Acer Aspire Switch 10 e keyboard dock problem

Hi. I have this brand new Acer Aspire Switch 10 E which I just bought last month. I'm now having problems with the keyboard and the dock as when I connect the tablet/screen to the dock, the keyboard is not detected. It recognizeswhen I dock the tablet but it doesn't detect te hard drive nor the keyboard. Sometime, after a long while, it detects the keyboard and the hard drive but only for a few seconds then it disappears again. Other times, it just flips continually from working and then not working.

The problem is so sudden. I would jokingly note that whenever I search for solutions to the keyboard problem, it very briefly fixes itself. On a serious note however, I do not know what causes this malfunction nor do I know what fixes it. As stated above, the problem is so sudden. I have been very, very careful with the use of my laptop including in the removal and docking of the tablet. I have inspected the docking pins, and physically, they look perfectly fine. The problem occurs even the tablet has been connected and left undisturbed for continuous periods of time. This has led me to believe that the problem could be software based and not hardware. I am also open to the possibility that it could be heat affecting the docking pins (heat can cause connection issues and this isn't the first time I have encountered one, nor the second) but like I said, the docking pins work perfectly and remain constantly in contact witch each other.

As I have postulated that the problem is software based, I have gone through the hassles of searching for possibble drivers for the dock/keyboard. Unfortunately, (this might be due to the Aspire Switch 10 E being a fairly new model) there were no keyboard drivers on the Acer support page for the Aspire Switch 10 E. In my search, I encountered a video for the Aspire Switch 10 keyboard to fix the problem, a driver update for the Switch 10, NOT the Switch 10 E. I have tried the solution and it still does not work.

I am not a fan of forums and if I am, I am usually just a reader kind of person. But in the light of recent events and the fact that there are virtually NO questions or posts about this brand new model of laptop, specfically the Aspire Switch 10 E, I have taken the responsibility of raising this question in the hopes that a knowledgeable person may provide assistance and that the others of my kind (the Aspire Switch 10 E users) may be enlightened as well. I would sincerely appreciate the assistance.

God bless.

TL;DR: Aspire Switch 10 E detects docking but keyboard and hard drive are inconsistently not working. Help.

Reposted this topic on the laptops forum because I realized I posted the first one in desktops.

Accepted answers

All comments

NSJ

I've had the same problem since I bought mine a week ago.
When the keyboard is detected, rarely, it will often stop responding at a random point in time. It also stops responding the second I change the angle of the screen.
I've checked that all my drivers are up to date so I have no idea what the problem could be...

billsey

I'd start by taking a close look at the connector between the keyboard and tablet. If there is anything obstructing, even enough dirt to create a weak connection, things are liable to not work right. I believe the electrical interface is essentially a USB (2.0 for keyboard and connector, 3.0 for hard drive) plus extra power for the HD. It sounds like you are having troubles with either the signals in the USB interfaces or in the power.

tomeq

Hi,

I have a similar problem. Sometimes after waking or after removing or reataching the keyboard it becomes unresponsive. But if I then restart the computer it is fine. I think, in my case at least, it can not be due to just a bad connection, as otherwise restarting it would not change anything. Also, I don't think it is something that has been fixed as it is quite a recent purchase and I have recently updated windows and drivers. The whole reason for choosing this pc was the ease with which it converts between tablet and laptop mode so any advice would be very welcome.

Thanks,

Tom

ksbigtas

The keyboard docking ports are clean. I brush them regularly. The tablet detects that I've docked the keyboard but the hard drive nor the keyboard respond.

madacj

Hello Acer

I am in the UK and have just bought a switch 10E and i dont seem to have a hard drive in my keyboard dock. Is this right in the UK or should i take it back to shop?

billsey

madacj wrote:
Hello Acer

I am in the UK and have just bought a switch 10E and i dont seem to have a hard drive in my keyboard dock. Is this right in the UK or should i take it back to shop?

IIRC, only some models have the drive mounted in the keyboard. Most do not. Which model did you buy?

madacj

i bought the SW-013 if this means anything 2gb of ram intel atom processor z375f 1.33 ghz 32 bit operating system x64 based processor

thanks

billsey

They are all SW-013s, some have 2G of ram, some 4G. They all have the same processor and OS. The difference between different SKUs is the amount of memory, the SSD Size, HD in the keyboard and the locale.

madacj

my full model name is SW-013-102M there are lots of other numbers on the back of the box too. I don't know if any of these will tell me which exact model I have or whether i have a hdd in the dock? are there any physical differences i should look out for on the machine which will tell me if I have a hdd in the keyboard? Thanks

tomeq

wrt the presence/ absense of the hard drive, many switches have only a SDD. I should know, I have one. Now I am unable to upgrade to Windows 10 as it is too small for the upgrade and will probably have to use an external drive, which is kind of counter to the whole idea of having a portable tablet, or get a memory upgrade.

If you are unsure about the exact model number you can get a download off the acer website that will actually find this out for you.

But I would like to restart the original topic, why is it that Switches often do not respond to the keyboard and the touchpad? It is not as bad as before but still I often find myself having to restart when I don't want to just to make use of the keyboard and pad.

billsey

tomeq wrote:
wrt the presence/ absense of the hard drive, many switches have only a SDD. I should know, I have one. Now I am unable to upgrade to Windows 10 as it is too small for the upgrade and will probably have to use an external drive, which is kind of counter to the whole idea of having a portable tablet, or get a memory upgrade.

Easy solution for the upgrade is a small (16GB) SD card. They are pretty cheap and provide enough extra space for the installation. Plus you can use it for data storage after the upgrade. Smiley Happy

JFPL

Taka a look at my post here - Disappearing-keyboard-USB-port

Unfortunately the problem is still alive Smiley Sad

rowilsontb

Could have the solution to this problem?

avelutini

i have the same problem you've described. I got my acer switch for christmas and have not once been able to type an entire sentence with the keyboard. I plugged in a usb mouse and it just continually mounted and unmounted (you know the sound a pc makes when a device connects and disconnects? literally went bidibing, badaboop, bidibing, badaboop..... over and over til I unplugged it).

I have tried downloading every recommended driver from the acer site, i am always keeping the windows updates updated, i've made sure it's clean (but seriously, this happened right from the moment I took it out of it's manufacturer packaging so i doubt very seriously it's an issue with dirt in the connections).

I'm not feeling very optimistic about this issue since this post dates back to 2015. ANY help would be appreciated, and I think at this point, the help should come directly from acer..

Sharif

I have a same problem

Gianfrs

Does anybody from ACER replied to ANY of the answers? That's not fine. Maybe the solution is to switch to other brands, like asus.

billsey

This a community support board, not technical support from Acer. If you can't find anyone in the community that can answer your questions you probably have to actually open a ticket with Acer. It's free if still under warranty.

gemma_moscare28

I've got some issue regarding on my Acer aspire switch 10 e.
Some of the letters on left side of my keyboard is not working.

Such as letter
Q,E,R,A,D,F,Z and E.

What I'm gonna do?
Please advise.

Thanks.

billsey

Not a lot of options with that type of error, it's usually caused by contamination between the connection grid sheets or a scuffed trace on one of them. If you can fix it, it'll involve tearing the keyboard down and cleaning both sides of each of the membranes under the 'bumps' the keys actually press.

gildelaluna

Hi! I have also encountered the same problem wherein my acer aspire switch 10 e's keyboard don't work at all so I have done some research to try and fix my problem, then I saw this simple hack at youtube,