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[info_anarchy]

Sometimes, the CTRL key will seem to be stuck down.  The key itself doesn't seem to be physically stuck, but the machine behaves as though every other key i press is a CTRL+key sequence - like for example maybe I press r and it reloads the page.

this seems to happen usually after bringing the machine back from being on and idle for a while - perhaps it's linked to when it turns off its screen and goes into power saving mode?

it doesn't seem consistent - just now I restarted and the problem was still there, but if i messed with the keyboard long enough sometimes I could get it to behave normally.  I've also been experimenting with using XFCE instead of Sugar, and using the command line outside of X, but the problem happens on all interfaces, which makes me think it's a hardware/firmware problem rather than a bug with Sugar or Linux.

if anyone else has noticed this problem, i'd love to hear about it, because I can't figure it out, and i'm wondering if my machine is just broken.

[ra88it]

I'm having the exact same problem. Hitting the control key a few times always seems to fix it, but it consistently returns after a reboot. And you're right, it does not appear to be the hardware. At first I thought the keyboard didn't work. Then I ran the calculator application and the keyboard input always seems to work fine for that program (as though it treats control characters the same as their non-control counterparts).

Who else is experiencing this?

[info_anarchy]

i've found that holding the "stuck" key down and sort of massaging it or rubbing it around firmly - but not super hard - fixes it.  Although that doesn't prevent it happening again later.

[leetcharmer]

this happens for me to, but I think with the "alt" key.  Should we contact Donor Services?

[info_anarchy]

this happens for me to, but I think with the "alt" key.  Should we contact Donor Services?

I guess it couldn't hurt.  I suspect it's a hardware issue, so I'm not sure there's much they can do to fix ours, but it might be good for them to know it's a problem for the future.

[Infamy]

Stuck keys are an issue right now. The cause is unknown, but the simple answer might be that the keyboards need some breaking in. Hopefully we will have more info soon

-Infamy

[leetcharmer]

I contacted help [at] laptop [dot] org and they told me to get an RMA.

[leetcharmer]

I called their customer service and after waiting on hold for 1 hour and 20 minutes, the tech representative gave me an RMA for this issue.  So I've got to ship it off now and wait for a new one to come in.  They didn't offer to pay for shipping costs.  You may want to ask for that when you call.

I hope they send my new one quickly!

[Ben James Ben]

FYI, Bug 5658 was filed against the hardware problem of sticky keys and contains more information about diagnosis procedures.

[jonhuang]

I have this as well. Additionally, the left-shift and 'a' keys can trigger ctrl. I can resolve it for a time by firmly pulling up the ctrl key by the edges, but it inevitably returns.

In the meantime, does anyone know how I can remap cntl to left-shift?

[Gabey8]

FYI, Bug 5658 was filed against the hardware problem of sticky keys and contains more information about diagnosis procedures.

In my case, the problem is the ALT key. I added some comments to the problem ticket, which appears to be set up to cover both CTRL and ALT key issues.

Crapola. I was so hoping that there would be a software fix for this, but it appears more and more as though it's a hardware issue. *%^&$%$#...

[XOpher]

I performed the keyboard diagnostic and clearly have the CTRL sticky problem. With the diagnostic on, I can see by tweaking the case on the left side of the keyboard, the CTRL key goes on and off. Some kind of pinch over there. Since I was an "early receiver" of the XO (Dec 15th!) I am going to try and get the RMA today and send the XO off tomorrow. From the number of reports on this forum and others, the problem appears to be rather widespread. Not to be an alarmist, but if you have any hint of trouble, I'd get it taken care of as the 30 days passes quickly! I sure hate to see mine go 

[vince]

I performed the keyboard diagnostic and clearly have the CTRL sticky problem. With the diagnostic on, I can see by tweaking the case on the left side of the keyboard, the CTRL key goes on and off. Some kind of pinch over there. Since I was an "early receiver" of the XO (Dec 15th!) I am going to try and get the RMA today and send the XO off tomorrow. From the number of reports on this forum and others, the problem appears to be rather widespread. Not to be an alarmist, but if you have any hint of trouble, I'd get it taken care of as the 30 days passes quickly! I sure hate to see mine go 

Mine eventually tore.  Waiting for a RMA reply to my email, they claim high volumes and estimate 3-5 business days to even reply to start the process.  Ugh.

On the good side, the key works perfectly now. On the bad side, well it's not a sealed keyboard to say the least.  Heck I'd buy a replacement keyboard rather than RMA it if that was possible but it isn't (yet).

The keyboard sure seems like the weak link in the XO from what I've seen and read.  Kids will tear it to shreds pretty quickly even innocently.

[Kityoko]

I've had my XO for about a week and a half, and the keys aren't working correctly. The right shift button doesn't activate most of the time, and over the weekend, the whole keyboard failed entirely for several hours. It's very intermittent. Reboots don't fix it; the keyboard just magically starts working again.

Can anyone tell me how to request an RMA? I couldn't find it on the OLPC website.

[CanuckinUS]

Follow this link to the OLPC Support Forum. It provides the steps (and phone number) to use.

http://olpc.osuosl.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2224

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