amilo-forum.com

[hikaru]

Hello,

My laptop (XI 3650) is having problems with the lightTouch bar.
With lower surrounding light intensity (mostly twilight, often at night) the volume lightTouch bar starts to respond randomly.
With this I mean the volume continuously changes.
This causes 4 major setbacks.

I can't put the volume on a fixed level. This constantly changes
The continuous volume level causes the keyboard to malfunction. For example: when hitting R the letter C appears on the screen (C still displays C)
The keyboard reacts slower. A key needs to be pressed longer for it to be registered.
The dialog box for volume change continually refreshes, if this repeats for too long, the graphics overload and Windows has problems refreshing.

Is there a way to disable the lightTouch bar?
Couldn't find it in Windows, couldn't find it in BIOS settings.

Thanks in advance.

Ps. This happened right from the start, even before I installed any extra software besides Windows.

[hikaru]

It's a well known bug that the light touch bar is irritated by changing light conditions (mostly by the display). Up to now there is no better fix than covering the bar with a strip of tape.

[faress]

i have this laptop and the same problem happen to me, it change the volume by it self !!

[hikaru]

LightTouch Bar disconnection instructions to prevent and cure the spontaneous volume adjustment problem.
(refer to photos above please and use scroll bars to view 2 pictures joined together)

Hi Everybody.

I have had the same irritating problem with my Amilo Xi 3670 . The Lightouch bar is too sensitive and activates the sound volume adjustment spontaneously. I have tried every other solution, such as software driver updates etc, but nothing worked.

I have disconnected the cable attached to the LightTouch Bar, and my computer now works faultlessly without any problems. It is a great machine! It’s a pity to have to disable the LightTouch Bar, but the computer works brilliantly now, and the functions on the Bar are available via the keyboard .

Instructions for disassembly (see also photos):
NB WARNING: I take no responsibility for any damage caused by following my explanation. Use of these instructions is AT YOUR OWN RISK. Warranty may be void if laptop opened!! Always switch off and disconnect device from electricity mains before opening.
(please refer to photos below)

1. Unscrew and remove 2 x screws (labled 3 on plastic cover of notebook) from behind top rear end of case on either side (picture 1).

pic 1

2. Carefully and very gently by hand prise up and unfasten plastic cover over speakers on front of case. It is help in place by internal plastic clips (picture 1 and 2). I started from the left side and proceeded very cautiously in order not to snap the cover.
3. Unfasten plastic covers over hinges on both sides (picture 2).

pic 2

4. Carefully lift off Lighttouch panel (picture 3).
5. Remove blue connecting cable from socket and cover ends with tape (picture 3).

pic 3

6. Assemble and close in reverse order.

Good luck and happy AMILO Xi computing.

Maxi_Pak


The German equivalence to this Sticky can be found -> here. Die deutsche Version zu diesem "Sticky"-Thread findet ihr -> hier.

[hikaru]

@maxi_pak:
That seems to be a very good how-to! Thanks a lot!
I just adapted the thread title and made it sticky.

Just one question:
After releasing the hinge cover, is the light touch bar still fixed somehow? I see those three relatively big lugs (one over F7) but from the photos they don't seem to fix the light touch bar anymore once the hinge cover is removed. But according to your last photo there seems to be a smaller clip on the left side of the light touch bar (over F4) and I guess there is another one on the right side. Do these clips fix the light touch bar even if the hinge cover is removed?
And if so, does one have to take care not to brake them when removing the bar?

[maxi_pak]

@ hikaru

Thank you for your questions. you have obviously read my post in detail.
To answer your questions:
The lightTouch bar is still fixed when the hinge cover is removed. It is held in place by 3 plastic clips in front and 2 hinges at the back, that it slots into. It lifts out very easily though. Somewhat surprisingly the lightTouch bar partly secures the keyboard which lift up slightly, but again it is very easy to reassemble, and takes only a few minutes. See picture below:

pic- lightTouch Bar

After unscrewing the 2 rear screws (see updated picture in original post) the main difficulty in the whole process is lifting up the black plastic cover over the speakers. I recommend caution not to split or break this plastic cover. I ended up using my finger nails (a screwdriver or similar instrument is likely to cause scratches).

I also add the caution of always switching off and disconnecting the laptop from the electricity mains supply before opening the case!

In the end it all went well and I'm happy that my lovely Amilo Xi 3670 now runs without the annoying random volume change. It's a great laptop!

[hikaru]

Thanks for the clarification! I just translated your how-to to our german forum.

After unscrewing the 2 rear screws (see updated picture in original post) the main difficulty in the whole process is lifting up the black plastic cover over the speakers. I recommend caution not to split or break this plastic cover. I ended up using my finger nails (a screwdriver or similar instrument is likely to cause scratches).

I know what you mean. I had to remove the hinge cover of my Dell notebook several times and since it sits very tight I used a knife and now have some scratches on the sides of my casing.

[subfire]

had the same problem with random volume changes
brought my laptop to service, they changed keyboard (not the lighttouch bar) and problem with random events disappeared (they also changed my hdd, it stopped working, but i think it didn't affect lighttouch bar)

P.S. In UBUNTU this bar can be turned off just by editing keyboard shortcuts and removing volume up and down combinations from there

[hikaru]

brought my laptop to service, they changed keyboard (not the lighttouch bar) and problem with random events disappeared

Does somebody know if the lighttouch bar is just daisy-chained through the keyboard? I guess that would make sense and could also explain why exchanging the (faulty) keyboard can fix the problem.
Could you reproduce the misbehavior with your old keyboard (e.g. by applying pressure to certain points of your keyboard)?

Up to now I only read reports that indicate that the lighttouch bar might be irritated by changing ambient light conditions (e.g. scene change on the display while watching a film in a dark room). This would require it to be a photo sensor. Does somebody know if this is the case?

P.S. In UBUNTU this bar can be turned off just by editing keyboard shortcuts and removing volume up and down combinations from there

Can you please start xev from a terminal, use the lighttouch bar as if you would change the volume and post the output of xev here (if there is any)? If the lighttouch bar simply outputs keyboard events, there might be a software solution to deactivate it under Windows too.