Z12 keyboard replacement / how difficult?

I was wiping down my keyboard and got a bit too aggressive with the spacebar and marred the surface a bit. It's hardly noticeable but it drives me nuts. So I was thinking of ordering a replacement part and replacing the keyboard myself. I know, I'm probably being silly.

How difficult is it to get at and replace the keyboard on a Z12? I've watched a couple disassembly videos but they only focused on the palm rest. Is it possible to replace the keyboard? It looks very easy to get the top off the Z but I'm not sure how hard it is to get the keyboard out.

Where would I find the part number for the Z12 keyboard?

Thanks!

 

You know you can replace the spacebar only, right?

 

Seriously? lol No I didn't realise that. I felt around the edges of the spacebar but couldn't feel a lip where I would be able to pull it up. How do you get it out?

Does Sony even sell individual keys?

 

I'm not sure the Z keys come off. I have something crunchy under my "0" key (thanks kids), and it doesn't appear the keys come off like most keyboards...and I'm not inclined to force it. Anyone?

 

From what I could find so far, a replacement keyboard seems to cost around $170-180usd, part# 1-487-660-21 (unconfirmed at the moment.) Wow. These certainly aren't Dells are they?

I might just stick with the current keyboard until I can no longer handle it. I don't think they keys are removable either, so it looks like we have to remove the top and then the keyboard. I wonder how easy that is. So far I haven't found instructions in the official service manual, at least not yet.

 

The top is easy to remove (just a LOT of screws), i've just never separated the keyboard from the top (b panel).

 

I just got my replacement keypad today for Z590, I couldn't stand any more all those worn out (slick) keys, looking like some cheap plastic (which it is btw )

As said, a lot of screws, as you need to open top part of laptop, and then to separate keypad from top part itself, a friend of mine did it for me in 30-45 min, plus he also cleaned all vents, tighten hinges...as they call it - "refresh"

Cheers,
Miki

 

Of course you can Do you think the whole keyboard is made out of one piece of plastic You can remove every single key! just pull it from the inner side and it will unclick!

Sony to sell individual keys? Of course not... But why Sony... you know there are other trading companies in this world, don't you

One of the few dealing with keys (haven't checked if they offer Z): Laptop Keys Replacement | Keyboard Keys | Free Video Guides

 

this is what I got from Sony, it's the whole top part together with keypad:




And here is my 2 years old worn out keypad:



See how keys E, R, spacebar, M, N are all worn out (slick), no more that sandpaper feel. Just to be clear, this is NOT the reason why I got new one, some buttons were not working (up/down arrows, right shift key; symbols :"). Never had this issue with my FZ series laptop. And I paid Z590 $2,640, so much about premium materials used.

Cheers,
Miki

 

Would you mind trying to remove a couple keys from the OLD keyboard? And make sure they go back on?

 

I pulled my arrow key off by accident and I snapped it back on. I'm assuming the Spacebar would be the same.

 

I did several times, they have small plastic "hinge" looks very fragile, but I had to remove some food remains (damn kids!)

Back to Z590 "premium materials used":



Never dropped it, always in Targus APS bag, this is all due to regular use. Check my right touchpad key, paint chiped-off due to design flaw (I guess) as when closed top part is hitting this button. Also due to my hand position when not using regular mouse (my thumb resting on the front part in front of touchpad) HDD and Magic Gate inscriptions wore out as well (middle picture). And just from opening/closing lid.... well picture No.1

All said, NOT what you expect from premium model, with premium materials and even more premium price! I guess it's true: Sony, like no other

Anyways, as I said numerous times, I simply ADORE Z design, and would buy it again (but this is pure heart decision against all logic).

Cheers,
Miki

 

Guys, there is NO keyboard with not-removable keys! Those keys got there somehow - the same way they go out and in again! I am really shocked so many people are surprised to hear that!!

Don't you ever clean your keyboard?

The hinge system is basically the same in every keyboard, just the dimensions are different. All "prolonged" keys such as the space bar, Enter, Backspace, Shift, Tab, Num Lock, etc. have a metal wire underneath to support the whole button. This makes them a bit more tricky to remove and mainly to put back in, so I avoid playing with those unless really necessary!

