Unsolved
3 Posts
0
1303
Replacing Precision 7550 keyboard: UK -> US
I ordered a Precision 7550 with a US keyboad, but due to order issues, I got a UK keyboard:
Precision 7550 UK Keyboard
I asked for a replacement keyboard, but the sales representative said it cannot be changed, I'd have to get a different laptop entirely. Their argument is based on the fact that the UK keyboard has 100 keys, while the US one has 99. The main problem would be the keyboard lattice, for which they do not find the equivalent US one.
However, from the picture above, it seems that Dell actually solved this issue in a pretty clever way: the keys with different shapes are themselves shaped differently, ensuring the same lattice can be used for both!
Here's an US keyboard picture I found on the Internet:
Precision 7550 US Keyboard
This has no keyboard lattice, so we see the holes (for screws or LEDs, I don't know; but that's irrelevant). However, I can clearly notice that the Enter key (which is "large" in the US keyboard, while "tall" in the UK one) has a "fake depression" on its top, as well as the "| \" key, precisely to emulate the absence of a lattice segment!
If this is really not doable (replacing one keyboard with the other, without having to change anything else), I'd like a technical justification. The sales representative so far has been unable to convince me, since the only argument (different number of keys, caused by having a shorter Left Shift, which is split in 2 keys in the UK layout) seems moot, given the clever keyboard layout.
If anyone can prove that replacement is either possible or impossible, I'd be very thankful! Otherwise, Dell will send me a whole laptop and I'll have to reinstall everything, return the other one, etc...
DELL-Cares
Moderator
Moderator
•
25.3K Posts
0
May 21st, 2021 04:00
We tried reaching you on a private message asking for the Service Tag number to ascertain the warranty but did not receive a response. Please feel free to reply to the private message whenever you are available.
anol
3 Posts
0
May 21st, 2021 05:00
The private message asked for irrelevant information, such as Service Tag.
My question is sufficiently general to be of interest to all owners of Precision 7550 laptops. It is intended to be useful for all of them. Therefore, automatically asking for specific information which is completely irrelevant to the matter at hand does not seem a good strategy for these forums.
If I wanted to be contacted by a sales representative, I'd have used a different communication channel. Here I'm looking for technical discussions, and all information that is irrelevant to them should be filtered to keep the signal/noise ratio as high as possible.
anol
3 Posts
0
December 10th, 2021 05:00
I forgot to post an update: after insisting several times, I managed to convince my local commercial contact (my company buys lots of Dell, so we could find one) to send me the replacement keyboard. It arrived and, after a few minutes to replace it (following the Service Manual), it was just as I had expected: the lattice is compatible with both American and European layouts. It has been in use for several months now.
Just be sure to use appropriate tools (e.g. plastic bits, not metal ones, to avoid scratching or damaging the parts), and you should be able to replace it almost as easily as replacing an internal hard drive or swapping RAM memory.
I don't work for Dell, so I can't guarantee it 100%; but there is nothing that should make it physically impossible.
a.allhorn
1 Message
0
December 10th, 2021 05:00
Hi,
I would also like to replace the keyboard in my Dell Precison 7550 laptop. I currently have DE and would like to have US layout. Is this possible?
Best regards