1530 uneven keyboard

Just got my 1530. I like it but noticed a considerable bump in the middle of my keyboard. Does anyone else have this problem?

 

awsome greg. I ordered mine and i can't wait to get it. How long did yours take. Mine went into boxing stage today so i don't know yet, but i hope to get it by the end of next week.

 

I ordered on 12/23, changed the hard drive on 12/27 and it shipped 1/2.

 

When I first saw mine it looked like it has a bump but i think it was visual deception. I looked at it from the side and it did look even to me.

 

Maybe it's there for ergonomics? There is definitely a bump in the middle.

 

Mine looks like it has a bump in the middle too. But it feels fine to me.

 

yeah there is a bump on mine also... Dell is sending me a new one because of the problem. For some reason it was bothering the hell out of me. There also was some residue or adhesive leaking from under the power button under the keyboard.

 

Ok thanks. Must be something that affects some 1530's. I guess I can live with it. It just looks ugly...

 

yeah i agree it looks awful.. thought it was just mine before i sent in to get it replaced. its really noticeable at the top of the keyboard.

 

That is where my keyboad is most noticable. Please post about your new unit once you get it. I usually dont notice small imperfections and if I do I generally dont care but I notice this every time I type.

 

Yeah I'm curious to hear if there are versions that have a fully flat keyboard. I look at the F keys and between F5 and F12 you can really notice it.

 

I'm willing to bet it's the same problem M1330 owners have been dealing with ( see this post) - and that's cable mis-management!

Granted, the 1530's bigger, but Dell certainly needs to use the room for better cooling of your more powerful graphics card, your extra USB port, etc. so that wasting space is still kept to a minimum.

 

I read that thread. Looks to be the same issue. Has anyone returned their XPS for this reason and received a new unit with a flat keyboard? With my luck I will send it back and get a new unit with the same problem.

 

when i get the new one I'm fairly sure that the problem will still be there.. but ill keep you updated.

 

All right. Thanks again and good luck. This might give me a reason to return if Dell introduces the 1530 with penryn next week.

 

yup. i got the same problem too, the middle keys seem to be raised a bit higher than the other keys. though, it doesnt bother me that much.

 

Can anyone post pictures of this? I just ordered my 1530 and this is making me anxious.

 

the easiest spot for me to check it is going from F5 key to F8 and F12 to F9. The F8 and F9 keys are at a much higher points than the others and you can see them raise as they get closer to F8 and F9.

 

do u i have some pics of this

 

I want to see some pic too. I've looked at my keyboard several times now, I have no raised keyboard issue.

 

I will post some pics in the morning.

 

Like I said above, seems to be the exact same problem that numerous M1330 owners have been faced with since July ('07).

I took a picture of my M1330's hump with a HQ camera & lens, but still, it is not really possible to visualize the "bump" in 2D. We're talking 1.5mm from worst-case (F8, F9) to the level of the palmrest.

In any case, here's a link to my M1330 pics* - several of which highlight the keyboard (* IMG_3707_web - 2nd row, 5th col. - is the best I could do to try to picture the hump, but as you will see, it doesn't really show enough to get the point across...)

After having looked at a few pics of the M1550, I'm convinced that the whole upper layer (keyboard / Command Center / bluetooth circuit / touchpad / Biometric reader ) is identical to the M1330 and thus both suffer from the same assembly issues.

edit: Actually, I take it back - you can see the hump - just make sure to select the [pic's] original size and the hump will be quite evident on the right-hand side (from the Dell logo rightwards).

 

mine arrived today, no bump that i can see

 

I'm not sure what I see in your picture... but, going from left to right, it looks like the silver palm rest runs parallel with the bottom of the image until it gets halfway. Then it takes a nose-dive for the rest of the image. Maybe that's just because of some camera angle or something.

I am getting ready to order an M1530. I wish there were no problems.
Buzz

 

Its really not a big deal. I just thought I would ask. Here are a couple shots.

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee90/greggara/DSC00151.jpg

I am not good with this stuff. Hope this works

 

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee90/greggara/DSC00154.jpg

 

traveller look at your pic IMG_3710_web. It is cleary evident in that pic

 

I noticed a few keys that seemed to be uneven, kind of like a small wave in the center of the keyboard heading northeast. So I removed the control panel cover and keyboard, and noticed the antenna wire was the culprit. Where it passed under some small tabbed guides, the wire was not flush. Lifting the tabs, routing the line flat, and pushing the tabs back down flat solved the problem and all keys are now even.

 

Mine has an uneven keyboard as well, which I could care less about, except that when I close the lid the raised keys come into contact with the screen... so I have to use the cleaning cloth as a buffer between the keyboard and screen when closed.

 

First off, I'm glad that the issue you are experiencing is not causing you any major heartache.... BUT, I don't see how it's acceptable. It's so bad that you have to put a cleaning cloth on the keyboard when you close the lid!!!! That's pretty unacceptable to me. JMHO.

 

Theres some pics on this forum of the "humpback" keyboard, I've seen a few excellent shots

 

i thought i saw a small bump but i figured it was optical illusion as i cannot notice it when looking closely if it is a bump it must less than 1mm in height.

why is this so big deal? i mean, what's the worst that could happen?

