Dell Venue 11 keyboard turns off the tablet??

Guys, please see my previous posts on this topic.   There are not any systemic problems causing this to occur.   If you are experiencing this issue, please test with another keyboard dock or another tablet if available.   This will determine which end the problem is on.  The problem could be with the pogo pins on the keyboard or with the docking board within the tablet itself.   (the part that makes contact from your tablet to the pogo pins)  If you are unable to do this, support will work with you to troubleshoot and may opt to replace parts or send your device to the depot - this will vary based on warranty type for your device.   Support will likely want to update BIOS and any outdated drivers as this is standard best practice troubleshooting before replacing any hardware, so you may want to do these updates first.  Apologies for the troubles!

The issue with the Travel keyboard turning off the Venue PRO 11 (7130/39) has been identified as being a problem with the Firmware of the keyboard. So if you are experiencing any power issue when the Keyboard is attached to the Venue PRO 11 (7130/39), please install the Firmware update

The Firmware is available here http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/19/Drivers/DriversDetails?driverId=GRYP1 for download.

"Another happy success story for the Dell Venue 11 PRO"

...pro as in PROvide your own tools and handiness  ;)

I know, right!?

To be fair ( Code of Conduct. DELL-Admin> ) it's really a great little machine when it's working right. It narrowly escaped being thrown off a BRIDGE, but yeah, nice little machine.

We have the same experience with 1 out of our 12 Venue 11 Pro tablets except for the fact that it happens on both the mobile keyboard and the dock. It does not happen on the slim keyboard and has not always done this. System is completely up-to-date including the firmware. I replaced the motherboard - no luck. Replaced the docking board - no luck. I have not tried replacing the cables from the docking to the motherboard yet. I will update once I have found the cables and tried that.

Joalo, you hit the nail on the head!  I, too, had similar problems with my 5130 32-bit Win 10 tablet with Mobile Keyboard.  All symptoms were similar.  Now there are no symptoms and no problems at all.

First, let me say I love this tablet with mobile  keyboard. It has worked for me without issue for two (2) years.  It has been more than I expected.

Then I suddenly had a problem - the keyboard would not connect to the tablet even though it snapped into place.  Long story short, every diagnostic test (run several times) was passed with flying colors.  All Windows scans were completed without error or were fixed behind the scenes.  Drivers were reviewed and updated.  Nothing worked.  I could charge the keyboard battery with a USB direct connection.

Then I called Dell Parts because I was convinced the problem was the Dock Connection Board in the tablet.  Parts did not have that board in stock and did not expect it to be in stock.  Parts transferred me to Mobile Tech Support because he felt they might be able to assist.  I explained my problem and that the Dock Connection Board was not available from Dell, at least at that time.  Tech Support said that virtually every time this kind of problem arises, the problem was the keyboard.  I asked how to test for a faulty keyboard.  Answer: connect the tablet to a known good keyboard.  Of course, I had no such thing and knew no one that did.  I immediately purchased a brand new Mobile Keyboard.  It also failed to connect to the tablet.  

Now I was convinced beyond doubt the Dock Connector Board was the culprit.  Again, I called Dell Parts without success.  I finally found and purchased a "slightly used" board and installed it.  At first, it, too, failed.  All I wanted to see is if the Upper Case LED would light would illuminate.  Suddenly after maybe thirty (30) minutes, with no other activity on the tablet, the Upper Case LED illuminated - I knew I was on the correct path.  Now I believed everything worked perfectly.  Certainly the keyboard now connected faultlessly and I was in business.  Then I ran into the problem of closing and opening the lid and connecting and disconnecting the charger, never knowing what condition I would find the tablet - on or off or maybe on or maybe off or Win 10 failures.  Again, every diagnostic test revealed no errors or any problem at all.

I then ran across Joalo's write-up.  I looked at contacts on the tablet very carefully believing there was nothing to be found.  Wrong!  The contacts on one side of the tablet were ever so slightly recessed verses the other side.  I then disassembled the tablet, loosened the two (2) mounting screws, carefully aligned the contact pins to be in the same plain with the outer edge of the tablet, tightened down the screws, reassembled the tablet, inserted the tablet into keyboard, and began testing.  Guess what: no problems at all.  I then tested with the old keyboard.  Again no problem.  I have to thank Joalo for his keen observations - that was the key to my ultimate success in fixing my 5130.

