Speaking of old intel macs, mid last week I killed the keyboard on my a1278 macbook. Long story short, frame on wall fell down & stabbed my MacBook through the B button, 3/4 of the keyboard now unresponsive.
As I’m poking around for a replacement, I learned that this MacBook (same one that unofficially supports 8gb Ram) also unofficially supports backlit keyboards. Turns out some have the port & capability, but never shipped with them. This is something I always thought was lacking on this model. Anyhoo, so I poke around a bit prepping the MacBook for a repair & sure enough, the port for the backlight ribbon is on my lobo (sometimes they aren’t) , right next to the keyboard & trackpad ribbon cables.
Three days later & my a1278 is back in action with a backlit keyboard - was $20 USD shipped too which was awesome. Taking all those little kb screws out is a pita & I almost killed the lvds port on the lobo but aside from that, the whole thing was straightforward.
I had no idea that these were bl upgradable. If any of you guys own one, I highly recommend the upgrade. Also, since you're taking the lobo out to get to the kb, you have direct access to the cpu/gpu combo-heatsink - 4 screws, the heatsink comes off & you can refresh that old cruddy thermal paste easy breezy.
For the curious, the lvds cable is this one:
(forgive the grungy fingernail - was out working in the yard n dirt all day)
Anyhoo, Be very careful removing it - it is a fragile design. I almost pulled that copper bit off. I was able to re-adhere it to the ribbon port with a tiny bit of superglue on the end so all is well but yeah, be forewarned. All of the otherports are robust in comparison to this one & pull right off with a spudger. Conversely, the lvds is a stubborn pita with a wonky hinge connector.
As I’m poking around for a replacement, I learned that this MacBook (same one that unofficially supports 8gb Ram) also unofficially supports backlit keyboards. Turns out some have the port & capability, but never shipped with them. This is something I always thought was lacking on this model. Anyhoo, so I poke around a bit prepping the MacBook for a repair & sure enough, the port for the backlight ribbon is on my lobo (sometimes they aren’t) , right next to the keyboard & trackpad ribbon cables.
Three days later & my a1278 is back in action with a backlit keyboard - was $20 USD shipped too which was awesome. Taking all those little kb screws out is a pita & I almost killed the lvds port on the lobo but aside from that, the whole thing was straightforward.
I had no idea that these were bl upgradable. If any of you guys own one, I highly recommend the upgrade. Also, since you're taking the lobo out to get to the kb, you have direct access to the cpu/gpu combo-heatsink - 4 screws, the heatsink comes off & you can refresh that old cruddy thermal paste easy breezy.
For the curious, the lvds cable is this one:
Anyhoo, Be very careful removing it - it is a fragile design. I almost pulled that copper bit off. I was able to re-adhere it to the ribbon port with a tiny bit of superglue on the end so all is well but yeah, be forewarned. All of the otherports are robust in comparison to this one & pull right off with a spudger. Conversely, the lvds is a stubborn pita with a wonky hinge connector.
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