Experiencing strange problems on the artist control surface; verified with test mode

[AISM]

We have an artist mix and artist control surface - both are fantastic. But since we've had the unit, the transport buttons located on the Control unit's surface have been acting by strange. I couldn't put my finger on it, but after checking in test mode, the problem started becoming clear. I have contacted Avid's tech and support crew, but they couldn't take me very far. I'm hoping someone out there can help me with what I think is this firmware problem. My hypothesis is that if I can force re-install the latest firmware, I could get these buttons working again. I just don't know how that might be possible. I also cannot downgrade the driver from older Eucon versions... I simply get the message in the Eucon controls: "Won't upgrade, All surfaces are up to date".

My current Artist Control firmware is v. 1.3.4

Any or all tips and ideas are welcome... Lets get this solved, good people of the forums.

Below is the report of what's happening. Please let me know what could be possible.


IN TEST MODE:

Upon pressing the following keys, different messages are displayed on the touch screen. The displayed message does not match the keys actual function.

PLAY:
- screen displays - "shift R", also it visibly cycles through other buttons quickly, including "apple", "rec2", "solo2", and several soft keys ( usually soft key 9)

NOTE: when pressing "shift R", then "play", normal play function is restored, but only if you first press "shift R"; this must always be pressed to use play correctly.

STOP:
Same symptoms as above, with different results:
- "< page", "rec 1", "rec2", "solo 1", "solo 2", "soft key 7"

NOTE: when pressing "shift L", then "stop", normal stop function is restored, but only if you first press "shift L"; this must always be pressed to use stop correctly.

REC:
- displays "shift L", sometimes "soft key _ (different numbers)"

FF
- rarely but sometimes produces a "soft key" message.

REW
- "on 1", "< nudge"

JOG/SHUTTLE
- rarely produces a "soft key" message.

ZOOM/HORZ ZOOM
- rarely produces a "soft key" message.

THE PHYSICAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE ISSUES

PLAY:

Plays the current play head position and the following occur in tandem:

- Activates the "shift" hard key on the Artist Control and Artist Mix
- locks the keyboard's "command key" so now every keyboard or mouse action acts as if the command key is pressed... so far remedied by a restart of the computer.
- instantly opens the OSX "ALT-TAB" menu
- solos and arms the second fader's track on the Artist Control
- seems to activate the "touch" or "write" automation soft key in Logics soft faders

STOP
stops then:

- arms and solos either the 2nd or 3rd fader on the Artist Control

FF
Normal functionality

REW
Rewinds and:
Mutes tracks as well as moves up the track in the arrange page, muting tracks as it moves along.

REC
Starts recording of assigned track but also solos the 1st fader on the Artist Mix unit.

[AISM]

Thanks for the info. Just out of curiosity, what are the 3 different test modes for the surface? I can access the normal test mode and the "Auto-test" mode, but I'm unfamiliar with a third one.

Thanks in advance.

[AISM]

Okay, I thought as much. I tried that to no avail.

It's clear I need a repair. Does anybody have info on avid repair in the Philippines? Shipping to North America is a last resort.