Laptop Keyboard Ribbon... keyboard or motherboard? - Off-topic

Hi guys. I took the Toshiba Keyboard out of my Toshiba A505 laptop so I could clean out the fan and glue some usb drives back in place. I was successful at doing that. But after putting things back together, the keyboard doesn't work right.
Looking around it seems I damaged either the ribbon that connects the keyboard, or the (gulp) connector permanently attached to the motherboard. I ordered a new Toshiba Keyboard and am waiting with fingers crossed. Was wondering if you guys could help me determine which it is to help me sleep better. Here's the facts as well as I can tell...
1) Initially taking out the ribbon I didn't realize it had the little lock feet. I just pulled carefully until it came out.
2) Putting it back in the same way, all letters worked except QAZ.
3) Took it out and put it back in the same way again. All letters worked. But then I realized I forgot to reconnect the touchpad, so I undid and redid it one more time while I took care of that. In doing this I shorted the computer and had to restart (probably shouldn't have done this with the computer on... oh well).
4) Once again all letters work but QAZ.
5) Took it out and put it in a few more times. At some point noticed the lock feet and started using them properly. Fewer letters are working. Only a handful work now. If I push on the ribbon while I play around, I can get more letters to come up, but not usually all of them. Attempts to use tape to achieve a similar effect were not successful.
6) Feeling a bit desperate, tried putting some tin Compatible Parts around the ribbon to help the connection. That didn't help. It shorted it like before. Put it in place with computer off. No short this time but didn't work.
7) As for the condition of the ribbon, it looks ok as far as I can tell. There was a crease in the middle of it initially but that was always there. It is a bit creased towards the end where I was pushing it in. Doesn't look like any of the lines in the ribbon are interrupted. The ends might be a bit scratched... reminds me of the little teeth in a Nintendo cartridge.
So anyway. Wondering which you guys think it is.
Feeling really stupid right about now. Hopefully I'm just $20 keyboard stupid and not motherboard stupid. I don't have any money.

Hello, any help yet?
fanqiexiaoai said:
Hi guys. I took the Toshiba Keyboard out of my Toshiba A505 laptop so I could clean out the fan and glue some usb drives back in place. I was successful at doing that. But after putting things back together, the keyboard doesn't work right.
Looking around it seems I damaged either the ribbon that connects the keyboard, or the (gulp) connector permanently attached to the motherboard. I ordered a new Toshiba Keyboard and am waiting with fingers crossed...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello,
I'm having the same problem and made a thread about it. I'm wondering, have you gotten help for this problem? Was it ever solved?
Thanks

Related

ExtUSB port seems broken...

The ExtUSB port on my tytn2 seems to be broken, or something.
When I plug it into my computer it is no longer recognised, and doesn't even start to charge anymore.
Similarly, if I plug in any sort of charger, then the device will not do anything.
In an effort to charge it, I did the following. I removed the battery, thereby switching the device totally off, put the battery back in and then attached a mains charger. At this point I got a solid red LED at the top where the signal/charge LED is. I left it like this for 2 hours and came back to it. I switched it back on and it had fully charged the device - yet I still could not get it recognised by anything.
So what's going on here - is it broken or is this a software issue.
Ignore the reflash bit. How am I supposed to do that if I can't get USB working? Stupid question sorry. Still, I've tried a hard reset and still nothing, so I guess it's knackered huh
EDIT: Replacement is on it's way for tomorrow. Puts an end to that saga I suppose!
HTC's miniUSB port uses traces for contacts instead of pins, which I can't even begin to express how ridiculous that is. To make matters worse, the soft reset pinhole is located right next to it so one slight jab of the stylus, car keys in your pocket etc and you're screwed. You may have done it without even noticing.
Flashing roms is out of the question, but you can use PocketController to make it look as stock as possible through wifi. Another alternative is to take your device to a college/university micro-electronics lab where they will fix it for a small donation or free.
dazultra2000 said:
Ignore the reflash bit. How am I supposed to do that if I can't get USB working? Stupid question sorry. Still, I've tried a hard reset and still nothing, so I guess it's knackered huh
EDIT: Replacement is on it's way for tomorrow. Puts an end to that saga I suppose!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Best of luck, but it might not be the end of your saga. When it gets to servicing, if they notice something was jabbed in the miniSUB port, they could come at you with out of warranty fees.
I have insurance on my phone. It's covered for accidental damage anyway.
Yep. Figured that out the hard way. Accidently stuck my stylus into the USB rather than the reset hole.
If you're lucky, you may be able to "push" the traces on the bottom side of the connector back in place... only one side of my connector was bent. Then I gently connected and re-connected a mini-usb connector.
dazultra2000 said:
I have insurance on my phone. It's covered for accidental damage anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where are you getting insurance ? I can't find anywhere.
Thanks,
DLD
With Orange! Orange Care. Has done me proud a few times in the past, like when I crushed my SPV M2000 on the day I got it! Or when someone dropped my SE K700i in a pint of beer.
New phone is here and instantly I have noticed a couple of things:
1) Different type of battery, as already reported by some people. It's the Dynapack that doesn't quite fit properly.
2) Screen seems brighter and more colourful - again, as reported by some people already
3) The screen tilt is much stiffer (which is good cos the old one was really loose)
4) MicroSD cover feels of better material.
5) Whole thing feels so much quicker - but that's probably just because I've not loaded anything into it yet.

