G1 keyboard not working - G1 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I have a HUGE problem My Physical Keyboard is acting up to the point where i had to unroot thinking it was going to fix it and now im stuck at the google signup stage without been able to press the letter P cause it types like 6 letters together..... i was on google all night last night looking for the solution and saw many other people having the exact same problem Heres what the keys do:
my P key presses pq8yt19d
my del key presses JHGL
my enter key presses amncs,x
my right side cap key presses / ~Z{
my back key presses u542i3
Can Any one help Me??????

Sounds like hardware issues. I experienced something similar with a G1 that had minor water damage. If the damage is due to liquid, attempt to rice-dry the phone. Worse case, open up the device and make sure the keyboard is able to make proper contact as needed.
Either way: This is a hardware issue.

i have the exact same issue.. i mean EXACT. my p and delete do the same things yours does. i found this thread by searching pq8yt19d... were you ever able to resolve it??

Hello Guys,
I have the very same issue, but I changed the housing plus keyboard recently.
I read on this forum sometimes twisting, shaking the house can cure it. So it is probably a loose connector problem. It is possible the phone was dropped or something end the connector got loose because of it...
I am sure this is a HW error and nothing to do with the ROM.
Csarlee

This is a hw issue that I fixed, the cable that goes from the keyboard to the circuit board comes loose easily. Tightening this cable ( make sure the little side tabs on the ribbon are up against the connector its going into, that will ensure its far enough in and located properly). The wires on this ribbon cable are very small and easily get off a little making the keyboard erratic or not work at all. Also run some alcohol on a q-tip over the keyboard to make sure its clean. You will be shocked how much crap comes off the keyboard especially if you smoke. Also make sure there is no liquid between the membrane covering the board and the buttons. The picture attached shows the cable in the small red circle. The link for disassembly is here formymobile.co.uk/googleg1disassembly.php

Related

keyboard not working after disassembling

i recently disassembled my tilt to find out if i could tighten the hinges because the hinge were loose but ended having problems with the keyboard. i hooked up the wire that connects from the keyboard to the motherboard. now the problem is that i could only use half of the character.
do you guys encounter this kind of problem? and did you guys fix it?
thanks
draztik_beast said:
i recently disassembled my tilt to find out if i could tighten the hinges because the hinge were loose but ended having problems with the keyboard. i hooked up the wire that connects from the keyboard to the motherboard. now the problem is that i could only use half of the character.
do you guys encounter this kind of problem? and did you guys fix it?
thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
PM Mike, he will lead you in the right direction.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/member.php?u=335322
Buy a new keyboard with flex cable on ebay.
I replaced my tilt keybard (with silver keys) with the original all black keys.
The keys, the flex cable, the board ~ everything is one solid peace that's soldered and glued together, it's not removable (without damaging). The flex cable is actually sensitive and can break. If you try to mess with the keyboard, putting a lot of pressure on the silver part under they keyboard, or make a dent on the silver part under the keyboard (in the effort of trying to separate the keys and the board, which is impossible) ~ you might end up pressuring the flex board/wires and cause only half of the keys work and half doesn't, and the cap-lock and func light won't turn on.
Remember to get the keyboard with the whole frame and flex wires and not just the plastic keys by itself.
The whole black rim, flex cable/board and the silver bottom piece is all soldered together as one solid piece. The plastic keys are like sticker, lay on top of the board and flex.
(your board and flex seem broken anyway, but...)
If you only buy the keys without the whole board together, you will have to rip out the old plastic keys layer (because it's just a layer of sticker on top of everything) ~ do it carefully, or you might rip out the flex cables/board by accident.
Let me know if you want some pixs that I took when I replaced my keys.
draztik_beast said:
i recently disassembled my tilt to find out if i could tighten the hinges because the hinge were loose but ended having problems with the keyboard. i hooked up the wire that connects from the keyboard to the motherboard. now the problem is that i could only use half of the character.
do you guys encounter this kind of problem? and did you guys fix it?
thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wad there possibly a alternative from getting a whole new board as i only replaced the screen mine.............
I had a similar problem when replacing the screen on my wife's Tilt recently. I took it apart a second time and put it together again very carefully, particularly with the small ribbon that connects to the motherboard, as I believe that is the ribbon that connects the keyboard to the motherboard.
Take a look at this video to see the part I am referring to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96iXd5jG2-U#t=2m45s

