[ebmocwen]

Hi,

I have a UK WiFi-only Playbook 64GB, with the latest OS updates applied. A few weeks ago, I managed to acquire a brand-new unopened genuine UK Blackberry mini-keyboard. Having checked the forums for others' experience, I left the keyboard on the Playbook charger for a week to make sure it was fully charged. It connects to the Playbook via Bluetooth, I can type about a line of text on DocsToGo or any of the other notebook apps I have loaded, and then it stops working. It looks like the keyboard is disconnecting while in use. If I switch the keyboard off and then back on again, it reconnects, and I can type another half line of text before it disconnects again.

Checking the keyboard, even after charging initially for a week, the indicator light on the keyboard is flashing red to indicate low battery. I can charge it for another hour, then try again, and I get the same results.

So, is it possible that several years (presumably) of being sat in a box unused could result in a useless battery, or could it just be a dead battery from the factory ? That being the case, is there any way to get the battery replaced ? I tried raising a warranty request with Blackberry, but it's nearly impossible to get hold of anyone. I just got an auto email response to tell me my Playbook is out of support; I already knew that. It's not the Playbook I need to get help with, it's the keyboard, but it doesn't appear to be possible to raise a warranty request for anything other than a Playbook. Accessories don't count.

I can't even work out how to get the keyboard open to see what kind of battery it uses, so I can't try to get another battery to test it.

I don't want to write it off, but I'm out of ideas to fix it. All suggestions welcome....

[Blackman91]

Try all the suggestions of this thread before opening the keyboard:
http://forums.crackberry.com/blackbe...ndomly-819777/

I had the same problem, I even replaced the keyboard battery but that didnt fix the disconnection issue...

[FF22]

BB is very stingy with warranty issues for accessories. I don't know if you have tried calling them??

The PB has a one year warranty to the original purchaser (longer in some jurisdictions). It also has 90 free Tech support. I do not know how Rim deals with "quasi-tech support v. warranty"

Rim Support
Tel:
Canada Toll Free: 1-877-644-8405
United States Toll Free: 1-877-644-8410
Puerto Rico Toll Free: 1-855-651-4936
Email: [email protected] (this route generally does not work and a call is necessary)

(UK Support) 0800 096 2805

Playbook French Support
Smartphones BlackBerry Z10 - Tous les Téléphones Portables BlackBerry - FR - France
Phone : 0800 914 533 (within 90 days from activation)

BlackBerry� Customer Support Center
Austria:0800-297-476
Belgium:800-77-980
RIM (Brasil Support toll free number): 0800-022-3161
Bulgaria: 00800-118-1115
Denmark: 802-50198
France: 800-914-533
Germany: 800-181-6530
Italy: 800-789-272
Luxembourg: 800-2-2187
Netherlands: 800-022-7316
Norway: 00-1-647-426-7058
Poland: 00-800-112-43-59
Portugal: 800-827-760
Russia: 8-800-100-9643
South Africa: 0800988892
Spain: 900-866-969
Sweden: 02-079-4448
Switzerland: 0-800-802-492
United Kingdom: 08000962805

Phone-Numbers of BlackBerry PLAYBOOK- Helpdesks...

Germany: 0800 1816530 (Geb�hrenfrei)

North-America: 1 877 255 2377 (Toll Free)

UK: 0808 100 7466 (Toll Free UK only)

Outside UK: +44 1753 558400

Worldwide: 1 519 888 6181

[email protected]

(BTW: Helpdesk for BlackBerry devices -except PlayBook- for Germany:
0180 3302626)

[ebmocwen]

OK. Read all the way through the thread. I'm seeing almost exactly the same issues. I presume you didn't manage to fix yours ?

I have tried the Playbook and keyboard at home, in my office, and in the hotel I was staying in while working away from home for the last couple of weeks. Same problem occurs everywhere, so probably not a problem with WiFi swamping the Bluetooth connection, because the routers would have to be the same everywhere. At home at least, it's a shiny new BT HomeHub, which is less than 1 yr old. Unlikely to be that.

I have a Q10 and a Bold 9780 connected to the Playbook. I tried clearing all profiles from the Playbook and the keyboard, and reconfiguring. Problem continues.

I haven't tried a factory reset on the playbook yet, but that would be a last resort. I'd expect to lose any software I bought for it, and that's not such a problem, just inconvenient.

I'll try phoning Blackberry on Monday and see if I can find a human to talk to.

Thanks for the speedy response.

[Blackman91]

OK. Read all the way through the thread. I'm seeing almost exactly the same issues. I presume you didn't manage to fix yours ?

I have tried the Playbook and keyboard at home, in my office, and in the hotel I was staying in while working away from home for the last couple of weeks. Same problem occurs everywhere, so probably not a problem with WiFi swamping the Bluetooth connection, because the routers would have to be the same everywhere. At home at least, it's a shiny new BT HomeHub, which is less than 1 yr old. Unlikely to be that.

I have a Q10 and a Bold 9780 connected to the Playbook. I tried clearing all profiles from the Playbook and the keyboard, and reconfiguring. Problem continues.

I haven't tried a factory reset on the playbook yet, but that would be a last resort. I'd expect to lose any software I bought for it, and that's not such a problem, just inconvenient.

I'll try phoning Blackberry on Monday and see if I can find a human to talk to.

Thanks for the speedy response.

Sadly I had to buy another bt keyboard as changing the battery didnt work. Try to pair your keyboard to another playbook or other tablets and phones and see if it disconnects too. Also try this:

[qwerty4ever]

OK. Read all the way through the thread. I'm seeing almost exactly the same issues. I presume you didn't manage to fix yours ?

I have tried the Playbook and keyboard at home, in my office, and in the hotel I was staying in while working away from home for the last couple of weeks. Same problem occurs everywhere, so probably not a problem with WiFi swamping the Bluetooth connection, because the routers would have to be the same everywhere. At home at least, it's a shiny new BT HomeHub, which is less than 1 yr old. Unlikely to be that.

I have a Q10 and a Bold 9780 connected to the Playbook. I tried clearing all profiles from the Playbook and the keyboard, and reconfiguring. Problem continues.

I haven't tried a factory reset on the playbook yet, but that would be a last resort. I'd expect to lose any software I bought for it, and that's not such a problem, just inconvenient.

I'll try phoning Blackberry on Monday and see if I can find a human to talk to.

Thanks for the speedy response.

Before calling BlackBerry try pairing your BlackBerry Bluettooth Mini-Keyboard with your BlackBerry Q10 and using the keyboard to compose an email. This will allow you to determine whether the issue is isolated to your tablet or the keyboard.

[ebmocwen]

Good call, but that failed too. Intriguingly, it lasted much longer.

As long as I stay away from the middle of the space bar while I'm typing, I seem to be able to get it to stay connected for a usable amount of time. One disconnect in three, it comes up with the keyboard light flashing red, indicating low power, but switching it off and on again seems to fix that. I don't know how these things are constructed, but is it possible that there's something shorting out under the keyboard ?