CMStorm QuickFire Rapid QWERUIOP keys not working.

[abcdefghijason]

Hello guys, just got my CM Storm Quickfire Rapid MX Red yesterday, and it was an extreme disappointment.

Plugged it in the first with the stock Mini USB cable and iop7+89 pops out randomly and the keys qweruiop doesn't seem to register and work. However the other keys were working fine, after fiddling around with it and replaced the stock USB cable with a mini USB cable from my external hard drive it magically worked!

Here comes the crappiest part, got home from Uni today eager to spend some quality time with the keyboard, the same thing happened again! iop789+ appears, and QWER UIOP doesn't register even with the mini USB from the hard disk, swapped back to the stock cable back and forth, same thing.

All i can say is, i am extremely disappointed, this board was my first venture into the mechanical keyboard world and it was so frustrating.

I have e-mailed CMStorm support, hopefully i'll be getting a reply back as soon as possible.

But does anyone here seems to know how to get around this or has any advice/opinion i am willing to try out, i would really hate having to wait another week for a replacement and the tedious process of sending this board back.

I'm running on a Macbook Pro mid 2009 model, if that is relevant.

Cheers

[Icarium]

It's broken. Return it for a new one. Probably a bad solder joint or something.

[stingrae]

I really should stop saying there are very few problems with these boards eh !?

Just get return there's always an unlucky few that slip through in any manufacturing plant..

Did you try a different computer/USB port/PS/2 ?

[tp4tissue]

Sorry to hear the bad news, this line of boards have a low failure rate in general. You probably just pissed off god a bit more than the rest of us, hence the bad luck, LOL; what with all the late evening solo mischievousness n what not.

[abcdefghijason]

It's broken. Return it for a new one. Probably a bad solder joint or something.

yes i have indeed tried it on a windows PC, another Mac, still the same thing, tried all ports.

Interesting thing i found out while tinkering the keyboard, while moving the mini USB and applied some force onto it, the QWERUIOP seems to work, but random keys keep coming out lol. Makes the keyboard even unusable. It's definitely bad soldering. What a disappointment thou. :\

[tp4tissue]

It's broken. Return it for a new one. Probably a bad solder joint or something.

yes i have indeed tried it on a windows PC, another Mac, still the same thing, tried all ports.

Interesting thing i found out while tinkering the keyboard, while moving the mini USB and applied some force onto it, the QWERUIOP seems to work, but random keys keep coming out lol. Makes the keyboard even unusable. It's definitely bad soldering. What a disappointment thou. :\

so when are you gonna stop feeling sorry for yourself and just call in for a replacement.

[abcdefghijason]

It's broken. Return it for a new one. Probably a bad solder joint or something.

yes i have indeed tried it on a windows PC, another Mac, still the same thing, tried all ports.

Interesting thing i found out while tinkering the keyboard, while moving the mini USB and applied some force onto it, the QWERUIOP seems to work, but random keys keep coming out lol. Makes the keyboard even unusable. It's definitely bad soldering. What a disappointment thou. :\

so when are you gonna stop feeling sorry for yourself and just call in for a replacement.

I've already e-mailed them, awaiting for their reply.````````

[engwan]

Any update on this issue? I got exactly the same problems. I also read a review on Amazon that described exactly the same symptoms. Not so rare condition after all. Maybe a bad batch cause I got mine end of Sept.

How did your keyboard go? Did you successfully have it exchanged?

Currently using mine with another cable and making sure i dont move the cable too much bec random keys come up..

Also mine was missing the keycap puller and red keycaps, otherwise would have been a very good keyboard.

[stingrae]

Just RMA via Amazon

[engwan]

I bought this from Amazon and my friend brought it here to the Philippines.

Shipping cost back to the US would cost more than the item itself.

So I think I'll just stick to this workaround.

[rowdy]

@engwan: Welcome to Geekhack!  Sorry to hear of your misfortune.  If you have a work-around I hope it continues to work for you

[engwan]

Yeah, it works using another usb cable and if I dont press hard on the connection at the bottom of the keyboard.. 

I still like my Filco Majestouch Tenkeyless better, but the price of this one can't be beaten

[IvanIvanovich]

Most likely a bad connection between the matrix and controller. I had this exact same behavior on a G80. Fortuneatly the way they are made it was quite easy to resolve as it was merely the ribbon cable from the switch pcb to the controller pcb had become partially unseated, so I just pushed it back in. While I realzie it's a totally different keyboard it's likely same or similar problem. Check for bad solder on the controller area, or an interuption in a trace.

[dorkvader]

Most likely a bad connection between the matrix and controller. I had this exact same behavior on a G80. Fortuneatly the way they are made it was quite easy to resolve as it was merely the ribbon cable from the switch pcb to the controller pcb had become partially unseated, so I just pushed it back in. While I realzie it's a totally different keyboard it's likely same or similar problem. Check for bad solder on the controller area, or an interuption in a trace.

This could very well be it, as the controller is socketed on the CMstorm. You'll have to void the warranty to open it, but it's really easy to get the controller out once it's open.

