MSI Faulty Keyboards?? Updates?

Hey All....I am very close to pulling the trigger on an MSI GT780DXR...but in doing my research I keep coming upon these problems with the keystrokes not registering....I have found actually quite a few on the internet....Does anyone know if this is kind of like "luck of the draw" thing or is it with just some older keyboards that are still being used? Is it a recognized problem with MSI and are they addressing it? It's not like this is a little issue that one can brush aside..a gaming laptop with a faulty keyboard is practically useless. Can any of the resellers here chime in with any input? I have found too many experiences online to simply ignore....do I just roll the dice, take my chances, order and hope for the best? Any feedback would be appreciated! Thanks!

 

it can be annoying, but not really a major issue! depends on you..
I really don't have issues in gaming except the ctrl button and because they're a bit too far for my finger to push it properly I bought logitech G13 and everthing was perfect afterwards!

 

I'm in the same boat. I want to pull the trigger so bad but I don't want to pay $1700 and get a faulty keyboard. My last gaming laptop (Asus G51) cost me $900 and came with a perfect keyboard. I am hoping to hear they have fixed it. If not, I will just wait it out a couple months and get the next best technology. I heard the new ATI cards coming out next month are supposed to kill everything.

 

The keyboard issue was fixed a long time ago.

 

Well, some of the keys on my keyboard do not exhibit the problem. (I assume that you'd come across my post)

--That's a pretty good indication that it's not a design flaw and is just a manufacturing defect of sorts (IE, that I just got unlucky).


Hopefully within the next few days I'll be able to settle the concerns like the ones I had. (once the replacement keyboard arrives)

 

I spoke with a very helpful, well respected reseller from this board today...he said that the keyboard issue has been largely fixed....although there may still be a few floating around...he said to avoid buying from Amazon, EBay,Costco etc....and you should be just fine! That being said...I'm ordering tomorrow.....

 

Yep, I've also been assured by Ken (GenTech) that the problem is simply a defective keyboard.



I'm waiting here hopeful for my replacement board, as imo -- the laptop is really slick. Display is beautiful, temps are pretty under control even in the most extreme situations ... it's really a fantastic machine and one that can play all modern games at pretty good detail.

-As I mentioned in my other thread, every piece of hardware you buy has the chance of defect.. So really I wouldn't call it any more a gamble than any other purchase.

That said, even in the worst case that you run into a snag, I doubt you'd be disappointed. I personally love the laptop despite that I can't use it without an external keyboard (-yet-).

 

Awesome! Very glad you are liking it....that settles it...ordering tomorrow!

 

Well, I bought mine on Black Friday and I seem to have a few keys (manly the "o" key) that don't register very well. What would be the easiest way to acquire a new keyboard? I purchased mine from Newegg.

 

Yes...I was warned away from the Newegg models as well....honestly..I would reach out to one of the resellers on this board and ask them if they can point you in the right direction....ask Justin from xoticpc or Don from PowerNotebooks...maybe they can help you....I was told that it's a relatively easy fix to swap the keyboard out....

 

Mine is the MSI GT780DX-277US and is about as new as they get. It has the exact same problem as a couple posts back. I noticed it too with the "o" was missing. Did you try working in the key a little bit? I haven't missed an "o" since. I do think it sucks to be having this problem though. Especialy when at first I though I had a keyboard that was a step above what I had before.

 

Hmm. I tried taking the keyboard out and putting it back in, didn't really do anything. What do you mean by working the key in?

 

Do you mind me asking where you bought your laptop from ??

 

I bought my laptop locally in Calgary Canada at Memory Express
MSI GT780DX-277US w/ Core i7-2670QM, 8GB, 750GB, DVD+/-RW, 17.3in Full HD, GeForce GTX 570M, Win 7 Home Premium 64-bit at Memory Express

What I meant by working the key push the key in the corners for a while and it might start to register like mine seems to have. Basically give the keyboard a good beating and it will probably work right.

 

MasterGohan23, did you get your keyboard replaced? Are you still observing the issue?

To those saying it has been fixe: unfortunately I believe this is only partially correct. There are two separate major issues with keyboards:

1) poor attachment of keyboard frame to laptop frame that leads to flex,

2) poor design of individual keys that leads to keystrokes not being registered.

Issue 1 has indeed been fixed and should not be happening in new machines, unless one buys from a stock clearance.

Issue 2, however, is still around. Here (and two posts below) is a very detailed explanation of what is happening. My hypotheses about why it is happening may be way off, but the fact is that the keyboard fails to register many keystrokes, and that is terrible.

 

I'm ing mad.

Two weeks has gone by since I gave my GT780DX to my local shop where I bought for repairing after I told them that the keyboard is faulty, registering wrong keys when I for an example write:

WASD it may write WA/SD WAKPSD for an example.

Or when I write fast it goes like;

"Hi my nam eis Sam andp I lik/e pie, especially if it's rasp6berry."

It has been like this since I opened the computer the first time, and no I have not even dropped a single water on the keyboard (who dares have liquid near an expensive laptop and brand new?).

