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Dell Venue 11 keyboard turns off the tablet??
Hello, I have been having some problems with the travel keyboard with embedded battery I bought for my Dell Venue 11. I noticed when I connect it to my tablet, it will just shut down my tablet and I will lose anything i was working on. I also noticed that when the keyboard is connected, it will randomly in the middle of me using my tablet shut it down.
is it just a faulty keyboard or is this a problem i can fix? Help would be greatly appreciated.
mciverju
14 Posts
3
June 19th, 2015 06:00
Wayne, I'm marking your post as the "suggested answer" because I think that is the answer - we need to give up and move on. I have also wasted too many hours on the phone with their robotic customer support. Although Brian is trying to provide us with an answer unfortunately it is not the right answer. They will not give us a new, updated tablet (which I believe seems to be the REAL solution according to the few people that said they received a new one and no longer have issues), but instead they always only send us a new keyboard or replace the motherboard, which does nothing. The issue lies somewhere in the tablet design of the first revision of the Dell Venue 11 Pro when it first came out. They have a newer "model" (they probably considered it a running change) of the Dell Venue 11 Pro now, which means they found the issue and fixed it, but all of us poor unfortunate buyers of the first version are stuck with Dell's initial mistakes on this product.
Wayne-nhs
6 Posts
2
June 19th, 2015 06:00
Brian
Thank you for your support on this forum, but I cannot afford to wait 9 months for a resolution to a problem as others have. My issue is over a year old and still not corrected, frankly I gave up which I think Dell was hoping I would do.
There is very obviously a serious issue with these tablets and keyboards and I would have expected there to be a re-call at least by now. Personally I have been through 3 keyboards and I reckon have lost at least a full working day with support, both Dell and Kelway who we source through.
I've had enough of my Exec and Senior management thinking that I am incompetent because Dell have an issue that cannot be rectified, so from my point of view, it's time to look for an alternate product.
Cheers
Wayne
joalo
19 Posts
4
October 23rd, 2015 07:00
Yeah, nope.
After updating the firmware and sending this machine away for warrant repair THREE F%#$ING TIMES to no avail, I fixed the problem myself.
The issue is due to the electrical connection between the keyboard and the tablet being interrupted. The mechanical connection (the latch) that holds the two together is a little loose, which means the pins and contacts move relative to each other when you close the lid or move the unit around. If the contacts on the bottom of the tablet are not flush with the bottom, the pins on the keyboard can loose contact with them when there's movement. Due to POOOOOR design, the tablet does not switch to its internal battery when the pins don't disconnect in the right order, so it loses power. I've tried this with the bottom cover of the keyboard removed: with the keyboard connected to the tablet, I unplugged the keyboard's battery, and the tablet loses power. It doesn't switch to its internal battery in this situation. it relies on the keyboard's connector pins being different lengths: the outer ones are shorter so they disconnect first, which signals the tablet to switch to its own battery.
So using a hammer and a small screwdriver, I fixed my tablet by pushing the contacts down so that they are flush with the bottom of the tablet. You have to open it up (i.e. remove back panel, unscrew all the screws, and remove the back frame panel thing) so that you can get at the top side of the contacts. Then, very carefully, tap on the upper/inner/top side of the pins and push them down until they are flush, or slightly sticking out from the bottom of the tablet. It took some very careful, delicate work using a hammer and precision screwdriver, but I did it, and IT HASN'T SHUT DOWN ONCE in the last two months. Prior to my fix, it was shutting down almost every time I closed it.
In one hour, I did what Dell was unable to do in about SEVEN MONTHS of dealing with their inept technical support.
Dell's only redemption is that they sent me a replacement tablet, which I requested three months ago and received only a week ago. But it absolutely does not make up for the hours I spent on the phone, and how useless my tablet was.
pamayer
2 Posts
0
April 3rd, 2014 18:00
Hi - I have the same problem. With the Venue 11 Pro powered OFF and I plug in the tablet keyboard, I cannot turn on the Venue 11 Pro. With the Venue 11 Pro powered ON and I plug in the tablet keyboard the Venue 11 Pro turns off and cannot be turned on again. When I unplug the keyboard the Venue 11 Pro can be turned on as normal.
Previously it worked just fine and only started doing this just recently. All updates have been installed for bios, display, and Win 8.1. I've moved to a Bluetooth keyboard for now.
