Checking for software vs. hardware keyboard problems.? Lenovo A12 YB-Q501F Android 6.0.1

Question

I've got the tablet listed above, and discovered that the built-in keyboard (called the Halo Keyboard) now barely functions.

A few keys on the left side of the keyboard work, but not consistently. None on the right half of the keyboard respond at all.

It all worked fine a few months ago.

The tablet has an attached keyboard and operates almost like a laptop, but the keys are pressure-sensitive buttons rather than physical keys. The keyboard lights up when it's in a configuration to be used.

I use it mostly in tablet-only mode, and the keyboard is on the other side of the device in that mode, not active.

I tried checking for system updates but haven't found anything.

A lot of searching doesn't turn up my problems, and often gather in responses from a Windows version of this same machine. They usually refer to reinstalling drivers but I can't determine if that's applicable from the posts.

One error that I've noticed is after many attempts at hitting keys on the physical board, and then going to use the android keyboard, many of these random presses will show up later. When I start typing in a search bar, I will get hit with a long string of 'aaaaaa' or 'zzzzzz' etc.

I've rebooted the machine twice; I'm also going to try a factory reset, though there is data on the machine I want to get off first.

I'd love to see if I can determine if this is a software problem or if the keyboard itself has become faulty. I'm familiar with Linux but I'm not an expert with Android! Is there any kind of diagnostic that I can do?

Answer 1

In this particular case, I discovered a small hairline crack along the physical keyboard section. (It is touch-based and flat, with no physical keys, just outlined sections for key placement.)

Everything on one side of the hairline crack is not working, and most of the stuff on the other side is, with some errors.

Although my device's problems can't be solved through software, @alecxs had some good advice for listing and monitoring devices, if that is useful for however finds this later!