X Series Keyboard Firmware Flaw

Question

There is a possible firmware flaw in the X17 and X15 models. I have been having issues with my keyboard since October 3rd. The keyboard becomes unresponsive if not used continuously (i.e. a ten second gap in typing makes the keyboard unresponsive). This can be fixed by a number of temporary fixes including pressing ScrLk on the on screen keyboard or terminating the Alienware command center in the task manager, and a few others. I have attempted driver updates and many other attempted fixes with the help of dell support. The support technicians are great and helpful, however a firmware issues across an entire line of computers is not something they can fix during a support call.  Why do I think this is a firmware issue and not an issue unique to me? 1. On October 3rd/4th both this forum and reddit started to have posts about X17 keyboard issues. 2. Similar issues have plagued the X series in the past, and these issues were fixed by a firmware update from dell. This update unfortunately does not work anymore and likely needs to be reinvestigated by Dell.  3. When going to my local best-buy to get an external hard drive and boot drive to do an OS reinstallation I decided to see if the X15 R2 floor model had the same issue as my personal X17 R1. This is a floor model right out of the box and at factory defaults.  It had the identical issue and responded in the same way as personal laptop to my temporary fixes.  4. Many of the temporary fixes do not impact the hardware in a significant way (i.e. the ScrLk on the on screen keyboard), and the alienware specific keys (the mute/unmute key, the windows lock/unlock key, and keyboard light controls) always work. The keyboard also always works fine in the BIOS, again indicating a firmware issue.  Given all of the above points, it seems unlikely this is  a hardware issue or even a local machine problem. I wanted to make sure both Dell and the community were aware of this issue.

crimsom · Accepted Answer

Hi @Alfare welcome to this free user-to-user Alienware laptop discussion forum.

Does your system have a diagnostic error code. Reference Table of ePSA, PSA Error Codes, and Troubleshooting Steps (2000-0NNN Series)

FYI Dell Support Team know that there is an issue. Dell Community Managers are aware that there is a BIOS 1.8.2 or newer issue.

DELL-Chris M threads on this Laptop Alienware Board say this and other issues are not a hardware failure. The issue should be corrected by BIOS 1.8.2 or newer. Target release date is October 25, 2022.

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