Hello, similar to Specific Key on Keyboard intermittently misses, when I use the laptop on my lap, certain keys occasionally stop working. I’m wondering if anyone else is experiencing anything similar.
Specifically these keys (not exhaustive):
e, h, -, right arrow, fn
I’ve tried re-seating all the modules, tightening the screws in case they loose, etc. Currently it’s configured as keyboard and touchpad both centered. It occurs both when I have it propped on a knee from the middle, and centered in lap when sitting cross-legged. I have not tested other configurations.
I had a problem like this, where the press of keys was sometimes missed on first press. This included the caps lock key and associated light. The fix for me was to reseat the keyboard and trackpad module on the contacts. I think the connection wasn’t secure before because I’ve had no problems since I did that.
I think I’ve tracked down the issue, since it started happening when I was at a table. The bottom left of the kb module isn’t being pushed into the pogo pins enough by the upper left of the trackpad module. I think I’ll add some kind of pad there later to give it more mounting pressure.
Or just flex the metal ever so slightly lol since I’ve already done that for the spacers so that I don’t feel the sharp edges.
Fitment is really kind of rough on this one.
Edit: I’ve shimmed with a wad of paper, it’s still not enough but at least I don’t have to press as hard and as frequently. I might put in a support request to see if maybe this is an issue w/ my unit
I was able to get it working. I ended up putting a drop of solder on the contacts to fur them out. Now the keys are all working. If anyone is wondering , these are the keys that weren’t working:
Yeah, the solder stopped working for me as well. I think I will have to RMA it as well. I soldered all 8 contacts on the keyboard connection side (not the pogo pins side).
Just filed my ticket for this too. Thought it was a software issue but can’t reproduce on an old Thinkpad with the same software or on my desktop with a similar configuration (KDE instead of Sway).
Additionally (but more occasionally), keys act stuck too even though the keyboard is brand new. I’ve also seen this issue in the BIOS interface (version 3.03).
Not sure if this is relevant, but the touchpad sticks up above the side panels on the edge where it meets the keyboard, but it’s flush at the front of the laptop. When I filed the ticket, a guide for inspecting and reseating a keyboard cable in the touchpad came up (link: Checking out the inside of a Framework Laptop - Framework Guides) so perhaps there’s an internal issue with the touchpad causing this or with how it’s seated. I’ll check the cable when I get time, but I’ve already tried getting it to sit flat and have not been successful at that over multiple reseats. Though both sides of the trackpad module are raised higher than the side-panels where they meet the keyboard, the left side sticks up more than the right.
This seems to be getting worse with use, and the repeated keystrokes especially are wreaking havoc on my typing.
Are you by chance running powertop? I had to exclude the keyboard or I was getting missed as well as repeated keystrokes. If you aren’t using powertop, I hope that you are able to get things resolved soon. Best of luck, and have a great day!
I do sometimes use powertop, but it’s not currently running and I haven’t used it to change any settings (i.e. autotune). Does the very act of starting powertop do something to my system? If I use autotune, is there anything I need to do to prevent making the keyboard situation worse?
I am no powertop expert, but I would expect that if you have not tuned it to turn off the keyboard when idle, it’s unlikely to be impacting things. Unless you have it set up to run as a service, if it is not running there should be no way for it to have any impact.
Yes, I forgot to mention that the keys would occasionally spam inputs.
My guess is the firmware doesn’t detect or send a key up event when the power to the switches get suddenly cut due to faulty traces or whatever.
Powertop did annoying sleep my keyboard a bit too frequently, but that’s only when you’re not typing on it. The delay isn’t set by powertop either, but rather the kernel. All powertop does is echo off > /sys/bus/usb/devices/[the device].
I wasn’t very clear-- what I meant is that the left corner of the trackpad module was sticking up above the spacer to the left of it, but only on the connector side. (EDIT: And I bent it just a little bit so that it sits flush, so not a huge issue).
Just an update here-- I reseated the keyboard once, and that did not fix the issue. But then I removed and reinstalled the midplate, and reinstalled everything again. The issue has not re-occurred since. I wonder if this is some sort of alignment issue. The alignment of some of these parts feels quite fiddly.
TBC, I appreciate being able to fix things and install my own parts. I suppose some of this comes with the territory. I would still recommend this and buy it again. In addition to being highly modular, repairable, and upgradeable, I’ve never had a laptop that worked better with Arch Linux.
EDIT: Never mind! Reproduced again! Still a great computer other than the keyboard flex and intermittent missing keypresses.
I have had a similar experience when I configured my system to run powertop --auto-tune at boot. In the powertop UI, setting Autosuspend for USB device Laptop 16 Keyboard Module - ANSI [Framework] to “bad” helped.
I stole the systemd unit from here and added a line that reads
Edit: after some more reading, it seems that running TLP is the better option. It comes with a system service you can turn on and doesn’t cause the keyboard issues. Haven’t tested for long, but it seems like it also does a better job saving power, too.
Framework support sent me a replacement after images from practically every angle, with a straight edge on top, around the laptop and the module itself.
If you’re still having this issue and think it’s a hardware problem, take pictures like these and send them to support.
