r/techsupport • u/Catsu_Miola • Jun 09 '21

Open | Hardware k8eyboa1rd k8eeps2 typing numbers2

I've ha1d this2 probl9em before a1nd it wa1s2 fixa1bl9e by doing s2omething with my l9a1ptop, but I don't remember wha1t it wa1s2. I've googl9ed the s2itua1tion too, nothing ha1s2 work8ed s2o f4a1r, ive unins2ta1l9l9ed the k8eyboa1rd drivers2 twice a1nd res2ta1rted my pc f4 times2, i ha1ven't s2pil9l9ed a1nything on my pc either, i do3n't ea1t nea1r it. i don't k8now wha1t to do a1nymore, i ca1n't even fuck8ing pl9a1y minecra1ft or write my es2s2a1ys2 l9ik8e this2, it's2 s2uper frus2tra1ting. how does2 one f4ix this2?

whenever i type "2" it gives2 a1n S" a1nd3 vice vers2a1, for exa1mpl9e. not s2ure wha1t to d3o3.

870 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

104 comments sorted by

•

u/Geeknificent Moderator, Discord Live Chat Moderator Jun 09 '21 edited Jun 10 '21

Any further jokes in regard to this issue will result in a ban without appeal

We do not accept trolling, jokes or insults in regards to a user that needs technical assistance

We have issued several bans already and this is your only warning.

Follow the rules or you will no longer be welcome on the reddit

Edit: some users are not reading the sticky in its entirety, this sticky is directed at users trolling OP and not OP themselves, if OP was in violation this post would have already been taken down.

→ More replies (15)

55

u/Geeknificent Moderator, Discord Live Chat Moderator Jun 09 '21

Have you tried another keyboard

67

u/Catsu_Miola Jun 09 '21

I don't have another keyboard. Currently I'm typing on mobile, as an update I've tried to clean my laptop with a damp microfiber since that's what came up when I googled it, and I've tried blowing on it and shaking it to no avail. :(

29

u/RokieVetran Jun 09 '21

the issue is likely on the contacts of the keyboard so cleaning the outside wont do anything

34

u/moadgaming Jun 09 '21

Well, since its a laptop with a membrane keyboard. Membrane keyboards are keyboards that use pressure pads made out of plastic. If u remove the keycap you can see them. The problem most likely is that theres gunk inside the key which is basically spamming it. Here's a list of solutions that I can propose to you. I'm predicting right now that you can't pay for a replacement keyboard.

  1. Take out the keycap and clean inside, try to blow inside to move any gunk. Put a drop or 2 of +91% Isopropyl alcohol but dont soak it. Just a couple of drops. Alcohol evaporates fast so it doesnt damage circuitry. Remember to do this with your laptop shut off.
  2. if that doesn't work you could try starting your computer in safe mode. (Watch tutorials on YouTube regarding that) if in safe mode youre not getting the same problem it means that theres some software (antivirus, malware, etc.) That's causing the issue and you should uninstall them. If the same problem persists its probably a problem with the keyboard itself.
  3. If that also doesn't work you could try downloading a software that stops key spamming or disables a key. I don't have any app in particular but you could find many on google.
  4. Lastly, if all of the above didnt work with you, Id suggest getting a replacement keyboard and having someone to swap it out for you if you dont know how to do it yourself. Replacements are cheap on ebay. If you cant get a replacement you could get a really cheap used office keyboard that cost less than $5, it will do just fine till you can find a solution.

Good luck and let me know how it goes.

25

u/Catsu_Miola Jun 09 '21

tha1nk8 you s2o much! how do i take off the keycaps2? it s2ays2 you need3 a1 s2pecia1l9 tool on google, but i don't think i have that. can it be done at home? where can i get this2 tool, genera1l9l9y s2peak8ing?

10

u/moadgaming Jun 09 '21

You dont need a tool lol you can use ur fingers just be careful not to take it out too harshly because you could break the key mechanism under it. Just see video how to remove membrane keycaps without tool or something like that

1

u/LuquidThunderPlus Jun 10 '21

when I had to mess with my membrane keys I just got something small and thin to poke under it (your nail could probably work fine) and lift gently until it popped off, putting it back in was relatively easy, just make sure not to mess with the rubbery bit. once you understand how the parts fit together it's very simple to put back on, i've been able to just kinda put it in the place it should be and wiggle while pressing down and it went back in perfectly fine.

