GL 502vm 7th generation keyboard not working

[kibito2945]

I just bought a gl502vm 7th generation and upgraded it to bios 302. The keyboard started to sometimes work and sometimes not work at all. Not like some keys but the whole keyboard. It is when i turn on the laptop sometimes the keys work and sometimes then dont work. I dont knlw if this has to be related to the bios or to the Windows 10 updates (im using win 10 pro). Can someone help me solve this problems it feels like a russian roulette everytime i power on the computer.

[kibito2945]

Somebody knows something about this subject? Help, please

[cl-Albert]

Don't always hear everything on my end, but not a common problem as far as I know, so if you have the option to return or exchange the unit, try this if nothing else works.

When the keyboard doesn't work, does the touchpad work, or can you plug in an external USB keyboard and USB mouse to try to restart the notebook, or boot to Windows safe mode (hold the shift key while restarting Windows to see the Windows 'advanced' startup menu and get into safe mode).

It's not clear if the problem is hardware-related, but maybe a loose keyboard cable is causing this problem and re-connecting the cable can solve the issue, but the problem may be caused by something else.
You may void the warranty or get into more trouble trying to reseat the keyboard cable, so makes more sense to exchange or return the unit if you have this option rather than trying fix it yourself assuming it isn't caused by software.

May not help, but should be easy to run ASUS Live Update to check if there are any critical updates that can help with this.
Updating the bios is another idea, but if the bios flash should happen to fail, it usually kills the unit completely, so just be aware of this if you decide to try it.

Good luck!

Edit 8/3/17: Just noticed you already have the latest bios, but guessing the problem was there even with the older bios. If you didn't reload the bios default settings after updating the bios don't forget to do this, but not too likely to make any difference although still worth trying.

There are actually ways you can downgrade the bios if you really wanted to do this, but again, there is always that possibility of killing the unit with a bad flash, so don't know if it's worth the trouble or (small?) risk.

[Reinserev]

I also have a Kaby Lake-based GL502VM bought in April. It came with some 2xx BIOS, that I updated to the latest available version at the time, 300. It worked flawlessly. I recently updated it to 302 and I still have no problems. Guess you've got a faulty unit. How new is your unit? If the keyboard worked properly for some time and started to act up right after updating the BIOS, that would be really strange.

Have a nice day,
Carl

[kibito2945]

Yes the trackpad does work. I the drivers theres usually an "hid keyboard device" when it works but when it doesn't it is nowhere to be found. Its a really weird problem. I actually dont know what to do. I send it to my seller and he checked the computer and told me it wasn't a hardware problem byt rather a software one, I'm not sure about it. Its like the keyboard sometimes works and sometimes it doesnt, but yhe seller says if it would be a hardware problem it would never work, you think its a hardware problem? Has anyone had this problem before? Should i wait for a bios update or windows update?

Also sorry for my english is not my native language.

[cl-Albert]

If Windows does not even detect the hardware in device manager, that indicates a possible hardware problem to me, so may want to mention this to your reseller too if you have not already.
This kind of problem could be caused by hardware or software, but since it doesn't appear to be an issue that many other GL502VM customers are reporting, don't believe it to be a software issue which should affect many GL502VM customers and is more likely to be some kind of intermittent hardware problem with just your unit in my opinion.

Anyway, you may discuss more with your reseller to see what will convince them if it can help, but if it's easy to take a video of the problem for your reseller, consider trying this.
Also, if you or your reseller can create a bootable USB drive (or attach a USB DVD-rom?) to test the keyboard outside of Windows, you may want to try to catch the keyboard problem this way which can hopefully convince or confirm for your reseller that it is a hardware-related issue.

Or, you may want to discuss with your reseller to see if they can try this, but you can really just remove the hard drive and test the keyboard in the bios to see if it is always working or not. You probably don't want to do this without making sure the reseller will not complain or void the warranty if you try it, but something the reseller probably needs to try and see for themselves anyway.

Was thinking you may want to check if the problem occurs more often on battery power, when holding the notebook a certain way or pressing on the palmrest in a certain area, etc. in case there is a loose connection somewhere.

Unfortunately, intermittent problems can be a little tricky, but if you can catch or demonstrate the problem regularly, hopefully it can help.
Currently not aware of any forthcoming updates for this issue, so don't want you to get stuck with this issue for the long-term, but don't even believe it to be a software issue as mentioned previously.

P.S. Your English is not bad and would not be able to tell it was not your native language if you didn't mention it.

[kibito2945]

The problem is that when i send the laptop to them they dont seem to have the problem. The only difference, i think, happen is that I use an usb mouse sometimes. I don't know if the mouse is messing the keyboard driver.

Also does the power button work even when the keyboard doesn't?

[kibito2945]

It seems like the problem occurs in the mornings, i powered on the laptop and the keyboard didn't work. I powered it off, then after 30 minutes turn it on again and it work. I didnt move anything or pressed nothing over the laptop at these two instances, nothing changed. So I really dont know if this would be a hardware issue

[cl-Albert]

kibito2945 wrote:
The problem is that when i send the laptop to them they dont seem to have the problem. The only difference, i think, happen is that I use an usb mouse sometimes. I don't know if the mouse is messing the keyboard driver.

Also does the power button work even when the keyboard doesn't?

How often does the problem occur? Yes, if your reseller isn't able to see the problem, may be difficult to convince them something needs to be done, but you might try to provide a video if possible.
Did you install software for your USB mouse , or can you remove the software and/or check if the problem ever occurs with the USB mouse unplugged?
Maybe try another USB port too.

kibito2945 wrote:
It seems like the problem occurs in the mornings, i powered on the laptop and the keyboard didn't work. I powered it off, then after 30 minutes turn it on again and it work. I didnt move anything or pressed nothing over the laptop at these two instances, nothing changed. So I really dont know if this would be a hardware issue

Could be a temperature-related issue if it gets colder at night, but yes, if you can figure out when it happens, hopefully you can tell your reseller or service center how to catch it.
Not aware of any other solutions myself, but you may want to keep checking/asking around.

[kibito2945]

cl-Albert wrote:

Could be a temperature-related issue if it gets colder at night, but yes, if you can figure out when it happens, hopefully you can tell your reseller or service center how to catch it.
Not aware of any other solutions myself, but you may want to keep checking/asking around.

Im thinking it could be a temperature problem as you say. Im gonna try to return the laptop as it only has like 2 weeks of usage and the problem started the second day. Thanks for your help.