Really bad keyboard flex on Studio 17 and 15. Are they all like this ?!?!

Hi everybody.
Time for a new notebook, my old Inspiron 1505/6400 is going to be my mother’s new computer . I went to a shop that carried Both Studio 15 and 17 (in countries where DELL doesn’t have a branch they sell prebuilt computers through different retailers) and checked them out. I am mostly interested in Studio 17” because of the larger screen and dual HDD option but it has a terrible terrible keyboard flex. It doesn’t matter how hard a press a key, the keyboard will move down with the key pressed and it is really very annoying to type on. The same thing with Studio 15 keyboard, but the flex is reduced because of the smaller keyboard. But it’s still there …. and it is also annoying. Compared to my Inspiron 1505, it is a night and day difference, 1505’s keyboard is solid and doesn’t budge when I type, whereas Studio’s keyboard feels like it’s made of rubber.
What is the deal with Studios keyboards, are they all like this or the models on display came with defective keyboards? Both models had backlit keyboards if it makes any difference in supplier/built quality.

If all Studio 17 notebooks have such a bad quality keyboard, this is a deal breaker for me. Still it’s 2008 and I haven’t seen a notebook with such a bad quality keyboard, even the cheapest 15” Inspiron 1501 on display had a better quality keyboard.

Anyone with a Studio 17, please share your experience.

 

Well to be honest, I don't experience any except a little over the disc drive. I don't see how it would be annoying as you honestly wouldn't even recognize it if you were typing on it without looking at the keyboard. If it really bothers you that much, maybe you should get a thinkpad.

 

A 17” inch entertainment Thinkpad with dual hardrives and a reasonable price tag? I wish .

Seriously I’m not that picky to need a Thinkpad, up until now my Inspiron 1505 served me well, it's just that Studios’ keyboards stood out in bad way, it was impossible to miss the flex, particularly the Studio 17 with a bigger keyboard.

 

Well from the four to five (friend's, shop's...) Studio 15 I have tried myself, they all had an irritable amount of keyboard flex. Too much to be honest.

 

I just got a Studio 15 for my wife, and besides the disc drive being broken upon delivery, the next thing I noticed was the flex in the keyboard, as if the base has a bend in it or something.

Very annoying, I have not been impressed at all. Kinda bummed.

 

Just as a side note here is a quote from Studio 17 review here on notebookreview.com

Link HERE.

So preproduction models meant for reviews got really good keyboards with very little flex, production models came with poor quality keyboards. I waiting for some impressions regarding Studio 17”, but I think I got the idea……I need to find another 17” notebook .

 

I used a studio 15 (installing software for someone) and I didn't notice any keyboard flex.

 

My Studio 17 has no flex that I've noticed. I didn't get a back lit keyboard if that makes a difference.

 

I have recently ordered a studio 17. Prior to ordering I have looked at several different studio 15 models in stores. The first one I looked at had the terrible flex you are describing the other had almost no flex. I hope that mine is good otherwise I will seriously consider returning it. My biggest hope is that the bad flex is not a result of use...

 

No flex on my 17"

 

Maybe the backlit keyboards are from a different manufacturer and have a lower quality. It’s just odd, some of you had really good keyboards and some of us had seen really bad flex.
To anyone willing to share his experience, please mention what type of keyboard you had, backlit or not. Thank you.

The thing is I will build and order my Studio 17 from Germany (IF I decide to buy one) since it is the closest country with a DELL online store and I can build a notebook according to my needs (and with an international warranty). I can’t test the keyboard before and it is very difficult to return in and get a refund/new one in case I get a dud since I live in a different country. I will move to Canada sometime next year, things will be easier warranty wise but it will be too late by then, I need to find out what causes that horrible flex with some keyboards; is it backlit related or supplier related.

 

Minimal flex on my Studio 17, barely noticeable and certainly not distracting. I didn't get the back-lit keyboard.

 

Mine's backlit, Studio 15, no flex.

 

mine's backlit, lots of flex around the fgh zone

 

I got a studio 1535 a few months ago and the keyboard has issues too. If you type too fast and press a few keys at the same time, one of them of randomly get stuck, not physically. I mean you can see the key is released, but it behaves like it's being pressed, until it's pressed again.

