So far I love my Dell Mini 9; it’s a great laptop. Though from the day I received it there’s been a problem. The space bar.
It’s a simple but vital key, and very frustrating when it ignores you. There seems to be a common issue on the early Mini’s with the space bar sometimes ignoring input. Depending on just where you hit the key, it likely won’t register.
Today I was finally fed up and contacted Dell support. After chatting with a technician for about five minutes he agreed to send me a replacement keyboard. Simple, painless, fast.
If you’ve got a Dell Mini, I’d advise getting the new keyboard – not only is the space bar issue corrected; but I’m hearing that a couple keys have been moved to more useful positions.
Update: See my comment below for the latest updates.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
Hi, I just recently received a refurbished mini. Also love it. Also have keyboard issues. But I would need to have the mini laptop until a replacement comes. Did Dell ship you the replacement and in the meantime you were allowed to keep the laptop you purchased for use until you got the new one? Thanks!
They shipped a replacement keyboard by FedEx Priority Overnight, and it’s really easy to replace the keyboard yourself. It takes about 5 minutes, and they provide a step by step guide (here).
They also don’t ask you to send the old one back, so there’s no rush in swapping the keyboard.
The only issue is that the keyboard I received was the ‘A00′ keyboard, which is the same that shipped with the first Mini 9s made. From what I’ve heard, they are now shipping with A02 keyboards, so there are two newer versions out there.
If I keep having the same issue with this replacement keyboard, I’m going to ask specifically for the new A02 model.
Hey, glad I found your blog. I’ve been having an issue with my space bar not registering since day 1. Figured it was just the way they were made considering I couldn’t find anyone else complaining about it.
I contacted Dell support tonight, and they’ve got a replacement on the way. I’ll let you know how it turns out. Be sure to post an update here, too.
[...] recently wrote about some issues I’ve had with my Dell Mini 9. Since I received my Mini its had issues with [...]
The compact design of the mini keyboard is one of its key features. Because of its small size it can be taken anywhere and used with any computer that has a USB port.