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April 27th, 2025 23:38
Inspiron 15 3511 keyboard
My daughter's Inspiron 15 3511 keyboard seems to be failing. Several of the keys no longer work. This is mainly the numeric keys, though the ones on the keypad still work fine.
I am looking into replacing the keyboard. However, this laptop has non-backlit keys and the 3rd party ones that I have found online are backlit. Does anyone know whether I can use a backlit keyboard in place of a non-backlit one? I don't, of course, expect the keys to light up.
Thank you.
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ejn63
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April 27th, 2025 23:51
Unless you're in for a time with a plastic rivet melting tool, plan on replacing the palmrest assembly - they keyboard is not designed to be removed and replaced separately.
You can replace the palmrest assembly (itself not a trivial task) with one having a backlit keyboard and as long as there's a socket for the backlight cable (which there should be) you will have a functional backlight.
https://www.parts-people.com/index.php?action=category&id=141&subid=1503&refine=palmrest
Service manual
https://www.dell.com/support/product-details/en-us/product/inspiron-15-3511-laptop/resources/search
The system has to be completely disassembled to change the palmrest (or the keyboard if you choose to try that).
Gordon2M
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April 28th, 2025 13:04
@ejn63 Thank you for the very useful information. Unfortunately, I am in Canada, so the shipping costs are fairly high. I doubt that there is an equivalent Canadian source. Nevertheless, the price is worth paying, rather than purchasing a new laptop.
Thank you