What are my odds of failure if I take apart a MacBook's keyboard for cleaning?

[ScottR]

I had to drop off my 16" MacBook Pro at the Applestore for repair. Since they'll have it for about a week, I took down my old 2017 MacBook 12" Retina (MacBook10,1 - A1534) to use in the meantime.

And I remembered why I replaced it: I hate the keyboard. It had been replaced by Apple once already, but they keys quickly became pretty unusable--mushy and hard to use. Presumably tiny bits of whatever are in there.

I was thinking that once I get the Pro back, I could try to clean the 12" by removing the keycaps and doing a cleaning. I'd looked at videos like this and cleaning guides like this, and it seems relatively straightforward, but how likely am I to break those delicate butterfly hinges? Should I order hinge replacements like this prophylactically (assuming that something will need replacement), or only if I do end up breaking something?

 

[Slix]

I wouldn't recommend taking the keys off if you are unsure if you might break them. What you can do instead (or in addition to taking them off) is to use a toothbrush with some isopropyl alcohol to get any debris out from the sides of the keys. Use some compressed air (or an electric computer blower) to get any remaining dust out. Be gentle to make sure you don't snap the keys off.

 

[MBAir2010]

I agree with Slix as those models have very shallow and thin keyboards.

another tip is to use a toothpick, plastic for crud near the keys after what Slix suggested.

What OS are we using on the MB 17?
I always wanted one but did not prefer no- cat like Mavericks or el Capiat'n OSXs when they were released.

 

[ScottR]

I wouldn't recommend taking the keys off if you are unsure if you might break them. What you can do instead (or in addition to taking them off) is to use a toothbrush with some isopropyl alcohol to get any debris out from the sides of the keys. Use some compressed air (or an electric computer blower) to get any remaining dust out. Be gentle to make sure you don't snap the keys off.

Should have said: I've done all that without any results; I also have a datavac (small vacuum that's grounded to avoid static discharge) and have tried both suction and blowing. Keys still spongy/unresponsive. That's a big part of why I bought the 16". I haven't otherwise used the 12" since, except for now.

 

[laptech]

If you take the key caps off you WILL break hinges, that's a given. How many you break will be down to how delicate you are taking the key caps off.

 

[Slix]

Should have said: I've done all that without any results; I also have a datavac (small vacuum that's grounded to avoid static discharge) and have tried both suction and blowing. Keys still spongy/unresponsive. That's a big part of why I bought the 16". I haven't otherwise used the 12" since, except for now.

Gotcha. Unfortunately, those keyboards just end up being like that oftentimes, and they aren't easy to repair if you try to take the keys off. If you aren't needing to be super mobile with it for this week, you could use an external keyboard possibly.

 

[laptech]

Would probably be cheaper getting another keyboard replacement. Give it to a local 3rd party repair company that specializes in Apple repair.

 

[Thirio2]

Can you use it with an external keyboard?