Tag Archives: key

fixed : replace keyboard keys (keycaps) on MacBook Pro 2020

Posted on by
Reply

Question :

I have a 2020 MacBook Pro and some of the keys on the keyboard are completely unreadable since sweaty and greasy fingers have ‘eaten’ away the black and white paint. The MacBook Pro is still working great, so is there any way to replace just the keys / keycaps and not the entire keyboard ?

Answer :

Yes there is !

And it is actually very simple, if you know how to do it.

First, you will need new keycaps. You can get them from a broken MacBook Pro 2020 of course, but you can also buy new ones ( note : if you are fine with just replacing the letter keycaps since the rest of the keys are still okay, you don’t have to worry about the keyboard layouts ( like QWERTY, AZERTY, QWERTZ ) of the keycaps you’re buying, but if you also need specific irregularly shaped or printed keycaps, you have to pay attention to the keyboard layout of the keycaps ) online at Amazon e.g. :

US keyboard keycaps for MacBook Pro 2020 (Amazon affiliate link)

US keyboard keycaps for MacBook Pro 2020 (Amazon.co.uk affiliate link)

DE keyboard keycaps for MacBook Pro 2020 (Amazon.de affiliate link) ; can be rearranged to QWERTY or AZERTY

To get a keycap off, do this :

  • slide your fingernail ( note : if you have artificial and/or weak fingernails, use a spudger-tool ) under the top right edge of the keycap
  • then slide your fingernail (of Uspudger-tool) to the top left edge of the keycap
  • the top of the keycap will now loosen
  • now, flip the keycap toward you and it will pop out

note : since you now have the keycap off, you now have the opportunity to clean out any debris (like dust, hairs and bread crumbs) from under the keycap – just make sure you don’t accidentally break the key’s mechanism

To place a new keycap back, do this :

  • hold the keycap in a slight angle compared to the keyboard
  • place the bottom of the keycap in place first
  • then, gently press the top the keycap back into place (you will hear/feel a soft click)
  • now, check if the keycap is in place as intended – if not, take the keycap off entirely (using the above instructions) and do a new attempt to place it properly

That’s it !

enjoy 😉

Advertisement

fixed : alternative for replacing MacBook (Pro/Air) keyboard

Posted on by
Reply

Question :

I have a MacBook (Pro) with a back-lit internal keyboard, that has been used for a few years now. The reason why isn’t exactly clear to me, but somehow some some (three to be exact) of the keys have lost their upper coating so the letter they represent can no longer be seen on the keyboard. So even though the MacBook’s keyboard appears to be (nearly) intact, while in use the keyboard feels like missing some keys.

Isn’t there any good, but cheap alternative to opening up the entire inside of my MacBook (Pro) and replacing the keyboard ? Especially when having the keyboard replaced by Apple that’s very expensive…

 

Answer :

If your MacBook (Pro/Air) is out of warranty, having the internal keyboard replaced by Apple is not a ‘bang-for-your-buck’-option.

Replacing the internal keyboard yourself is an option, but primarily, getting a matching replacement keyboard might turn out to be rather difficult, especially if your MacBook (Pro/Air) does not have the regular US-keyboard layout (the US-keyboard has an ENTER-key with a different shape than on the keyboards of various other languages, so the holes for the keys in the top case won’t match). And secondarily, the keyboard is the part of the internals that is deep-deep down, so getting to it is about the most complex repair-operation one can think of…

But you didn’t spill any water, any drink or other fluid on your keyboard and only a few keys are broken or missing, there is a far easier and cheaper option :

Just get some (new or second hand) individual keys, and replace them yourself.

There are some websites that sell individual keyboard-keys :

ReplacementLaptopKeys.com

TheBookYard.com

PowerBookMedic.com

The only thing that’s tricky is that there are various versions of the keys, and it takes some investigation to find out which are the ones of the type you need. But apart form that, it’s really straight forward. Various instruction guides can be found online (it’s a simple repair-operation), for instance here :

MacBook keycap removal & fitting guide.pdf

That’s it.

Enjoy !

😉

Donate Button (MacManusNL)