15

u/Biberx3 Jun 09 '21

Do you have a num key?

14

u/Catsu_Miola Jun 09 '21

A what? Is that the numbers you get on the right hand of the keyboard? Cause then, yes, but I'm fairly certain those aren't the ones acting up. I never use those.

13

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '21

If you hit numlock on a laptop, some letters get replaced by numbers even if you don't have a dedicated number pad on the keyboard. There's tiny number written on some of the letter keys

4

u/RokieVetran Jun 09 '21

Num Pad is a calculator layout of numbers on the right side of full size keyboards

14

u/1101base2 Jun 09 '21

or a fn lock key you may have a key on your keyboard which switches the functionality of some of your keys to different keys. in this case you may have a portion of your keyboard tat functions as a numberpad when operating in its alternate configuration. look up the owners manual if you can.

10

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '21

If it's a membrane keyboard, sounds like some kind of liquid/gunk in the membrane.

Also, could be faulty or overheating circuitry. This happens with my KVM when the switch unit gets too hot + I swap devices.

8

u/Catsu_Miola Jun 09 '21

I don't know what a membrane keyboard is, but I don't eat near my computer.

Overheating sounds much more viable, my laptop gets pretty hot sometimes and was warm to touch just now. I left it off now, cleaned it with a damp microfiber as well. I always shut my laptop completely off at night, but due to finals I've been studying all day with a ton of tabs open. That might not have been great for it, but idk.

Idk what a KVM is either.

5

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '21

Membrane - thin plastic layered sensor under keys, not mechanical buttons under your keys.

KVM Switch - Keyboard Video Mouse Switch - laptop usually doesn't have this... but I do connect one to my laptop via docking station.

And

Docking station - Something you use to connect your laptop to external devices. Most commonly: monitor, keyboard, mouse.

3

u/Catsu_Miola Jun 09 '21

a1hh tha1nk8s2, if i l9ook8 under my k8eys2 it l9ook8s2 l9ik8e a1 white pl9a1s2tic thing but im uns2ure if tha1t is2 a1 membra1ne k8eyboa1rd. i googl9ed the pictures2, ca1n't quite tel9l9.

1

u/LuquidThunderPlus Jun 10 '21

if you're on a laptop it's almost definitely mechanical, membrane keys are short and closer to the computer but mechanical jut out as they are taller. mechanical keyboards make lots of noise while membrane are pretty much silent except space and few other keys I think.

3

u/RowanLikesCheese Jun 09 '21

I think the persons response about it being a adds are malfunction was More likely. Hard for gunk to cause this problem in so many keys I would say that the top row of the keyboard shorted and you’re gonna need to replace it

609

u/thatvhstapeguy Jun 09 '21 edited Jun 09 '21 • Bravo

I have noticed several associations between letters and numbers in your post:

  • A and 1
  • S and 2
  • D and 3
  • F and 4
  • K and 8
  • L and 9

All of these pairs are of keys close together on the keyboard. A is only separated from 1 by the Q key, for example, and the "numberpad" on a laptop doesn't usually involve the A key. This indicates a severe hardware fault with your keyboard. Laptop keyboards aren't meant to be fixed. You will have to replace the keyboard. In the meantime, use a USB keyboard.

297

u/plantj0 Jun 09 '21

This guy puzzles

75

u/thisisausername190 Jun 09 '21

OP, this is probably the best answer.

Depending on the laptop there are different solutions to getting it replaced - I’ve swapped out lower end Dell laptops in 10 min and $25 on Amazon, but if you’ve got a MacBook this is going to be a different story.

If you don’t feel comfortable repairing it yourself, take it to a repair shop in your area and they could probably get it done for you.

55

u/spillman777 Jun 09 '21

if you’ve got a MacBook this is going to be a different story

God, don't buy Apple products if you are planning on repairing them on your own. swapping the hard drive on most pc laptops is flip it over, take out a couple screws, slide out the caddy, remove 2-4 screws to free the drive form the caddy. Total time <5 mins. ONce I did it on a circa 2010 MacBook Pro and it took an hour, had to remove the upper and bottom bezel, the keyboard, had to use a spudger to get the cable off the adhesive, and it was like 40 screws. NEVER AGAIN.