My observations:

1.  I have compared the new and old keyboards.  The tablet fits much more securely in the new keyboard.  The old keyboard slot to receive the tablet had expanded somewhat with use making for a sloppy fit.  

2.  While the battery in the old keyboard showed "good," the battery in the new showed "excellent."

3.  While the keyboard connection problem existed, I successfully used a folding Bluetooth keyboard and mobile Bluetooth mouse.  I left the mobile keyboard in place to hold the tablet while using the Bluetooth items.  A very good solution for the short term.

4.  Dell's contact/connection interfaces seem fine to me if correctly installed.  I did not have to resort to re-aligning the contacts using a hammer and screwdriver.  Admittedly, there is very little slop in the screw holes for this daughter board, but there was enough to do the trick.

5.  I have learned to treat the keyboard as expendable.  Batteries degrade and swivels and slots also degrade over time due to the stresses the keyboard is subjected to while opening and closing the "lid" many times a day, day in and day out.  I just wish the cost of the replacement keyboard were a lot less.  Frankly, I like having a backup keyboard for this tablet.

6.  I have no idea why the original Dock Connection Board failed, but it would have been nice if Dell had replacement daughter boards of all types readily available.

7.  I hate the idea of sending a perfect 5130 back to Dell to have them run their tests and leave me with the time-consuming tasks of having to re-install so much software, etc. when Dell would probably never find the problem that Joalo found.

8.  Dell Tech Support should know without hesitation that the Dock Connection Board should be number 1 source of this erratic tablet behavior.  I happen to like Dell's Tech Support team, but if you guys know a problem exists, Dell's Tech Support should also know about the problem, be able to offer the way to easily diagnose the problem, and recommend appropriate solutions without hesitation.

So, Joalo. Here's an interesting twist. I went to chat and referenced this thread. They sent me the docking board.  Said that if I have difficulty installing they will send a tech. (full disclosure, this 7140 is under warranty and I volunteered to do the install)

I'll report back.

matt

Ha, that's interesting!  I guess they've learned something!  Hopefully you're spared from my experience.  Looking forward to hearing how it goes

the replacement didn't fix the problem, so the only thing I can deduce is that the mounting posts for the board are 1 or 2 mm too high in the base, keeping the contacts too high.  That means a replacement tablet, I guess.  I am about to chat with them, now.

By now most of you have probably already thrown out their tablets or just tossed the keyboard dock.  Admittedly, I myself went ahead and bought a surface tablet after all the frustrations with this tablet/keyboard combo.  

After 5 months of it gathering dust in the corner, I decided to tinker around with it further.  Here's what I did:

- Used joalo's method to open and re-seat the pins form the Tablet board - didn't work, tried 4 different times

- updated the firmware for the keyboard (with backup battery) with the link posted above - didn't work

- replaced the keyboard with a new one 3 different times (yes 3 different BRAND NEW keyboards with new firmwares) - didn't work

- opened the keyboard dock, re-seated all connections from the board to the pins - didn't work

- what finally DID WORK was to unplug the keyboard backup battery from the board and left it disconnected.  The keyboard and touchpad still worked, just not the battery.  I went ahead with this since the dock was more important to me than the extra battery juice.  I thought about removing the battery altogether to save some weight, but it is really light with no noticeable difference in weight, so I just left it there with the plug disconnected.

Hope this helps alleviate some of the frustration.  I does *** not having the extra battery like it was intended.

Hellow joalo

After seeing your writing, I found out what's wrong with it.

Thank you for your trouble.

Try this. Remove the back cover on the keyboard (breadknife will do the trick). unplug the internal battery and try plugging in the tablet. Worked for me. Internal keyboard battery is probably shot.

Try this, helped for me. Add some tape or something. 

"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" I couldn't manage to knock my pins further out, instead i just used some 600 grit sandpaper and scratched up the pins in the tablet and the keyboard. It works more often than it did before now.