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Type cover isn't working properly

Jasmine

Member
So all of a sudden, my type cover 2 doesn't want to work. I've had some issues with it and my Surfaces before, so I'm trying to figure out whether I did something wrong or if it's just faulty.

About 2 days ago, I wiped the keyboard down with a wet one's wipe because I've spent the past week at a hospital in a room with my mother who has a bad infection. Because the staff (and family and friends too) have to wear gowns and/or gloves to go near anything my mom has touched, I wanted to make sure my surface was clean. (I also accidentally dropped a bit of lotion on a couple keys after this.)

The type cover seemed fine, but about 4-5 hours later, I noticed that the mouse would wander around by itself. It was also right-clicking by itself and opening and closing tabs and windows, applications, etc... (I was wondering whether it was software related or not, because I'd just updated it hours before this started happening.) It was late at night, and the problem was getting worse, so I left it alone. Later the next day, to fix it, I tried:
- Restarting the Surface
- Taking the cover out and putting it back in
- Checking for new updates

I also removed the cover from the Surface's list of devices. This actually seemed to work for a bit, because the cover was working normally. But about 30 minutes later, the mouse started acting up again. I noticed that if I held the cover in specific positions, it would work (so this made me suspect if it was a hardware problem). (For example, if the oval/cylindrical-like shape at the top of and in the center of the cover was held or folded a certain way, it would work.) And I realized that it was working whenever the keys are lit - because for some reason, they're stuck on! Not too long after this, the cover stopped working altogether - though occasionally the Surface still recognizes it as a device. (On a side note, I wiped down my stylus with the same kind of wipe earlier and it stopped working for a bit as well... though it seems to be okay now.) The next thing I am going to try is using a pencil eraser on the connectors.

I'm aware that there's another thread describing the connectivity issue, but that thread doesn't mention the mouse problems I'm also experiencing. Does anyone have any suggestions about things I can try? Or any insights, such as why the keys are stuck as if I pressed the backlit key? (Another weird thing is that the Keyboard acts as if it's in "function mode" -meaning how you can lock it by pressing Fn plus the Caps lock key.) Or why the mouse still clicks by itself, even when the cover is bent backwards? The keyboard's warranty ran out 3 months ago, and I am not buying a new cover because I'm planning on upgrading to the S3 or the SP4. However, since I'm waiting for the 4 to come out, I need this type cover to work until then. Oddly enough, I typed the majority of this on the type cover... it just randomly decided to work, but then stopped again.

Here's a video that shows what I mean about it needing to be in specific positions and how the keys light up: http://1drv.ms/1MuPdEl (sorry for the bad iPhone quality and my heavy breathing!)
 
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DNP

Member
I'm probably wrong; however, it seems like since the last firmware update (05/19/2015) my SP2 has been acting odd...especially, with the Type 2 keyboard. Not sure if that helps your issues, but thought I'd pass along the observation. HTH.
 

GoodBytes

Well-Known Member
I think your problem is the same one as ours in the other thread. They is or are component(s) under where you press.
Now, I don't know if it it related to the trackpad or not. I do recall having the issue you faced (without the clicking, it just got super sensitive), but a unplug, restart, plug back usually fixed it. If not, then you have to shut it down, then do Volume + button and Power button at the same time, and hold for 10 sec, which will turn on the Surface, go to the UEFI, and turn itself off. Now, turn it back on, and everything was fine after that for many many many days (months even)
 
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Jasmine

Member
Thanks for the responses. Nothing has worked so far (and the issues have actually gotten worse), so my last resort will be refreshing the surface.
 

girarcat

Member
I'm coming from the other thread. I had no trackpad issues when my Type2 decided to stop working properly, but some months ago I had experienced some random trackpad issues (mouse going crazy), which could be related to my connectivity issues. For what I see on your video, I also think you're having connectivity problems... even though it is quite weird they started the very same day you dropped some fluid on the keyboard...


By the way, is this Type 2 red??? We didn't have those in my country!


good luck!
 

GoodBytes

Well-Known Member
Red color TypeCover was (and maybe still is, don't know) exclusive to Microsoft Store (I think physical store only, as a promotion to come and check out Microsoft new store.
 
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Jasmine

Member
I'm coming from the other thread. I had no trackpad issues when my Type2 decided to stop working properly, but some months ago I had experienced some random trackpad issues (mouse going crazy), which could be related to my connectivity issues. For what I see on your video, I also think you're having connectivity problems... even though it is quite weird they started the very same day you dropped some fluid on the keyboard...


By the way, is this Type 2 red??? We didn't have those in my country!


good luck!
Yeah it's very weird. The cover doesn't even work at all now. Thanks though! I think I'll end up having to buy another cover until the SP4 is out.

And nope! It's the hot pink/magenta one. I was just in a dark room.
 

elee

New Member
My type cover 2 also stop working and I found that I have to push the keyboard toward the magnetic parts then it work. Finally I found out that the ribbon cable is broken. This keyboard is just badly design.
 

GoodBytes

Well-Known Member
I have gotten another type cover a while back, but I still have my broken keyboard. I decided to tear it down to see if I can fix it, or at least identify the potential problem.

I discovered that there is no components on the ribbon cable. where you have the center mark. Very interesting.
P1000805.JPG

P1000808.JPG

P1000810.JPG
 
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Jasmine

Member
I wonder if it's that connector (the thin film thing - I don't know what it's called). I'm probably not as technically inclined as a lot of people on here, but when I younger I had issues with my keyboard on my Acer netbook (the keyboard wouldn't work after I spilled kool-aid on it), so I took apart the netbook. The keyboard had that exact same type of connector (and I believe it was the reason for my issues - I ended up having to replace to keyboard), so I have to wonder if it has a shortage or something (and I'm not even sure if this is possible lol).
 

GoodBytes

Well-Known Member
After very close inspection, I can see that one of the wires within the ribbon cable is cut on mine. The cut looks like a normal one that you would get when you bend metal at the same place for 1 too many times. So, it would mean that any position that put strain on the ribbon cable, will, over time break it. So, flipping it back too many times, or the keyboard not on a flat solid surface will wear the cable.
 
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