Need help to kill a Razer Blackwidow Ultimate (seriously, please help)

[Lastemperor]

Hey guys!

I assume you will find this a bit wierd, but I am really frustrated about this issue and would hope for constructive posts from you guys.

So I got my Razer BW Ultimate and after 1 month some keys started "chattering".
I tried all the fixes I could find here, none of them worked. (It still has active warranty so I skipped the re-soldering part)-
I called Razer phone support and they said I should return it. I am from the EU so I had to RMA it to the local dealer who sent it to the distributor / importer.
I did reproduce the issue on 3 different computers and attached detailed info on the problem. After 1 month of waiting for nothing, if came back with "test ok". It didnt get replaced. I am really sad Im almost sure the technican didnt spend enough time testing it.. or it magicly got fixed in transit...
It happens 2-3 times every 5-10 minutes its really random but its enough for me to hate the keyboard for the tons of typos.

So I had the idea to completely kill the keyboard leaving it no chance for the braindead service personal but to mark it as faulty and replace it for me.
I am really looking for ideas to kill it without any sort of visible damage done to the keyboard / cord / connectors.

Please help!

Emperor

[Lastemperor]

Welcome To Geekhack!

This is indeed an ethical decision but I am confident you will make the right choice.  Or consult the wiki and try and fix it first.

Namaste.

As I posted above, I did try each fix on the wiki, all but the re-soldering one. Since I do not wish to loose warranty in case it fails.
So my best shot is to kill it without any visible damage. Any ideas?

[thegunner100]

This is quite a difficult situation that you got into... GL with whatever choice you make.

[Squelos]

Spill orange juice on it, and let it dry under california's hammering sun.

Or use a ligther's sparky thing to fry the micro controller.

[mbc]

As I posted above, I did try each fix on the wiki, all but the re-soldering one. Since I do not wish to loose warranty in case it fails.
So my best shot is to kill it without any visible damage. Any ideas?

So you are asking us to give you advise on how to scam the manufacturer?

[Lastemperor]

So you are asking us to give you advise on how to scam the manufacturer?

No. Please read my original post. Even Razer confirmed it via phone support that the keyboard is faulty. But since I did not order from the official Razer store, and im in the EU, I have to RMA it to my vendor, who forawrds it to the distributor / importer.
It would be possible to RMA it to Razer but international return shipping would cost a lot..
As I said, the distributors service personal failed to test it for more than 1 minute, since I managed to reproduce the issue on 3 different computers on 3 different OS.

I would not do this, but as a last resort, I have to. I payed a lot of money for a faulty keyboard all I want is to get it replaced.

[f4d3]

What I would is, pour water/soda on your keyboard when it is plugged in and then wash it with water until no residue is showing.

[slueth]

Razer mice are pretty good.. but I had a lot of other crummy and faulty Razer products. Doesn't it void your warranty if you remove the keycap or was that a different brand...? .  They do support eSports so I won't bash on em so much.

[IvanIvanovich]

Plug it into a cheap wall charger with usb jack. Those things fry stuff always.

[Tranquilite]

Try temporarily bridging the +5V line with one/both of the data lines on the USB connector (probably a bad idea for whatever device is on the other end as well so be careful). Another idea would be to use a higher voltage power supply (power brick for some other device) and a couple lengths of wire to overvolt the USB controller. I wouldn't recommend the liquid spill ideas, as those seem hard to cover up, though it may be fun to try typing underwater. If you do settle on a liquid spill idea, make sure to leave something that does not leave much of a residue, like plain 'ol tap water, and be sure that all of the labels, and things that will show water damage are properly protected as well.

[JoeC]

I like the idea of trying to fry it by bridging out the USB.  Another idea; when my Xbox died, I bought another one at Wally World and swapped the serial number sticker, then made a cash return.  Did the same with a PS3 purchased off e-bay (disc drive was spitting oil everywhere).

[net2522]

I like the idea of trying to fry it by bridging out the USB.  Another idea; when my Xbox died, I bought another one at Wally World and swapped the serial number sticker, then made a cash return.  Did the same with a PS3 purchased off e-bay (disc drive was spitting oil everywhere).

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[mr.mortified]

hmmm
it works sometimes but try tweeting the problem to razer's CEO, he has done some stuff for some guys who tweeted him about their product problems in the past

[Lastemperor]

Try temporarily bridging the +5V line with one/both of the data lines on the USB connector (probably a bad idea for whatever device is on the other end as well so be careful). Another idea would be to use a higher voltage power supply (power brick for some other device) and a couple lengths of wire to overvolt the USB controller. I wouldn't recommend the liquid spill ideas, as those seem hard to cover up, though it may be fun to try typing underwater. If you do settle on a liquid spill idea, make sure to leave something that does not leave much of a residue, like plain 'ol tap water, and be sure that all of the labels, and things that will show water damage are properly protected as well.

The bridging idea sounds like a plan. I have an USB port wall charger I will probably use that too.. I was also thinking about using overvoltage but im not sure about burn marks... I have some 12V batteries and some wires, those should do the job..
I have some 3$ USB throw-away-keyboards I will experiment some and will let you know.

I was also thinking about corrupting a firmware update.. but afaik you can force bootloader mode for a clean flash anytime, so I wont bother.