One warning though - the plastic clips on the inner side of the buttons on my Vaio S seem quite fragile - I had one broken while I was typing - the "G" button just popped out. When I looked at its backside I noticed one of the clip-holders was broken. I was able to return the key but it was held in 3 out of 4 spots and felt different when typing, so I found a spare one and replaced it.

But if you have a warn out key and consider buying a whole new keyboard - you have nothing to be afraid of - it is worth a try! I have removed many of my keys either to remove dust underneath or to lubricate the mechanism which makes the keys more silent. The trick is to pull them from the upper side - the edge that is closer to your screen.

Putting back would then be first sliding the key in with the side closer to you and then pressing the other side down until it clicks. With all "wired" keys you need to play a bit more to attach them correctly but you will figure it out once you remove one of them and study it

 

^Well of course they are removable...the question is will they go back together without damage. The island keys on the Z are on there so tight I was concerned it would break the clips by forcing the keys off. They are on there REALLY tight.

Some keyboards the aluminum tabs that hold the clips in place will bend/break as well when you remove the keys.

 

yeah, it's real pain in the butt for first time, but then you got used to it. If my kids wouldn't use my laptop as a plate, I would assume regular cleaning with blower-brush or compressed air would do just fine, no need to remove buttons. Only in case of squeaky keys or as I mentioned before food crumbs that omits button play you would need to physically remove button.

As Gracy said, beware as often remove will eventually lead to hinge break down, twist or whatever..

My problem was that keypad flat cable connectors was screwed, well not totally but one "line"and that was the reason some of the buttons were not working, so the only way was to install new keypad.

Cheers,
Miki

 

My keys pop off very easliy. Just lift them from the right side with your fingernails. They click out from the first two holding hinges and then you can gently clip it out vertically.

 

i'm experiencing the exact issue. how much did the whole keyboard cost?

 

well, you cannot buy "just" keyboard, it the whole front plate WITH keyboard, I've order it from Sony US, 140$ for old VGN-Z590 model.

And I know at least 3 more people with EU Z spec. model having same issues. Quality issue?

Cheers,
Miki

 

@Miki
I'm not too sure how old you VGN-Z590 is (just over 2.5 years?), but my VGN-Z2 from Oceania has two problems; the palm rest has become 'shiney', almost gloss, and the keys have lost their sandpaper feel. It's just over 2 years old now.

I usually peel the stickers ONCE they start peeling (though I've since learned to do so from the day of purchase), and a few weeks back the VAIO WARRANTY, your FULLHD, started crapping out. The difference from new, a smooth matt texture, from the glossy texture I have today is rather... frustrating, considering the price I paid for this machine. This despite me understanding it's 'wear and tear'; it shouldn't be this bad on something touted as premium like the Z.

And I too treat my Z as a goddess. Darn micro-fibre textured sleeve (bought here in NZ for US$70), micro-fibre between keyboard and screen when travelling, etc etc.

Have heard a few times here on the forums that the silver hinge on the VGN-Z loses it's silver coating easily. Yet to experience that with mine though. Actually, got a few scratches (heaven knows where from) on the mid-plate of the Z as well as the hinge, but nothing that's 'fading'.

...as you say, maybe a region-specific quality issue?

Though to stay on topic...
I'm curious to know whether the keyboard keys that fit the VPC-Z will fit on a VGN-Z? Don't own a VPC-Z, so have no idea unlike the gifted individuals here who have both
I've always liked that matrix font keyboard that the Japanese variants can come with (via CTO); looks funky

http://www.jp.sonystyle.com/Special/Computer/Vaio/Subwin/Images/10su/keyboard_z_font_02.jpg
http://www.jp.sonystyle.com/Special/Computer/Vaio/Subwin/Images/10su/keyboard_z_jpkanafont_02.jpg

 

I was referring to "overall" built quality/materials used. As said, My FZ still has keypad in mint condition, same as my wife's old Toshiba U400 (purchased 1 month before my Z, OCT 2008). After all those video clips of rigid testing Sony is doing it is simply beyond my understanding choosing such non-prone materials to everyday wear and tear. Take any cheap mobile phone, it has better plastic covers than new Vaio Z palmrest ( also showing tremendous wear and tear in a matter of few months). I really don't understand this???

