Your Droid Physical Keyboard

[dro]

That theory has been proposed and disproven before in these threads. Side-by-side photos of flat and raised keyboards on brand new Droids have been posted. There are two variants, and it has nothing to do with bubbling after prolonged use.

How does that explain that i had flat keys, and then they bubbled? i only noticed because some of the keys i didnt use all the time (the right sight alt, shift etc keys) were pretty flat when i started noticing my keys were bubbling.

On the other hand, maybe there are indeed two distinct keyboard phenomena occurring here. The raised keys on brand new Droids have been documented in posted photos. Can you put a photo here of your keyboard with the bubbled-from-use keys shown clearly?

I wouldn't doubt that the keys can bubble or otherwise get damaged by extended use, like a lot of electronics with membrane keypads. My microwave has a membrane keypad, and most of the keys on it started bubbling and then even tearing and peeling off (like blisters) after a while. I think it comes from using fingernails to press the keys instead of the pad of the finger. When my wife borroed my Droid to send an email, I cringed when I saw her using her fingernails to type on the physical keyboard.

There are some great photos of a supposed "bubbled from use" keyboard in post 67
Text to accompany photos that confirms original flatness of the keyboard found in post 92

 

[Threepio]

I have a flat keyboard. at first it was a little hard to type on, but i got used to it after a few days. but im gonna have to see if any of my buddies have the raised keyboard and test it out.

 

[Ghostwheel]

How does that explain that i had flat keys, and then they bubbled? i only noticed because some of the keys i didnt use all the time (the right sight alt, shift etc keys) were pretty flat when i started noticing my keys were bubbling.

On the other hand, maybe there are indeed two distinct keyboard phenomena occurring here. The raised keys on brand new Droids have been documented in posted photos. Can you put a photo here of your keyboard with the bubbled-from-use keys shown clearly?

I wouldn't doubt that the keys can bubble or otherwise get damaged by extended use, like a lot of electronics with membrane keypads. My microwave has a membrane keypad, and most of the keys on it started bubbling and then even tearing and peeling off (like blisters) after a while. I think it comes from using fingernails to press the keys instead of the pad of the finger. When my wife borroed my Droid to send an email, I cringed when I saw her using her fingernails to type on the physical keyboard.

There are some great photos of a supposed "bubbled from use" keyboard in post 67
Text to accompany photos that confirms original flatness of the keyboard found in post 92

Wow, those just look so... weird. I can't imagine using this keyboard enough to ever make mine look that pronounced. I wonder if anyone anywhere has managed to get a use-based bubble keyboard next to an out-of-box bubble keyboard for a direct comparison.

 

[91jolson]

My keyboard has been "bubbled" as long as i can remember, and since i discovered swype, I don't use it all that much.

However, my idiot sister just got a refurbished droid (she literally destroyed the last one, made me cringe :icon_ nono2 and her keyboard seems to be at a point between bubbled and flat, its not as bubbled as mine, but not flat either.

Weird.

 

[dave.cox]

I have to agree. One of the reasons I chose the Droid was because it had a physical keyboard. I Previously had a Pocket PC and I was always using the keyboard. But since I have discovered Swype, I don't use it much.

 

[CACressida]

I'm not sure if some of you guys in here understand how these phones are put together, but the bubbling effect isn't a "Motorola" feature. I'm on my 2nd Droid and I noticed it was flat when I got my 2nd one and now its bubbled. What happens is the heat starts to melt the cheap adhesive thats holding the keyboard to the film so the adhesive starts to stretch and creates the "raised" effect. The adhesive they use for the keyboard is the same stuff they used to hold your credit cards to the statement in the envelope in the mail.

After you experience the raised effect, the keys will start popping off and fall off. The reason why they pop off is because the heat has caused them to deform and bend upwards like an arch. So the more your fingers comes to contact with these bubbling keys, the more the glue gives out and then you start losing keys. Below is a picture of my phone.

Letter G came off a few days ago, and letter D came off today. Its not any longer before all my keys flake right off. This issue needs to be raised and have Motorola recall this poor adhesive and replace all our keyboard pads for free. This keyboard was designed to be used, so as a consumer, it's not our fault that the company didn't factor in the heat the phones would have to go through.

 

[Ghostwheel]

I'm not sure if some of you guys in here understand how these phones are put together, but the bubbling effect isn't a "Motorola" feature. I'm on my 2nd Droid and I noticed it was flat when I got my 2nd one and now its bubbled. What happens is the heat starts to melt the cheap adhesive thats holding the keyboard to the film so the adhesive starts to stretch and creates the "raised" effect. The adhesive they use for the keyboard is the same stuff they used to hold your credit cards to the statement in the envelope in the mail.

After you experience the raised effect, the keys will start popping off and fall off. The reason why they pop off is because the heat has caused them to deform and bend upwards like an arch. So the more your fingers comes to contact with these bubbling keys, the more the glue gives out and then you start losing keys. Below is a picture of my phone.

Letter G came off a few days ago, and letter D came off today. Its not any longer before all my keys flake right off. This issue needs to be raised and have Motorola recall this poor adhesive and replace all our keyboard pads for free. This keyboard was designed to be used, so as a consumer, it's not our fault that the company didn't factor in the heat the phones would have to go through.

