Detachable Keyboard Not Working - HP Pavilion X2

[Mysterious12]

I am trying to repair an old laptop of my family member so I am unsure about the specific model. It has not been reopened in years.

It is works with external keyboards. There is no visible damage or anything on both the tablet and keyboard. When I attach both, it changes to desktop mode. I am still able to use touch screen but the trackpad and the keys do not work at all. I updated to the latest OS, ran keyboard troubleshoot and updated the keyboard driver.

[ZBoost_Ultra]

Hello @Mysterious12 

From what you’ve described, the Pavilion x2 is detecting the keyboard dock (since it switches to desktop mode), but the keyboard and touchpad signals themselves aren’t getting through. This usually points to an issue with the pogo-pin connector rather than Windows or the drivers.

Here are a few steps you can try:

1. Clean the pogo-pin connector
Dust or oxidation on the pins is the most common cause of this behavior.
• Power off the tablet
• Inspect the gold pins on both the tablet and keyboard
• Gently clean them with a microfiber cloth or a cotton swab with a small amount of isopropyl alcohol
• Let everything dry and reconnect firmly

2. Check Device Manager
With the keyboard attached, open Device Manager and check under Keyboards and Human Interface Devices.
If an HID Keyboard or I2C HID device appears, try uninstalling it and rebooting.
If nothing appears at all, the system isn’t detecting the keyboard hardware.

3. Perform a hard reset
Shut down the tablet → hold Power + Volume Down for about 15 seconds → restart.

4. Update BIOS and drivers
Make sure you have the latest BIOS, chipset drivers, and (if available) keyboard dock firmware for your exact Pavilion x2 model from the HP Support page.

5. Test in BIOS
Attach the keyboard and tap Esc repeatedly while powering on.
If the BIOS menu does not respond, that confirms a hardware-side issue.

If the above steps don’t help, the most likely cause is a hardware failure in either the pogo connector on the tablet or the keyboard dock itself. These components are known weak points on Pavilion x2 devices. At that stage, replacement of the keyboard dock (or tablet connector) is usually required.

Hope this helps!