Galaxy Tab Keyboard 7″ does not work

I have a 7″ Galaxy Tab Wifi, and I think it’s great.  I bought two keyboards for it; one for home and one for work.  The keyboard is solidly constructed and feels like a full-size keyboard.  Here’s what it looks like:

http://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/galaxy-tab-accessories/ECR-K10AWEGSTA

One major problem.  It doesn’t work.  It looks great, and feels good to type on.  But when the Galaxy Tab is docked, the keys don’t work.  And I’m not alone in that; here’s some other blogs:

http://www.betanews.com/article/Samsungs-Galaxy-Tab-101-Keyboard-Dock-is-great-when-it-works/1308780209

http://www.galaxytabs.com/2011/07/galaxy-tab-10-1-keyboard-dock-review/

The only suggestion that works is:

1) Power off your Galaxy Tab

2) Place the tab in the dock

3) Power on the Galaxy Tab

This works!  But it sucks.  I shouldn’t have to cycle power on the tablet to make the keyboard work.  I should note that if I take the tab out, and immediately put it back in, the keyboard stops working again.  This means I have to turn off/turn on my tablet every time I want to dock.

Until Samsung engineers fix their android drivers, I do not recommend anyone purchase this keyboard.  I am patient with computers; I work with them all day, every day.  This problem will drive the average user to the brink of insanity.

Here is my setup:

Galaxy Tab GT-P1010

Android Froyo.UEKC6, Firmware 2.2.1, Kernel version 2.6.32.9

Input method set to “Samsung Keypad”, local English (US) only (I turned off all other locales because I kept fat-fingering the “Lang” button and messing up the key settings.  It was shortly after this that the docks became problematic.  I’m giving a free hint to Samsung here.)

This entry was posted in Reviews. Bookmark the permalink.

2 Responses to Galaxy Tab Keyboard 7″ does not work

  1. Hello! I’m from Brazil. Is exactly the same problem here. My model is BR P1010 (Wi-Fi only). However, this does not seem to occur with 3G models … Sad. =(

  2. phillipabell says:

    I would like to point out that this has improved with newer versions of Android. There are still times when the tab does not dock correctly in the keyboard. However, a power restart of the tablet is rarely necessary anymore. Typically, I just pull it out, and put it back in, and it will work the second time. I now also own a Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus as well as the Older Galaxy Tab 7, and two of these keyboards. I had to take a dremmel to the keyboard dock and cut out some pieces before the 7.0 plus would fit into the keyboard for the 7.

Leave a reply to Leonardo Freire Galiza Cancel reply