Nitro AN515-54 Bad Keyboard

lonkeelay

My Nitro 5 AN515-54's keyboard has been having issues since I got it. The two main issues are that the key only registers when the direct center of the key is hit (hitting the corner or the edge and pressing the key down all the way does nothing) and if the key is held down it will randomly just stop being registered. I sent the laptop to be warranty repaired stating the problem and that I need the keyboard replaced. They responded by replacing the mainboard, marking it as "fixed," and sending it back broken. Is this normal for Acer repairs, and what should I do now, since the keyboard is still broken?

dkdude

SORRY FOR THE grammar and syntax, you understand that my delete key and backspace only work some of the time.  

I hope this helps you avoid the huge waste of time involved with never fixing this issue.  Good luck, I hope it gets fixed some how.  

Hi,  I have a AN515-53.  If you have any return options of any kind, including chargeback to credit card, even legal remedy, do so now.  You will never get this problem fixed.  I have been dealing with this for two years.  Acer doesn't really do any work in terms of testing, etc.  They rely solely on the community to solve these problems.  This is their technical support.  Calling is a waste of time, not theirs of course.  

The problem is such that many of the users of both products are very quickly moving to an external keyboard with and external monitor.  So the problem is rarely discovered in mass quantity before consumer warranty runs out.  I have no reason to believe that ACER has any idea how to fix the issue, or what it really is or they know what the problem is and have continued to ignore it using a cost benefit analysis and deciding that their customers are idiots and busy parents. 

Being an advanced computer user at almost 50, the most fundamental concept of a laptop short of the display turning on is the keyboard working.  The ps/2 keyboard solution Acer uses is one of the oldest solution / driver configuration in the last 25+ years.  There seems to be something else going on!  I equate the keyboard to almost a fly by wire scenario in a plane.  eg:  crappy power button, which appears software driven vs mechanical driven with a switch.  Also, the layout of the key, the cheap backlight.  a premature and misplaced delete key, a 10 key for folks with racoon hands,  -- hey but it is Oculus ready   

Things Acer will tell you to do which don't and have never worked. 

1.  Just format your hard drive and start over, no big deal.  Then do it again, if you  have time, then do it again.   This doesn't work.  Even if you forgo using any of the software on the Acer website, using all the software on the acer website, using some of the software on the acer website, using acer software from more recent machines, such as your model vs my model.  NONE OF THIS WORKS.  At various stages of reinstalling everything, getting rid of RAID and all this other BS software that the machines don't need, the keyboard still does not work.  Yet, I am typing on said keyboard right now.  But in 20 min and for sure when I reboot, it may not work or not work correctly.  Acer will even suggest you use an external keyboard.  (WITH the exception of the bios, you can get all the other software for both of these machines at other places.  Places  that have nothing to do with ACER and this includes the BS requirement to use the ACER Intel GPU drivers vs go directly to intel.  I have tried clean installs of windows from the most novice to the most advanced.  SHORTLY AFTER WIN 10 IS INSTALLED, THEY KEYBOARD WILL BEGIN TO FAIL.  IT WILL BOTH FAIL RIGHT AWAY, THEN WORK, THEN FAIL, THEN WORK AND AS YOU GO THROUGH THE PROCESS OF REBUIDLING A GAMING MACHINE THAT HAS ALMOST A TERABYTE OF SOFTWARE----THIS KEYBOARD ISSUE WILL NOT GO AWAY.    


2.  Next, try a million different ways to use device manager and uninstall and reinstall, (the keyboard) going through every iteration possible or logically reinstalling and uninstalling (logically) - meaning you don't physically remove the keyboard - ha ha  a piece of hardware and the associated drives.  Yes, I am talking about the keyboard   THIS DOES NOT WORK.  IT MAY WORK FOR 5 MIN, EVEN 2 DAYS, BUT WILL NOT LAST

3.  Next and my favorite.  The old battery reset button and a dozen or so other things associated with the battery applicable only to acer and absent from every major laptop mfg in the world.   THIS DOES NOT WORK  -- You will destroy a dozen paperclips, thumb tacks, that little sim tool for phones, none of us can ever find -- most everything will be too big for this hole.  AND IT WILL NOT FIX YOUR KEYBOARD BUT COULD SHORTEN THE LIFE OF THE BATTERY, I DON'T KNOW.  

4.  Next the old ease of access fixes in windows 10, because it is MS's fault.  NONE OF THE CHANGES REGARDING THE "EASE OF ACCESS" FUNCTIONALITY IN WIN10, NO MATTER WHAT BUTTON YOU TOGGLE ON OR OFF, WILL WORK.  THE FIRST TIME, YOU WILL THINK IT WORKS AND YOU BE SO HAPPY.  --- BUT IT DOESN'T WORK.  IN SHORT, THESE EASE OF ACCESS IDEAS AND FIXES, COVER UP THE PROBLEM BY CREATING A DIFFERENT KEYBOARD PROBLEM.  

4b -- Not to forget the ole "change the F or function key setting in the bios"  This does not work.  And this really isn't a bios anyway.  It is a bios style graphics appearance,  to fake remind you that neither of your quite advanced GPU cards, at least on paper, are working.  And to remind you that ACER has included a fake BS RAID system and a couple of other INTEL treats that were actually abandoned by intel before my computer was made.  Making this change of the default functionality of the so called function keys / whatever it is -- does not fix the keyboard problem


I don't know this to be factual, but it seem logical that none of the ACER engineers, even at the top, are working on the actual machines.  Nor have they ever.  My guess is most have never even seen one.    They are almost for sure using virtual machines and an external keyboard to do whatever it is they do, which as far as I can tell is just to verify that the actual supplier and designer of the hardware has provided them with a product that works.  None of the tech support levels 0-to -the top, best support have this cheap plastic laptop in front of them.  If they did, this problem would have been fixed long ago.  That or they all orally dictate their keystrokes into their computers.  

The reality is that there is some kid, who works at the Geek Squad in a BEST Buy, in a horrible part of (insert a state))--as BEST Buy is for sure the largest seller of ACER laptops) that knows how to fix this issue; But this kid is not telling anybody the fix.  

Good luck to you all-- 

lonkeelay

I wish I had known this about this product, as that would have changed the laptop I was planning on buying. It is frustrating that I was told it would be repaired, it getting repaired outside the return window, and now I cannot do anything about this except getting it repaired over and over until the warranty is up. I should have known repairs would be an issue as I heard nothing about warranties being extended to after the repair in the case of the repair not being done correctly.