My right side hinge (where power button) does wiggles more than left one, I'll have to tighten it in a few days. Now, I have a friend doing laptop repairs so it quite easy for me to "refresh" my laptop every now and then, plus this is done 45min, but I do understand other people frustration sending their laptops to repair centre and waiting weeks/months.

And Z suppose to be rigid/faithful companion to "road warriors" as advertised.

To answer your question will VGN-Z keyboard fit VPC-Z, it will NOT. If you check my images on previous page, you'll see that those S1,S2 and EJECT keys are also part of the keypad, while VPC-Z has some additional keys, so layout is not the same. Unless it you can get keyboard ONLY for VPC-Z, not whole front plate as with VGN-Z.

And that's another thing I dislike about Sony: I only need keypad not whole front plate, raising price unnecessary.

In case anyone need keypad number for VGN-Z US based model:


Cheers,
Miki

 

To be honest, no Sony can be compared to a Lenovo as a "road warrior". I don't know any other brand/model that is as robust as a Lenovo T-series.

On the other hand, most of the above mentioned problems seem to be Z-specific from what I read around the Forum. Pity of course, considering the price, but I have the feeling (and has been confirmed by those owning both), that Vaio S is much more robust and durable than Z. That does not mean there are no problems with the S at all - come on - can you find ANY brand and model that has no single user to complain about something!? But compared to what I read about Z, S owners have just minor problems, most of them cosmetic, such as a wiggly battery, wiggly CD-drive cover, squeaky space bar, etc. I read a few complains about the paint-job, but still nothing compared to Z.
And many other examples, but don't want to dive too deep into this as the idea of the thread is not comparing vaio models.

Another Z-specific thing... The S has a separate Keyboard panel that looks very similar to the one of the Z, but can be removed in 3 minutes after removing 3-4 screws and can be bought for about or for even less than 50 bucks.

 

come to think of it, my wife's VGN-S41 (pink edition) does feel more robust than my Z. Screen doesn't flex as much as with Z (don't know if this is good thing), but on the other side, touchpad buttons are quite cheap comparing to Z. I guess, can't win them all.

Cheers,
Miki

 

I was referring to the KEYS and not the KEYBOARD itself. Quite curious to know whether the KEYS from a VPC-Z will fit on a VGN-Z. I know the 'special' keys (S1, S2, EJECT etc etc) won't fit of course. I'm more interested in the individual keys / letters...

@Gracy123
One laptop I can think of being a contender to the Lenovo T series is the Panasonic Toughbook. Though granted, those are only mass-sold in Japan and only exclusively sold everywhere else (for industrial usage, not your every day commercial use).

You'd here more complaints about the Z since it's an expensive machine. People pay PREMIUM for it. Yet despite that there are rather obvious flaws. If the Z was sold with a price tag of your everyday HP, I would expect much less dissatisfaction since people will think 'you get what you pay for'. And unfortunately for the Z at the moment, that's not the case. Though we should remember, the Z is supposed to push on the boundries of (ultra) performance with an extremely light chassis. Hence the rather 'plasticy' feel. We as users are merely early-bird guinea pigs for Sony. They hear our complaints, and (hopefully) address them in the next model. Though mind you, the few years I've been using a VAIO, they fix one problem (if any) from a previous generation and in turn introduce a dozen more. One step forward, 3 steps back...

The Z is NOT designed for heavy-off road use like the Lenovo T; that's a (completely) different niche altogether, focusing more heavily on durability (AND performance). The Z focuses on weight-saving and performance; not the most obvious difference but a difference nonetheless.

