Blackbook keyboard swap question.

[harperjones99]

The blackbook I am looking to buy has the international English ISO keyboard. It's nearly the same as the US version just has an added symbol top left, shorter left shift key and vertical rather than horizontal Enter key..it's common throughout Europe.

ISO English

US Version

My question is: If I replaced the keyboard assembly with a US version and selected US keyboard in the OS preferences would it work or are their some contacts underneath shaped specifically for those key shapes and you can't possibly change this?


This is a plastic black book so you can buy the keyboard top cover assembly unlike the unibodies. I have found videos that show how to change them and its not too much trouble...just a ton of screws and one ribbon connector. Im just wondering if the different version keyboard would then work...is the OS going to recognize what type of keyboard is attached?

Thanks

 

[quantum003]

Hi,

You shouldn't have a problem doing this. From what I have found the internal connector for Macbook keyboards is pretty much universal.

One thing that is kind of a pain you might bump into- I put a 2.2Ghz macbook keyboard on my wife's 2.16Ghz Macbook because it was cleaner and without any cracks... but now her Macbook will never complete the most recent Macbook EFI firmware update. It keeps trying to download and run it anyway... but it fails every time.

 

[quantum003]

Oh, also be careful with the screws when you take them out. I recommend putting them in a monthly prescription pill box. Print out the instructions from ifixit.com and make notes of which screws go where.

You can do this. Have fun.

 

[harperjones99]

Oh, also be careful with the screws when you take them out. I recommend putting them in a monthly prescription pill box. Print out the instructions from ifixit.com and make notes of which screws go where.

You can do this. Have fun.

Very good tip on organizing screws. Yeah I found excellent videos on how to. Weird about the updates...i cant figure how that could possibly be related. I didnt think about the ribbon connector being compatible...i would think they are the same eh regardless of which nation's keyboard is used?

I may just deal with it...I am not a touch typist...rather a high speed hunt and peck type so the different enter key isnt a pain but the small left shift hangs me up a bit...i hit the tilda often thats next to it rather than up top on US styles. At least it's not an azerty...i just cannot use those.