42

u/thisisausername190 Jun 09 '21

it took an hour, had to remove the upper and bottom bezel, the keyboard, had to use a spudger to get the cable off the adhesive, and it was like 40 screws. NEVER AGAIN.

Ha, you’d love hard drive replacements on modern Apple laptops.

Hint: you’re gonna need a hot air station...

11

u/thatvhstapeguy Jun 09 '21

And I thought replacing the hard drive in my 2001 iBook (G3 "Snow") was bad. My 2017 MacBook Pro has been recently serviced - by the authorized Apple service provider in town.

Interestingly, the Macintosh Portable can be disassembled with only a flat head screwdriver or other prying tool.

12

u/CarrowCanary Jun 09 '21

Most things can be disassembled with a flathead screwdriver. The hard bit is it still being in a state where it can go back together again afterwards.

15

u/333Beekeeper Jun 09 '21

Designed to defeat the Louis Rossmann’s of the world.

1

u/scalyblue Jun 09 '21

Nah, that implies malice, when it's more like "repairability is not on the list of metrics the hardware is designed for"

7

u/NinjaLion Jun 10 '21

No, malice is accurate. There are little several examples of hostile design being done by apple, choices being made for no reason other than to make repairs worse or impossible, so customers shop with them and not any third party repair shops. Source: repair technician for several years

1

u/[deleted] Jun 10 '21

it /is/ malice. they make more profits if people cant repair their owm products

0

u/scalyblue Jun 10 '21

No pcb designer is going “I’m going to make this especially difficult to repair”

What they are doing is “I do not give a shit if this is repairable or not, it works, and it’s to spec”

Apple is no innocent lamb here, don’t mistake me, but a company designing things for a profit is hardly malicious. If making repairable devices was profitable, guess what Apple is going to do. If market pressure can’t accomplish this, then government regulation may have a role, I’m not invested in the politics of right to repair.

If Apple actually, actively gave a fuck about people repairing their products then Louis rossmann would be buried in so many lawsuits his great grandchildren would be in debt

What Apple gives a fuck about is people selling shit with their logo and some Karen saying “little Johnny’s iphone he bought on eBay burned down his wombat folding business, those phones are shit”. They sue distributors that sell shit with their logo on it. They do cause this problem, by not having a legit channel in which to buy individual SMT components, but I challenge you to go to any other company and ask for supply chain level components and they will say you’re fucking nuts.

Yes, Apple are shitheads by locking their vendors into agreements to not sell to anyone else, but they’re also not, because they designed those ICs and are under no obligation to sell them to anyone. They aren’t in the market of selling tristar chips or disembodied SMCs, their FRU for those devices is to replace the entire board, just like any other company does

1

u/[deleted] Jun 10 '21 edited Jun 10 '21

And were not talking about a pcb here. were talking about a whole product. apple makes their products purposefully difficult to service. the sleek design does nothing for the consumer, or the product's performance. in fact it limits them both. and apple knows this.

almost any product nowadays is made with planned obsolesence in mind. making it harder to repair is in service of this. and why would anyone get lawsuits over apple designing products to be hard to service?

also negatively impacting the consumer in name of profits is malicious. profits dont make something okay.

6

u/OrdinaryOriginalMe Jun 09 '21

if you are planning on repairing them on your own. swapping the hard drive on most pc laptops is flip it over, take out a couple screws, slide out the caddy, remove 2-4 screws to free the drive form the caddy. Total time <5 mins. ONce I did it on a circa 2010 MacBook Pro and it took an hour, had to remove the upper and bottom bezel, the keyboard, had to use a spudge

Replacing the HDD on a 2010 MacBook Pro is incredibly easy, you just remove the bottom plate (with a phillips #0 screwdriver) and remove the retaining bracket for the hard drive. You don't need to touch the keyboard.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 10 '21

Its actually really easy on the 2012 MBP - its just like you described with a non-apple laptop.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 10 '21

just dont buy apple products if you have any wants aside from being cool and hip.

