My external keyboard stopped connecting to my tablet

So I’ve had this generic cover for my tablet for a while now. It has an in-built keyboard with a cable and micro USB connection for my tablet, Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0. A while ago the keyboard stopped working for the tablet. It works for all my other Samsung android devices though and this has been driving me up the wall for weeks.

What I have done so far: First, I though the problem would be with the tablet itself, specifically the charging/micro usb port, because I’ve had to have it replaced in the past. It was charging really slow at this point so I sent it to a local workshop to have it replaced. It charges nicely now but the external keyboard problem remains.

I tried restarting/ shutting down and turning on my tablet to see if that would fix it. It didn’t work. I checked again if all my other devices recognized my keyboard and, lo and behold, they did.

After a few more attempts to get it to work by restarting my tablet, I simply connected it to my PC and copied all of its information on it. I did a factory reset in hopes of getting it to work. Results? Nada.

The worst part in all of this is that I got this tablet specifically for typing down things, especially for University.

Again, I repeat, the cover and keyboard worked before, about 3 months ago (before summer vacation started) and it just stopped. Now that I am well into my university semester and I am desperate for it to be fixed. I don’t want to buy a new cover with a keyboard seeing as this one is still working, but I just don;t know what I am missing at this point. Is it a firmware/software bug? I’ve been scouring the internet for the past 7 hours for a solution to this problem and there is nothing like what I am dealing with. Someone please help!