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GubbyMan

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 3, 2011
448
2,095
I bought my MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2016) at launch and 6 years later I'm now having my first problem with the butterfly keyboard. I'm writing about this here since I don't think the problem is caused by the butterfly mechanism itself and Apple's keyboard service program will not apply to my case since I've used my Macbook for longer than 4 years.

left_shift.jpeg


The left shift key went from fully working to not registering any click. There was no in-between "it sometimes works", it just never works now. I've always been careful not to get dirt near my Macbook and this is how it looked after popping off the key cap. The mechanism works without any problems and I even tested pressing the dome directly after popping off the key cap. It still didn't register any clicks. I tried cleaning it with compressed air but that didn't work either.

I don't think this is a software problem since it doesn't work in Boot Camp Windows 10 and I can't even do things like resetting SMC because I need to hold down left shift when doing that.

I checked with Apple Support and they told me I need to bring in my MacBook so a technician can assess how much it's going to cost to repair it. Is there anything else I can try before that? Has anyone else here had this problem? I've seen people remove the whole key to expose the metal pins underneath but I chickened out on doing that because there's adhesive holding the mechanism in place. I'll let the technician have a look before doing something like that.
 
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If anyone is wondering why the shift key is short, it's because it's a Swedish layout.
 
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