T420 keyboard flex near arrow keys?

T400/410/420 and T500/510/520 series specific matters only
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Kilkenny
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T420 keyboard flex near arrow keys?

#1 Post by Kilkenny » Wed Aug 05, 2015 3:53 pm

I just got a T420 and am fairly happy with it, but the keyboard flexes badly by the arrow keys. Normal pressure to activate the arrow keys results in the entire corner of the keyboard bottoming out. Has anyone else had this and found a solution? The keyboard looks brand new and otherwise feels good, so I'd prefer not having to replace it.
T23, T42, T60, X201, and X250 all running OpenBSD

theterminator93
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Re: T420 keyboard flex near arrow keys?

#2 Post by theterminator93 » Wed Aug 05, 2015 3:57 pm

Mine definitely does not do that. I wonder if a previous owner had yours open and didn't put the keyboard back quite right.
Daily: W520 i7-2860QM·Quadro 2000m·IPS FHD | T420 i7-2640M·NVS 4200m·IPS FHD | X220 i7-2640M | T601F T9900·NVS 140M·IPS UXGA
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Kilkenny
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Re: T420 keyboard flex near arrow keys?

#3 Post by Kilkenny » Wed Aug 05, 2015 4:33 pm

theterminator93 wrote:Mine definitely does not do that. I wonder if a previous owner had yours open and didn't put the keyboard back quite right.
Good point. I just took it off and reinstalled it according to the Lenovo guide here: https://support.lenovo.com/us/en/documents/migr-76809

It's better but not quite right. The little tab under the arrow keys isn't sliding all the way forward into the notch for some reason.
T23, T42, T60, X201, and X250 all running OpenBSD

nforce4max
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Re: T420 keyboard flex near arrow keys?

#4 Post by nforce4max » Wed Aug 05, 2015 10:07 pm

Something is very abnormal, remove and inspect the keyboard as well the area in question where it sinks to see if anything had been cut or broken away. They keyboard should be at a consistent height from one side to the other.

bit_twiddler
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Re: T420 keyboard flex near arrow keys?

#5 Post by bit_twiddler » Thu Aug 06, 2015 12:49 am

Definitely abnormal. Next time you have it apart, check to see if:

1. There is something underneath the keyboard which is spacing it up away from its intended position, or
preventing it from seating properly under the palmrest.

2. The base of the keyboard is dented or bent.
Daily Drivers: W520 i7-2860QM | T420 FHD IPS i7-2640m | W701
Others: W510 | T400 | W500 WUXGA | 701C (on its shrine) | R61 14W (in the boneyard)
Non-TP: Dell T7500 (workstation), Dell m7510
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Kilkenny
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Re: T420 keyboard flex near arrow keys?

#6 Post by Kilkenny » Thu Aug 06, 2015 10:39 am

Fixed it. The bulging tab on the keyboard under the down arrow key was slightly too wide. The edge of the tab was making contact and preventing it from sliding all the way into the notch. I filed that part down very slightly and now it slides in fine and is solid as a rock. Thanks for the help.
T23, T42, T60, X201, and X250 all running OpenBSD

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