seeking replacement keyboard compatibility advice for T14s Gen1

[jkn]

Hi all
I have a T14s Gen1 with (I hope...) a faulty keyboard. It was a 'donation' from my IT department. Some keys appear to light up on boot, and I can run it with an external USB keyboard, but none of the keys have any effect.

I have stripped it down and re-seated the connector, but no change. I have been running it as a 'headless' unit via SSH but I am wondering about trying to replace the keyboard. I know that this is a tedious job on a T14s Gen1 machine...

The current K/B is a UK layout, with markings eg: P/N SN20W19583. I am trying to check what markings equivalent but compatible keyboards might have.

For instance, there is a T14s Gen1 K/B listed on eBay.co.uk currently but with a different marking: P/N SN20W19655, also referenced as 05Y012L. Although the mounting holes look the same ... re there any resources to help me be sure if this would be compatible with my machine?

There is also, for instance, a 3rd party mfr. keyboard listed on amazon UK which quotes: "UK Layout FRU No./PN: N/A,SN20W19583 N/A,SN20W19655 N/A,SN20W19729 N/A,SN20W19801 N/A,SN20W19547". This makes me think that they are likely be compatible (since both mine, and the eBay S/N, are listed), but I would like to be more certain if possible.

Also - any thoughts about whether a new keyboard is likely to fix my issue? Of course there is always the risk that the problem is with the system board, I'm just seeking opinions as to which is most likely.

Thanks a lot
Jon N

[MikalE]

If it's anything like the old days, there are/were multiple sources Lenovo used for their keyboards. If they are physically identical with the same ribbon connector, they are very likely compatible.

[jkn]

Hi
OK, thanks. As it happens I bought a S/Hand one from eBay which had a different part number, but was in the list of numbers that the Amazon-listed 'compatible' keyboard mentioned.

Also, the photos looked similar - I did a fair amount of checking. The T14s Gen1 keyboard is held into the chassis/palmrest with 70 (yes - seventy!) tiny screws and I wanted to check that the placement was the same.

Anyway, to cut a long-ish story short - I was able to replace the keyboard, and the replacement works! So my T14s is fully running - I am pleased...

Thanks, J^n

[axur-delmeria]

Also, the photos looked similar - I did a fair amount of checking. The T14s Gen1 keyboard is held into the chassis/palmrest with 70 (yes - seventy!) tiny screws and I wanted to check that the placement was the same.

Seventy small screws is still better than trimming plastic rivets on a cheap laptop in order to replace the keyboard-- at least you're 100% sure the new keyboard will be properly affixed to the chassis/palmrest.

Cheap laptops have the keyboard attached to the palmrest with plastic rivets, so there's no proper way to reattach the keyboard after replacement. I tried supergluing the edges, but the keyboard still sags in the middle.