HDX 16 Backlit Keyboard Upgrade

Hello, I'm not sure if this is the right place, but it's the HP forum so I hope it is.

I bought an HDX 16 1354CA here in Canada from Futureshop which, for those of you in the US, is much like Best Buy. Now, as some of you may be aware, there is no option for a backlit keyboard for this model of laptop.

As much as I love it, I can't help but be a little jealous of my girlfriend's Macbook Pro where her's has a spiffy backlit keyboard. Furthermore, the keyboard included in my laptop is the Canadian layout, which is absolute garbage. There's two of the same backward slash keys on either side of the keyboard, making the left shift the same size as the control key and enter takes up two lines. Not to mention the french accents and translations all over the place.

So, basically what I'm getting at is that I was fed up with this keyboard, and would have really like to somehow upgrade the keyboard on this laptop I paid a stupid amount for. I contacted HP support through their chat feature, and they said that it was not available as an upgrade option. Frusterated, I turned to the only place I knew would fix everything in life: Ebay.

I found myself a perfect backlit keyboard by a ebay seller called Yallstore. 22 american dollars and 6 days later, I got exactly what I wanted. I have it installed and much as I expected, it was one of those things that I didn't really realize was great until I actually had it. WOW, is it ever cool. I'm glad I bought it, and it makes the laptop that much better to use.

 

Great to hear. Is the touch feel the same as the original keyboard ?. In terms of build quality.

Thanks

 

I wish I now had the smiley "This thread is worthless without pictures!" somewhere. Seriously, if you can get couple pictures of that new keyboard in action, it would be awesome.

 

Is it possible to get backlit keyboard for dv7-2080eo?

 

Pics:

 

The feel is exactly the same if not better than HP's factory keyboard that shipped with my notebook. I'm loving every second of it.

As for pictures, I'll upload some as soon as I can, no before/after, but I do have a pic of the old keyboard piece itself.

EDIT:


VS

 

How difficult is to replace the keyboard ? Is the first layer that comes out as opposed to reaching the motherboard ?.

Thanks

 

I used the maintenance and service guide supplied by HP. I just googled for it, it's a PDF file.

It wasn't too difficult, only a few of the screws had to be taken out from the bottom, and the three that kept the keyboard itself in. The only parts of the laptop I needed to remove were the speaker grill and that silver part the surrounds the keyboard. After that, I just need to make sure I was careful with the ZIF connectors, but they didn't show me any trouble, just wierd angles. It only took me about 10 minutes max, and I'm no professional.

However, I'm fairly certain that this will void your warranty unfortunately, as the keyboard is not a user replaceable part (I contacted HP directly about this, so I'm quite sure). But, I don't think it's traceable really, so if there's ever a problem, just switch the keyboards back and you should be fine.

 

While I wont do this because I like my copper DV7 KB, I was curious, where did you plug in the LED power flexi cable of the keyboard? Or not? (there are two shown in the backside of the KB, one is obviously data.

If not, and it seems it that it receives its power thru the one main connector, do you have any control over the LED's? (dimming, on/off, etc.)

 

There's one cable for the data, and one much smaller one for the LED. I had to plug both of them in obviously, but I had anticipated as much. There was only two ZIF connectors underneath the keyboard itself so it was fairly easy to deduce what went where.

To activate the backlighting, I would press Fn + Spacebar. There's no dimming, only on and off unfortunately, but it's better than nothing.

 

Pictures look nice, thank you for those. Makes me want one too

How is the keyboard light powered? I mean, does the HDX come with backlit optional already and it has a power plug somewhere inside or is the keyboards own power enough?

 

MrGreecastle,

Ah Ha!

I'll have to look under the DV7's then to see for myself, which haven't done since I really don't want to put in a silver KB, but that answers my question; yours obviously had support for it already.

Yours is the second of two threads here about backlighting, and I informed the othewr OP that it's not so much a matter if the KB fits, but where you would plug in its LED power ribbon ...

 

That's pretty petty for any manufactures, especially when it's the main user interface and suffers the greatest amount of wear and tear. As far as I'm concerned, that would be the same as an automobile manufacturer voiding your car's warranty because you changed your tires. That's just stupid.

 

I agree, however it's not too much of a big deal, as I have my service plan through Futureshop. They cover component upgrades and didn't see why the keyboard wouldn't be included. Like I said though, if there's any issue, just keep the old keyboard handy and swap it back in before you send it off, there shouldn't be any problems.

That is for any hardware problems, for software, I'm more than capable of dealing with it myself

It has a separate power ZIF connector. It's much smaller than the regular one for the keyboard and slightly of to the side.

 

Oh I'm already hip to that Jeeves. Anyway, I ordered the backlit keyboard a month ago and the second rate parts ( SparePartsWarehouse.com) company said they couldn't confirm my card. Since I know it wasn't a problem on my side (I've ordered from two other companies that same day) I got mad and haven't reordered.

 

You could always try ebay, I got it from a ebay store called Yallstore. I'm actually fairly certain the part is directly from HP, because it feels and looks exactly the same as the other keyboard I have. Minus the slight layout differences of course. It came to about 25$ Canadian, and it took less than a week to ship, I imagine its quicker for US residents. I highly recommend it.