So then I received it back from my local shop and to my surprise;

They couldn't find anything wrong with the GT780DX's keyboard. They even shocked me with paying them 50 to 100 euros fee for troubleshooting a non-broken device.

I've sent MSI a message and waiting for them to respond. This is a disgrace though.

I refuse to pay 50-100 euros for a laptop that has a faulty keyboard since day 1 and if the swedish technicians arent that bright and cant find it, I should demand my money back and go buy another MSI GT780DX or wait for the nVIDIA 580M.

I also refuse sending my laptop BACK to the same technicians that couldn't find the error. It took them 2 weeks and 2 days from my local shop - to their repair station - trouble shoot - send it back. No, I'm not gonna wait 1 month for nothing.

Meanwhile in Sweden.

 

Oh god i just rofl'd! Some times the same thibg happens to me!<< see?

 

To my knowledge, Steel Series still hasn't been able to fix the problem and they are even denying their keyboard has issues. I purchased a barebones system and chose this keyboard but only because the company told me they would test every key on it to make sure it is working correctly. If for some reason it starts acting up on me, I could always send it back to the company and have them install the stock barebones keyboard.

It is obvious that Steel Series dropped the ball with this keyboard. They worried more about form over function and that's a shame. Think about it. If your a company who's made keyboards for years. How hard is it to design a working keyboard? It can't be rocket science.

 

I agree totally..I just got mine last night..so I cannot comment on my keyboard yet..I've barely had time to play yet..but to me..this is a significant issue! I don't know how some in the owner's lounge are laughing and making it seem like we are ridiculous to be concerned about it...I mean come on! If there is one thing that is important for a gaming laptop to function properly (besides the GPU and Screen) I would say the keyboard ranks waaay up their in importance! Also, I understand that this issue may not necessarily be considered "rampant"...however, a good search will def turn up way too many issues than can be chocked up as "Acceptable"....all I know is if I'm dropping 2-3K on a laptop, I think I'm totally justified to be a bit inquisitive about the keybaord issue...I instructed my reseller to do the very same thing..test it out before sending! However, only time will tell....I REALLY hope I have no issues..best of luck!

 

NotebookNeophyte, so how did your keyboard work out?

 

I received my laptop yesterday and didn't even get the chance to unbox it till late last night...and all my time since then has been spent dealing with my SSD that xotic somehow forgot to screw down..so it came loose during shipping That being said....after 24 hrs of ownership..so far so good in regards to the keyboard....once I contact xotic tomorrow and try to get them to send me screws/bracket I will be more comfortable playing around...!

 

Ewww. Not good. Keep us posted!

 

Just heard from another guy who was struggling with the same issue of missed keystrokes. He said that he got his keyboard replaced, and the new one is exactly the same. He ended up shipping the laptop back for a refund.

Not good news at all..

 

I might aswell live with this .

It's not like it happens often....but it happens

As long as the computer doesn't decide to have a BSOD party and up I'll....play along with this keyboard...for now.

 

Update: The first time I bought from XoticPC back in 2008, I would rate my experience a 10/10....this time for various reasons I would rate it a 7/10....I could detail them exactly..but I don't want it to seem like I'm truly bashing them..cause I'm not..let me stress that I'm not saying that it was horrible...it wasn't...but when I make another purchase it will prob be from PowerNotebooks or Gentech next time...just to change it up...lol...as for the notebook...I am very happy with all aspects of it...except the keyboard...love the lighting...the build quality seems great (minimal to no flex)...but the typing experience is simply not good..it does indeed miss a stroke here or there..but the main problem for me is that if I get typing really fast (which I do at times)...it will without warning all of a sudden move the placement of the cursor up above me somewhere in my previous text...right in the middle of my typing! So far, this has proved to be just an annoyance..but a legitimate one anyway...Since I went away for work literally a couple days after I received it, besides about an hour of BF 3, I have not had the chance to game on it enough to see if it will be an real issue....at this point..I really don't feel like RMAing the entire laptop..if it gets any worse I would consider it..literally everything else about the laptop so far has been awesome...

 

I just got mine and it indeed took a bit more 'press' to type on. Sometimes the space bar registered twice, which was somewhat annoying. HOWEVER, here's my kicker: I think it's an issue with whatever spring/clip that they use being too firm in the beginning. After a week of using it, I've noticed less and less problems with the unresponsiveness, myself. It's quite enjoyable to type on and game. I still have a few errant keystrokes that don't register here and there, but it's much less than before, whether that's me becoming used to the keyboard or the keyboard is starting to break in or something. Give it a couple weeks and see if it's still the issue. I loved the keyboard on my GT725-212US, but this feels solid and has a nice feel to it when pressing the keys. The touchpad... that's my biggest complaint. It works okay, but I hate the scroll. Doesn't work on a lot of things that it should and can randomly scroll when not meaning to. It doesn't have a very defined spot for scrolling per se, like other touchpads that I've used because of the angle on the touchpad borders. Somewhat nitpicky, but they could have done much better.