@OP: Check the controller. I can post pictures again if you want.

[engwan]

So, I wasn't able to return my keyboard and I guess won't be able to so I might just open this up.

Can you post pictures of the controller and which part I must check?

[tp4tissue]

So, I wasn't able to return my keyboard and I guess won't be able to so I might just open this up.

Can you post pictures of the controller and which part I must check?

ah...... try pmin' "carter" he's the CM rep

[khaangaaroo]

Controller is the green piece here:


It lifts directly up and off the board. I don't have a picture of the bottom, so I can't show you which pins to check, but it'll probably be pretty easy to recognize ones from the qwerty row leading to the controller.

[engwan]

I opened up my keyboard and found nothing unusual. But when I tested it without the cover everything works perfectly.

In the process of putting the keyboard back, I figured out that it was the single screw at the back that was causing the problem. If I tighten the screw, the problems come back. So now, I just loosened it a bit and everything works fine.

Any explanation for this? I don't think it's the screw per se because the screw doesn't touch anything but the plastic covers. Also, tightening it shouldn't have any effect on operation right? The front and back covers are just plastic so they shouldn't cause a short or something.

Very weird keyboard, but I'm glad I found a solution 

[khaangaaroo]

Hmm... any chance that tightening the screw puts some flex on the keyboard? The metal plate is sandwiched between the two plastic covers. Does the screw tighten the bottom half into the PCB? or maybe it pushes the PCB up towards the metal plate?

[rknize]

The cable I was referring to was the short guy on the back of the board between the main PCB and the little PCB that has the USB connector on it.  From your description of the screw, it sounds more like a PCB issue or some else coming into contact with the PCB when the two halves are pulled tightly.

[cancelx]

Any tips how to open this boad? I have removed the only screw here, but the bottom part of the case just won't let me open it. Any tips?

Edit: nevermind lol, something just got stuck. My baby is waiting for it's bath in isopropyl :d

[WhiteFireDragon]

There's a single screw, and 8 tabs that hold the top and bottom plastic piece together. You'll have to gently pry off the plastic tabs. Btw, why does it need isopropyl? FYI, isopropyl alcohol ruins the bottom plastic part. Here's a pic of where the tabs are:

[cancelx]

My girlfriend spilled tea on it (*) some of the switches are wet, tea went to the bottom of the case so the PCB needs cleaning. I've read that isopropyl is better than distilled water, because it vaporizes quickly. I'm kinda worried about the switch housings and stabilizers tho.

[aviphysics]

You could try swabbing a key you don't care about with a quetip to see what happens.

Personally, I would use distilled water and canned air. Would try not to get any water inside the switches though, that would likely take ages to dry out. Besides the controller, these boards are so simple, I wouldn't worry to much unless tee got inside the switches.

You should also check for corrosion crossing between traces. That happened to my HP 32SII after my wife sent it through the washing machine. Was able to fix it by carefully separating the corroded traces with a sowing needle. Interesting factoid, the HP 32SII has one IC and no other capacitors or silicon besides what is built into the display. Amazing piece of engineering.

[emoosx]

I am having the same problem as well. As it happens at random times, at first I suspected that it was due to the USB cable. The exact phrase that keeps popping up is "qweruiop7+89". And it is triggered usually when "i", "o", "l", "p" keys are pressed. This keyboard being my first mechanical keyboard, I am disappointed with CMStorm and the frustrations it causes when "qweruiop7+89" pops up randomly out of nowhere. Aside from this issue, I really enjoy typing on it though.

[cayhorstmann]

I opened up my keyboard and found nothing unusual. But when I tested it without the cover everything works perfectly.

In the process of putting the keyboard back, I figured out that it was the single screw at the back that was causing the problem. If I tighten the screw, the problems come back. So now, I just loosened it a bit and everything works fine.

I'd just like to confirm this. I had exactly the same problem and opened up the keyboard, following these directions: http://themodzoo.com/forum/index.php?/topic/613-cooler-master-quickfire-rapid-repaircleaning/

I made sure the cables were seated properly, and all keys worked again. I closed up the case and tightened the screw. Some keys stopped working. I removed the screw and all is well again.

[rowdy]

Two new members!  Welcome to Geekhack, emoosx and cayhorstmann!

First question - is the keyboard still under warranty?  Before you start doing anything else to it, if it is under warranty then check whether you can return it.  As this is an easily repeatable and demonstratable problem, there shouldn't be any difficulties returning it as faulty.

If it is not under warranty, then it could just be that the case is too tight.  This is a known issue with some CM keyboards, and is easily rectified by loosening (not necessarily removing, just loosen) some of the screws.

Btw I have both QFR and QFS and neither of them has missed a beat in the more than 12 months that I have had them.  One, the QFS, is my daily driver at work.

[berserkfan]

Rowdy, do you realize that this has been necrobumped over a year?

[rowdy]

Rowdy, do you realize that this has been necrobumped over a year?

ROFLMAO

No, I didn't.  It was late at night, I was tired and distracted.

What else can I say?

Necrobumping like a noob )