This is the exact one I bought.

 

I don't believe they have that backlit keyboard part for the HDX 18?

 

This looks like a good one.

Its the cheapest one when shipping is taken into account. And I trust that seller as he's got the Power seller rating.

 

It look like the perfect item; and at a great price too. However, I've never purchased from ebay before. What does it mean they only accept paypal?

 

You need to sign up to eBay, and open up a paypal account to purchase the item.

Basically:

Ebay = the auction part
Paypal=Payment part

Paypal payments are normally pretty secure, if you purchase through eBay, your covered by paypal, should something bad happens.

 

Yeah it's much better to purchase through paypal in case something bad happens, like the item not shipping or getting damaged on the way.

I've never had any problems with paypal and I've used it to buy many different things online. Monoprice for my HDMI cables, dealextreme for cheap gadgets, and then ebay for the occasional unfindable thing elsewhere
I just bought a Zune HD actually using paypal since they aren't in Canada. No issues.

If you do decide to use it, I hope everything works out well and if you could post your results here with pics etc.

 

Now if they made one in bronze with the black lettering backlit, I'd be tearing into my DV7 to look for the power zif alongsode my KB zif ....

 

Power is feed from the laptop. Both hdx16 and 18 came with optional backlit keyboard. It was a $50 option when you order a customized laptop.

 

Perhaps the ability to change the colors too, ala Alieinware? Now that I think about it, even RGB wouldn't be a bad idea.

Anyway, this one looks great and will do fine for me. It's functional and attractive without being gaudy.

 

I meant the color of the keys themselves, but changing the backlight color might be a nice option ...

 

I know what you meant; I've seen those keys. They look nice too.

 

hey guys. I have a similar problem. Last night a friend spilled some water on my month old HDX16 >.> Everything seems to be fine except for the fact that my t and y keys aren't working. So if I get this keyboard and replace it with the old one, it should solve the problem right? Also, how does the warranty thing work? If I replace it, will it get void? And finally, can you guys find me a good deal on this backlit keyboard with shipping to Canada because I dont live in the US. Please respond and thanks in advance

 

Krane: I love them because no one would try typing on my lappy in low light, can't read the keys (I touch type, doesn't bother me)...

Skillz: Yeah, replace and you should be ok, if not then you have a mainboard issue; for the most part though it will be the KB. As far as warranty, you could either save the old one and replace before shipping it to HP, or not ...
AFAIK, I would query the seller on intl shipping to Canada.

 

Ok so just to make sure, if I take off the keyboard, there won't be any broken warranty seals right? And I will contact the seller for the info. Thanks!

 

Nope, no "seals" there ... You're good to go.

 

Very nice. I'll have to check this out for my HDX 18. It's only $28 for the keyboard, so what the hell!

Thanks for the tip!

 

I am planning to by a HDX16 recent days, and I really want the effects that backlit keyboard has because we have to turn off our lights in the classrooms. However, I can't find anyone who is selling backlit keyboards on ebay now...Can you guys do me a favor to find a HDX16 backlit keyboards?

 

Good luck! I've seen it for as much as $130! That's more than 4X what I paid for mine.

 

Why don't you just custom order the hdx16 and add the option for $50?

 

I don't know about him, but I got an extremely good deal because I purchased mine preconfigured from a local electronics store. Otherwise, I would have ordered it. Others just don't consider it until they see one with that option then they have to have it. In my view, ALL HDX should include them standard.

 

I just ordered a backlit keyboard for my HDX 16 for $22+$4 shipping on eBay at the aforementioned YallStore. The led's are a different shade of white than the media keys so be aware of that. All in all it's a good deal. You need to search for the correct one. Some say just HDX and others say specifically for the HDX 16.

My laptop is about 1 pound heavier after the upgrade so there is a tradeoff. It's a heavy keyboard compared to the featherweight standard keyboard that comes with the HDX 16's. I can't speak for the OEM HP backlit keyboards. Not sure how heavy they are. All i know is that my laptop got a bit heavier after install.

If you have ever disasembled a laptop before then this shouldn't be hard at all. Just take you time and don't loose screws. Also be aware that connectors inside laptops have shrunk in size by a factor of two over the past four years. The ribbon cable and such wiring are easy to muck up.

 

so does the keyboard come with/include the backlight? since you didnt have it on the laptop in the first place

 

Do you like yours?

 

Yes the LEDs are molded under the keys in the keyboard matrix. The connector is already in place on the motherboard. It's just plug and play. There are two connectors on the lightup keyboard. One for power and the original ribbon cable.

 

It's installed and is not coming out. So that should tell ya.

 

Is there an option for matte LCD on the HDX 16?

 

hey guys, the link expired. Can anyone find me a new link on ebay, or atleast guide me in finding one? I am currently looking for one, but can't seem to find one. Please help and thanks in advance.

 

i-am-so-jealous.

great job mate, cheers

 

Any idea what the exact part number on the keyboard for the HDX16 was?

 

*bump*
So another place is selling these keyboards now for ~$18. I bought one and installed it, and it works fine. Enjoy

HP HDX X16 Silver Backlit US 9J.N1E82.001 AEUT6U00030 AT6 Laptop keyboard - KeyBoard|HP|Gemwon - Laptop / Notebook