Hardware problem (buttons), please help.

over the past few weeks some of the buttons (namely left soft key, up and left) have stopped working, i've tried numerous roms just incase but it's definatley a hardware issue, now, i've dismanted the phone using the diamantos guide to see if anything jumps out at me, gave the phone a damn good cleaning whilst i had the chance, put it back together....but nothing, everything seems to be in order, all components in their rightful place but i still cant work it out, does anyone know if this is a common problem or if theres a fix as i've been unsuccessful in my searches.
actually, i just found the solution and it worked a treat, thanks anyway people.
btw, if anyone would like to know what i did then i'll be more than happy to share the solution.
Hi godofwap,
I have the same problem with a trinity I bought used. Tried to stick some papers under the buttons but that didn`t help so I`m very curious how You managed to get them working again. Hope You find the time to write a short notice.
Have some fine days,
FlyBy_1
ok, no problem, heres what i did.
before you start please be aware that this is a very delicate procedure and you should take care as this may naff up your beloved trinity.
ok, i first disassembled my trinity using the dimantos guide located here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=311463,
now, when you get to the keyboard / button pcb take it out if, you look closely you'll notice theres a thin adhesive plastic cover covering the metalic buttons, very very carefull peel this back (i used a sharp knife to get to it), making sure not to completely remove it, try to only expose the underneath of the buttons in question, you'll see that the buttons come away with the plasic leaving the underneath exposed, now, using a cotton bud and some lightly applied alcohol clean the contacts then when all is done, replace the plastic and make sure its firmly pressed back down you may notice it making a different, kind of sharper clicking noise when depressed than before meaning its worked, repeat for all buttons.
i think whats going on here is the gum or glue from the plastic film has "leaked" if you will, onto the plates meaning theres no contact from the buttons, this would also account for the very slight change in sound when you now press the button.
i found this info here http://forum.xda-developers.com/archive/index.php/t-289737.html
Nice find mate; sounds like a solution for my problem cause when I got my phone the first I had to do was to disassemble and clean the heck outta it, there was dust everywhere as if the old owner had laid it on the moon for a week. But who thought the buttons are actually separatable... strange technique.
Thanks for the hint, at least now I´ve got something to do over the holidays at my parents-in-law
Once again thanks for Your hint.
The problem with mine was actually not dust and stuff between the two halves but too much pressure by the former owner.
After I had separated the plastic film from the board I saw that there were very deep dents where the pick of the metal discs had pushed the soft pcb material down. So I cleaned them anyway and then reapplied the film with an offset of just a fraction of a millimetre so they make perfect contact with the pcb again.
Every single button again works perfectly now

[Solved]: Volume key breaking; ? Potential keyboard fix ???

