Thinkpads Forum

When I compare my recently acquired W520's keypad with my other Lenovo ThinkPad keypads (listed below), it seems all the lettering, numbers, etc on all keys look somewhat like decals that have lifted or are crinkling and they appeared blurred around the edges of the symbols when light reflects off them at certain angles ..... equally so on all keys. The distortion from reflected light at certain angles makes the smaller symbols on some keys unreadable from the glare, which is not the case on any of my other ThinkPads.

I do not see this on my T42, T61p or T500 units .... all keys look equally clear and smooth from any angle on those units.

I'm under warranty so should I call support?

Thanks.

Get a new keyboard. They will send you one and you return the defective one using the prepaid mailing label. It is a CRU
Customer Replaceable Unit and does not require sending the PC back to them. A few screws and you are good to go.

eecon wrote:When I compare my recently acquired W520's keypad with my other Lenovo ThinkPad keypads (listed below), it seems all the lettering, numbers, etc on all keys look somewhat like decals that have lifted or are crinkling and they appeared blurred around the edges of the symbols when light reflects off them at certain angles ..... equally so on all keys. The distortion from reflected light at certain angles makes the smaller symbols on some keys unreadable from the glare, which is not the case on any of my other ThinkPads.

Well, all ThinkPad keyboards (that I know of) have used the pad-printing/overlay technique for their lettering, so it's certainly not a new introduction. But as far as the overlay deteriorating, that I haven't ever seen -- so I'm not sure I really know what you're referering to.

You can call support and see if they'll do a CRU replacement. My bet is that they will, but you'll have to call to find out for sure.

eecon wrote:When I compare my recently acquired W520's keypad with my other Lenovo ThinkPad keypads (listed below), it seems all the lettering, numbers, etc on all keys look somewhat like decals that have lifted or are crinkling and they appeared blurred around the edges of the symbols when light reflects off them at certain angles .....

I just pulled my work W520 out of the bag and my wife and I looked at it closely, holding at various angles and looking at the keys much closer than I ever would in general use. I didn't see any of the above on my keyboard. I'd recommend a new keyboard if it's bothering you.

Thanks wolfman .... Tech Support shipped out a replacement yesterday ... no questions asked.

UPDATE:

The warranty KB replacement arrived today and the lettering and symbols were applied perfectly like all my other ThinkPads ..... Can't for the life of me understand how Lenovo would have let ship a KB like the one I originally received.

Oh well, all's well now .... Thanks to everyone for your input.

eecon wrote:The warranty KB replacement arrived today and the lettering and symbols were applied perfectly like all my other ThinkPads ..... Can't for the life of me understand how Lenovo would have let ship a KB like the one I originally received.

Lenovo uses several suppliers for keyboards, and I wouldn't bet that they all have the same defect and/or inspection rates. This is mass production. Things get missed.

That doesn't make it any more excusable, just how it is. You did exactly what you should've, they replaced the keyboard as they should've, and that's that.

I have the same problem, the 'S' is wearing off my W510's keyboard after a bit over 2 years, Lenovo want me to send the laptop in for repairs to check if they think I'm entitled to a replacement, I declined, I find it rather silly actually it's still in warranty and I have Thinkpads of more then 10 years of age with shiny keys and perfect lettering.

Adda wrote:I have the same problem, the 'S' is wearing off my W510's keyboard after a bit over 2 years, Lenovo want me to send the laptop in for repairs to check if they think I'm entitled to a replacement, I declined, I find it rather silly actually it's still in warranty and I have Thinkpads of more then 10 years of age with shiny keys and perfect lettering.

Too bad you've let the toothpaste out of the tube by not noticing that one of your shift keys were also "sticking intermitantly" .... In that case, they they'd simply send you a new replacement no questions asked (and not even request for the old KB back).

eecon wrote:Too bad you've let the toothpaste out of the tube by not noticing that one of your shift keys were also "sticking intermitantly" .... In that case, they they'd simply send you a new replacement no questions asked (and not even request for the old KB back).

Well who knows, I have warranty till spring next year, much can happen in that time

Adda wrote:Well who knows, I have warranty till spring next year, much can happen in that time

Indeed it can.

Today I plugged in my new TP530 with highest specs I could get..
and found that though I am in USA and it was shipped from Lenovo to
USA it is set up for Hungarian Keyboard. I reset the language specs in control
panel and got some improvement but its still not fixed. Also y and z keys are reversed.
I contacted online customer support and they would be happy to "fix" it for $40.00.
...
I have been a long time TP user but I am done.
Plan to return it though I am sure it will be a big problem to do so.
Wonder if this is common experience? It was shipped from Singapore.
I ordered on line but did speak to customer service rep.

msol77 .... Assuming you are still under warranty, something sure sounds fishy with your story.

Post your details over at the Lenovo Forum and the Moderators will make sure you get some attention:

http://forums.lenovo.com/

At minimum, Lenovo should send you a new U.S. english Keypad and a set of U.S. english Lenovo Recovery Disks to simply restore your unit back to proper U.S. english new condition factory state.

Thanks I did post on Lenovo forum site.
Yes I am under warranty- ordered 10-09-12
I didn't open box till last night since family emergency & Sandy
kept me out of town.
Most frustrating thing to see the "HU" sitting next to battery
status indicator at bottom of screen after I changed language
option in control panel device manager and restarted it.
...
Anyway thanks for quick response

msol77 ..... Lenovo has a 21 day no questions asked return policy but this is a non-return correction of a defect which falls under warranty repair IMO. The Lenovo Forum under the section for your model is where you should be able to resolve this ..... also another call to Tech Support would not hurt as often times it's just a matter of getting a tech who is in good mood (I know it should not be that way, but it is, as I have learned on many occasions).