Hi all!
I have been following this forum for quite some time and finally decided I should share with you my story so far with my Macbook Pro. I think you guys may be interested and may actually benefit from my experience and stupidity.
NOTE: this will be long.
So back in November I purchased a Macbook Pro 13" w/ TB (256 gb, no upgrades) and have had no problems with it for about a month. One day I decided to install Counter Strike Go to see how it would perform as I have been hearing that with my specs, it should be able to perform well. It did run smoothly, however it got extremely hot and I began noticing that my "o" key was making sticky sounds. It sounded as if i stuck a tape on something and ripped it off quickly, and it was most noticeable when i press the bottom left corner of that key while the machine is warm. I was planning on bringing it back Apple to get their opinion on it as this issue was relatively new, and the only site I have found with people having similar issues was on this forum. However this was at the end of December and i had to go on vacation and i needed my computer. I decided to give the macbook some time and thought maybe constant use would get rid of that issue. It did not, and i soon discovered the the "shift" key was having sensitivity issues. I brought it back to Apple immediately after coming back from vacation and the technicians were able to reproduce the problem. They said they would take the machine in for repair under warranty and it would take 3-5 days. About 6 days later they called back and said they broke the trackpad connector in the process and will replace the entire machine with a retail equivalent one. So i went to pick up the brand new one (with charger and everything) but fast forward 2 weeks later. The space bar began having the same sticky sound but much quieter and also while its cold. I contemplated for awhile if i should bring it back for repair but considering many of you on this forum have said that some have been unsuccessful after multiple replacements. It was only the space bar of all keys that had that quiet sticky sound so i decided i will hold on to this machine for awhile. Now here's where the stupidity begins.
I came home from school yesterday and decided i will try to pry out the keys to see what was under and maybe if i can determine the cause. I began with the "]" key, one that i dont use often. I discovered that to pop the small keys off, you need pop the top first, then pull diagonally upwards to slide off the hook at the bottom edge. I soon moved over to the space bar thinking it would be the same mechanism but never have i been so wrong. I tried popping the top corner of the space bar off and used a bit too much force and and heard a snap sound. ****. My heart sank, I was not able to push it back in no matter what way i pushed down. So instead of damaging it further, i brought it into apple this morning and have them have a look at it. I admitted that i attempted to pop off the key and was unsuccessful, I mean they will find out eventually when they take it apart to examine. They said they'll need to take in my Macbook for a few days to examine and maybe repair as they don't have the part in stock. They also said that if they had to repair that space bar, worst case scenario, they will need to replace the entire top case with battery, and that it will cost $558 Canadian dollars ($449 for parts and $109 for labor). This cost out of my pocket seems most likely as it seems that the space bar key it self is not only broken, but the tiny mechanisms at the bottom seem to have snapped as well.
So that's my story and my expensive screw up. I would suggest to any of you that's ever brave enough to pop off the keys, for smaller keys, pop off the top corners first as they are tiny clamps, then SLIDE diagonally upwards to unhook the C shape hook. If you want to remove large keys like the space bar, DO NOT, bring it in for them to examine, as these keys are delicate as **** and way too expensive to fix.
My question to you guys is will this damage, small, but expensive (for me), void my warranty? It was not a spill or any other damage that could have possibly affected any other parts of the computer, but it is a damage that's definitely not covered by warranty. And i worry that their fix may perhaps cause future problems that they will claim is not their fault as i have voided my warranty earlier.
I apologize for the lengthy post but i do believe many of you could benefit from my experience.