[Update]
Okay, this is bizarre, but I think I have solved the volume key problem. First, I discovered that the volume key problem was oddly related to the USB port. When I put pressure on that port, the volume key would start working again. But I explored further, and it's actually very slight *downward* pressure on the USB port that solves the problem.
So I then just wedged a piece of thin somewhat hard plastic (sliver from a plastic folder) along the top ridge of the USB port, and the volume key now works perfectly.
I think this might also be related to keyboard problems (keys not responsive), because now my keyboard also works perfectly. Can people please test (downward pressure on USB port) and report back?
[Original post]
Hi all - I need help and would appreciate some advice:
My volume key is starting to become unresponsive. At first I thought it was a ROM problem, but it continues with several different ROMs. And if I press the buttons VERY hard, they work.
I presume this is the same basic issue that occurs with the keyboard, but I have it in the volume key.
I am off the warranty. Anyone have ideas/ tricks for how to fix this? I might try a bit of WD-40 for the hell of it.
I have already mapped other keys to control the volume, but I still can't zoom with the camera.
Thanks for any advice.
i too am experiencing the same problem, however i found a solution, pressure on the battery solved this for me....
what i did was put layers of tape on the battery and under the cover...
i guess the hardware becomes worn out after a while, and i dont mean the housing, because i have a brand new housing, i think it lies on the motherboard or the keypad board
this also solves the keyboard letters that never worked too like
m, i and t
HOLY COW, you are right! How did you ever figure that out???!!! So bizarre!
I pressed on the battery and it started working again. Still somewhat unresponsive but definitely better. I'll try your tape trick now.
Spike, a 1000 thank yous! I can't believe there is a fairly simple fix.
lol i figured that out when certain keys on the keyboard wont work, out of anger i tried to put pressure on the bottom slide by squeezing it with a little more pressure on the top and bottom, then the keys worked, weird huh??
anyway, the volume key happened to give trouble too and the pressure fixed it... so, i have some tape on my battery until i can get some spongy sticky tape to replace it
glad it worked for you
Yeah, I had noticed some odd things like when I applied pressure laterally across the top, then pressed the volume key, it would be more responsive.
Unfortunately putting pressure on the battery only worked temporarily, and the tape trick did not work. Perhaps my problem is farther along. But I really appreciate the hint. I'll keep messing with it (till I break it )
For what it's worth:
I can solve this problem by putting the charger into the mini-USB and pushing it in hard while having my finger on the other side just below the volume button. After this the volume button works normally for a while. That's the only consistent fix so far.
So, one thing I can conclude is that it's not the volume button itself, but some connection inside???
I've had my Xperia for a year and 4 months. I'm surprised others aren't reporting this. Anyone else with volume button problems?
I too have this problem, but must be a software problem for me. When I press the volume down button and power on at the same time while the phone is off I do get in the red/blue/green screen.
I have send my phone for repair for two times now because of this problem. When I get it back, the volume buttons are working for two days.
I also have problems with the the following keys: Sym, au, shift, @, Z, X and the blue button. But when I press time for like a 100 times they start working again... grazy
Celio1987 said:
I too have this problem, but must be a software problem for me. When I press the volume down button and power on at the same time while the phone is off I do get in the red/blue/green screen.
I have send my phone for repair for two times now because of this problem. When I get it back, the volume buttons are working for two days.
I also have problems with the the following keys: Sym, au, shift, @, Z, X and the blue button. But when I press time for like a 100 times they start working again... grazy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's tricky sorting out whether it's a hardware or software issue, because it comes and goes. But I am convinced that mine is a hardware issue.
Try the trick I mentioned above. I also just pressed down on the whole keyboard hard in different places. It's been working for 6 hours straight!
[I also wonder if the SE repair people cause the volume button issue. I send mine in for repair 2 or 3 times, including for the same keyboard problem you mention]
See the first post for what I think is the solution to this problem
doesnt work for me... what does is the pressure on the main board
i too have the same issue. pushing down on the usb port seemed to have fixed my volume keys better than adding tape under the battery cover.
sigh.. i don't know how much longer this device is gonna last me..
You need to massage your XPERIA every now and then to smoothen the electricty flow throughout the circuit board. Think of it as a human, hmm... just kidding lol
I've had the same issue and I would like to thank all of you for your valuable inputs.
Alright, fellas, here is what it is. Having the USB port on the opposite side of the keys, means slight pressure nudges the board towards the silicone membrane that is on the inside of the hardened metallized shell that forms the volume key itself. The way it is folded inside means that over time it will mould itself to the housing, hence partial usability problem.
A word of warning: nudging the USB port will dislodge the port itself off the main PCB and then you will have a much bigger problem than partially working volume key.
Tape under the battery cover is a gimmick.
enigma1nz said:
Alright, fellas, here is what it is. Having the USB port on the opposite side of the keys, means slight pressure nudges the board towards the silicone membrane that is on the inside of the hardened metallized shell that forms the volume key itself. The way it is folded inside means that over time it will mould itself to the housing, hence partial usability problem.
A word of warning: nudging the USB port will dislodge the port itself off the main PCB and then you will have a much bigger problem than partially working volume key.
Tape under the battery cover is a gimmick.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the explanation! Although without a diagram it's a bit hard for me to follow. What's the basic problem? The connection to the volume key gets dislodged?
When I nudge the USB port downwards, it's literally about half a millimeter, so it's hard for me to imagine that that could brick the USB port; then again, I know nothing about the internals.
I've had the "permanent nudge" going for a couple months without problems, but I will report back if something worsens.
the presssure trick really worked for the keyboard and volume
i have the same problem guys nd didnt resolve by the methods u told ... plz help me for this
i have the same problem, y buy a new case housing but the problem of the volume key isnt solved changing the housing...i will try some things in the next days..
Another problem that i have is that my usb port doesnt recognize when its plugging in the computer,so i dont have active sync or mass storage,only usb charging...any ideas??thanks in advance!