 

Can someone confirm the slowness of the keyboard if you're holding SHIFT AND TRYING TO WRITE A SENTENCE CAUSE SOMETIMES THE EKYBOARD DOESNT EVEN RESPOND WHEN YO UWRITE FAST LIKE THIS AS YO UACN SEE WHEN I WRITE ITS REALLY

AND WHEN I MEAN RESPOND I MEAN IT BEING SO FREAKING SLOW THAT IT DOESN'T KEEP UP WITH YOU RFAST WRITING.

So many mistakes. Never happened to me since Windows 95.

 

Are there any reports of the GT780DXR-446US models having this keyboard issue?

 

i have the GT780DX-406US model and don't notice the problem with the keyboard.

 

Yeah I've had mine for a week now and no problems whatsoever. The keyboard is responsive and I'm impressed with the lighting color software and resulting look - up til now, AW has cornered the market on it so hallelujah for new competition

 

I'm glad you arent experiencing any issues! I wonder what it is...it seems like a crap shoot....some people have zero issues, others have slight problems that can be very annoying (like me)...and still others are having major severe issues leading to a real disruption in usability...Like I said previously, I am very happy with the lighting and the build quality...but whenever I start typing fast..my flashing cursor will without warning end up someplace else on the screen and I'll be randomly typing within another existing word...it happened twice already as I typed this....such inconsistency is frustrating...

 

I'm glad I purchased mine through Gentec PC. Ken over there personally went over every single key on my keyboard to make sure it was working properly. He told me if it didn't work properly that he would keep swapping it out until he found one that was. Needless to say, this is probably the best keyboard I've ever used on a notebook.

 

Are you inadvertently touching the touchpad with your thumbs? I noticed that when I "rub" the touchpad while typing (accidentally) the cursor turns into a little swirly thingy and momentarily stays in place...guess that's my contribution to wondering what's going on with your machine

 

I also purchased mine from GenTechPC and Ken also went over my keyboard. Unfortunately as it arrived, my D key is intermittent. Every other key is perfect, and I dont for example have the issue like some people where they press a key but instead another key is pressed. Every key is perfect, except for D. This is not good for games. Keep getting hammered in COD and BF3 cos I cant strafe!!! LOL. However, Ken has been super helpful and has already posted me a new keyboard which I will install when I receive it. There's plenty of people who arent having this issue so unfortunately its luck of the draw, however it means that you can get it replaced, and will eventually have a backlit keyboard that actually works. Steelseries really need to sort this one out though.

 

Thanks for the suggestion...I'll have to pay more attention to really rule it out...but I'm 99% sure this isn't the case.....I'm more curious than anything now...how SteelSeries could have developed a keyboard with such a broad range of issues....

 

I actually got this sort of model (with keyboard that dosent always register a keystroke), but its not really important for me: if i play anything more than "just for fun" i will be using an external keyboard anyway.

The good part about this keybaord is taht it seems to be quite resilient, and that is very important for me .

 

Not the best keyboard I've used by far. I have a few keys (space, Left and Down arrows, and R) that if they are pressed on the edge, they will not register. Which edge varies by key. Space bar: bottom left and bottom right corners, Down arrow: bottom edge, Left arrow: left edge and R key: left edge. It's like all the keys on this board bend over instead of going down flat if you don't hit them dead center. I've used other keyboards where the keys bend but they still registered the stroke. I've found that gently lifting the key corrects the problem for a few days then it comes back. Frustrating to say the least, and will send it back to MSI eventually. Keyboards have been around for decades and are pretty much a perfected technology. Can't believe a major keyboard manufacturer has engineered and produced a sub-par board that is actually worse than what you find on a $300 laptop. I loved the keyboard on my GT735. Nonetheless, I'd still by the GT780 all over again.

 

I've made a list of what my keyboard registers aswell as the key I press on; From what I press to - What keyboard registers aswell.

Press: 1 - Adds: P - L

2 - O

C - ,

M - .

E - W

A - Ö - L

F - U

E / P - Ö

 

F - U is pretty epic.

 

Anyone have issues with the MSI 1761 barebones stock keyboard?

Or are these problems only with the steelseries keyboards?

 

Got my replacement SteelSeries keyboard and installed it on the weekend. Installation is very straightforward and easy on the barebones 1761. The new keyboard is working like a champ.

You open the bottom of the laptop, and remove a 7mm ribbon cable that is located just beneath the CPU. This cable controls the LED lighting on the keyboard. You then flip the laptop over, and remove the the strip of buttons running across the top of the keyboard. On the 1761, although the keyboard has 5 screwholes, they will not be populated. At this point the only thing holding the keyboard on is some double sided tape. Apply a little bit of force and pull the keyboard from the top, towards yourself. You will then expose the second large ribbon cable which can then be disconnected. To reinstall another keyboard its everything above in reverse.

 

Where can you get steelseries backlit keyboards if yours has a stock msi barebones one (1761) and the OEM only installs those with the system? (I already asked)... is there any way to buy one separately? From anywhere?

 

I've got no idea if you can buy one seperately, but I'd probably start by asking a reseller, like Ken from GenTechPC. You probably cant send PM's yet so here's their email address: [email protected]

 

My keystroke works fine. The keyboard don't display well. Its not a pure white and every other keys on the bottom row are green or purple.