got it in October so I might swing down to a Alltel store next week and see what they think the next time it goes out.

[DMWagner]

I made a new observation of this keyboard B.S. I pretty much got sick and tired of powering down my phone, pulling off the cover, ejecting the battery, pinching the keyboard, putting it all back together, and waiting for it to boot. I just said to myself, the heck with it, I will use the software keyboard when the hardware one acts up.

Well, I kid you not... when it acts up and now that I do nothing, it starts working on it's own in like 15 minutes or so. Maybe not a cable coming unplugged issue after all?