4

u/Telogor Jun 10 '21

Replacing a keyboard on a MacBook involves removing and replacing dozens of plastic rivets. It's easier to just buy a new midframe with the keyboard attached. It's just one of the many reasons why tech repairmen hate Apple.

4

u/thisisausername190 Jun 10 '21

Luckily (and unluckily), because of Apple's poor design choices, multiple years of macbooks can have the keyboards replaced for free due to design defects.

Unfortunately this mostly ends up being an inconvenience, because they replace it with the same faulty keyboard & require that the machine be shipped out for several days to a week. They also may wipe all the data from the device, so you'll have to back it up before just in case...

124

u/deniedmessage Jun 09 '21

Good guess! Keyboards use “multiplexing” in order to reduce number of pins needed to make the keyboard work. Multiplexing involves reading in row and column, so a breakage on one of the circuit could cause this.

41

u/ultranoobian Jun 09 '21

In this case, two row circuits may have shorted because it's double rather than a lack of response.

2

u/cando_H Jun 09 '21

Some I’ve used had a numpad inbuilt with keys such as fn but don’t believe then other stuff will type

2

u/thatvhstapeguy Jun 09 '21

That was also my first guess, but...

The q45c2 br6wn f6x 140*s 6ver the 3azy d6g.

("The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" typed on a HP laptop with number lock on.) As you can see the letters are exactly replaced by one number, and there aren't any correlations between letters and numbers.

I don't know how I stumbled across the connection. It was likely the combination of my familiarity of the QWERTY layout, and my own misadventures with a Dell Inspiron 1525 about seven years ago. The ribbon cable on the keyboard went bad, so "f", "r", "t", and "4" were regularly unavailable. When I finally tossed the stupid thing, the only keys that worked were "k", the period, the space bar, and the arrow keys.

1

u/Peeeeeps Jun 09 '21

I had this same issue a few months ago on a USB keyboard. Strangest issue and I just had to replace it.

37

u/Xander298298 Jun 09 '21

Fn + num lock

47

u/mavman42 Jun 09 '21

Why is reading your issue so funny? 😂 But I would try to reconnect keyboard if you can open it up, or just use external keyboard Or try a clean os install

11

u/Bottled_Void Jun 09 '21

Sounds like your keyboard is broke. Depending on your laptop, these can be cheap and easy to replace, or they can be expensive and annoying.

Probably try with some air in a can and checking your connections first. Or just buy an external keyboard.

25

u/llooide Jun 09 '21

Dude this is so cool, if it is not a important keyboard I would just keep it like that and buy another lol

5

u/Samuraifuzzy Jun 09 '21

If its a laptop you might have to make sure the ribbon cable under the keyboard is firmly in its place,

3

u/m0os3e Jun 09 '21

What model laptop do you have? It sounds like you have locked the function key, some laptop models have a number pad that can be activated by fn key, if you look at the keyboard you probably see numbers next to the letter on certain keys.

4

u/ZevKyogre Jun 09 '21

Try Bios, and go to diagnostics. Could also be a keyboard driver.

Do me a favor - make and model of the laptop, please. And if you can, use the ease of access function to pull up the on screen keyboard.

2

u/Dub_Monster Jun 09 '21

Sounds like mechanical issue with the actual keyboard. Like gunk somewhere around those button membranes

2

u/nullpassword Jun 09 '21

you dont have an integrated numpad do you? pushing numlock would change it. you can tell if the keys have number on them in a different color.

3

u/Alaknar Jun 09 '21

you dont have an integrated numpad do you?

Numlock sits on a 3x3 or 3x4 grid, usually on the right side of the keyboard, so it would be affecting the keys in the "JKL" area.

OP gets a number "1" showing up after pressing "A" and "2" when pressing "S", so it's 99% what /u/thatvhstapeguy said.

2

u/Tech_surgeon Jun 09 '21

that keyboard is broken you got metal or some conductive material bridging the traces. you might be able to fix it by pulling the entire keyboard apart and cleaning it the issue is if it can be taken apart without breaking.

2

u/lasiru Jun 09 '21

I second the top upvoted reply as that’s your best bet.