Also, it just started to have problems waking up from sleep mode. I can press the Windows button and it vibrates but no response. To get it back from sleep I press the power button for what seems like a full minute and then it vibrates re-boots from scratch. I've configured Dell power management to never go into sleep mode.
I want to use this device as my main PC and be able to travel with it but won't given its current problems. I will try Dell support when I return from vacation.
pamayer
2 Posts
0
April 8th, 2014 17:00
Update - I just received the docking station for the Venue Pro. Same issue as with the tablet keyboard - when plugging in the Venue Pro into the docking station the power light on the docking station and power plug both turn off and the Venue Pro cannot be turned on no matter how long I depress the power key. If the Venue Pro is plugged in while powered on, the Venue Pro powers off and cannot be turned on.
Looks like the problem with the tablet, not the optional keyboard or docking station.
Venue 11 Pro i5 MS
A10 Bios
Windows 8.1 Pro with all patches.
- Paul
Nickson5
1 Message
0
April 9th, 2014 12:00
Hi,
It's like if you are reading my mind! We have 6 tablets like these for now but mine for testing purpose is having the exact sames issues when plugging the keyboard, docking or trying to wake from sleep mode. Looks like they will be the last ones too.
Also with the Dell keyboard, I have little freezing issues. The tablet is freezing for 2-3 seconde then I need to touch the screen to make the touchpad and keyboard work again.
Nicolas
marchos77
1 Message
0
May 22nd, 2014 19:00
I have had my replacement tablet for months now and always have the keyboard docked to the tablet. It had worked all day today at the office. I come home and try to boot the tablet and nothing. I put it on charge and nothing. It wasn't until i undocked it that it would power up. then plug it to the keyboard and it powers it off. I kept going round and round with this thing. I have a second keyboard dock with a bad delete key and it kills off the tablet. This leads me to believe that its the tablet itself and not the keyboard docks.
gotheike
58 Posts
0
May 23rd, 2014 01:00
I have several similar issues:
especially when not inserting completely straight (like left or right connect first)
This leaves me after some time with an empty tablet and when undocking the tablet is dead (and total 30 or 40% battery left, so not expecting it)...
If you pick up the tablet like you would do a laptop: by the front on the keyboard I always get undesired key- and/or mouse input. This in worst case results in closing apps or inserting random characters in a unfinished email.
Ok, this one I knew when buying but it still annoys me. When typing on it the angle of the screen is just not right.
And every time I have to open the tablet I am afraid I break it...
mciverju
14 Posts
1
June 12th, 2014 19:00
gianmarco00
2 Posts
0
June 25th, 2014 18:00
Same for me. I've learned to just deal with it but incredibly frustrating, especially with a lack of answers.
UncScooby
14 Posts
0
June 26th, 2014 06:00
Granero
1 Message
0
June 30th, 2014 04:00
Hi,
I'm having the exact same issue with the Venue 11 Pro 7130. Windows 8.1 all the updates. I've as well updated the bios and every single thing available in dell support concerning my device.
Did anyone found a solution for this?
Regards!
fwevarad
2 Posts
0
July 25th, 2014 09:00
I get the same kind of intermittent problems, but there is one situation that makes the issue happen 100% of the time.
- tablet docked in battery keyboard
-USB power cable plugged in that provides less power than what is being used (so the tablet is still discharging)
-as soon as the keyboard battery hits 0%, the tablet just shuts off
Of course, I also have random freezings and shut offs with the keyboard dock as well even without the power cable or reaching 0%, but those I can't replicate. It just destroys my work when it feels like it.
karmicscorpio
24 Posts
0
August 31st, 2014 15:00
karmicscorpio
24 Posts
0
September 2nd, 2014 08:00
It is definitely the keyboard - specifically the pins on the keyboard are not making proper contact with the tablet.
This issue never occurs when:
- using the tablet by itself (which I rarely do - like you stated, I uses mine attached to the keyboard 99% of the time)
- using the tablet on the desktop dock
- the power cord is plugged in while attached to the keyboard
This issue frequently occurs when the tablet is attached to the keyboard while running on battery. Keeping the contacts on the tablet and the pins on the keyboard clean seems to help a little bit, but it doesn't completely resolve the issue.
I contacted the good people in India (aka Dell support) and arranged for a replacement keyboard. At this point I'm completely fed up with this setup - I ordered a touchscreen laptop (T0sh!ba P0rt3ge) over the weekend and plan to cut my losses and list my setup on eBay ASAP. Enough is enough.
Regards, Karmicscorpio