The Acer 5570Z Input Issue RESOLVED!

Updated Friday, January 18, 2008

RESOLVED!

Issue Summary (Acer 5570Z input issue)

Symptoms:

1. Dropped keystrokes on double keypresses
2. Inconsistant key repeat delay
3. Jumpy "stuttering" touchpad
4. Plugging in an external USB hard drive (not a flash drive) makes touchpad entirely unusable ***only 1 confirmed report of this symptom so far*** (Meng has confirmed this does not occur with his 500GB drive. It is probably a symptom of my IDE to USB adapter cable exacerbated by the 5570z input issue.)

To reproduce the issue:

1. At any text entry, type "11223344556677889900--==--00998877665544332211" a few times, and note the unregistered keypresses
2. At any text entry, press and hold any key and notice the repeat delay goes fast then slow, then fast, etc. at about 1-2 second intervals.
3. Repeatedly make circles with the touchpad and notice that the pointer moves smoothly, then jumpy, then smoothly, etc. at about 1-2 second intervals.

This Issue has been tested and confirmed on the following Operating Systems:

• Windows Vista
• Windows XP
• Linux boot disc
• FreeDOS

Cause: Defective Hardware

Fix: Best Buy replaced my Motherboard (part# MB.AZI06.003ACE) and Touchpad (part#?) which resolved the issue for me. For another person, Acer replaced his "USB DC Board" (part# 55.TDY07.002) which resolved the issue for him. Replacing just the keyboard did not resolve the issue for me.

Workaround: Use an external mouse and keyboard.

Response from Acer: All Acer reps request we call Acer support 1-800-816-2237 and send in our laptop for repair.

Interesting Note: The keyboard works correctly when booted into the system BIOS.

See comments for latest updates.

The following was posted August 30, 2007. Please see above or comments for latest updates.

This problem I got with my Acer laptop keyboard is pissing me off, and it's a pain in the ass to get Acer to acknowledge it.

In order to help other people with a similar problem, I've decided to document my research and communication here.

On 8/31/07, Eric Walker wrote:

Dear Matt Acer,

I have forwarded this email to the appropriate personnel for review and research of this issue. We are glad to be of service to you and provide good technical support and repair service for your Acer product. We appreciate your comments. Through our customer’s feedback, we are able to improve on providing the best possible customer service and support. Thank you for choosing Acer for all your computing needs. We realize you have a choice of several computing companies and we appreciate the opportunity to serve you.

Regards,
Acer Online Support Team

Eric,

I called Acer Technical Support, the dude said, "Take it to best buy to have it serviced." So I went to best buy where they could do nothing. While at Best Buy I found that their two 5570Z display models both have the same keyboard issue. There was also a third Acer of a different model with a perfectly working keyboard. So I called Acer Tech Support again. They suggested I update the bios to the most recent version (ZR1_3503.WPH). I did that and it did not resolve the issue. Third Acer Tech Support call: I got the standard reaction of "send it in." A waste of time and money. I decided to call back tomorrow to speak with a higher level support rep.

That is unless Eric, who has all this information, can somehow get it to the people who write the bios updates.

Oh, one more piece to the puzzle. I booted to a linux CD and the problem is there as well at the command prompt. Dropped keystrokes and inconsistant repeat delay. So you see, it's not even Microsoft related.

-Matt


On 8/29/07, Eric Walker wrote:

Dear Matt Acer,


To better assist you with this matter, please call the technical support line. You may contact Acer Technical Support at 1-800-816-2237 M-F 8am-9pm CST and Sat-Sun 8am-5pm CST excluding holidays. Currently we are experiencing high call volume, so please expect your hold time to be longer than normal. We are working to reduce this by providing additional support personnel and by providing on-line support tools such as www.FixMyAcer.com. If you call in, please have your serial number and contact information ready to expedite your call. You may go to www.fixmyacer.com to arrange for service via the internet in the case of a monitor or notebook computer needing in warranty repair.
*Please note: Parts are not available for order on-line or via this on-line support forum.
Service repairs cannot be set up via this on-line forum.

Regards,
Acer Online Support Team

Eric,

I need a fixed BIOS update for my Aspire 5570Z. This is not an issue that can be easily resolved by speaking to a first level tech support rep. This needs to be escalated. Why don't more people complain about this issue? Simple, the problem does not present itself if you type slow, or if you use a docking station/external keyboard.

Further Diagnosis:

I have noticed a quirk that may be related to this issue. When I hold down a key so that it repeats, the repeat delay is not constant. The pressed character will visibly repeat quickly then slowly, then quickly then slowly, and so on. Is it possible there is some sort of timing issue here? An issue of timing might cause a keyboard to omitting keystrokes. The inconsistant key repeat delay is not caused by high CPU usage either (usage remains under 5%). I have a fresh install of XP Pro installed on the second partition, and every detail of this issue persists in XP Pro. I have not yet attempted a linux boot disc to see if the issue persists there as well, but others suggest it would.

