Keyboard missing keypresses and deleting words at random!

[roba5263]

For the life of me I cannot figure out what is going on with my virtual keyboard on my TCL 10 Pro. I'm currently using the latest SwiftKey Beta, but this also happens on Gboard and the BlackBerry VKB. Keypresses are being missed, random numbers/symbols get inserted, the keyboard randomly closes, etc. This does NOT always happen. It happens at random. I had actually become quite proficient using the keyboard and typing very quickly. But this is so frustrating! Here are a few screen recorded videos. So far I tried disabling battery optimization for all my keyboard apps. Any suggestions??

https://photos.app.goo.gl/gJgyoDWAaibGutnEA
https://photos.app.goo.gl/5fcZCJxbw9BQ85aQ7

 

[B. Diddy]

Any screen protector on? If so, try taking it off.

 

[roba5263]

No screen protector.

 

[B. Diddy]

How about in Safe Mode? https://www.hardreset.info/devices/tcl/tcl-plex/safe-mode/

(You'll only be able to test the preinstalled keyboard.)

 

[roba5263]

I wasn't able to replicate this in safe mode, but it happens completely at random, so that doesn't necessarily mean anything. It's so frustrating because I can type quick and just fine sometimes, and not at all other times. Has anyone experienced random things like this? Is there any tests I can run to try and figure out what is causing it? I know it isn't an app issue, as I can replicate this issue on gboard, SwiftKey, BlackBerry keyboard, and Fleksy.

 

[roba5263]

https://photos.app.goo.gl/thU2Q8J129XVqWWRA
Here is more of this issue. The 6 second clip shows SwiftKey working just fine. The others show both SwiftKey and gboard missing keypresses or inserting random symbols. I just don't get it.

 

[B. Diddy]

What's the stock keyboard app on the phone? Gboard, or something else from TCL?

 

[roba5263]

What's the stock keyboard app on the phone? Gboard, or something else from TCL?

Gboard

 

[B. Diddy]

Do you ever notice phantom touches any other time (when the keyboard isn't open)?

 

[roba5263]

Do you ever notice phantom touches any other time (when the keyboard isn't open)?

Nope. No phantom touches when the keyboard is not in use.

 

[B. Diddy]

Strange problem. See what happens if you uninstall all updates to Android System Webview -- from time to time, an update to this app can cause odd issues with only certain devices.

 

[roba5263]

Strange problem. See what happens if you uninstall all updates to Android System Webview -- from time to time, an update to this app can cause odd issues with only certain devices.

I just uninstalled it and I continue to have issues. Primarily with swiftkey.

 

[roba5263]

I take that back. Gboard is just as bad. I just don't get this.

 

[B. Diddy]

Ok, let's revisit Safe Mode -- you said it didn't happen in Safe Mode, but since the problem is random, you weren't sure if that meant anything. From what you've been saying in this thread, it sounds like it does happen pretty frequently, even if it is random, while not in Safe Mode. So try rebooting into Safe Mode and try to use it for most of the day that way, if possible (hopefully you can do without any 3rd party apps for a little while). If the problem doesn't happen at all, then something you installed is presumably causing the issue. The challenge then would be determining which app -- you may have to uninstall apps one by one until the problem goes away.

 

[roba5263]

Ok, let's revisit Safe Mode -- you said it didn't happen in Safe Mode, but since the problem is random, you weren't sure if that meant anything. From what you've been saying in this thread, it sounds like it does happen pretty frequently, even if it is random, while not in Safe Mode. So try rebooting into Safe Mode and try to use it for most of the day that way, if possible (hopefully you can do without any 3rd party apps for a little while). If the problem doesn't happen at all, then something you installed is presumably causing the issue. The challenge then would be determining which app -- you may have to uninstall apps one by one until the problem goes away.

Yikes. That sounds ridiculously tedious. Is there anyway to pinpoint the app faster? Some sort of device monitoring app maybe?

 

[B. Diddy]

It might be a Draw Over Other Apps (aka Screen Overlay) issue. Go to that menu and see which apps have that ability, and try turning those off. https://www.howtogeek.com/271519/how-to-fix-the-screen-overlay-detected-error-on-android/

 

[roba5263]

I'll give that a go and report back. Thanks!

 

[roba5263]

Still no luck. I'll have to revisit safe mode or just put up with this.

 

[roba5263]

I just spent a few hours doing a factory data reset. I thought all was well, but the issue reappeared within a few hours. I'm at a loss for what to do at this point.

 

[B. Diddy]

At this point, it'd be reasonable to contact TCL for warranty replacement.