 

I can't really say I agree with the above. I consider SONY a premium brand, where each model costs "premium". These are the facts - the same technical configuration would be more expensive by sony than by HP or Toshiba or Acer. But Z? No - I don't think Z is anything "premium". It is what it is - the most expensive Sony model, which just has extras that cost extra money by every manufacturer! SSD costs extra, the FC light body costs extra, switchable graphics with NVIDIA 330M costs extra.... those are all things you pay additional amount of money for by each and every brand!! Another question is whether Z owners realize that! You are not the first one to say "I pay premium prize and expect premium quality" - this is not true - you paid for extras that you might even never use or not be aware to have, but you didn't pay for any extra quality - you paid for a Sony with many extras!

Just to give an example to make it more clear - You can never say you bought Audi A8 and expect premium quality just because the car costs more than A6 or A4 - NO, you paid for the extra space, extra electronics, extra comfort system, extra security system, extra audio, etc. etc. (whether you need those is a totally different question and your own problem - something you should have considered before purchasing) - but the quality - it is Audi quality despite the price difference!!

It is just a different class notebook. In its class, every other Sony model is "premium" just because it costs more then most of the competitors and owners are allowed to expect better quality and service for that price!

My point was though that the new Z seems to have worse build quality then other models, which is not ok. And don't get me wrong - not trying to advertise any model, S is by far not perfect either. But the significant difference in problems between S and Z caught my attention long time ago and hasn't changed since.

I completely agree with the below though:

 

Guess I should have worded it better.
Yes, Sony up-prices their hardware compared to other brands (Dell, HP, whathaveyou). And yes, as you say more expensive != more quality. Heck the Z is low down in my books as it is...

Though the Z is more orientated towards being easily portable while not sacrificing performance. Durability is not part of the equation here. Like you, I too agree in saying the build is significantly worse than other models. But I'd tend to think that's because Sony's focused heavily on the 'easily portable' side of things. And as Z owners, we are to endure the brunt that focus can bring (ie, fragile machines). That's not to say I condone these build-issues. Far from it. Some of these 'issues' are rather obvious and I think Sony, considering the man-hours spent engineering the chassis for example, made some easily avoidable boo-boos that other manufacturers would not have made.

Sony takes in the opinions (more like, complaints) and attempt to improve in the next generation. Though as I said before, so-called improvements more often than not introduce brand new issues....

End of the day, your average-Joe-and-Jane expects more quality from more expensive machines, as consumers. An example to counter your Audi one
Mercs vs. Geely (Chinese car maker). Considering the huge price differences, and the general public opinion towards Mercedes (as being up-market, expensive AND high quality), we all know what the average Joe will want.
It's the same thing with higher-end VAIOs. Sony WAS a tech leader in the past, and when your average Joe comes across say, a Z, alongside a similar spec yet cheaper Dell or HP, average Joe as a consumer WILL consider the more expensive Sony. Irrespective of real-world quality since they'll simply expect it.

I don't consider myself to be in this category (as an electrics enthusiast). But there are deep-pocketed individuals here who would have bought the Z to simply just game while on the move. Nothing else. Me, I bought mine as it was the lightest machine capable of handling CAD back in the day, considering I'm mobile for 10 hours in the daytime. That plus battery life for everything else (Intel graphics).

 

Sorry, for some reason I wasn't receiving notifications.

To answer your question, yes I know you can pull keys off a keyboard. This is my first chiclet keyboard and like everything else on the Z, I thought it would be different - i.e. I wasn't sure the keys were easily removed. I figured they'd be quite hard to get off. It's one thing to accidentally wreck a $20 desktop keyboard, quite another to mess up a $150 keyboard on a $3000 laptop.

As for my Z being durable, it's actually held up pretty well so far but it is treated as though it were fragile Chinaware. I accidentally stepped on the corner of it (lid closed) once with enough weight that it lifted the other end off the ground. Heart-stopping moment there but it is still in perfect condition. Still, it is handled with much more care than my Dell, which feels tank-like in comparison. With that said, the Z is the best laptop I've ever owned. I'm in love the screen, speed, and weight. It makes an awesome development machine.

 

$140 is quite pricey...I should have bought the ones I saw on eBay (used) when they were available...$60-80 shipped if I'm not mistaken.

You mentioned on your previous post that the cause of your (some) 'keys are not working' is due to a broken line in the keypad flat cable connectors. Is that the ribbon cable connecting the keyboard to the motherboard?

