QWERTZ User Layout Setup

[Jacob_S 128]

12 hours ago, Gyth said:

It is exactly the same for me. Just greyish and preventing me to get it back to function again like it had before.

 

Is the problem that there is no custom keymap installed/activated? How do I do it?

 

My GPS and everything else is working perfectly normal, though.

 

Edit: I am on the newest Release of 19.1 LineageOS (November 29) and just want to type German Umlauts with the German keymap

What symbols do you get, if you try to type the Umlauts? I had the problem, that I had Fxservice installed on LineageOS 18.1, which triggered the bug with accessibilty services and prevented the German layout to be used. So instead I was getting [ and similar symbols instead. Could that be your problem? 

[VaZso 1,998]

13 hours ago, Gyth said:

Is the problem that there is no custom keymap installed/activated? How do I do it?

Theoretically, the driver was designed in a way it should reflect the written texts of the QWERTZ unit (also for non-standard places), so I would think it should basically work out of the box when you also select German layout in Android.

However, to activate custom keymap function of GUI, you should place your custom keymap file here: /data/system/keyboard/keymap

It has a format of
0:0000:0000
1:0024:1024
2:0031:1032
...etc...

The first part is the physical position of a key (reflect to physical wiring), the second part is the normal function of it and the third part is the key's yellow arrow function.

The kernel module's interface is located at /sys/bus/i2c/drivers/aw9523b/6-0058/keymap
If you open that virtual file for reading then it will print out the actual keyboard mapping.

Practically most of the keys can be redefined this way but currently there is no option at GUI interface to load that file, so it should be manually placed (see above) either using root access or through adb commands...

[Gyth 6]

7 hours ago, Jacob_S said:

What symbols do you get, if you try to type the Umlauts? I had the problem, that I had Fxservice installed on LineageOS 18.1, which triggered the bug with accessibilty services and prevented the German layout to be used. So instead I was getting [ and similar symbols instead. Could that be your problem? 

Yes it sounds exactly like your previous problem! ü = " [ " "ö = " ; " "ä =" ' "

 

How did you fix it? It 

[Gyth 6]

6 hours ago, VaZso said:

Theoretically, the driver was designed in a way it should reflect the written texts of the QWERTZ unit (also for non-standard places), so I would think it should basically work out of the box when you also select German layout in Android.

However, to activate custom keymap function of GUI, you should place your custom keymap file here: /data/system/keyboard/keymap

It has a format of
0:0000:0000
1:0024:1024
2:0031:1032
...etc...

The first part is the physical position of a key (reflect to physical wiring), the second part is the normal function of it and the third part is the key's yellow arrow function.

The kernel module's interface is located at /sys/bus/i2c/drivers/aw9523b/6-0058/keymap
If you open that virtual file for reading then it will print out the actual keyboard mapping.

Practically most of the keys can be redefined this way but currently there is no option at GUI interface to load that file, so it should be manually placed (see above) either using root access or through adb commands...

As of now I didn't root the phone. So it seems like I have to do it with adb. Is there a package to sideload for that or how would I best tackle the problem?

[VaZso 1,998]

9 minutes ago, Gyth said:

As of now I didn't root the phone. So it seems like I have to do it with adb. Is there a package to sideload for that or how would I best tackle the problem?

I think adb push would be an option for that but it may also need adb root - I don't really know.

Also, it is a good question if sideloading a .zip file containing the appropriate keymap file will work - I have no experience regarding this but it may worth a try...

[Jacob_S 128]

10 hours ago, Gyth said:

Yes it sounds exactly like your previous problem! ü = " [ " "ö = " ; " "ä =" ' "

 

How did you fix it? It 

By uninstalling Fxservice. But basically it is enough if you turn off accessibility services. Maybe you have some other apps using them?

Or another possible cause:

Under Settings>System>Language and Input>Language you can set the system language. But there is a seperate option under Settings>System>Language and Input>Physical Keyboard>Builtin Keyboard, that manages the keyboard outputs. It has to be set to German for the outputs to match the print of the QWERTZ model.