Shuts off when keyboard is slammed shut...

This is really bugging me but on occasion, when I slam the keyboard shut, the phone turns off. It also has happened when I opened the keyboard but only a few times.
I actually dissassembled the phone to see if maybe it was a loose connection somewhere. I did find that the keyboard ribbon cable was loosely connected so I reseated it firmly...but the problem didn't go away.
I also thought it may be either the SIMM card or the memory card contacts but after removing them, again, I still can reproduce the problem.
Understand that this is an intermittent problem and a little unpredictable but I can make it happen within a few tries. If I cautiously open and close the keyboard (without slamming it shut), I have no problems.
I don't believe it's software related because I can force it to happen when the device is booting up (with the Ericsson logo on the screen) before the OS loads.
Anyone else experiencing this?????
11/17/08 UPDATE: PROBLEM RESOLVED!
After further review and testing, it appears that the battery was losing connection to the battery contacts. I shoved a small crumb of paper folded up (about 1mm thick) at the back of the batt and the problem has gone away. Of course, I'm still holding my breath every time I open and close the keyboard but it looks like that may have been the problem. That's strange because I'm using the original battery. Thought this may help in case anyone else ever runs into this.
That sounds like a problem with the internals, maybe a you should get it replaced/repaired?
Kid says to doctor " IT hurts when I twist my arm backward like this." Doctor replies "then don't do that"
You say "my phone shuts off when I slam my keyboard shut" Doctor says "don't slam your keyboard shut"
this thought just made me laugh.
Seriously though. It does sound like an internal hardware issue that you should have fixed otherwise it may just get worse and start happening more regularly and at very inconvenient times.
Good luck.
Reminds me of my samsung slider phone the day that it died. I was sliding it back and forth.. sometimes the screen would go completely white and then come back.
By the end of the day, it went white and stayed that way.
Turns out the cable on the inside was slowly being cut from rubbing against the metal hole it was going thru every time the slider moved.
You've checked the cables before... but maybe its not cut yet, but something on the slider mechanism is hitting a wire/pulling on it.
Nobody knows.
But we all do know thats not normal. So yea get it replaced.
LOL!
hotrod101 said:
Kid says to doctor " IT hurts when I twist my arm backward like this." Doctor replies "then don't do that"
You say "my phone shuts off when I slam my keyboard shut" Doctor says "don't slam your keyboard shut"
this thought just made me laugh.
Seriously though. It does sound like an internal hardware issue that you should have fixed otherwise it may just get worse and start happening more regularly and at very inconvenient times.
Good luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's funny!!!
I think you're right...
Nippero said:
Reminds me of my samsung slider phone the day that it died. I was sliding it back and forth.. sometimes the screen would go completely white and then come back.
By the end of the day, it went white and stayed that way.
Turns out the cable on the inside was slowly being cut from rubbing against the metal hole it was going thru every time the slider moved.
You've checked the cables before... but maybe its not cut yet, but something on the slider mechanism is hitting a wire/pulling on it.
Nobody knows.
But we all do know thats not normal. So yea get it replaced.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep...It's going back. Might as well get a fresh one. I know this problem existed for other phones before and the fix was mostly something simple that didn't require a replacement.
im getting exactly the same problem. gonna send mine back as well.
i have the exact same problem too! Waiting for a new one...
i thought i was the only one with this problem, but it looks like a production error as there are already 3 people on this board who have this defect.
technillion said:
This is really bugging me but on occasion, when I slam the keyboard shut, the phone turns off. It also has happened when I opened the keyboard but only a few times.
I actually dissassembled the phone to see if maybe it was a loose connection somewhere. I did find that the keyboard ribbon cable was loosely connected so I reseated it firmly...but the problem didn't go away.
I also thought it may be either the SIMM card or the memory card contacts but after removing them, again, I still can reproduce the problem.
