Asus Zenbook UX31A weird temporary and reoccurring keyboard problem

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BrianBot

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Oct 31, 2012
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So every so often a few keys on my Asus Zenbook UX31A stop working for 5-10 minutes. The D key, backspace, and left arrow (possibly a few others) occasionally stop working. I first noticed the problem when my log in password didn't work (contained a D). It's been reoccurring on and off with daily frequency for two weeks, now. Any help, ideas, or suggestions? It's really, really annoying.

Another less pressing issue is controlling the volume with the keyboard (Fn + F11/F12). The other function keys like sleep, brightness, and wiresless on/off work fine, just not the volume. Suggestions on that, too?

Thanks.
 
Solution
Hello, I had similar problems with this ultrabook, thought I'd detail how I fixed them. I dropped my Zenbook a month ago and the only effect was that various keys on the right side of the keyboard would not work for periods of time. Eventually, the Power button stopped working and when I let the battery run out of charge once, I could not turn it back on. I hunted for information online and eventually found this great guide, where a guy with similar keyboard issues fixed his UX31A keyboard:

http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Unresponsive+Keyboard+Keys/11932/1

I went to a local tool shop and picked up a screwdriver kit with a Torx T5 head and followed his instructions to re-insert and tighten the keyboard connector, which had come loose...

throwawayacct123

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Jan 2, 2013
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hi, glad to hear it worked for you. Does the fix last? i had the same problems with my D, backspace and delete, backa arrow key. my zenbook is 2 month old and think to follow the solution posted by this group. thanks, yw

The fix worked perfectly for me. The first indicator that this problem was happening for me was the power, wifi, and caps lock indicators not lighting up. When I traveled with it in my bag I'm assuming the ribbon cable got loose. While reconnecting the cable the lock would come loose when pushing one side in. I used electrical tape to tape the ribbon to the hard top connector on the board. I'm hoping the tape will hold up for at least a few months. The tape that ASUS used was a flimsy masking tape that barely stuck on.
 

Bluelake_57

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Jan 7, 2013
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Many thanks, the fix worked for me for Zenbook bought in Switzerland with key ctrl and power key not working all the time.
 

KKotorynski

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Jan 9, 2013
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Same problem (D, Backspace not working consistently, and this worked for me too: http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Unresponsive+Keyboard+Keys/11932/1! Thanks very much foks!

PS I noticed that the connector requires you to fully push in the white blocks on BOTH sides possibly this was the original cause of problem (mine weren't).

Now I have all these extra ddddddddddd's and DDDDDDDDDD's I don't know what to do with.
 

L Pantenberg

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Feb 10, 2013
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This solution worked for me too. Thank you!!!!
 
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