I just finished replacing the keyboard on my Mac. The issue was a beer spill.
This is not a repair for the faint of heart.
This is not a repair for the faint of heart.
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Keyboard Replaced on M1 Macbook
- Thread starter Victor Engel
- Start date
It sounds like before starting one should buck up one's courage by having several of these first.
By the way, I have never even heard of your keyboard problem before.
Heheh - just don't get it too close. My original issue was that I was using my computer in the dark with a beer beside me. I was totally aware of that beer, and it wasn't the issue. The problem was another beer behind it. It's not a complete surprise that there were two beer bottles. That does happen occasionally, although now they will be farther away from the computer. The problem was that the second bottle was not empty.
And of course, this being a Mac, it was impossible to disconnect power right away when the keyboard got compromised. In order to disconnect power, you have to use a screwdriver with a five-lobed bit of the right size, to remove the back (which is tricky even with no screws). Then you have to disconnect the trackpad cable. Then you have to retract the trackpad cable, and then remove another screw holding down the main battery connection. That process took me a couple of hours because I first tried to use my vacuum pump to save the day, and I had the required screw drivers.
Selecting power down from the UI didn't work, because with the keyboard being compromised, the OS thought I wanted to power up again. It was constantly rebooting while I was vacuuming.
Fortunately, the spill was constrained to the keyboard.
And of course, this being a Mac, it was impossible to disconnect power right away when the keyboard got compromised. In order to disconnect power, you have to use a screwdriver with a five-lobed bit of the right size, to remove the back (which is tricky even with no screws). Then you have to disconnect the trackpad cable. Then you have to retract the trackpad cable, and then remove another screw holding down the main battery connection. That process took me a couple of hours because I first tried to use my vacuum pump to save the day, and I had the required screw drivers.
Selecting power down from the UI didn't work, because with the keyboard being compromised, the OS thought I wanted to power up again. It was constantly rebooting while I was vacuuming.
Fortunately, the spill was constrained to the keyboard.
*Looks at M1 MacBook Air*
I have no idea how you would even replace that. Nicely done.
*Moves beer further away*
Out of curiosity, why did you do it yourself, instead of taking it to an Apple store, or sending it in, for replacement by a "genius" or other technician?
My wife spilled tea on her PC laptop, and replaced it herself after Dell sent a new keyboard.
I replaced the headlight in our Prius, which took me almost 5 hours, going back and forth between YouTube and the vehicle. Fortunately the Prius got crashed up before I had to replace the other headlight. Awful car but you can't argue with 50 MPG.
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Several reasons. First, I wanted to see how extensive the liquid infiltration was, rather than just trusting some repair person. As it turned out, it was limited to the keyboard and a couple of drops on one of the fan heat exchangers.
If it had infiltrated the motherboard, Apple would have charged for a motherboard replacement.
If they CLAIMED it had infiltrated the motherboard they would have charged me for that. I'm not sure how reliable they are about that.
If it was limited to the keyboard, Apple would have charged for keyboard with backlight and top case replacement. That would be a couple hundred dollars I think.
Why does Apple do this instead of just replacing the keyboard? Because the backlight panel is glued to the keyboard, and the keyboard is riveted to the top case. I bought a keyboard replacement for $38 plus a tool kit, which I can use for other stuff. I did break a cable which required me to replace the touch ID sensor, which cost me another $65 or so net (after recycling refund). So round numbers, it cost me about $100 for a stupid mistake and would probably have been double that or more had I taken it in for repair. Additionally, I'd be out the computer for as long as it took them to do the repair.
The keyboard is easier to replace on a Dell laptop, I believe. Speaking of which, I used to work at Dell, and one day, when I went in to work, I noticed the roof was leaking directly over my keyboard. I picked it up and emptied the water into the trash can. Then I put up an umbrella over my cubicle. The laptop was OK, seemingly oblivious to the water.
My manager's manager came back and told me I couldn't have the umbrella there. I pointed out that it was raining on my cubicle, so he gave me a pass.
Philip Eihuyar
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I am curious -which model Mac? And what was the price Apple would have charged?
Keyboards have changed since I was able to replace individual keys on the board (2011 MBP) Now, my current MBP -2019 needs individual keys replaced but the repair business says -the entire keyboard must be replaced. How difficult was that? I do not look forward to doing it myself and wonder how expensive it is to take it in.
Mine is an M1 Max. It's possible to change individual key caps. I distinguish this from keys because they are, in fact different. The caps pop off if you do it properly. The key is below that. The key makes the contact that sends the signal through the keyboard.
The 2019 and 2020 designs are different. I'm not sure about the 2019 design. Go to Apple's self help website and find the manual for your model. Then you can determine for yourself whether a replacement is possible for your model and situation.
I'm not sure what Apple's current process is, but I think the following still holds. They keyboard is attached to the top case by about 50 tiny screws and just as many rivets. So their policy is that if the keyboard is to be replaced, the top case also needs to be replaced, because they're essentially a single unit because of the rivets.
In my case, I unscrewed the screws and popped off the rivets. That means that the center of the keyboard is not held on by rivets anymore but only by the couple of screws attaching the cooling fans. They apply sufficient pressure that if there's any sort of looseness to the keyboard, it's not noticeable unless you pay very close attention. The top case still has posts where the rivets would be. It's just the washer portion of the rivets that is missing.
I use a 2019 MBP for work. It uses the new style keys introduced in 2016. There were enough complaints that Apple redesigned the keyboard for 2020. Since the laptop is not mine, I hesitate to try to pop off a key cap. If it's possible, how to do it is explained in the repair manual, which is freely available at the site I mentioned above. You will need you serial number to get the right manual.
Philip Eihuyar
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Victor, thanks for above info. "50 tiny screws and just as many rivets." Yikes! Reminds me of the old wrist watches and pocket watches with all those tiny gears. Tim Cook owes you a beer for doing it yourself. In my case, I repair PVC pipes and a bit of the pipe glue which has a solvent, dissolved the painted letters on keyboard (even if I am careful to wash it off my fingers.) Murphys law I guess.
That's AFTER carefully peeling off the backlight panel, which is glued on and can't be bought separately (or together), apparently. I thought the keyboard I bought came with a backlight, but I read the ad wrong. Unfortunately, either my peeling job or alternatively the damage from the spill caused the panel to light up ununiformly. A minor inconvenience.
Or a camera lens repair.
Ah, that sounds like just a keycap replacement. If you had a 2020, I'd offer to send you keycaps from my old keyboard, but they're not compatible with 2019 keyboards.
Check https://www.amazon.com/Replacement-...=keyboard+keycaps+2019+macbook,aps,139&sr=8-5
I think it should be fairly simple for just keycaps. You just need to educate yourself on the proper way to remove the old keycap (varies by key for the larger ones).
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