Understand that this is an intermittent problem and a little unpredictable but I can make it happen within a few tries. If I cautiously open and close the keyboard (without slamming it shut), I have no problems.
I don't believe it's software related because I can force it to happen when the device is booting up (with the Ericsson logo on the screen) before the OS loads.
Anyone else experiencing this?????
11/17/08 UPDATE: PROBLEM RESOLVED!
After further review and testing, it appears that the battery was losing connection to the battery contacts. I shoved a small crumb of paper folded up (about 1mm thick) at the back of the batt and the problem has gone away. Of course, I'm still holding my breath every time I open and close the keyboard but it looks like that may have been the problem. That's strange because I'm using the original battery. Thought this may help in case anyone else ever runs into this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yep, my problem seems to have gone now as well by using you're method. i was almost ready to send it back and then i saw you're post and tried your method and it worked !
Thats a pretty stupid mistake by SE...
They should do a quick fix by making new batters a smidge thicker. Of course they probably wouldn't offer free replacements, but they should fix it anyway.
technillion said:
11/17/08 UPDATE: PROBLEM RESOLVED!
After further review and testing, it appears that the battery was losing connection to the battery contacts. I shoved a small crumb of paper folded up (about 1mm thick) at the back of the batt and the problem has gone away. Of course, I'm still holding my breath every time I open and close the keyboard but it looks like that may have been the problem. That's strange because I'm using the original battery. Thought this may help in case anyone else ever runs into this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where did you place the paper exactly ? On the back of the battery where all the info text is or on the bottom ?
When my device is cold, eg in the morning for first use, this sometimes doesnt happen for >20x tries...but when i used it for a longer time and it almost always shuts down when slammed shut..but i already thought it might be something with the battery, but sometimes while slamming it shut for numerous times even the battery cover would come up and it didnt shut down...then in another situation it shuts down immediatly
Poor design...
toxical said:
Where did you place the paper exactly ? On the back of the battery where all the info text is or on the bottom ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea...what I found with the design is that the ribbon cable connecting the keyboard sits right under the battery. In fact you can see the protrusion when you remove the battery under the white label. It moves when the keyboard is opened and closed. Slightly...but it does move.
...anyway...I folded a small piece of paper to wrap around the back edge of the battery.
Try this:
1. Make a small rectangular strip of paper about 10mm x 20mm and fold it the long way so you end up with a 5mm x 20mm piece.
2. Wrap it around the back/bottom edge of the battery as you reinsert it.
(If the battery fits more snug in its compartment, you got it right!)
3. Put the back cover back on--which should also be more snug.
4. Turn on the device and try it out (slam the keyboard).
(You don't have to wait for it to completely boot up...you can test it when the SE logo appears).
Be careful to use regular copy paper and not paper that's too thick as it may cause some other damage/problems with the device.
could you make a picture of that ?
Actually i will recieve a new device tomorrow, but i still have the feeling that this problem might reoccur as it seems to be a design flaw
technillion said:
11/17/08 UPDATE: PROBLEM RESOLVED!
After further review and testing, it appears that the battery was losing connection to the battery contacts. I shoved a small crumb of paper folded up (about 1mm thick) at the back of the batt and the problem has gone away. Of course, I'm still holding my breath every time I open and close the keyboard but it looks like that may have been the problem. That's strange because I'm using the original battery. Thought this may help in case anyone else ever runs into this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm currently playing around with an old XV6800 I got off ebay, and this seems to have fixed the problem, so thanks
I had the same problem too.. but it was linked with the flex cable. Now i just don't use my keyboard even after fixing it.

Screen Problems - Possible ribbon cable loose?

