Thinkpads Forum

Hi there,
Recently, I bought a T430 with the intention of replacing the keyboard with a classic model. Whilst I was able to install the keyboard mostly without issue, I have found that the ultranav buttons seem much more wobbly compared to the T430 keyboard that I had previously.

Lifting up the buttons, you can see in this picture that one of the clips on the underside of the button is not the same size as the slot in the keyboard that it fits into. This seems to be the main difference between this button and the T430 keyboard buttons, which had clips exactly the same size as their respective slots.




I was told by the seller on eBay that this keyboard and its buttons are identical across all "10" and "20" series models (T410, T420, etc) However, looking at the button itself I can see "T410" is imprinted on the underside of the button, which makes me wonder if there are different ultranav buttons between models, and if buttons exist that wouldn't wobble so much.




Have any of you got these keyboards and are your ultranav buttons shaped differently?

T410 and T420 (and T430 after mod) can use the same keyboards.
BUT, there are 3 manufacturers and KBs are listed in 3 columns in the HMM manual:
left Alps, mid Chicony, right NMB.
NMB = red pads
ALPS = white pads
Chicony = grey pads (what you have)
Most people consider NMB the best, followed by Alps, then Chicony.
All 3 use different key parts, so you may have some key(s) replaced with those from another mfg.

RealBlackStuff wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 07, 2022 2:44 am

T410 and T420 (and T430 after mod) can use the same keyboards.
BUT, there are 3 manufacturers and KBs are listed in 3 columns in the HMM manual:
left Alps, mid Chicony, right NMB.
NMB = red pads
ALPS = white pads
Chicony = grey pads (what you have)
Most people consider NMB the best, followed by Alps, then Chicony.
All 3 use different key parts, so you may have some key(s) replaced with those from another mfg.

Thanks for your reply! I'll have to go looking for an NMB.