Today I visited a flea market, in the search of tech deals. My haul for the day consisted of a wireless Logitech K400r keyboard, which uses the unifying software.
Later at home I looked the hardware over and it was in poor condition. It was filthy, one key was broken and the USB-dongle suffered from a software problem.
Here is how I fixed the keyboard up.
1. First step is actually not to clean it, it is to test it. I got two batteries for it, plugged the dongle in and turned the keyboard on. No connection. So I downloaded the unifying software to see if it could connect. Partial luck, the computer would recognize the USB-dongle but the dongle itself had bugged out completely. It said "Unifying software [DFU]" and it grayed out the option to connect.
2. So first step was to fix the dongle, I downloaded the Firmware Update Tool which allowed me to somehow reset the software in the dongle.
3. Secondly the keyboard had an escape button that would not let me push it, turned out there was 3 mm of blue cable that had jammed the key, easily fixed with a pair of plyers. Pulled out the blockage and then the button worked fine.
4. After these first aid steps, it was time to open up the keyboard, partially successful. There are 5 visible screws and 2 more hidden under the top feet of the keyboard. Removing these 7 screws allowed me to pry open the frame carefully with a screw driver, turning it in the gap allowed me to pry it open more. Unfortunately I didn't manage to take the keyboard completely apart, but this was also overkill as full functionality was restored.
5. Lastly I gave it a good cleaning with isopropanol alcohol, a paperclip and a toothbrush. Once dried, I used the vacuum cleaner. A lot of the grime was gone.
Lessons learned: Use better tools for prying the keyboard open, the screwdriver left some dents. It was also the first time I noticed a unifying receiver being bricked. Fortunately there was an easy fix.
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