Swap Logic Board MacBook Air 13" 2013 to 2017

[mm2005]

that ribbon to the trackpad needs to be 100% connected.
mine was dislodge and I finally got the ribbon snug after 1.6 years of trying.
ithe q-p keys did not work until I finally connected th ribbon perfectly.

hoped this helped. let me know if you need a trick how to do this

Thanks, I'll check it again. But the key presses actually seem to be recognized by the OS. See the screenshot below, I'm pressing the screen brightness key.

When I first installed the logic board, I just transferred the SSD from the 2014 machine, with Ventura on it, and booted it up. I wonder if that could have done something to the firmware.

 

[MBAir2010]

When I first installed the logic board, I just transferred the SSD from the 2014 machine, with Ventura on it, and booted it up. I wonder if that could have done something to the firmware.

nope firmware is software,
you have a hardware problem and that ribbon needs to `100% connected
what I did dec 26th 2019 was hold my MacBook Air over my head on a chair with the trackpad upside-down
then I directed the cable inside the trackpad, flipped that over and that worked!
pain in the neck, but the results were worth the efforts.

I still use that MacBook nowadays and even purchased a new battery last month so that lasts!

 

[mm2005]

Not convinced it's a hardware problem, the key presses are getting passed to the operating system, and I can see in the Keyboard Viewer which keys are being pressed. It's making those little "error" beeps as if the application in focus can't accept the key presses.

 

[Audit13]

I swapped a 2015 11" logic board into a 2014 top case w 2013 screen. Everything works well except the top row of keys don't provide the correct functionality. The keyboard works, I can see the keys are pressed in Keyboard Viewer, they just don't do anything (except F11 which reveals desktop). I've done the usual pram and smc resets, and tried on several different versions of MacOS.

Firmware issue?

I doubt it's firmware. Long shot but try running a different os like Windows or Linux to see if the keys work.

 

[mm2005]

Running Ubuntu off a USB stick, the brightness/volume keys all work. Quite impressive really.

EDIT: Just tested again, it works correctly in Ubuntu including pressing 'fn' to toggle function of the keys. I'm convinced the keyboard works correctly.

EDIT2: I installed Bootcamp/Windows. Screen brightness keys work, as does sound on/off, but not volume up/down, or the keyboard brightness. Media pause and next track work, but not previous track.

As another clue, if I go to System Settings > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts ... > Display the default keys for screen brightness are F14/F15.

I can try the logic board in a different top case/keyboard I have. Any other ideas?

 

[mm2005]

Fixed it with Karabiner. My guess is the logic board or MacOS gets confused when the built in keyboard is slightly different than what it expects.

 

[vitaly-zdanevich]

I have MacBook Air a1466 early 2015, 4 GB of RAM - so I can replace logic board from 2017 to have 16 GB of RAM? Thanks for the help.

 

[Audit13]

I have MacBook Air a1466 early 2015, 4 GB of RAM - so I can replace logic board from 2017 to have 16 GB of RAM? Thanks for the help.

There is no a1466 with 16 Gb of ram from Apple. There may be a way to have the board customized with 16 Gb of ram by a third party.