My Z is out of warranty and all of the repair shops I've inquired suggests for me to do a keyboard replacement for roughly $80. But if I can just get this cable and replace it myself, perhaps it would save me some cash.

 

That's correct.

As for keypad it's way overpriced, but this was paid from my company so, not that I care.

On the other side this is a pure rip-off, I mean selling whole front plate and not just keypad??? Is this the way Sony treats its premium consumers?

To be honest, my feelings are mixed about Z series: what's premium about it, except for its price? Keypad gets worn out (shiny); palmrest - same story.. btw, I never understood the idea of this plastic palmrest in new Z? If they made it out of, let's say leather or whatever, it would feel premium and soft to your palms.. otherwise it simply doesn't belong there. I prefer palmrestless approach in VGN-Z, although I like the way VPC-Z incorporated cylindrical hinge inside body, not like an "extension" in VGN-Z.....

All said, I think Sony needs to impress me (pretty much) with new Z, otherwise I might look elsewhere.

Cheers,
Miki

 

I'm bumping for confirmation...
But anyone know whether a key (say, a S on the VPC-Z keyboard) will fit on a VGN-Z keyboard? Like, are the keys identical size-wise (and connector wise)?

@miki69
They used leather for the higher-end AW series a few years back and there were complaints of it getting worn out. And get this; most reports were within 3-4 months of normal usage. The wear was rather bad that they actually did warranty replacements for the entire top part (the AW's keyboard was the same concept as a one-piece palm-rest / keyboard as the VGN-Z).

I would assume that's why Sony doesn't offer leather on today's offering (and why the AW was discontinued so suddenly to make sure that they could clear their inventory of 'bad' stock, or even better, prevent them from going on sale)

 

thanks for the info on AW. Will they ever get this right? What about new F21, it looks like glass or something? If glass, I hope it's prone to scratches.

As for physical single button size, I don't see any differences in VGN vs. VPC, though I don't have at the moment VPC-Z around me.

Cheers,
Miki

 

Well if any of you guys need a palmrest/keyboard for the VGN-Z, PM me. I've got a new one lying around that I was planning on putting on my VGN-Z right before Sony replaced it with my VPC-Z.

 

@sonus
Just out of curiosity, what layout does your spare have (EU, US, or JP), and where you sourced it from?

 

US Keyboard layout and it was sourced from Sony. And I now recall, I am mistaken, it is as good as new (condition: 10/10), I actually did use the keyboard for about two weeks. I removed it before sending the laptop into Sony b/c I secretly hoped they would replace my computer which they did.

 

wow that's so awesome. I have a VPCZ, do you know how I would be able to get(normal or matrix) Japanese keyboard with kana on it??

 

You can get the Japanese keyboard from, well, Japan. I think you can ask specific sellers on eBay and they can source for you on request as well (though don't quote me on that); I'm gonna try sourcing them through the Tokyo service centre direct via mates.

Though one thing you should be aware of is the Felica port.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/son...i7-official-owners-thread-36.html#post5989282

I recall there being a CTO option to NOT have that actually. But you may be stuck with that logo (not an extrusion like the VGN-Z) if you opt for the Kana boards.

 

Note that the matrix font keyboard is not available with backlighting. Also, Sony doesn't sell any PC parts directly in Japan like they do in the States. This means that Japan-specific parts like the Japanese keyboard are unobtainable (unless of course someone parts out their laptop on Yahoo Auctions or something!).

 

damn, so there isn't really any way i could ever realistically get a Japanese keyboard w/o waiting around on sites like yahoo auctions...? shame

 

...you'll be darn lucky to find a VPC-Z going for parts on Yahoo JP auctions, or for anywhere else online in Japan for that matter.

I myself just don't wanna go through the hassle of asking some mates (who then have their own contacts in Sony) only to find out it doesn't fit on a VGN-Z, hence why I was looking for confirmation in the first place...

 

I need a palmrest for the VPC-Z series, if anyone has a used one or knows of a good supplier for new or gently used Vaio Z components.

The Sony Service Plus site is down right now, but did have the part listed for about 300usd, which is a bit more than I'd like to spend...