I asked around and this issue looks to be common. If anyone tries with a 3D game, the frequency to encounter the issue is once per 5 minutes.

Anyone has any experiences to share?

 

I tried a display model of the 1535 w/o backlighting and did notice some flex, but it wasn't noticeable while typing. It actually required quite a bit of force to produce any noticeable movement, much more than you'd probably apply during regular typing. Is this what you've been experiencing, or is it more pronounced than this? Is it a problem when typing?

 

Just got a 2nd Studio 17 (returned the first one) and this one has zero flex on it (the other one had minimal flex but nothing too bad). Can't see any flex with this one and it is also not back lit.

 

Just recieved my 17" studion it has minimal flex on the right side of the keyboard between the enter button and the num pad. I can live with it. The rest of the keyboard is solid - I did not get backlit...

 

I agree with this in my case..

 

I don't have key problem on my Studio 15.
Fine keyboard!even in the centre/middle
I use my 10 fingers in the same time

 

Some flex can be reduced by removing the keyboard, inspecting that all wires are in their cable trays and re-seating the keyboard properly. You wouldn't believe what I found when opening up my daughter's 15. It had a visible hump/curve thing going and when removed there were a bunch of wires that had come out of the mini cable tray. When I pushed them back into place and put the keyboard back into the proper holding slots on the sides it improved the flex dramatically. Remember where these are being built, it's really a crap-shoot as to the quality build you get.

 

My 15" Backlit Studio also has terrible flex. Coming from a thinkpad usage all my life, its even worse

 

I just got a 15" Dell Studio to give to my mom as a gift for Christmas. I was pretty appalled at the quality of the build on my version, the keyboard in particular. It isn't so much flex in my case as the center part of the keyboard seems to physically BULGE out and all the keys to the right of the F12 seem to be a little depressed into the frame. It's seemed subtle at first, but after first noticing it, it's all I see everytime I look at the laptop.

They're faint, but there also seem to be a couple of small depressions in the media touch control area. Again, it's subtle, but impossible to un-see. All in all, it almost feels as if someone dropped something on the keyboard during production and just moved on without re-examining.

Anyone else have any noticeable VISUAL issues with their keyboards on the Studio line? I'm not sure if this is worth being suspicious about, but I couldn't help notice that unlike every other laptop I've purchased in the past, this one had no protective film or material resting between the screen and the keyboard.

In any case, I'm playing it safe and have Dell ship me a new one. Hopefully it'll show up in time to wrap up and give on Xmas day. And more importantly, hopefully the new one will be built better.

 

I would also have to agree mine had keyboard flex BUT I could tolerate that it was the awful touchpad and even worse speakers that made me get rid of it.

 

I got a bit of it on my studio 17
i dont really mind it tho it makes typing more... soft? ha
kind of a coushioning device is how i see it

 

they put my core 2 duo sticker on a little crooked which being the anal one kind of pissed me off so i removed the sticker :]

 

Ditto for me! Backlit and the F-G-H region has substantial flex!

I've played around with a Studio 15 in BEST BUY and STAPLES (neither had backlit keyboards) and the flex wasn't nearly as noticeable on those. My keyboard has decent tactile feedback, but the flexing makes it feel cheap.

I must admit that my standards are pretty high. For several years, I've used a ThinkPad or DELL Latitude (perfect keyboards on both). But I've also used several Inspiron 1520 and 1525 keyboards and they provided better tactile feedback and had little to no flex!

Overall, it's a relatively small gripe considering that the rest of my Studio 15 is awesome...but it still annoys me a bit. It doesn't stop me from recommending the Studio 15, though!

 

I've had a pretty bad keyboard flex/bulge in both the m1330 (many of them) and studio 15, and everytime it was due to the WiFi cable not being properly routed in the right place (under the keyboard) -- it may be as simple as taking the keyboard off and running the cable where it's supposed to go: http://www.jrin.net/2009_03_16/how-to-fix-a-bulging-keyboard-on-the-dell-studio-15-15351536