Anyways, thank you all for your ideas, please keep em coming!

[snarlingchicken]

Man, for a sec I thought this was gonna be one of those posts where someone takes a baseball bat to the keyboard while someone else records it and posts it on youtube. I was gonna suggest using thermite!

[kaen]

flying headbutt from a man with a beard

[wompwomp]

Microwave.

[Lusit]

Plug it into your PC's ethernet adapter.  It actually fits if you jam it hard enough.

I discovered this earlier today.  A kid at the place I work shoved a USB connector into the computer's ethernet port.  I later got complaints that the "mouse was not working".

[Awful]

I like the idea of trying to fry it by bridging out the USB.  Another idea; when my Xbox died, I bought another one at Wally World and swapped the serial number sticker, then made a cash return.  Did the same with a PS3 purchased off e-bay (disc drive was spitting oil everywhere).

I did this exact thing with 2 xboxs, however I didn't even bother swapping the serial sticker. They didn't even check. My younger sister works at Walmart and apparently they're supposed to call the serial in or something to check the date of purchase. Oh well, their fault.

[mbc]

That is so wrong

[metafour]

I fried an Ethernet port of mine doing this.  Now I use a flashlight.

Speaking of which....

OP - if you are going to do a non-classy thing at LEAST do it in a Classical way.

Fly the keyboard on a string during an electrical storm like that Dead President!

Apparently Ripster is the guy with the hat on in the video at 3:10. Your portal of US history knowledge is stunning!

[bhtooefr]

Try to record a video of it occurring.

Also, try plugging it into a different USB port - sometimes, if the USB connection is flaky, exactly those symptoms will happen.

[Squelos]

I believe HDMI goes into the RJ45 too.

[Lastemperor]

I might make a video later..

As I posted before, I reproduced the issue on 3 different computers, it has nothing to do with the USB ports imho.

[ekw808]

shudda bought from amazon, they have a sweet return policy

[RiGS]

Hey guys!

I assume you will find this a bit wierd, but I am really frustrated about this issue and would hope for constructive posts from you guys.

So I got my Razer BW Ultimate and after 1 month some keys started "chattering".
I tried all the fixes I could find here, none of them worked. (It still has active warranty so I skipped the re-soldering part)-
I called Razer phone support and they said I should return it. I am from the EU so I had to RMA it to the local dealer who sent it to the distributor / importer.
I did reproduce the issue on 3 different computers and attached detailed info on the problem. After 1 month of waiting for nothing, if came back with "test ok". It didnt get replaced. I am really sad Im almost sure the technican didnt spend enough time testing it.. or it magicly got fixed in transit...
It happens 2-3 times every 5-10 minutes its really random but its enough for me to hate the keyboard for the tons of typos.

So I had the idea to completely kill the keyboard leaving it no chance for the braindead service personal but to mark it as faulty and replace it for me.
I am really looking for ideas to kill it without any sort of visible damage done to the keyboard / cord / connectors.

Please help!

Emperor

I feel your pain, but this is just wrong man. You should RMA it again, and this time you should contact the distributor directly about the situation. Be a little bit more persuasive. It definitely pays off in the long run, and it is sure better than selling your dignity for hundred bucks.

[Maarten]

1) Grab old sparkplug
2) Bend the ground electrode straight with pliers
3) Grab your board and head over to your car
4) Pull any sparkplug wire and plug the bended old sparkplug in it
5) Jam the sparkplug ino the USB plug thingy so that it the ground and center eletrode more or less touch the data and voltage lines and as little as possible to the outside metaly bit (insulate with electrical tape for extra dramatic effects)
6) Set up a camera to capture everything on film
7) CRANK THAT ENGINE!!!!
If for some magical reason the board survives, dip the board in gasoline and repeat step 7
9) Upload video of your now undeniably destroyed keyboard on youtube and place a link here

THE ABOVE IS DANGEROUS, DO SO AT OWN RISK I CAN NOT BE HELD BE RESPONSIBLE IF THINGS GO WRONG. In fact if things do go wrong, ill probably just laugh my ass off and send the youtube video to all my friends!

[silat]

Reading this thread makes me wonder if I am at GH or a tee hee hadist meeting.

[JoeC]

Reading this thread makes me wonder if I am at GH or a tee hee hadist meeting.

tee hee hadist?

[Lastemperor]

I feel your pain, but this is just wrong man. You should RMA it again, and this time you should contact the distributor directly about the situation. Be a little bit more persuasive. It definitely pays off in the long run, and it is sure better than selling your dignity for hundred bucks.

I did call the distributor directly. And I talked to the guy who tested it.
He told me the keyboard works fine and he couldnt reproduce the issue. I did try to explain, but he kept repeating himself. Actually, this keyboard retails for nearly 250 usd here, including taxes. And it was my best option, with international shipping it would have cost more.... Anywayys. He also sounded frustrated talking to me directlyy since I gave the product to myy retailer, who sent it to the wholesale. The wholesale sent it to the distributor, so in their perspective, the customer is the wholesale, not me. Anywayys, it took over a month for the item to arrive back to me, next time I want to make sure I get a new one.

[iwannaBfishfood]

This sounds familiar. When my razer banshee was spewing loud static everywhere every time I moved the cord I sent it back. 1 Month later, "Everything seems to be ok with it." -_-