Page 1 of 1

Thinkpad X61 Tablet screen bezel buttons not working

Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2014 10:53 pm
by neurod
Thinkpad X61 tablet running linux mint 17

The buttons on the screen bezel (rotate, esc, Left, right, etc) do not work. I have zero output when I run showkey or xkeybind

I'm not too sure when these keys stopped working. Recently I installed linux mint 17 and got magic rotate to work, so I've been taking notes with xournal and actually using the wacom ability. I know they did work at one time, not sure if they stopped working when I updated to mint 17 or when I opened the laptop up to clean the fan (about 8 months ago)

I'm trying to figure out if this is simply a software fix, or if the the fact that showkey does not give an output then that means its a hardware issue.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers and Thanks!

Re: Thinkpad X61 Tablet screen bezel buttons not working

Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2014 4:26 am
by ilakast
Running

Code: Select all

xinput
in a terminal, take a look at the output. Mine's on a X41T is

Code: Select all

$ xinput
⎡ Virtual core pointer                    	id=2	[master pointer  (3)]
⎜   ↳ Virtual core XTEST pointer              	id=4	[slave  pointer  (2)]
⎜   ↳ TPPS/2 IBM TrackPoint                   	id=11	[slave  pointer  (2)]
⎜   ↳ Serial Wacom Tablet stylus              	id=13	[slave  pointer  (2)]
⎜   ↳ Serial Wacom Tablet eraser              	id=14	[slave  pointer  (2)]
⎣ Virtual core keyboard                   	id=3	[master keyboard (2)]
    ↳ Virtual core XTEST keyboard             	id=5	[slave  keyboard (3)]
    ↳ Power Button                            	id=6	[slave  keyboard (3)]
    ↳ Video Bus                               	id=7	[slave  keyboard (3)]
    ↳ Sleep Button                            	id=8	[slave  keyboard (3)]
    ↳ UVC Camera (046d:0802)                  	id=9	[slave  keyboard (3)]
    ↳ AT Translated Set 2 keyboard            	id=10	[slave  keyboard (3)]
    ↳ ThinkPad Extra Buttons                  	id=12	[slave  keyboard (3)]
The last entry - if I'm not mistaken - represents the Tablet hardware buttons, is yours there?

Re: Thinkpad X61 Tablet screen bezel buttons not working

Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2014 7:43 am
by neurod
Thanks for the reply! It looks like it is present, here is my output

Code: Select all

⎡ Virtual core pointer                    	id=2	[master pointer  (3)]
⎜   ↳ Virtual core XTEST pointer              	id=4	[slave  pointer  (2)]
⎜   ↳ reserved Dynex Watermelon Wireless Mice 	id=9	[slave  pointer  (2)]
⎜   ↳ TPPS/2 IBM TrackPoint                   	id=11	[slave  pointer  (2)]
⎜   ↳ Serial Wacom Tablet stylus              	id=13	[slave  pointer  (2)]
⎜   ↳ Serial Wacom Tablet eraser              	id=14	[slave  pointer  (2)]
⎣ Virtual core keyboard                   	id=3	[master keyboard (2)]
    ↳ Virtual core XTEST keyboard             	id=5	[slave  keyboard (3)]
    ↳ Power Button                            	id=6	[slave  keyboard (3)]
    ↳ Video Bus                               	id=7	[slave  keyboard (3)]
    ↳ Sleep Button                            	id=8	[slave  keyboard (3)]
    ↳ AT Translated Set 2 keyboard            	id=10	[slave  keyboard (3)]
    ↳ ThinkPad Extra Buttons                  	id=12	[slave  keyboard (3)]
Might I add that the power button, and the fingerprint scanner work perfectly.

Re: Thinkpad X61 Tablet screen bezel buttons not working

Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2014 5:46 pm
by ilakast
So hardware-wise things look ok.

Archwiki is a great resource in this occasion (and in general).

See https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/IB ... ys_to_work
add atkbd.softraw=0 as a kernel parameter in your boot loader configuration
and then https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Ex ... board_Keys

Re: Thinkpad X61 Tablet screen bezel buttons not working

Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2014 6:55 pm
by neurod
Thank you! I'm getting output now from these keys, now to just bind them.

Thanks again.

Re: Thinkpad X61 Tablet screen bezel buttons not working

Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2014 4:21 am
by HaliO
Hi, I have the same problem with an X60T on linux mint 17 cinnamon, however adding atkbd.softraw=0 as a kernel parameter did not bring any positive changes.
When using showkey (also in a virtual console) only the blue thinkvantage button produces a scancode or a keycode.

Any suggestions?

P.S.: I am new to linux.

Re: Thinkpad X61 Tablet screen bezel buttons not working

Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2014 6:45 am
by HaliO
I made a mistake in adding atkbd.softraw=0 at the end of the line starting with 'linux'. Adding atkbd.softraw=0 just after 'quiet splash' with a space in between makes it work. Now the buttons on the screen bezel do generate scancodes when

Code: Select all

sudo showkey --scancodes
is used. The volume buttons do not generate scancodes, but somehow they work.

Now I have to bind the keys to useful functions.