BKB50 Keyboard Problems

[philr]

Hi Guys

Had the Z4 tablet for few days which is working brilliantly and im loving it, but the BKB50 keyboard that came with it doesn't work.

Ive have paired and connected the kekeyboard via both NFC and Bluetooth, and it will connect for a few seconds and let me type about 3 letters or use mouse for few seconds before it disconnects then it will not reconnect until I unpair and pair it again only for same thing to happen again.

I have tried the keyboard with several different devices and the same thing continues to happpen.

Anybody had this issue?

Also does the power button do anything? As I am unable to turn the keyboard off and the white light continues to flash in random blinks. I left it overnight it unconnected overnight but is still flashing now.

I have tried, long presses, short presses, individual button, both Bluetooth and power button together and pressing mouse and normal keys and still cannot get it to stop or change its blinking.

Im positive the tablet is OK as paired other devices to test ans all worked perfectly.

Thanks in advance.

[Uliwooly]

@philr

Does it work while on safe mode?

http://talk.sonymobile.com/t5/FAQ/How-to-boot-your-phone-into-safe-mode/m-p/348008#U348008

[philr]

No, ive rang up the helpline today and there doing a doorstep exchange replacement in the morning. Ill let you know if it fixes the problem.

[Uliwooly]

Keep us updated

[philr]

Replacement keyboard worked first time, must have been a one off dodgy one

[Uliwooly]

@philr

Glad to hear that its working now

[drlmiles1]

When I first tried using the BKB50 keyboard with my Z4 Tablet, it would not work, and the white light was flashing regularly and fast. I tried pairing with NFC, and got a tone from the tablet indicating a failed connection. Going into Bluetooth settings, the BKB50 was listed as a paired device, BUT was not connected. Clicking on it caused it to connect, and ever since the keyboard has worked as intended. 

We clearly need much better instructions from Sony, including a list of what all the flashing light messages mean, and a proper troubleshooting guide. If someone is having problems getting an initial connection, I would suggest not bothering with NFC, but instead try the above. If that fails, remove the paired device from the tablet in Bluetooth settings, put keyboard in pairing mode (the small button that does not slide), then search for and pair the keyboard again, then ensure it is connected.

From posts above, if your keyboard connects successfully, then keeps dropping a connection frequently as you are using it, then it is probably faulty.

[Dodderer]

I found drlmiles's tip helpful: I opened the bluetooth setting, where it says the keyboard is paired, and tapped on the keyboard image.  A message then appeared saying it was connecting. Then I moved the keyboard on-off switch again to make sure it was pairing, and at last I have a pointer on my screen! The keyboard switches itself off after a few minutes of not being used, so sometimes this process has to be repeated. Other times it gives me a pointer as soon as I switch the keyboard on again.

Did the developers or product testers not have similar problems? 

[drlmiles1]

Glad to be of help!

The timeout is set at 5 minutes (just timed it) - perhaps someone else could test this out to confirm it - and kicks in if there is no keyboard or touchpad activity (using the touchscreen on the tablet does not alter this timeout). The keyboard seems to stay on, looking for a reconnection with the tablet, for a very long while - certainly many hours, and the light on the keyboard flashes every so often to indicate it is in this state. Flicking the slide switch once will turn the keyboard on (light stays on, white), and flicking the switch again turns the keyboard off completely (no key presses are registered) with no light showing at all. To restart the keyboard working, flick the switch again.

[pdes1]

While we are on the subject of the BKB50, firstly I would say that I am blown away by the functionality.  It really is close to a PC.  However, I would like to reconfigure the shortcuts on the bottom left hand corner of the screen so that I open my favourite apps, not those that Google want me to use!

Has anyone found a way to do this?

Thanks