Droid keyboard membrane coming off

**sniffs** · 03-18-2010, 12:14 PM

I just noticed that the membrane covering my keys is starting to come up and when I type, the sticky-ness under the membrane is causing a sticking sound..SUUPER ANNOYING.

I refuse to get it warranty exchanged because of this because I have the raised keyboard.. UGH..what to do what to do.

**MrSmith317** · 03-18-2010, 12:47 PM

You have a raised keyboard on a droid?? How did you manage that? My KB is flat as I though all droid's were.

**citi** · 03-18-2010, 12:54 PM

Do you think that the "raised keyboard" is the reason your membrane is coming off? Seems like what you consider a positive, is actually a defect.

**mscalero** · 03-18-2010, 03:11 PM

Can you post a pic of that raised keyboard?

**BerkleyJ** · 03-18-2010, 10:45 PM

Newer Droids have a slightly raised keyboard. Comparison pictures can be found on this website in a thread titled "Flat/Raised keyboard (pics)", but I am unable to link to it due to the post count limitation.. If your still unsure whether your's has a rasied or flat keyboard you can look under you battery. There should be a build date on the phone. if it's 43/2009 or earlier it is most likely a flat keyboard and if it is 44/2009 or newer it is probably a raised keyboard.

As for the original poster. I would find it highly unlikely that you'd recieve a replacement phone with a build date older than 44/2009 in which they changed to the raised keyboard. I don't think you have anything to worry about when receiving a replacement.

**iMatter** · 03-19-2010, 12:47 AM

I have the raised keyboard as well, and the right half of my keyboard has the same issue as you are describing. It actually just started making the sound last week. I have friends with a flat keyboard who do not have this issue. Pretty annoying...

Originally Posted by mscalero

Can you post a pic of that raised keyboard?

I took it from my MacBook, so it's backwards. But you get the idea.

**JORDAN#IM** · 03-19-2010, 09:01 AM

Wow, your keyboard looks better than the flat keyboard on everybody Droid.

**pops.comp** · 03-19-2010, 09:23 AM

Originally Posted by MrM

I have the raised keyboard as well, and the right half of my keyboard has the same issue as you are describing. It actually just started making the sound last week. I have friends with a flat keyboard who do not have this issue. Pretty annoying...

Did you get it that way from extended use? Mine is slowly starting to bulge around the keys, but nowhere near that, and I figured mine started doing that because I used the keyboard so much

**WarER4X** · 03-19-2010, 09:39 AM

My build lot is 48/09, I think (not looking right now). I could always feel the slightly raised buttons. I almost can't tell to look at them except when I notice an almost imperceptible curve shape between keys. I've always been pretty happy with the hardware keyboard, especially after it got a bit broken in and softer with use, and couldn't really figure out what all the complaints were about. Maybe the flat/raised difference is why.

I think if my keys were any flatter, I wouldn't like the keyboard very much and probably wouldn't be able to use it because of my fat, stubby fingers. As it stands, though, I can type with it pretty well without looking right at it, except to find special characters. I like the soft keyboards, too (both portrait and landscape) and I often use them for short stints of typing, but if I plan to write something longer, I always go with the physical keyboard. It is a tad slower for me than the software keyboards, but I don't make nearly as many mistakes and I have the D-pad ready for me to correct mistakes that I find.

-SR-

**sniffs** · 03-19-2010, 10:17 AM

Originally Posted by MrSmith317

You have a raised keyboard on a droid?? How did you manage that? My KB is flat as I though all droid's were.

The original, very first batch of Droid's sent out had raised bubbled keys. I would imagine that this problem happened and Motorola flatened the keys..

**sniffs** · 03-19-2010, 10:18 AM

Originally Posted by citi

Do you think that the "raised keyboard" is the reason your membrane is coming off? Seems like what you consider a positive, is actually a defect.

I believe so.. I like the keyboard because each key has it's own feel when moving between the keys..but now it seems that the raised keyboard is having problems with the membrane coming off..GG motorola.

**BerkleyJ** · 03-19-2010, 11:20 AM

Originally Posted by sniffs

The original, very first batch of Droid's sent out had raised bubbled keys. I would imagine that this problem happened and Motorola flatened the keys..

This is WRONG. The newer builds (44/2009 and newer) mostly have raised keyboards. The older builds (43/2009 and older) usually have the flat keyboard.

**sniffs** · 03-19-2010, 12:33 PM

Originally Posted by BerkleyJ

This is WRONG. The newer builds (44/2009 and newer) mostly have raised keyboards. The older builds (43/2009 and older) usually have the flat keyboard.

No it's not. You are completely wrong bro. 43/09 are RAISED KEYBOARDS. Would you like me to screenshot my sticker?

Go into a Verizon store and have them open a box. EVERYONE SINGLE ONE OF THEM WILL HAVE FLAT KEYBOARDS.

Flat keyboards are the way they are being made now.

My Droid, was a Droid I had 2 weeks before they were out on the market. After they were released, I ordered about 10 of them, EVERY SINGLE ONE HAS FLAT KEYBOARDS. When I showed those 10 users my raised keyboards, they were amazed and wanted me to send them back for raised keyboards, which I cannot do because THE RAISED KEYBOARDS ARE NO LONGER BEING MADE.

If all the "newer" Droids have raised keyboards, WHY does every single user complain about them never seeing raised keyboards? Think logically man.

