Return key fell off! - Easy to replace?

[paperclip777]

Hi guys, I bought a second hand mac in Chiang Mai, everything is working fine, never dropped it, banged it.

About a week ago, when typing, the return key just fell off!

I had a white unibody for 3 years, this never happened... so, not sure how this happened.

Anyway, shop owner says that he'll have to order a brand new keyboard, and it's not covered by warranty!

Do I really need a brand new keyboard? It's just one key. He says it's because it's an i7? why should that matter. It's a 13' 2.7GHz Intel Core i7, think it's 2013. I was told in the shop it's still under warranty, but when I check online at apple support, by putting the serial number in I get "We're sorry, the number you have provided cannot be found in our records."

What's this mean?

I can also see individual keys for sale on Ebay... can I not just order one of these?

 

[Jaben3421]

Hi guys, I bought a second hand mac in Chiang Mai, everything is working fine, never dropped it, banged it.

About a week ago, when typing, the return key just fell off!

I had a white unibody for 3 years, this never happened... so, not sure how this happened.

Anyway, shop owner says that he'll have to order a brand new keyboard, and it's not covered by warranty!

Do I really need a brand new keyboard? It's just one key. He says it's because it's an i7? why should that matter. It's a 13' 2.7GHz Intel Core i7, think it's 2013. I was told in the shop it's still under warranty, but when I check online at apple support, by putting the serial number in I get "We're sorry, the number you have provided cannot be found in our records."

What's this mean?

I can also see individual keys for sale on Ebay... can I not just order one of these?

It sounds like the whole deal is sketchy. I would consider visiting a new computer shop, because if he thinks you need all news keys based solely on your processor speed, who knows what other crazy things he'll do to your computer when it actually breaks. What the serial number thing means is that Apple has no record of your computer. There is a possibility that your computer isn't legit. What I would do is just order a new key off Ebay and stay away from that computer shop.

 

[chrono1081]

That definitely sounds strange.

Keyboard keys are hit or miss to replace. Sometimes you can pop them back on, other times the plastic thing underneath is broke.

I would take it to a new computer place to be sure.

 

[themumu]

There are usually single keys available for sale on eBay, would be a better option assuming the damage in your case is to the key and not to the part where it connects to the rest of the computer.

I'm not surprised that a shop owner wants to order a whole keyboard, as far as I know, Apple does not sell spare keys, only whole keyboards.

I once had a problem with one of the keys (it got scratched and looked bad), and my local Apple store guys told me that they will have to check if they have that key, if not, the only thing they could do would be to replace the whole keyboard. When they replace the whole keyboard, they just keep the old one around and salvage whatever usable keys are left on it. In my case I was lucky, they had the needed key lying around, from one of these "salvage" keyboards.

It makes sense that a repair shop may not have such spare parts for an older machine, since the demand on them is so low, but it's exactly the kind of thing eBay is good for.