[Q] Touch Keys Out of Commission

Hello everybody!
To make a long story even longer I just got LCD replaced on my Acer Liquid E by a technician and the cable that makes touch keys on the bottom responsive (4 of them - Home, Search, Go Back, Menu) got damaged and now they don't work at all. All other functions are OK including camera button and + and - volume. Is there any way to reassign "camera" or "volume" button to be used as "home" or "go back" button ? Or is there an app that would allow you to get by without using those touch keys below the screen? If there is something that can be done would you please explain in great details cause I'm so damn it's scary.
Thanks a lot guys!
Not much help or advise from anybody to this point. But that is quite OK cause I happen to do some digging around and found solutions to my problems.One app is called Button Savior (Root). That's what the author says in the software description:
"Requires root
Requires USB Debugging enabled
If you are afraid of breaking your hardware keys or you have broken keys or you simply just don't have any key on your device, get Button Savior to make your life easier.
This app will display a floating software key panel which can be summoned everywhere anytime.
[Features]
(1) Simulates 'Home' 'Back' 'Search' 'Back' 'Recent Task' 'Screen Off'
(2) Can set to always open or auto hide based on user
customizable timer
(3) Two types of trigger action to choose from
(4) Added Camera key and Call key simulation
(5) Customizable trigger position"
Another one is called Soft Home for BarTender. And there are many more options available for similar problems.
Hi, I had your same exact problem! I replaced the screen by myself, and soft buttons stopped working. Since i didn't damage the cable, I'm 97% sure that the problem is the adhesive used to replace the old one. You need a special adhesive that "conducts" capacity (see h t t p : // focus.ti.com/lit/an/slaa379/slaa379.pdf at page 16).
When i tried to open the device again to replace the adhesive, I ruined a flat cable so now I have damaged the upper part of the touchscreen too, so I'm actually hoping to get it repaired under warranty without saying a word about what happened.
Fingers crossed!
I hope it worked for you my friend. Those Acers are nice phones till something goes wrong and you need to fix it. And Fido does not give a flying rat's ass if your phone is not on warranty. Their customer service just vanished over night the moment rogers took over. Very sad, it used to be awesome company to deal with. I got myself Galaxy S Captivate from AT&T, rooted and unlocked it and now using it on Fido.
Trying to replace the Display I didn't even noticed how I brake the flat cable of the AB88_A1__V1.1_Keypad_A_FPC. I have just received the Keypad Cable 50.H480W.005 from mk-electronic.de
Wish me luck putting my A1 device together.
Hello everybody!
I just bought a broken Acer S100, it had broken touchscreen (also the flat was broken) and there was no keypad. I mean, dismounting the phone, there was nothing related to the 4 buttons under the screen.
I just received the new new touchscreen, but still I don't have the keyboard. I read that dicer13 has bought the replacement flat, what I wanted to know is if the keypad is made only of 1 piece or if there are several pieces that are connected by the flat cable he bought.
IN few word, if I order the "50.H480W.005 Keypad cable" will I have everything to fix this phone or that's only a connecting flat between the mainboard and an other piece that goes just under the screen, which is missing?
On the other hand, will you suggest me to stop thinking about the phisical keypad and use, instead, the Buttun Saviour app? It is possible to use every normal function or the phone would be quite "limitated" and unconfortable to use?
Thank you very, very much for your answer!
nowhere is there an exact answer is whether or not it
dicer13 said:
Trying to replace the Display I didn't even noticed how I brake the flat cable of the AB88_A1__V1.1_Keypad_A_FPC. I have just received the Keypad Cable 50.H480W.005 from mk-electronic.de
Wish me luck putting my A1 device together.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Keypad Cable 50.H480W.005 does this piece? it is compatible with the model Acer s100? no photo as it looks..