 

I don't know that it's so much an issue of "what's the worst that could happen". I think it's more an issue of "I've bought a notebook that's, in some cases, twice as much money as the average 15.4" notebook, and the keyboard looks like hell because Dell chooses to flat out ignore a repeated, and easily fixable workmanship mistake". I can't imagine what kind of jackass in QC sees something like this and says "yup, keep em comin!"...pathetic.

To answer your question directly though... 1. The keys could possibly scratch the screen, and 2. I can't imagine that constant, direct pressure on the LCD would be good for it (notice how an LCD ripples a bit even with a light touch of your finger?).

I've got a 3rd unit coming tomorrow, although i'm about 95% sure it will be the same. I would have gone with a different notebook altogether after the 2nd one, but everything else about the 1530 rocks. It's maddening!

 

Reading the service manual, it doesn't look like lifting up the keyboard and reseating the underlying cables is that difficult.

 

ive got the computer and the space key is sticking up it looks retarded. gonna call tech support later.

 

Mine got the keyboard bump too, one of many annoyance.

Straight edge put onto the peak of bump, I'm just holding the ruler upright.

 

That's doo-doo,hope that doesn't happen when I recieve mine.

 

Just received my 3rd, exactly the same, possibly a bit worse even. At least this time the hump is dead center, instead of slightly to the right, so the space key doesn't stick up on the right side. I'm definitely not going to exchange again, but i'll see about fixing it myself.

Such an stupid problem on an otherwise incredible system.

 

I believe my M1530 has a very slight hump in the middle of the keyboard, but never would have noticed it if I didnt read this post. When I close the lid, and look at the side of the laptop, I can see all the way to the other side through the gap between the closed screen and the keyboard. So it doesnt look like the keys are touching the screen at all.

This is pretty much the only concern with this right? I cant really think of any other things that may be damaged as a result of a very so slightly humped keyboard.

I just got mine about 2 weeks ago, so I really dont want to send it back. Especially since I received a non-grainy LG screen right out of the box instead of the POS Samsung screen. To send it back and risk getting a new one with a Samsung screen and/or other defects that I have read about that my current laptop doesnt have, does not sound worth it to me.

 

Definitely not worth exchanging if the keyboard doesn't bother you. I've seen varying degrees of the problem, some are definitely worse than others.

After making that last post, I turned the system on to find that the disc eject button didn't work, and there was a cluster of black pixels near the center of the screen. Ordered a 1730 today, 1530 goes back.

 

So I took the keyboard off yesterday, and noticed that the Network (Communication) wires running from back expansion to LCD casing antennas are causing the bulging.

On the wire bundle, some wires are stacked on top, instead of side by side, so it adds to the protrusion.

I just rearranged the wires to sit side-by-side and the keyboard is sitting a lot better than before (from my previous post).

 

That sucks man I doubt it does...but do you think the cluster of bad pixels had to do with the keyboard keys making contact with the screen?

How much more are you dropping on the 1730? Better specs?

 

Honestly I don't know, I'm not really sure what causes dead pixels. I didn't even take the time to see if the keys were actually touching the screen on that one. Turned it on, immediately put in the Media Direct CD to reformat, noticed the pixels, then noticed the CD wouldn't eject (key wouldn't light up either), then just shut it off and packed it up, CD still inside. Was definitely in a bad mood after that.

Decent specs on the 1730, but by no means "speced out". Off the top of my head - T9300/2GB/320GB/8700GT/4965/3yr complete care. $2703 out the door...used the $400 off coupon + 3% off for using DPA. By comparison, the 1530 was $1500 out the door, and even that was $300 over my original budget. The 1730 was an impulse/frustration purchase...my version of a temper tantrum, and those usually involve me going further in debt somehow. I just hope the build is solid. I had an M1710 and it was built like a tank, easily the most solid notebook I ever owned.

I hope they get the few workmanship issues with the 1330/1530 sorted. They sure are nice machines if you're lucky and get a good one.

 

Damn, I just got mine this morning and the bulge in the keyboard is horrendous =(

So whats the verdict guys?

Do I risk returning it just to receive the same issue and a crappy screen (I got the LG =P)

Do I try and fix it myself? (at the risk that I have none of the tools recommended, and have no idea what I'm doing)

Do I just get over it and leave it? (I'm not going to run into any issues in the long run am I?)

Cheers,

 

damn that sux

I got mine last night and there's no bulge (1530)

 

Yeah I got my 1530 on Tuesday and there's no bulge.

 

If the bulge is only slightly noticeable, and the keys aren't touching the screen, I'd say just don't worry about it, or try to open up the laptop and adjust the wiring under the keyboard to lay flat.

I have a 'slightly' noticeable hump, and I'm not going to worry about it at all. I'm more worried about the screen quality...

 

Well,

My screen quality is top notch. Absolutely gorgeous.

I'm already getting over the bumb...however, pretty soon I might try and pry it open and get things cleaned up underneath.

 

My keyboard has a bit of a central bump, but the machine is perfect apart from that, so I'm not getting Dell out or sending mine back unless I have to - I'll take more care over the job I'd think.

I'm pretty handy with this kind of thing, any tips on removing the black control center panel? I've been following the service manual (ie removed the three screws under the battery), but prising it out is proving a bit tricky!

Any suggestions on a corner to start at, or where to pop a screwdriver in to release a tab?

Thanks!