Keyboard quality.

When you replace the keyboard, let us know which version broke. Dell used to have two keyboard vendors, but now they appear to have at least four vendors, and some of them are better than others.

I've seen or heard of 9300/XPS2 keyboards made in Thailand, China (2 different factories), and eastern Europe.

Here we go. I hope I get this keyboard..................when I order. lol

Lol yeah,

my shift key came off last week, broke it while attempting to put it back...
Anyways, new keyboard comming ^^

I also have noticed that once in a while I will catch my finger on the edge of another key when I am pressing down in it. It happens enough to bother me once in a while.

You probably want to replace it now... unless you want to pay for the new one. When I got my new keyboard, they made me send back my old one in the same package. I even got an invoice for the new one that said that I didn't have to pay it if I've already sent in my old one. But overall, I'm pretty happy with the keyboard on my XPS2. Feels nice and clicky. Oh, and the problem with my last one was that the W key would activate after I barely touched it. But the new keyboard is working fine.

I also somtimes catch the key above with my finger tip after a downstroke. I am afraid that one might pop off eventually. I bought the 4 year warranty. When it happens they will have to replace it.

A similar thing happened with my I9300. Left hand shift key was victim, and quick hands of my 8 month old son was the culprit. THe Thai keyboard felt much more "cheap" than the Chinese one that replaced it.

I had lots of flex and finger hooking on my keys with my original keyboard, whic turned out to be a chinese keyboard though not the good one that others report with the so called "rivets" under the keys, My first keyboard looked like the THAI one, that is no distinguishing marks to tell which one it was, until my replacement came and I found the original was a chinese keyboard with no special "rivets" on it. My original keyboard has a sticker on the back that says model number K051125X Sunrex Technology Corp. it is flimsy and the metal has holes stamped where the keys plastic parts hook onto it. dells part number listed on the back of this keyboard is DP/N OH5639.

MY REPLACEMENT keyboard is also made in china, but it is the nice one that people describe as having "rivets" that you can see just under the V B and N keys and a few other keys as well, I asked Dell specifically for this keybaord telling them I had the THAI keyboard and didnt like its flexy keys (thinking that I did in fact have the THAI). The replacement keyboard is model number A196 KFRMB2 Series (this is from the sticker on the back of the keyboard) it is a solid metal back plate which is thicker and has no flex compared to the original. My Dell packing slip for the exchange keyboard refers to the kit as R8690, further down the packing slip it lists a part number for the keyboard as item number N8685 TSH,KYBD,REPL,INSP,9200.

Now this new chinese keyboard with the soo called rivets is great!! just like an IBM keyboard, even when I hit the corner of a key it depressed the entire key evenly an feels much better, it also has more of a reassuring click to it when I strike a key, just like the IBM notebook keyboards that I know and Love.

My 9300 is now perfect, THANKS DELL for the replacement!!

Hope these part numbers and model numbers help others out there who are also having problems, my first keyboard would make the cursor jump and sometimes flip webpages, one time even shutting the computer off, though my fingers never left home rown or the row immediately above and below it, in other words, I never hit any special function keys or anything that should have initiated a shutdown or a cursor jump!! Im pleased to report that with my replacement keyboard I am no longer experiencing that problem!!

Just an afterthought here, With soo many of the forum posts relating to problems with various parts that dell uses form different vendors, like the keyboards for example and the lcd panels for another and some seem to have problems with various cdrw dvd drives, perhaps we should share this info with Dell and make sure that on these posts we are sharing specific model numbers to the parts we like and the parts we dont to help one another out. I realize Dell uses different parts vendors to assure they always have a supply of parts available to build their systems, however , its also clear that some of these parts and vendors are turning out inferior products which in turn gives rise to complaints people have posted on Notebook Forums. Ive noticed in other problem threads, especially ones that deal with lcd panels, people NEVER seem to list what part numbers they got or what manufacturer, this crucial information would make it easier on us all if it were included in your posts. Food for thought and thanks all for listening.

What model number is yours? there are at least TWO DIFFERENT CHINESE KEYBOARDS FOR DELL, one is cheapo crap and the other is great, the great one is model A196(sticker on the back plate of the keyboard) and is a solid metal backplate, the cheap one has holes stamped out of it where the keys hook onto it and its thin and flexy.