Question ctrl and /?° keys stopped working in ideapad s145-15iwl

[guferr]

I know a new keyboard for this laptop is cheap and I'm pretending to buy a new one, but before I'm looking for understanding what happened and if there isn't any quick fix for it.

The ctrl (there's only one) and the /?° key stopped working intermittently (always together), and it seemed like nothing physically affected the moments when they stopped and came back.

It felt like pressing harder helped sometimes, but not much, and they'd stop and come back randomly. Pressing keys around them, even with some force, didn't affect it either.

I even went through the pain of removing all keys and all scissors to clean it thoroughly and assembled again, didn't change anything.

And now they died for good.

I checked the flat cable, it isn't failing.

And I find it interesting that only two keys stopped, cause in most keyboards, a damage in the circuit would take out much more keys.

But no other key is failing.

Is there something I maybe missing and that may be an easy fix?

Ps.: Of course, I've checked if it wasn't a software issue, they don't work in any OS nor in the BIOS either.

 

[Lutfij]

You could remove all keycaps from the keyboard and then inspect each key switch for dust or debris that might be impeding the key press, which will be a tedious endeavor and if not done right you can ruin your keyboard...or what can mostly likely happen is that another key is being depressed negating your ctrl+? keypress to register on the OS. Might want to use Keyboardtester and see if all keys actuate with your press.

As for your OS, what are you working with? If Windows 10, what version(not edition) are you on?

Damage in the circuit could be isolated to one or more parts of any keyboard, that doesn't mean there's no damage on the board. A replacement keyboard is a better investment, saves you time, the headache among other things.

 

[guferr]

You could remove all keycaps from the keyboard and then inspect each key switch for dust or debris that might be impeding the key press, which will be a tedious endeavor and if not done right you can ruin your keyboard...or what can mostly likely happen is that another key is being depressed negating your ctrl+? keypress to register on the OS. Might want to use Keyboardtester and see if all keys actuate with your press.

As for your OS, what are you working with? If Windows 10, what version(not edition) are you on?

Damage in the circuit could be isolated to one or more parts of any keyboard, that doesn't mean there's no damage on the board.

I already took all keycaps and scissors, cleaned and assembled it again (as I said in the post).

Didn't seem to affect it at all, plus these keys are distant from each other.

If it was dust impeding the contact it wouldn't make sense both would always stop and come back together, it has to be something that affects both, but only both.

I already checked the keypresses, I'm on Linux Mint Tricia. There's no key constantly pressed, and no keypress is registered at all when I press them.

And all other keys work normally too.

Only these two stopped, and I find it very strange that some part of the circuit could be in common with these two and these two only.