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XPS 13 keyboard doesn't detect simulataneous keypresses reliably (all models)
I've got a problem with all XPS 13 models I've tested, and that's the 9350 (which I own), the 2017 model and the brand new 9370 model.
When I press multiple keys at exactly the same time, in about 10-20% of cases only one of the two keypresses is detected. Simple test: open a text editor and try to press keys A and S at the same time. Watch closely what appears on screen. Most of the time, you'll see "as" or "sa". But sometimes you'll see only "a" or "s".
You might ask: why is this important for the XPS 13 (it is no gaming machine). The problem is it can be any two keys, including modifier keys. In my case, as a power user I often use keyboard shortcuts with two modifier keys, such as Ctrl-Shift-F for formatting code in my IDE. My 30+ years of muscle memory is trained to press all modifier keys at the same time, then press the non-modifier key. On the XPS 13, this often leads to uppercase F letters (Shift-F) inserted into my source code or another shortcut being invoked (Ctrl-F = Find).
The issue is independent of the operating system. I tested the preinstalled Windows, the preinstalled Ubuntu (on the developer edition), and updated Ubuntu (16.04) and I think also keyboard input in the BIOS itself. The XPS 15 line doesn't seem to exhibit this problem, at least I could not reproduce the problem on a 2016-ish XPS 15.
So Dell, pretty please, can you fix this keyboard issue and hopefully release the fix as a BIOS upgrade also for the older models? Most likely, you had it already fixed at some point on the XPS 15.
DELL-Jesse L
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April 20th, 2018 05:00
Heavenly Melancholy,
Thank you for this information. I will pass it along to our engineering department to see if they can get it resolved.
CalmDownMonkey
22 Posts
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April 20th, 2018 11:00
Wow that's infuriating... I see you can replicate the issue here quite easily:
http://keyboardchecker.com/
Keep pressing Ctrl+Shift together and you'll see eventually, only one of the two keys is pressed.
I hope this is related to the other keyboard issue:
https://www.dell.com/community/XPS/XPS-13-9370-Keyboard-Skips-Button-Presses/td-p/5835431
Is anyone from Dell able to give us assurances that this can be fixed in a BIOS update, and that it isn't a hardware flaw? I'd hate to hold on to this machine beyond my return cut-off only to find it isn't fixable. Thanks!
Heavenly Melancholy
15 Posts
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April 21st, 2018 10:00
Oh, indeed, the keyboard checker makes it much easier to detect!
I'm not sure if the other issue mentioned is related to this issue, because I cannot reproduce the other issue on my 9350.
Tree Beard
5 Posts
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May 3rd, 2018 19:00
I'm experiencing the exact same thing on my new XPS13 9370.
I often press Ctrl-Alt-arrow to change desktops and about 20% of the time it only registers as either Ctrl or Alt pushed.
Heavenly Melancholy
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May 24th, 2018 15:00
Jesse, is there any news to this issue? I'm really interested in possible fixes or workarounds.
Heavenly Melancholy
15 Posts
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July 7th, 2018 07:00
Jesse?
Heavenly Melancholy
15 Posts
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July 24th, 2018 01:00
This is still an issue.
Heavenly Melancholy
15 Posts
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October 14th, 2018 05:00
Jesse, this is still an issue. What's the resolution offered by Dell?
Christyconnolly
2 Posts
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April 29th, 2020 11:00
I have a similar issue with my 9370. when i press a key either nothing happens, or a couple of seconds later mutliple keystrokes appear. Affects all keys. Problem comes and goes and still happens when i try with usb keyboard. I thought updating the bios had fixed it, but no. I also tried all suggestions in the thread you linked to but the problem remains.Any suggestions would be much appreciated!