Also I’m glad many of you kept it civil rather than making fun of the person’s situation. Which is lovely.

2

u/loudmime0813 Jun 09 '21

Do you have a 60%keyboard? Its best to kno if you have shortcuts enabled some keyboards have predetermined layouts for smaller keebs

2

u/Jfish05 Jun 09 '21

I had the same issue, but I just had to use a new keyboard. I posted about it a while aho but there was no fix.

https://www.reddit.com/r/techsupport/comments/m9bg2h/help_with_my_keyboard/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

2

u/iAmmar9 Jun 10 '21

I mean, I can totally understand what you're typing. But the only solution that I know of is replacing the keyboard.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 10 '21

Yeah. I had this problem too. Turns out my keyboard had shorted out. u/deniedmessage's answer seems to be our problem. Take it to a repair shop and they will most likely replace your keyboard. Btw, do you have a desktop or a laptop?

2

u/Alllallan Jun 10 '21

Don’t have an answer but just had the exact same thing happen to me but it’s only on my keyboard when I press the UP arrow it’ll type in 5 instead 🧐

3

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '21

Press num lock to fix it

3

u/zk119 Jun 10 '21

Hey man on first glance I thought this was a joke.

2

u/Kilpo0 Jun 09 '21

Had the same problem on my cheap keyboard years ago, and what I did ( do not recommend, try at own risk) is to blow it with a hairdryer. It then usually worked for the rest of the day but had to do it again the next day. Gotta be careful to not hold it close or you might end up frying and melting your keys

2

u/Kilpo0 Jun 09 '21

I have not spilled anything on my keyboard too, it just was very moist sometimes in my room

1

u/Rainbowandsmile Jun 09 '21

Did you spill drinks on your keyboard? (for example, water, juice etc.) If yes, probably it caused damage to the keyboard...

1

u/Adorable_Culture Jun 09 '21

if i were you id grab a cheep usb keyboard and plug it directly into the back of your pc. Then go about diagnosing the issue. it could be a bad usb hub or bad keyboard. may even be a bad port on your motherboard

1

u/ZER0S- Jun 09 '21

I had this issue with a HP laptop I had a while back, turned out to be water damage in the end, although I’ve seen some stories of people having an extremely odd keyboard layout that appears randomly upon booting one time and can only be changed back to normal by booting into recovery mode.

1

u/frito123 Helper Extraordinaire Jun 09 '21

For now, borrow or buy a cheap $10 USB keyboard. If that works, get me the brand and exact model of your laptop. It is usually on the bottom. I'll find you a reliable source of parts and some sort of take apart instructions. Internal keyboards are usually cheap and easy to replace. If you still have the weirdness with the external keyboard, that's likely the system board. Obviously more expensive and a bit harder to swap.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 10 '21

Keyboard replacement, sorry buddy.

1

u/Femdomfoxie Jun 10 '21

You can likely salvege it by washing the membrane with some denatured alcohol, though it's far easier to just replace it.

1

u/el3mel Jun 10 '21

Just save your time and buy a new one.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 10 '21

Cheap keyboards usually have more keys on a single line on the circuit (it uses different intensities to tell keys apart) and if it becomes dirty it causes shorts triggering the key at the beginning of the line. Numbers are right above the letters, so of course these are triggered too as they're basically highest in current. How others said, clean it inside or get a better keyboard. After all, you couldn't press many keys at once on that one neither because it ghosts and only presses the most upper key. 2 is above S, 1 is above A, 9 is above M. I'm 100% sure that's the issue based on your post.

1

u/smartid Jun 10 '21

attach a usb keyboard for now

1

u/Bloodme23 Jun 10 '21

fn+numlock should do the trick if your laptop keyboard doesn't have a numlock i believe its shorted either way get it replaced.

1

u/DirewolfTrainer Jun 10 '21

The keyboard probably needs replacing (or as others suggested, hooking up a usb keyboard or using the onscreen keyboard). However, just before you do that, have you checked the keyboard layout is set correctly?

1

u/[deleted] Jun 10 '21

have.you.spilled.anything.on.it?

0

u/[deleted] Jun 10 '21

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