[Q] Repairing/assembling G1 -> broken volume rocker and touch panel

Well, I fixed my old broken G1 with new screen, touchscreen panel, case and keyboard.
Now I have 2 issue:
1) Sometimes my touchscreen goes grazy!! If I use the touch test application I see that sometimes when I touch the screen in an area there is another virtual touch in another zone of the screen. I read that it can depend from the current source when I charge the phone.. but I'm going crazy!! I opened my phone 10 times (I thought there was a problem in the cable that link TouchPanel to LCDPanel, because when I lock the cable with the clip it tends anyway to go out from the connector, now I put some scotch tape to fix but the problem is here.. so I think is another problem).
2) My volume rocker doesn't work!!
I bought 2 new keyboard to fix this problem, but no one of that fixed the problem. I thought the first new keyboard had volume keys broken, so I bought another one, but the problem persists!!
Now the Touch problem rarely happens, but the volume rocker is completely unusable..
Someone have experience about G1 assembling/repairing ?
Thanks and sorry for bad english
if you have put in multiple keypads have the same issue i would assume that it is the connection going to the motherboard. just a guess there but its either that or you have had a bunch of faulty keyboards.
only other thing would be a software problem
does the keypad work in recovery (let you go up down throughout the list) ?
as for the touch screen, probably need a new digitizer or flex cable, both are cheap and it sounds like you have the knowhow to replace them.
Ok, but digitizer is new!! screen also is new, and I have bought a total of 4 flex cable because I see that they are fragile (I broke the first I bought).
I tried to change flex cable but the problem remain the same.
The only thing that can be damaged is the LCD cable that links to the flex cable: it has a small cut where the cable have a curve, but the cut don't reaches the contacts (the cable is transparent). I also use some glue and scotch tape to mantein lock the cable.
The digitizer cable is connected to the LCD cable, and then they go to the flex cable that connect them to the motherboard.
The strange thing is that seems a software issue, because if I turn off and than turn on the screen, the problem is fixed for some seconds, minutes and sometimes hours...
Another strange thing is the possibility to control the screen with some metal objects from the moment that the virtual touch problem appear (I can control the screen also without touch it, with hand and piece of metal)
video:
have you tried a factory reset if you think it may be a software issue? if that dosent work you can try install a whole new rom.
really it sounds like it isnt the hardware since you appear to know what youre doing. i have a had a few phones that had screen (digitizer) issues and a new rom flashed cured it just fine
since you dont mind putting a few dollars into it, and your familiar with the inside, you can always try to pick up a cheap motherboard or spare phone from ebay or what have you, then swap the motherboard and you could then hopefully find out if it is the hardware or software
nagash91 said:
Another strange thing is the possibility to control the screen with some metal objects from the moment that the virtual touch problem appear (I can control the screen also without touch it, with hand and piece of metal)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Huh sounds like you got a cheap digitizer than. Most good digitizers use heat to touch. If it's literally touch, then sounds like its a fake/meh digitizer. i hate the digitizers that aren't heat, but press. I see them all the time in those first samsuck touchscreen phones. And they usually die in a bit. I had a Samsung behold with a screwed up digitizer
demkantor said:
have you tried a factory reset if you think it may be a software issue? if that dosent work you can try install a whole new rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I flashed 3 or 4 roms after a wipe (I tried also super-wipe.zip), but the problem is here..
The digitizer works well some times, but sometimes get crazy (you can see in the video).
I don't that my new digitizer is fake, but I really don't know!
BTW I'm trying to repair my phone for fun (now I have desire z) and because I am fascinated by my old G1.
PS:
I see another strange issue--
If I touch the screen when the phone is on a table the screen digitizer is not very sensitive and can't take input from fingertips.
If I touch the screen when the phone is in my other hand, the screen digitizer is a lot more sensitive and it take input from fingertips.
My impression is that there is an electric field or something similar that disturbs the digitizer, and when I take the phone in my hand I discharge that field to ground. Also when I turn off the screen, seems that the electric field discharge so when I turn on the screen is ok, but after some seconds the field returns to disturbs the screen.
I really don't know, but is the impression that I have.. something that is not shielded.
Now I'll try to use my phone in airplain mode.
Thanks guys, I'm happy to see that this forum is still very active

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