HP Chromebook 14" Keyboard issue certain keys not working -- fix--please read!

[Gurner]

Hi,

I'm not sure if you've taken all the screws out - some are hidden underneath the rubber feet. From memory (I've not got the Chromebook in front of me at the moment) there are two under the round feet at the front and two under the smaller, oblong rubber covers near the hinge. After this, the base should be free to lift off, though it is clipped in along the length of the hinge.

[Laptop-Centre]

hi. to remove the base there are 13 screws in total. 2 under the small back feet rubbers and another 2 under the large rubber feet. Hope this helps.

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@churmy wrote:

Hi there I was going to try this method, i have undon the screws but im having trouble getting the back case off has anybody else had this problem if so is there a simple way to do it because I feel like I'm going to break it otherwise?

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[Laptop-Centre]

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@churmy wrote:

Hi there I was going to try this method, i have undon the screws but im having trouble getting the back case off has anybody else had this problem if so is there a simple way to do it because I feel like I'm going to break it otherwise?

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hi. to remove the base there are 13 screws in total. 2 under the small back feet rubbers and another 2 under the large rubber feet. Hope this helps.

[Laptop-Centre]

THANKYOU for this fix. 

I followed your instructions and this worked perfect.

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@Gurner wrote:

There appears to be a design issue with the internal layout of the 14" HP Chromebook.

The keyboard is connected to the main board via two ribbon cables: one broad, one slim. Both cables are folded into a 'Z' shape. The issue appears to be with the broader of the two cables.

As the cable leaves the keyboard unit it is folded almost immediately (the folds are clearly marked). The second fold in the cable is about 4" (from memory) further down the cable - it is this fold which is causing the keyboard to fail.

Towards the front of the keyboard, in the palmrest area, there are two metal brace pieces (one on each side). These are flat pieces of metal which have slightly turned edges to increase rigidity. One of the turned edges of this brace is interfering with the second fold on the cable. On a keyboard which has this issue, you can see that the fold in the cable is creased slightly more where the edge of the brace piece has squeezed it. You can replicate the issue with the keyboard by *gently* squeezing the cable at this point. This impacted keys 6, 7, y, u, h, j, n, m on my Chromebook.

My solution has been to move the fold of the cable away from this brace. By *very gently* re-folding the cable about 2" away from it's exit point on the keyboard unit (gently rubbing the cable with the back of your nail is enough) and securing the cable to the keyboard unit with electrical tape, the second fold will be away from the brace causing the problem. Possibly overkill, but I've also (carefully) removed the metal brace (simple to do, just scratch off the top of the plastic welds holding it in place) as the brace was already loose and is so flimsy it's unlikely to be providing much by way of support. However, re-folding the cable in the right place should remove the requirement to do this.

Caveat: my Chromebook was out of warranty so I was happy carrying this fix out.

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[FormerFan]

Nice!

This was my exact problem.

I taped the ribbon cable down to avoid the stress on the crease and now all the keys are working again.

Thanks so much!  (and thanks for nothing - HP support)

[DC-guy123]

Just in case anyone thinks that HP might have fixed this ... nope, nope.  Bought one of these things a few days ago, and within hours same thiing:  6, 7, y, u, h, j, n, m ... don't work.  

HP used to be a stand up company, with the best support in the industry.  Why a company like this would keep putting out product with known problems is just sad.

[Laffinjack]

It happened to me and a friend bought a new one and it happened to him, service department wants 199.00 to fix it and they are on sale for 175.00 ?????????

[tkirk1]

This fixed my laptop. No problems for six months, 

[Gaz2k16]

I had the same issue but followed your solution and bam! I now have a fully functional keyboard!

Great guide and the pictures helped as I was originally folding the wrong part of the keyboard ribbon. 

I have now fixed down the cable as per your picture but with some masking tape (someone has pinched my electrical tape).

It's worth mentioning that underneath the laptop the back 2 circle pads, the small dome pad in the middle, and the 2 tiny rectangle pads can be removed to reveal the  remaining screws.  I found this via the online maintenance manual after wrestling with the keybaord for 10 minutes wondering why it wasn't pulling out! Also use a thin bit of plastic to lift up the keyboard as a flat bladed screwdriver will definitely scratch!

Cheers,

[torsoboy]

BAM!  This did it for me!  Very cool. Thank you for providing the pictures; they helped me know I was on the right track after pulling the keyboard off.