Other Reports Of Similar Issues:

Here is a thread from 2006 detailing this issue on an Aspire 5670 and a TravelMate 4000. The BIOS fix for the TravelMate 4010 is mentioned but obviously doesn't help these people or me. The issue is not present when using a USB keyboard:
http://www.techsupportforum.com/hardware-support/laptop-support/119822-acer-laptop-missing-keystrokes.html

Here is a review from 2005 suggesting the TravelMate 3201XCi has "missing keystrokes":
http://www.notebookforums.com/archive/index.php/t-64011.html

Here is the missing keystrokes issue on an Aspire 5672WLMi:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=2392114

Here is the missing keystroke issue on a different brand laptop, the Averatec C3500. Here they state "No, pressing harder doesn't work." And it's the exact same problem as with Acers:
http://www.tabletquestions.com/tablet-pc-averatec/2916-averatec-c3500-keyboard.html

Another keyboard problem affects users of the Aspire 4520. This one is a different problem, one of lag. It has been narrowed to a BIOS issue, and it helps show that many people have issues with Acer keyboards with the only solution being a specific bios update. It was found that disabling the touchpad (Fn+F7) can be used as a workaround for this issue, but that does not help with missing keystrokes:
http://www.havelaptopwilltravel.com/acer-4520-keyboard-lag-could-be-a-bios-problem/

I've experienced dropped keystrokes on a different model Acer laptop (a TravelMate 4200) I used to use for work less than a year ago.

One of my previous clients, a small business owner, uses an Acer TravelMate C310 tablet laptop. We replaced his keyboard but he continues to live with the missing keystrokes issue. This issue has supposedly been fixed with a bios update.

Some users of HP and Toshiba laptops with dropped keystrokes suggest a link to power management software, a malfunctioning battery, or synoptics touch pad software. However, my troubleshooting in each one of these areas yielded no results, so I have ruled them out.

I'd really like some confirmation from Acer that this is an issue and it is being addressed. I realize that corporations are evil and are sure to always act in their own best interest, so maybe this is an issue quiet enough to ignore? Maybe a money saving design decision was made and it's side effect was a few dropped keys? Simply replying that Acer cannot reproduce the issue is not an option. I have too much evidence to the contrary.

I again leave this in your hands, Eric. It's possible you may not even have access to the people that can fix this, but thanks for putting forth the effort.

-Matt

On 8/27/07, Eric Walker wrote:

Dear Matt Acer,

Thank you for contacting Acer America. I apologize for the delay in responding to your inquiry. Missing keystrokes is not a know issue with the AS 5570 series notebooks. To better assist you with this matter, please call the technical support line. You may contact Acer Technical Support at 1-800-816-2237 M-F 8am-9pm CST and Sat-Sun 8am-5pm CST excluding holidays. Currently we are experiencing high call volume, so please expect your hold time to be longer than normal. We are working to reduce this by providing additional support personnel and by providing on-line support tools such as www.FixMyAcer.com. If you call in, please have your serial number and contact information ready to expedite your call. You may go to www.fixmyacer.com to arrange for service via the internet in the case of a monitor or notebook computer needing in warranty repair.
*Please note: Parts are not available for order on-line or via this on-line support forum.
Service repairs cannot be set up via this on-line forum.


Regards,
Acer Online Support Team

Due to the high volume of e-mail support done on a daily basis I will need all the original text when/if you reply back. Without the original text, I will not be able to assist you.


Name: Matt Acer
E-Mail: *************
System: Aspire Notebook
Model: 5570Z
Serial Number: LXAYA0X0387240EA302500
Operating System: Windows Vista
Date Purchased: 08/16/2007
Subject: Keyboard Missing Keystrokes

Question / Problem:

I have seen this issue personally on 3 different model Acer laptops. I have researched though google that others are experiencing it, and it has been going on for years. I just bought this laptop and am surprised to see that the Missing Keystrokes issue has not been resolved. The issue is: if you type too quickly there are occasional keystrokes omitted.

This can be easily reproduced by typing, "11223344556677889900," as quickly as possible on the laptop keyboard.

Here are my results from typing that just now: "112234455667889900" (note the missing 3 and 7).

As I understand, a BIOS update has been released to fix this exact issue for the TravelMate C310, but not for any other model. From what I can tell, this is happening with every Acer laptop model, and from what I read the problem persists in any operating system. Please tell me you have a fix to make my primary input device work the way it's supposed to.