Ok guys, need some help here....
Got a HTC TyTN II.... Worked great for like 8-10 months, then started having issues with the screen.
Sometimes when brining it out of sleep, the colors are all jagged, and the screen is out of sync and staticky (kind of when you have a VGA monitor and you half pull the cable out of the connector)...
So I'm assuming its a problem with the ribbon cable coming loose (if thats how its connected).
Another thing too, the memory card slot doesn't work anymore. This just re-inserts the fact the ribbon cable or whatever for the front of the device is loose.
Does ANYONE know how to fix this? Unfortunately I tried to rip the phone appart myself and voided the warranty...
Anyone else have these problems?
Sometimes the screen works, sometimes I have to put it back to sleep, wait 5 minutes, and wiggle the front. hit the power button and it works. This has happened across 3 firmware updates so it's hardware for sure....
It does sound like a piece of hardware is loose. The fact that your mem card is not working further suggests this. I took apart my Tilt yesterday to replace the screen which no longer responded to touch, although it still worked with hardkeys. As part of the process I noticed the mem card slot was integral to the screen components. In other words, the screen and attached component, including the mem card slot is loose. For video as to how to pull apart your phone, go here. I have never done this before and this video worked beautifully. Also, search the forums for the HTC Service Manual and go through this page by page, step by step matching it against this video (if yo have dual screens even better) and you will come out fine. I did!
http://www.fonlogix.us/Video-Instructions_ep_34.html
You can buy replacement screens and the tools from the same website. Otherwise try eBay, which is what I did. Definitely get yourself a strong pry tool. The one I bought from eBay disintegrated in the first couple of minutes. Luckily there was just enough of tip of the pry tool for me to use brute force to pry open the case without damaging the phone.
thnx bud, ill be posting my results.

Replaced digitzer- no vibrate

I replaced the digitizer on my HTC VIVID. Everything powered on, connected and was good to go.
However, I quickly realized it would not vibrate at all for any function.
Does anyone have enough experience to point me to the right direction on what to look at first?
I'm guessing the obvious. something happened putting it back together.
Thanks for any help.
baw3510maverick said:
I replaced the digitizer on my HTC VIVID. Everything powered on, connected and was good to go.
However, I quickly realized it would not vibrate at all for any function.
Does anyone have enough experience to point me to the right direction on what to look at first?
I'm guessing the obvious. something happened putting it back together.
Thanks for any help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My guess would be something did not get hooked up properly. I would suggest taking it back apart to validate connections are good and no messed up connectors. I just replaced a digitizer 2 weeks ago and the vibrate worked fine.
jtsurfs said:
My guess would be something did not get hooked up properly. I would suggest taking it back apart to validate connections are good and no messed up connectors. I just replaced a digitizer 2 weeks ago and the vibrate worked fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rodger doger. Thanks for the response.
Yeh, I figured that was the obvious, but was hoping I could locate someone who'd had a phone vibrator issue (just sounds ****ing kinky right), that would be able to tell me something specific to look at, like how it's connected, etc
Someone's had to have experienced this before.
Still hanging on wating.
Help is out there i know...
B
Just got this:
"Thanks,
The vibrator can be found directly under the battery terminals on the back of your phone.
The vibrator simply plugs into these two prongs. Usually, the vibrator is simply not plugged in all the way. Now if either of the two connection terminals on your phone are missing, or damaged, then the vibrator will not work at all at this point.
Start by breaking your phone down from the back, and check this connection. Sometimes you can get to this part with a small stick like a tweezers or small screwdriver to check if the vibrator is plugged in properly.
--
We appreciate your business, and have a great day!"
The Phone Doctors Team
Contact Us At:
[email protected]
1.855.234.9483 ext. 6000
Comments:
Replaced digitizer on HTC Vivid with your video. Phone will not vibrate for any function. Any quick ideas on what might cause a vibrator issue?
the digtizer works, but the vibrator doesn't.
something happened putting it back together

built-in Microphone not working, water woes

Dropped my phone in water.
thought everything was ok till I made a phone call and now the microphone doesn't work.
Any Ideas?
for anyone interested I opened it up to see how hard it may be. (i followed part of a youtube how to remove screen) found the board with the microphone on it, disconnected the ribbon cables and tried to pry it off lightly. It didn't want to let go. Figured I needed to use a heat-gun or blow-dryer with a plastic pry to get it off. As I didn't have the board I needed yet I decided to scratch a little on the microphone (probably did nothing). Popped the connecters back on and put it back together. turned it on and It started working.
May be it needed some air? May be the connectors were not engaging right? IDK but I'm confident I can replace the charging port and microphone on one of these because they are on the same board. The screen isn't that much harder either.
!
hi!
unfortunately i had the exact same experience but in my case the mic never fanctioned again.
Since you did it, can you please tell me which one is the mic...? is it the round thing on the oposite side of the speaker with the 2 spiral connections on it or am i ...scratching the wrong thing ??
thank you in advance man

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