Yikes. I do NOT like the looks of that.

Out of curiosity, do you type more with your fingernails, or with the soft part of your fingertips?

 

[prettyboyvictor]

when i first got my droid on the release date it was like the one on the leftbut after a while it started bubbling and raising like the right picture den it jst got soo annoying to text nd type because u had to press the letter harder then usual to actually press the letter do to how raised it was getting. i then went into verizon and got it exchanged and got a keyboard similar to the left... and i see it raising sloowly maybe thats just how the keyboard to the droid is. i wish it was more of a solid (G1) type of keyboard instead of a RUBBERY type of keyboard.. a more solid keyboard is more reliable =/ oh well. i vote RAISED

 

[CACressida]

Yikes. I do NOT like the looks of that.

Out of curiosity, do you type more with your fingernails, or with the soft part of your fingertips?

lol I never seen that coming, but to answer your question, no. I don't let my finger nails grow. It's a guy thing. Yes, my 600 dollar phone is made with cheap glue, just like my cousin's 50,000 dollar when new 06 Escalade is made out of cheap hollow Chevy plastic. If the consumer can't tell the difference, more profit for the company.

By the way, don't scratch the bezel around the touch screen of the phone! Exposing the metal underneath the paint will give you a good shock while the phone is charging lol.


I just added these pix, this is what the keys will start looking like. Take notice at the curve of these once flat buttons. The heat caused the plastic to warp:

 

[NullifiedKnight]

Yikes. I do NOT like the looks of that.

Out of curiosity, do you type more with your fingernails, or with the soft part of your fingertips?

lol I never seen that coming, but to answer your question, no. I don't let my finger nails grow. It's a guy thing. Yes, my 600 dollar phone is made with cheap glue, just like my cousin's 50,000 dollar when new 06 Escalade is made out of cheap hollow Chevy plastic. If the consumer can't tell the difference, more profit for the company.

By the way, don't scratch the bezel around the touch screen of the phone! Exposing the metal underneath the paint will give you a good shock while the phone is charging lol.


I just added these pix, this is what the keys will start looking like. Take notice at the curve of these once flat buttons. The heat caused the plastic to warp:

Christ. Frankly, that makes me a little nervous. I had a raised key droid, but touchscreen failed and I just got a flat key replacement. I REALLY hope that isn't in my phone's future (he said, knowing it probably is).

 

[dro]

After reading about your heat warp theory, I closely examined my keyboard. Me keyboard is only very lightly bubbled, but it is much more pronounced directly over the processor. Our keyboards are being warped by the heat. Looking at the profile of my keyboard from the bottom of the phone, it is bulged out slightly over the processor, while flat elsewhere. I never allow my battery to get over 110F, so the keys above it are flat. My processor can get up to 140-150F at times, which is apparently enough to start to warp the keys.

 

[cuskit]

This sounds good in theory, but how do you explain brand new phones with all the keys totally "raised" with the exact same arc? Methinks there's more than meets the eye here. I would think the processor which creates the heat would be effecting first the keys directly above it. Yet, in my store, I've seen new phones, some flat and some arched. I thought I've read here that they all started with the flat keys, and then switched to the arched ones.

Have you overclocked your phone? That's known to overheat much more than normal.

So, you also have a "shocking" issue with your phone. The paint alone cannot be the culprit (they don't use paint for an insulator) - all the metal on these phones are grounded. If they weren't - you'd be frying your circuit board every time you charge the phone. I think you need to return this phone, and tell them they have a bad "batch". Get a replacement from a different store this time.

Has anyone heard of any widespread issue with the keycaps coming off? That would be a real bummer! That happened to one of my computer keyboards once. I went nuts trying to snap them back on - they (apple) had all these little plastic springy thingys, what a nightmare! I eventually dumped it and bought another one. Of course - that was not a heat issue, but nevertheless, I can sympathize with CACressida on this issue.

Did you really pay $600 for your phone? Wow! My Droid is only a $199 phone. And in Walmart you can find them for $45.00. I would imagine that's the ones with the cheap glue.. Yea - I know- the 6 C-notes is really the list price. Just messin' wif ya!

Keep us posted on what VZW does with your second phone with key caps coming off. Also, their take on the shorting out around your bezel.

Hey - I just thought about something. Did you remove the vinyl decal on the backside of your phone (screen half)? Seeing as my keys are totally and perfectly flat, and this phone has been in constant daily use since Nov 22, and I never removed my vinyl - I surmise this "decal" is actually a heat sink, put there by Motorola to draw heat up and off the keyboard! :icon_ banana: mike

 

[Pokebreaker]

I got my Droid the very day they were released and I have raised keys. My wife's keys are flat though, we got hers some months after.

 

[RacecarBMW]

how come it i s white under the keys should there be like a sensor under the keys

 

[dave.cox]

It is white under the keys, because that is the actual keyboard membrane. The keyboard membrane is flexible piece of material that prevents dust and moisture from getting to the the electronics underneath. Under the membrane, attached to the board, you will probably find small metal discs called Popples. These popples, when pressed, make contact with a couple of traces printed on the board completing a circuit, to send a signal to the processor, that you have pressed a key.