E4300 Keyboard

I just received my E4300 from the Dell outlet, it's in great condition with one exception. The keyboard has a bulge or slight rise in the center. I have the back-lit keyboard. It's not a big deal but compared to my D620 it is noticeable. Is this normal?

 

I'm not sure if this is a characteristic of the E4300, but the E6400/E6500 backlit keyboards don't have any sort of bulge or rise.

Go to Dell's Tech Support Chat- LINK and tell them you need a new keyboard.

They should ship one to you, if you're comfortable with replacing it yourself. Here's the Service Manual for the E4300- LINK. It has good instructions (almost TOO detailed) on how to remove and replace the keyboard...and the other parts to remove before you can replace the keyboard.

Good luck!

 

Thanks for the help. Keyboard replacement seems fairly easy, I'll see if I can get a replacement from Dell.

 

I pulled the keyboard and it's fine. The issue is with the frame between the motherboard and the keyboard. It's slightly bowed, that or the motherboard itself is not set correctly. In any case the end result is a keyboard that is not perfectly flat and I'm concerned about additional pressure on the motherboard. I'll return this one and try again. The outlet has great prices but I have not had the best of luck notebook purchases. I recently order and returned an E6400 from the outlet, it was not a scratch/dent but had scratches, gaps in the case and the touch pad buttons didn't work. Customer service was great, they accepted the return and promptly credited my account.

 

Was the E6400 you ordered a Certified Refurbished or Previously Ordered New? If you can get a Previously Ordered New one, you should get a NEW notebook....at least that has been my experience.

 

It was certified refurbished, as was the E4300. I haven't had much luck finding a previously ordered new with the configuration I want.