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My Macbook Pro "K" just popped off

spaceballl

spaceballl

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Nov 2, 2003
2,941
365
San Francisco, CA
Was transporting computer... nearly dropped it, saved it, but as a casualty, my pinky caught the letter "K" and sadly, the letter is no more.

Has anyone replaced keys on these before? You may be wondering how I can still type the letter "K" - well, there is still a little rubber piece I can press down on and it works, which makes me think that the entire keyboard module isn't damaged. I found a place that sells replacement keys and I just ordered a letter K. Is this a pretty simple replacement? I don't have Applecare or anything and I replaced the HD w/ an SSD so it's not warranty eligible anyways (non unibody). Appreciate the feedback!
 
Well, here's a pic of the damage - what's the diagnosis? Will a simple replacement key do the trick or am I going to have to buy a new keyboard....
 

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There are two parts to this, one is the plastic hinge mechanism thingy you see there, and the plastic notch thingys you see on the key itself.

You should check to see if any of the things that click together are either snapped off or broken on both the key and the hinge mechanism that I assume is still on the keyboard (it can be removed though). If all the hooks/catches are still intact, all you need to do is just push down on it until it clicks into place. Happened to me once except one of the plastic "teeth" broke off. Anyway the site where you linked seems to have all the pieces required. The rubber thing is extra though since it doesn't seem/doesn't usually get broken. Just be careful not to damage it when fixing it together.
 
I thought you meant the k from the 'Macbook Pro' lettering below the screen had come off somehow. hahaha

A mate of mine had his whole keyboard replaced last year. An authorized repairer did it for him though and it was covered by insurance.

Sorry to be no help.
 
I've removed a key and snapped it back on before. It's pretty fiddly. There is a little white plastic mechanism that attaches the key to the rubbery base. There are two parts to that white plastic mechanism, and they have to be in the right position before you snap the key on, otherwise it doesn't work properly. It's kind of hard to describe what the right position is though!
 
Thanks for all the feedback!

Between watching that youtube video and reading feedback, it looks like all I'll need to do is replace the key. I hope he ships quickly because this is annoying!

But there's the rubber nub that sticks up, the rubber square piece that lays on top, and the key itself. I really just need that rubber square layer piece... Maybe I just need to comb the carpet and see if it turns up under the bed or something...
 
Well it's too late now but usually the Apple store will have left over keyboards lying around for scrape parts. The genius will look and pop it in for free.
 
As always, owe a huge thanks to MacRumors Forums :). I did a search on youtube last night, but I couldn't find a good video showing the replacement process. The video posted was extremely helpful. I did another search for that missing square piece... found it... watched the video a couple times and then bam i now have a letter "K" again! Sweet victory!

Haha and I'm thankful that when I dropped the computer last night, I had that nice 256GB SSD in there! Was a pretty sharp fall so I really think I would have damaged the hard drive...
 
that happend to me about a year ago, my wife decided it was a good idea to let our 2 & 3 year old sons watch a movie on her MBP, when I walked into the bedroom they had taken all the keys and the white plastic "scissors" off the board except the QWEDZ keys. it took me about 3 hours to put that keyboard back together, and those white plastic "scissors" for the function keys were a pain in the @$$!!! F2 never reseated properly.
Moral of my story, dont let your wife use the MBP to entertain the little people!
 
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