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"8, I, k, ','" keys not working

elliebels

elliebels

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 8, 2018
6
0
Apple A1181 Macbook 13.3" Laptop (1.83 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 1 GB SDRAM, 250GB HDD
MacOS: Snow Leopard 10.6.8

F7, 8, I, k, "," keys not working. I find it weird that they're not working and they're aligned.

They have worked 2 out of 20 times that I have used this laptop.

The problem is not sticky keys or slow keys. I haven't tried cleaning it yet but I am about to. Please give me any other tips. I am not sure if I am allowed to take it to the Apple Store since it is used and I am not the original owner who bought it.

**the built in keyboard!!! not a wireless keyboard****

kbq16p.jpg
 
The fact that they are in a line suggests to me that this might be the result of a sticky liquid spill? Any chance that happened? Did all five keys start misbehaving at the same time?

I can only suggest airblower pointed into the gaps and exercising the keys. If it is liquid it might dry out, but keep exercising them to stop them sticking.
 
Mike Boreham said:
The fact that they are in a line suggests to me that this might be the result of a sticky liquid spill? Any chance that happened? Did all five keys start misbehaving at the same time?

I can only suggest airblower pointed into the gaps and exercising the keys. If it is liquid it might dry out, but keep exercising them to stop them sticking.
Click to expand...
Are you suggesting using compressed air?

I was thinking of buying new keys from https://www.replacementlaptopkeys.com/apple-white-macbook-replacement-laptop-keys/ if that would help but I'm scared that it will be a waste of money and it's a ribbon/cable problem within the laptop.
 
You're always allowed to take it to an Apple Store, but it'll cost ya to get it fixed. You can always ask a Genius there.
 
BlankStar said:
You're always allowed to take it to an Apple Store, but it'll cost ya to get it fixed. You can always ask a Genius there.
Click to expand...
Thank you! I didn't know that. Do you have any tips that I can do myself before I go to the professionals? I don't really want to spend a huge amount of money for something that I can put effort in.
 
You can sometimes press down really hard on the key, and that release whatever particle was stuck in there. Sometimes its a no-go though, and you'll have to bring it in.
 
elliebels said:
Are you suggesting using compressed air?

I was thinking of buying new keys from https://www.replacementlaptopkeys.com/apple-white-macbook-replacement-laptop-keys/ if that would help but I'm scared that it will be a waste of money and it's a ribbon/cable problem within the laptop.
Click to expand...

If the key action on these feels completely normal and exactly like the other keys then it sounds more of a electrical connection problem than a mechanical problem, so I would not be too confident that replacement keys would solve it, but it might!

I have replaced a key once on a windows laptop....not easy....maybe easier on a MacBook.

Yes, I was suggesting a compressed air can with a thin tube/nozzle to direct right in the gaps.
 
If it's a recent MacBook: not easy to do it yourself with that new butterfly-mechanism. I assume the guys at the Apple Store can do some diagnostics to check what's wrong. And whatever they decide it is, you can always choose to go home and think it over (and post it here on macrumors)
 
BlankStar said:
If it's a recent MacBook: not easy to do it yourself with that new butterfly-mechanism.
Click to expand...

From the OP, Apple A1181 Macbook 13.3" Laptop (1.83 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 1 GB SDRAM, 250GB HDD
MacOS: Snow Leopard 10.6.8. This was manufactured between Nov 2006 and May 2007, so this MacBook has done well to get this far. Not worth spending any serious money to get fixed.
 
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Mike Boreham said:
From the OP, Apple A1181 Macbook 13.3" Laptop (1.83 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 1 GB SDRAM, 250GB HDD
MacOS: Snow Leopard 10.6.8. This was manufactured between Nov 2006 and May 2007, so this MacBook has done well to get this far. Not worth spending any serious money to get fixed.
Click to expand...
I'll keep that in mind thank you!
 
I don't know if it's true for that model but groups of keys on computer keyboards in general have had shared circuitry.

A grouping like that would point to the shared circuit being problematic.
 
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BrianBaughn said:
I don't know if it's true for that model but groups of keys on computer keyboards in general have had shared circuitry.

A grouping like that would point to the shared circuit being problematic.
Click to expand...
If it is that then what can I do about it myself?
 
Most modern equipment from Apple is not user serviceable. That means for most users. Unless you have access to microcircuit board tools and knowhow you are really dependent on an authorized service dealer.
 
Replacing individual key caps won't do anything. A poor analogy, but if someone goes deaf, replacing their earlobe won't restore their hearing. You have to replace the keyboard.

The issue here is that this went out of production 9 years ago, so finding a keyboard in good condition will be virtually impossible. Apple doesn't have parts to this anymore.

Something like this would probably do. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Genuine-Ap...228464&hash=item234645982b:g:GHIAAOxyjzNRFdar

But keep in mind right after getting it fixed

a) something else might fail because it is so old(inverter wire most likely)
b) the part you are buying is coming out of an 11 year old device, so there is a chance it is dead too.

best of luck
 
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BrianBaughn has the most relevant answer here in post #11
The "dead" keys are essentially in a vertical row. The common circuitry is shared in similar "vertical" paths all through the keyboard. It simplifies the wiring in the keyboard, but also means that a vertical group of keys is a very common failure, and is a good way to determine that the keyboard in that area has a failed circuit. Replacing the key caps will not help. The fix is to replace the keyboard, which means replacing the top case on your A1181 MacBook.
The repair (replacing the top case) is fairly easy to do. Finding a good keyboard may not be so simple.
 
I don't know what a Macbook keyboard is like internally, but some time ago I was able to repair a similar problem with a white Pro keyboard. A circuit trace had corroded, and I quite easily fixed it with a conductive ink pen.

--Eric
 
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Yes, that pen looks quite similar to what I used, although mine is silver rather than nickel. I don't know of any tutorials. Taking the Pro keyboard apart was a pain because I didn't have the weird screwdrivers you'd ideally need for the weird screws Apple used, but I improvised, and once those were removed, the rest wasn't very hard, and fixing the actual problem was trivial (I just drew over the corroded spot with the pen).

--Eric
 
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I *don't think* you can get into a Macbook keyboard that easily. There's no screws, pretty sure it's all riveted together, or something else equally "permanent"

And, I have one of those MacBook top cases in my hands. There are indeed no screws, it's manufactured as part of the top case. It's not going to come apart as easily as one of the old Pro keyboards.
 
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