Brighness keys temporarilly not working after boot-up

[Echo_Lake]

@Rashid-C

Thank you for posting back. 

Work on it as per your convenience and keep me posted on the results.  👍

[Rashid-C]

   Today I had time to perform the Windows refresh and reset. The issue still reproduces.

   To test for the issue, first I close the laptop's lid and wait a few seconds for it to enter sleep mode. Then open the lid. Spam the ESC button to wake it up. Once awake, immediately tap the brightness keys. When the issue reproduces, I timed it as taking 17 seconds for the computer to respond to the brightness key press. 

Here are the steps I did.

1) First I tried a Windows refresh.

  Right after the refresh + reboot, the issue was gone.

  Next I installed Firefox. The issue was still gone.

  Next I copied over user app files for my local mail client,  "Thunderbird", but without yet installing Thunderbird. While that happened, I also changed folder display settings and reorganized the start menu. I did not test the issue after all this.

  Then I uninstalled McAffe and installed Norton. I then tested for the issue, and the Issue reproduced.

   So I tried disabling Norton. Issue still reproduced.

   then I uninstalled Norton and deleted the Thunderbird files I copied over. Issue still reproduced.

2) I tried another Windows refresh, with the intent of testing for the issue after every step of the process in order to isolate the culprit.

   Issue did not reproduce the first time I tried (right after the refresh), but it did reproduce thereafter. I had not installed, copied, nor changed anything yet.  This was just the refresh and nothing else.

3) Finally, I tried a Windows reset (I wanted to avoid this if possible because it takes ages to restore the hefty amount of personal files on my computer). The issue did not immediately reproduce: I did a reboot + sleep test, but only 1 of each.

Next I uninstalled McAffee. This required a reboot. After that, the issue reproduced when doing a sleep test.

   For both of the refreshes and the reset: The issue has NOT been reproducing during boot-ups, it only reproduces when waking up from sleep. When I originally reported the issue in this thread, I was reproducing it during boot-up as well. During boot-up, the machine still does not respond to the brightness keys while the "HP" logo is up, but after that point it responds. I can't remember if it used to respond or not during the HP screen prior to me first experiencing the issue, but I do remember that when I first saw this issue the brightness keys were not working for many seconds into the login screen after boot-up.

   Also, It now takes longer to wake up from sleep mode than I remember it taking prior to all these refreshes/resets. There have also been a couple times when it woke up quickly, but usually it doesn't.

[Echo_Lake]

@Rashid-C

Thank you for posting back.
 

I appreciate your efforts to try and resolve the issue. This sounds like hardware related issue with the computer and in order to fix this issue,  your computer needs to be serviced.  As we have limited support boundaries in the support community as of now. 

I would request you to reach out to our Support and our Support Engineers should be able to check the available service options in order to diagnose the computer physically.  HP Support can be reached by clicking on the following link: www.hp.com/contacthp/​​​​​​​
 

Please feel free to contact us here anytime you need any further assistance. Please click “Accept as Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.

[Rashid-C]

Thank you as always for your help and time.

The link provided was a dead link, perhaps this was the intended url: https://www8.hp.com/us/en/contact-hp/contact.html

Since my laptop is past its warranty, I'm thinking that I'll live with defective brightness keys rather than pay $$$ for it to be serviced. Maybe I'll just try to establish a habit of lowering its brightness before shutting it down, so that I'm not blinded by it in the morning.

[Rashid-C · Accepted solution]

Hey the issue has been fixed by the latest Windows update!

There were two updates which were applied the same day, I don't know which was responsible. One was a "no longer supports Flash" update, the other was a major update I believe.

I am now on:

  Windows 10 Home

  version 20H2

  OS Build 19042.867

  Experience: Windows Feature Experience Pack 120.2212.551.0

A drawback of the update is that my 21-year-old  copy of Photoshop no longer launches, but that was bound to happen some day. =P