[Gyth 6]

53 minutes ago, Jacob_S said:

By uninstalling Fxservice. But basically it is enough if you turn off accessibility services. Maybe you have some other apps using them?

Or another possible cause:

Under Settings>System>Language and Input>Language you can set the system language. But there is a seperate option under Settings>System>Language and Input>Physical Keyboard>Builtin Keyboard, that manages the keyboard outputs. It has to be set to German for the outputs to match the print of the QWERTZ model.

Hmm doesn't seem to work for me.

 

I got no Fxservice installed and all the other settings are set accordingly. And it all used to work until like late August or something. Strange..

 

Edit: I found it! KDEconnect was the culprit!

Sadly it is one of my most used apps, so I have now to fiddle around with it to make my phone and my Linux machine keep communicating nicely with each other in the future

Edited December 1, 2021 by Gyth

[chrisheld 4]

On 12/1/2021 at 10:48 AM, Gyth said:

Edit: I found it! KDEconnect was the culprit!

Sadly it is one of my most used apps, so I have now to fiddle around with it to make my phone and my Linux machine keep communicating nicely with each other in the future

For a few weeks, I haven't been able to do umlauts with my QWERTY keyboard and sticky keys did not work anymore. I have tried many things to fix it, but nothing worked.

Uninstalling KDEconnect actually did it. I have sticky keys, again, and can do umlauts with "Sym". Thanks for the tip!

Do I understand it correctly that this has to do with the "accessibility" bug that periodically pops up in the LineageOS 18.1 thread?

[Rob. S. 1,664]

On 12/1/2021 at 10:48 AM, Gyth said:

KDEconnect was the culprit!

Sadly it is one of my most used apps

Of course I don't know how you use KDE Connect, but, while wondering what makes the Android app developers think they should tamper with the keyboard functionality, perhaps Warpinator might do the job for you, if it's mostly about file transfer? It's what I use for connecting my phone with my Linux desktop. (Which, for me as a Linux Mint user, is of course as straightforward as your using KDE Connect if you're a KDE user.)

Edited December 4, 2021 by Rob. S.

[EskeRahn 5,471]

There is a lengthy talk on the keyboard-accesibility issue in the Lineage thread. In short they made some fundamental changes to fix another issue for many users. And that fix is incompatible with the way apps with the accessibility privilege (using it to fake keyboard inputs) works. Android Assistant is a simple example of that.

[Gyth 6]

On 12/4/2021 at 2:39 PM, Rob. S. said:

Of course I don't know how you use KDE Connect, but, while wondering what makes the Android app developers think they should tamper with the keyboard functionality, perhaps Warpinator might do the job for you, if it's mostly about file transfer? It's what I use for connecting my phone with my Linux desktop. (Which, for me as a Linux Mint user, is of course as straightforward as your using KDE Connect if you're a KDE user.)

I use KDEconnect mainly for remote-controlling my PC when I am laying in bed being lazy but when the task is not big enough to bother using VNC or SSH. So for switching tracks, fast forwarding shows, controlling mouse and keyboard. So Warpinator wouldn't be an option.

 

However, I found a way to fix the kdeconnect problem without uninstalling it.

 

Just install kdeconnect, set it up with all rights enabled it asks for and then as a final step go to accessibility and remove the rights. You'll end up with a perfectly functioning kdeconnect integration and working hardware keyboard as well.

It is funny how long this bothered me and how easy it would have been to fix.

[EskeRahn 5,471]

3 hours ago, Gyth said:

Just install kdeconnect, set it up with all rights enabled it asks for and then as a final step go to accessibility and remove the rights. You'll end up with a perfectly functioning kdeconnect integration and working hardware keyboard as well.

Indeed some apps with mixed functionality could need the permission to offer functions the individual user might not need. And if so indeed removing the permission solves the keyboard interference.

Also note that not all apps using the accessibility API will interfere. E.g. Greenify stops apps in another way than the fake keyboard entries Android Assistant generates.

[Rasva 25]

Just found this older topic when desperately tried to figure out, why after installing Finqwerty I still could not switch between two HW keyboard layouts (US English and Czech) on my Pro1x. So yes, disabling accessibility for KDE connect is still the cure