Dell Laptop (Latitude 5480) Keyboard lagging horribly, have tried everything and I am at a loss.

Question

I've had my Dell laptop (Latitude 5480) for exactly a year now, and about a week ago the keyboard stopped functioning as normal and started lagging horribly. What I mean is, after I press a key, I have to wait about 2-4 seconds before I press another key, or else the second key I pressed will not register. this makes typing words and sentences literally impossible. It is so very slow, and typing at a normal speed causes only about 1 out of every 5 letters to register. HOWEVER, plugging in an external keyboard works PERFECTLY FINE.

Googling the problem has only given me the unhelpful forum run-around.

Things I have tried that have NOT fixed the problem:

-Virus Scan

-Uninstalling and reinstalling the drivers, and updating them.

-Updating the BIOS to the most recent version (posted April 30th 2019)

-Run full diagnostics test from the boot menu and from the Dell website

-Received and installed a brand new replacement keyboard from Dell

-Ran the PC with the battery disconnected

-System restore to a previous point in time (I chose Apr 28th, about a week before the problem started) 

-Full system restore, and used the Windows Media Creation tool to perform a clean install from a flash drive.

Unfortunately the keyboard was still lagging in the BIOS menus. I did a full system restore and performed a clean install from a flash drive that I made using the Windows Media Creation tool, and even after that the keyboard is still barely working.

This would all point to a hardware issue then I'm thinking? But I just replaced the keyboard with a brand new one from Dell and the issue still persists.... I don't know what else could be wrong

What's crazy about all of this is that an external keyboard works perfectly fine! Very weird.

I'm genuinely at a loss.

Answer 1

Hi Que. I"m Greg, an installation specialist, 9 year Windows MVP and Independent Advisor, here to help you.

You're correct that the external keyboard working fine does point to the keyboard itself.

Did you run Dell hardware diagnostics by powering up the PC while pressing the F12 key to choose Diagnostics?

See also here for Dell Diagnostics:

http://www.dell.com/support/troubleshooting/us/...

http://www.dell.com/support/Diagnostics/us/en/04

http://www.mydellmini.com/forum/beginners-quest...

I will give you everything possible for keyboard problems. If you need help with any steps I'll be standing by here to help you.

Try the Keyboard Troubleshooter at Settings > Update & Security > Troubleshoot.

This could have been caused by Windows Update. See if you can System Restore to a point before the problem began: http://home.bt.com/tech-gadgets/computing/how-t...

Check which Updates were installed at Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > Installed Update History and try uninstalling any from around the time this started. If they return and cause the same problem then hide them with the Hide Updates tool: https://www.howtogeek.com/224471/how-to-prevent...

If this was caused by Version 1809 update can roll back to in Settings>Update & Security>Recovery and then hide it until it matures using the Hide Updates Tool downloaded from here: http://download.microsoft.com/download/f/2/2/f2...

What also might work is to go into Device Manager, reached by right clicking the Start button, choose the Keyboard device, on Driver tab try Updating the driver automatically.

If this fails from the same location try rolling back or Uninstalling the Keyboard driver, which works in a surprising number of cases where keyboard is messed up by Updates. Restart PC to reinstall driver.

See if the keyboard will work in Safe Mode with Networking, or Safe Mode: https://www.digitalcitizen.life/4-ways-boot-saf...

If not see if the On-screen Keyboard works at Settings > Ease of Access > Keyboard > Turn On the On Screen Keyboard.

If so then it could confirm the keyboard is failing, so test it in repair mode to see if it works since it uses different drivers there: https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/2294-advanc...

Try resetting the keyboard: http://www.thewindowsclub.com/reset-keyboard-se...

Check in your BIOS or UEFI firmware Setup for keyboard settings there, too.

If none of these works then go over this checklist to make sure the install is set up correctly, optimized for best performance, and any needed repairs get done: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wiki...

Start with Step 4 to turn off Startup freeloaders which can conflict and cause issues, then Step 7 to check for infection the most thorough way, then step 10 to check for damaged System Files. Then continue with the other steps to go over your install most thoroughly.

I hope this helps. Feel free to ask back any questions and let us know how it goes. I will keep working with you until it's resolved.

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Answer 2

Did Dell actually install the new keyboard or just ship it to you? If you're still under warranty I'd ask them to install it since you cannot get it to work and they must make it work or replace it under warranty. It could still be a bad keyboard or improperly installed.

Answer 3

Hello,

I appreciate your detailed and thoughtful reply! Unfortunately, the problem still perists. The keyboard is almost unusably slow in the BIOS menu and in windows, even after a full system restore and clean install. Drivers, BIOS, install integrity, malwarr scans, everything seems to check out and be fine. An external keyboard continues to work perfectly fine.

This must point to a hardware issue, but since i just replaced the keyboard with a bran new one and the problem still persist, im not sure what other hardware could be the culprit. the connection and wires for the keyboard look fine.