Author Topic: Thinkpad Yoga S1 12 weird *A* key  (Read 12696 times)

Mathias

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Thinkpad Yoga S1 12 weird *A* key
« on: July 21, 2020, 09:57:19 am »
Got a used Thinkpad Yoga S1 12 at the beginning of 2020, working all fine, but now the "A" key needs to be pushed a special way to work. - Which is of course very troublesome, especially when translating.
The key press feels normal, just as all the others.

I have tried to push lots of air into that key from all angles... maybe there is some dirt underneath the key? --> No change.
Also I did rotate the display to make the thing tablet, and vice versa while directing compressed air in/on that "a" key. --> No change.

grr.. next step would be to unscrew the whole thing (I've seen the maintenance manual.. uff..) just to see the keyboard from underneath.. - But question is (and this is why I am writing this).. did anybody do that already on that notebook?
Good chance, the keyboard is built in "as one piece", and one cannot look underneath the keys... which would render the whole action a waste of time. - Instead I'd get a new keyboard and THEN unscrew everything, and replace the damn thing.

But then again, if anybody did this already, and the keyboard CAN be maintained and revived, getting a new one would be a waste of money..

So.. any hints welcome. : )

Lars

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Re: Thinkpad Yoga S1 12 weird *A* key
« Reply #1 on: July 21, 2020, 03:17:25 pm »
« Last Edit: July 21, 2020, 03:23:16 pm by Lars »

Neil Waldhauer

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Re: Thinkpad Yoga S1 12 weird *A* key
« Reply #2 on: July 21, 2020, 03:56:00 pm »
I kind of miss those old IBM keyboards you could wash in the top rack of the dishwasher.

I agree that replacing the keyboard is the way to go. Lenovo hardware maintenance manuals make it pretty easy if a bit tedious.
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Doug Bissett

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Re: Thinkpad Yoga S1 12 weird *A* key
« Reply #3 on: July 21, 2020, 05:59:51 pm »
An old trick, that sometimes fixes things like that, is to detach the keyboard, and drop it onto a hard surface (table top), face down, from about 18 inches (.5 meter). That will often shake some dirt loose, and then you can use a vacuum to suck it out of the keyboard. Try to make it land flat, or the keys may pop off (they are just pressed on).

I recommend that you NEVER blow dirt around in a computer. That will cause more problems than it will ever fix. A vacuum is much better, but it may pick up parts, if they are loose.

I did say "sometimes".   :D

Mathias

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Re: Thinkpad Yoga S1 12 weird *A* key
« Reply #4 on: July 21, 2020, 10:05:30 pm »
Thank you guys for the immediate help : )) <-- yes hd to push the a quite hard for that one grml... feels like it's getting worse.. :o

Watched the video.. and found this to be rocket science. : ] - Where are the times where you could take out the keyboard from above? ; )
Guess there is no choice. Going to get such a keyboard. - Are they all illuminated, or do I need to take special care when looking for such a keyboard?
Asking this because I also found some for 25 EUR.. mhm : )

Sigurd Fastenrath

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Re: Thinkpad Yoga S1 12 weird *A* key
« Reply #5 on: July 22, 2020, 09:31:39 am »
But then again, if anybody did this already, and the keyboard CAN be maintained and revived, getting a new one would be a waste of money..

So.. any hints welcome. : )

Ich:

https://thinkpad-forum.de/threads/222315-Aschenputtel-zur-Weihnachtszeit-Aus-alt-mach-neu-S1-Yoga-12-wieder-herrichten

Noch detaillierter:
https://www.os2.org/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=1893

Ich versuche auch schon eine ENTF Taste (die bei mir wackelt) zu bekommen, weil ich nicht die Tastatur nochmals tauschen möchte, aber es scheint aussichtslos.

Mathias

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Re: Thinkpad Yoga S1 12 weird *A* key
« Reply #6 on: July 22, 2020, 07:14:34 pm »
Sigurd, do you know the Lenovo product code for the backlit DE keyboard?

The linked one above is NOT backlit.

For the moment, I did some testing, and clicked off the "a" key..
I cannot see any dirt or dust underneath..
Then tried to push the key without the "a" cover... and found out, it doesn't work as good when pushing the right side of the rubber underneath the key. - Left side almost always worked.
Then.. I took some paper, scissors.. and cut a small piece off the paper, put it underneath the key, clicked it in.. and.. like new. --> so for the moment it works fine again, but I doubt it will for long.

In the meanwhile I am trying to get a backlit Thinkpad S1 Yoga 12 keyboard with DE layout.

Sigurd Fastenrath

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Re: Thinkpad Yoga S1 12 weird *A* key
« Reply #7 on: July 22, 2020, 08:49:14 pm »
Sigurd, do you know the Lenovo product code for the backlit DE keyboard?

The linked one above is NOT backlit.

For the moment, I did some testing, and clicked off the "a" key..
I cannot see any dirt or dust underneath..
Then tried to push the key without the "a" cover... and found out, it doesn't work as good when pushing the right side of the rubber underneath the key. - Left side almost always worked.
Then.. I took some paper, scissors.. and cut a small piece off the paper, put it underneath the key, clicked it in.. and.. like new. --> so for the moment it works fine again, but I doubt it will for long.

In the meanwhile I am trying to get a backlit Thinkpad S1 Yoga 12 keyboard with DE layout.

00PA855 und (gegebenenfalls) 00HT997
« Last Edit: July 22, 2020, 08:50:46 pm by Sigurd Fastenrath »

Martin Iturbide

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Re: Thinkpad Yoga S1 12 weird *A* key
« Reply #8 on: July 25, 2020, 03:56:02 am »
Hi

Just as a rant note:

It used to be easy on the past to get the part numbers for part replacements (FRUs) since it was on the  Hardware Maintenance Manual. But some year ago things changed on Lenovo and now the parts list are on a separated web page and PDFs that are no that easy to find from the Lenovo Support web page of the model.

Now it is easier to find the "System Service Parts" page on Google then Lenovo's. Here are the TP Yoga 12 "System Service Parts". Scroll down to the PDF.

Once you find the part number (FRU) you can use the "Lenovo Parts Lookup" to maybe get a substitute number and sometimes some pictures of it.  For example, the substitute of the "00PA855" is the "00HT997", just like Sigurd posted.

Regards
Martin Iturbide
OS2World NewsMaster
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