Buttons not working until SD card inserted, help?

[abufstar]

Hi! I just registered, but have been browsing the site for a good six months. I have a 755p that I love and that my girlfriend fell in love with...
She bought a 680 off of eBay for the same case style and operating system. When it arrived, right away we noticed that the buttons did not work. I did some research online and found a thread where someone had the same problem and tried inserting an SD card. When he did that, the buttons worked again.
Inserting the SD card did indeed work for us, but only for about 2 minutes, when the buttons stopped working again. If the phone is allowed to fall asleep after a minute or so and I press the "Home" button, it will navigate to the "Home" screen and ask me to press the center button to unlock the phone. Same thing with the "message" button, or "calendar".
It seems so odd to me that something like putting an Sd card into the slot would affect the buttons. Is there something loose in there that the card is jostling?
The device is an unlocked (I assume) treo 680... 2.12row... (let me know if more info is needed).
Thank you so much to anyone that may shine some light on my problem!!

[jfa02]

welcome abufstar to treonauts. Well we do need more information. is there other third party software installed? Sometimes other software hijacks buttons or otherwise intereferes with normal operation. Are you trying to use the same usre name and synch to the same software. Are you using the software from the 755 for the 680 as well. Also in your title you say sim card which for a gsm phone is necessary to use the phone. In your post you talk about an SD or expansion card which should have absolutely nothing to with whether the phone works or not. Something is definitly amiss however. How long has she had the phone and has she contacted the seller of the 680 regarding the problems. Or has she contacted ebay for their assistance.

[abufstar]

There is no third party software that I am aware of. We are not using any of the same software or usernames. She has not yet used the software that came with her phone. Her SIM card is a Cingular 3G card that has been moved from several different phones without problem. She just got the phone in the mail today, so we were trying to get some answers before asking/accusing the seller of the problems. The keys do not work until an SD exspansion card is inserted into the side slot. Then they work for only a couple of minutes before failing. If the card is removed and inserted again, the keys will still not work. We did try putting a different SD card into the slot, with the same results as the first. Weird right? I have seen some tutorials on opening the case up... is that something that might yield an answer you think?
Thanks for the quick response @jfa02! And thanks for trying to help!
-Alex

[TazUk]

Is this a brand new phone?

[abufstar]

Not brand new. Listed as: in "Mint" condition, used only a month... The case is in very good condition so I'm inclined to believe it. I did notice a difference in the keypad between my 755p and her 680... the 680's keys don't seem to have that response that the 755's does. They don't seem to press in as far and don't have that nice click... reminds me of a dummy case, kinda.

[Treo Musketeers]

I'd recommend finding out which of your carrier's nearest stores has a tech and take it there and have them look at it. I'm afraid you might have to see about returning it to the seller, but I'd have it checked out first, by someone who knows what they're doing.

[TazUk]

It would be worth doing a hard reset, making sure to backup any data first

[Treo Musketeers]

I agree. It would be worth the try, although I'm not hopeful given that they haven't added any third paty software, that its a software glitch. I think it is more likely a hardware problem. But, it is worth trying a hard reset first.

[TazUk]

Yep but as it had a previous owner we don't know what they might have done to it

[Gravesent]

I have a 680 too, though I've never used a 755p the keys on my 680 feel responsive and I can hear a very soft click when I press them, there is a way to determine how long the phone has been used, if it's an unlocked 680 you should be able to find out how many minutes of talk time it has by going to the phone app and typing:

#*786

For a full list of commands and various ways of entering this code for other carriers go here: Hash Codes for Your Palm Device | mytreo.net

My device has 1200 minutes of talk time after about two moths and I do quite a bit of talking.

As others said try a hard reset and try to find another 680 to compare the quality of the build to it, I'm not sure if third party housings and keyboards exist but it's worth checking out if everything is original on the phone.

Also I have the exact same version of the phones software as you have and I have never encountered this problem.