**BerkleyJ** · 03-19-2010, 02:01 PM

Originally Posted by sniffs

No it's not. You are completely wrong bro. 43/09 are RAISED KEYBOARDS. Would you like me to screenshot my sticker?

Go into a Verizon store and have them open a box. EVERYONE SINGLE ONE OF THEM WILL HAVE FLAT KEYBOARDS.

Flat keyboards are the way they are being made now.

My Droid, was a Droid I had 2 weeks before they were out on the market. After they were released, I ordered about 10 of them, EVERY SINGLE ONE HAS FLAT KEYBOARDS. When I showed those 10 users my raised keyboards, they were amazed and wanted me to send them back for raised keyboards, which I cannot do because THE RAISED KEYBOARDS ARE NO LONGER BEING MADE.

If all the "newer" Droids have raised keyboards, WHY does every single user complain about them never seeing raised keyboards? Think logically man.

I have now done substantial research into the situation and it's a complete mystery. I have a droid with a build date of 44/09 and it has a raised keyboard. I have read many threads about this and many people with flat keyboards have and earlier build date. I also looked at all the mainstream reviews from websites (engadget, gizmodo) and the ones they review (Very early builds before the public got the phone) have flat keyboards. At this point I am not sure. Here are some pictures: tinyurl.com/ylz46g9

**iMatter** · 03-19-2010, 02:22 PM

Originally Posted by popsc.comp

Did you get it that way from extended use? Mine is slowly starting to bulge around the keys, but nowhere near that, and I figured mine started doing that because I used the keyboard so much

The raised keys have definitely gotten more pronounced over time. I don't even use it that much to be honest, I prefer the touch keyboard. I got my Droid on release day. I have two friends with the Droid who bought it about two months ago, but their keyboards are flat.

**pops.comp** · 03-19-2010, 02:28 PM

I just checked my build date out of curiousity, because the other thread on this has pictures, and comparing pictures, mine falls under the "raised keyboard" and the build date is 46/09

**herki** · 03-19-2010, 03:01 PM

I think this raised vs. flat keyboards is largely subjective. From looking at all the pictures of users keyboards, both raised and flat, I can make my keyboard look like both versions. Honestly, I'm in the camp that Motorola has not changed the design of the keyboard since they first released it. If Moto puts out an official statement regarding this difference, then let me know. Until then, I think the entire raised v. flat debate doesn't have enough substantial evidence to be decided in either direction.

**sniffs** · 03-19-2010, 03:09 PM

Dude, if you've ever seen both of them, you would know there is a clear difference between them.

the flat keyboard is completely flat, they are not raised, you can swipe your fingers between the keys and barely notice you are moving between letters.

the raised keyboards , the letters are bubbled and you can easily feel a difference going between keys.

**Cory Streater** · 03-19-2010, 03:21 PM

I ordered my Droid when it first came out. My roommate ordered his about 3 weeks ago. There are definitely differences in the 2 keyboards. His is raised slightly and is much easier to type on.

**sniffs** · 03-19-2010, 03:46 PM

Very odd, so yours is a older device with flat keys and his is newer with raised.

This makes no sense unless Motorola had multiple companies building them and they are being shipped from different locations with each their own stock.

**iMatter** · 03-19-2010, 05:35 PM

Since everyone is throwing in their build dates... Mine is 39/09. Bubble keys.

**herki** · 03-19-2010, 05:39 PM

I know 4 different people with Droids, and they all have the same keyboard.

My cousins got his the day it came out (??/09- likely low), I got mine about a week afterwards (42/09), but ordered it the day after it came out, and two of my friends got theirs in about December(44/09). They all have bumped keyboards.
So maybe I just haven't come across a keyboard that's completely flat yet, but regardless I don't think that the way to determine the type is by using build numbers.

Originally Posted by sniffs

This makes no sense unless Motorola had multiple companies building them and they are being shipped from different locations with each their own stock.

I think differing manufacturers might be a more plausible explanation if the build numbers don't form a significant trend.

Whether the keyboard type is determined by build number or manufacturer, I think the odds of getting a Droid with a flat keyboard are pretty slim. I wouldn't worry about losing that if you return it.

**sniffs** · 03-19-2010, 05:52 PM

That's weird.. I've had to warranty switch out 2 Droid's with flat keyboards and both fo them came back with flat keyboards. these were new devices replaced under the 30 day warranty.

HMM..

**tkfox007** · 03-21-2010, 02:31 PM

I had ordered mine 8 days after the Droid was launched, build says 44/09 and I have a bubbled keyboard. I don't remember if the keys were flat when I got it or not, I believe they were flat since my Q key is not as raised as the others, it's very flat when compared to the other keys as I hardly every use any words that start with Q. But I think that the buttons are bubbled due to so much use.

I don't think it matters when the phone was made, I think it's a matter of use. Since day 1, I've used the physical keyboard and the keys are bubbled from an insane amount of usage. The keyboard was criticized for being super flat. So I can only assume that people whose keyboards are flat, mostly use the touchscreen keyboard.

**johnny99** · 03-21-2010, 03:24 PM

I bought my Droid a few weeks ago (build date 50/09). My keyboard is not as "bubbled" as some of the photos I have seen, but when I run my finger over the keyboard, there is a definite bump for each key. I can tell when I'm pressing the center of a key without having to look at the keyboard.