I killed my macbook pro delete key
July 27th, 2006 by Scott Janousek
(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
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Crap. I seem to have the worst luck with keys these days.
Now, my macbook pro delete key popped off! Either it’s because I am doing a lot of programming, or it’s a defect on my macbook pro.
Now, I’m not that much of hunt and peck typer! I’d rate myself as a moderate typer (40 wpm?), and not a “key pounder” either. So I’m more inclined to think it may have been loose to begin with. Either that, or perhaps the key connections might have gotten hot enough to expand and then detach? … just a hunch. I’d hate to think that it is either problem.
Speaking of which … when I upgraded my memory to 2 gigs I remember seeing the “Made in China” label. Not to knock China, but there might be something to be said about the fact that Apple’s products are designed in the US, but mass assembled in China (I wonder what the stats on dead ipods are these days!?)
The good thing is it’ll probably snap right back on. I’ll chalk it up to accidential for this “first offense”. A fluke if you will.
I’m going to call on Apple Care to do the repair just so they have it on record … and in the event any other keys “fall off” (aka I have a lemon on my hands). Fun stuff, especially when you’re trying to get things done. At any other time this would be humorous. <Sigh>.
Again, I’m not trying to knock Apple, but if it happens again, I’m going to be concerned. I love their products, but these kinds of things are just plain annoying.
You don’t see mobile device keys popping off Nokia’s do you?
Anyways, thought I’d post just in case anyone has experienced this … Bueller? Bueller?
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July 27th, 2006 at 4:55 pm
Sorry - hasn’t happened to me yet.
July 27th, 2006 at 4:56 pm
Yeah. I’m starting to think the machine got hot enough for the connection to become loose. If another key goes, I’ll be sure to post.
July 27th, 2006 at 5:08 pm
Well, if it happens again, you could always wait for me to come over, you could leave the laptop on your doorstep, and then I could leave with it.
PS - how about that BT Laser Mighty Mouse? You get one yet?
July 27th, 2006 at 5:48 pm
Same key popped off of my Macbook repeatedly when I got it. Bent the prongs on the back of the key out a little bit to give it a tighter fit and it’s worked fine since. Good idea to get it on record though — didn’t think of that.
July 27th, 2006 at 5:49 pm
Nah. I’ll pass. You could’a had my powerbook though (sold on ebay) …
I’m typing on a macbook right now (in the store).
Looks like this keyboard wouldn’t be affected. Nice and “tight”. Apparently the techs are saying they see this “every once in a while”.
The keyboard design hasn’t changed that much from the G4 powerbook, so it was a snap for them to fix.
I’m just hoping it’s not going to happen again when the machine gets hot (aka a design flaw). I think it’s unlikely.
Yes, I’ll have to check out the mighty mouse wireless.
July 27th, 2006 at 6:20 pm
ericd: Before I forget … Apple Store @ Chestnuthill was nice enough to quickly troubleshoot and resolve the issue on the spot. Apparently, they have some new faces there.
Brian F. - yeah, I was going to attempt the repair being a hands-on type person, but the connectors looked too fragile, and I figured I had Apple Care so might as well use it (turns out it wasn’t needed though).
Hopefully this was a one time only type thing.
July 28th, 2006 at 6:05 am
Sucks!! I have the problem that my sound falls away every n times. Really annoying then you need to stop/start the application which making sound and it works again. Bug
Oh yeah, if anyone is looking for a Powerbook G4 it’s for sale here!
August 4th, 2006 at 11:58 pm
My 15″ MacBook Pro is only a few days old and my TAB key has popped off. At first the tab key was stucking under the CAPS LOCK key. tick tiCK TICK, was the sound produced when my finger tapped on that pesky tab key. After a while, the whole left side of the key was elevated considerably higher than the keyboard. Tonight the key was so loose it just kind of feel off. I’m glad it wasn’t the Delete key, like your system. Geez that really does suck. I tried to put the key back on - but GOSH it is really weird. If anyone has a HOWTO on putting these keys back onto the system, I’d like to read about it.
August 5th, 2006 at 1:55 am
I just opened up my macbook and found that the delete key had popped off. The photo that you included looks just like mine: the disk eject key is slightly lower on the right side. Could there be a connection between bad installation of keys in the upper right corner? Could it be a heat issue?
Can you give some advice on how to “pop” the key back in?
August 5th, 2006 at 10:26 am
Well, I did get my tab key to go back in after about 10 minutes of fiddling with it. It feels VERY solid. But it does have a slight tilt towards the left. Sadly, I can’t recall how I did it - I was watching DS9 at the time. I can say this. I did NOT use an excessive amount of force and there were not tools involved (minus my fingers as a tools). The tab key DID bind a few times in odd positions. I then had to pull it back off again. When it finally stuck, I was concentrating on keeping the key directly over the position is should be in ( to prevent it from binding in odd locations). I was doing everything from wiggling the key a tiny bit to letting the spring feature push it back up and then I’d press it back down again. I even tried placing he key in at a 45 degree angle - thinking “it must somehow grab the lower part of the key first” After a while - it just stuck
August 6th, 2006 at 3:35 pm
I just let apple care deal with my key. That’s why I got it in the first place.
August 8th, 2006 at 10:08 pm
my 5.. count it.. 5 day old 17″ Mac Book Pro not only spontaniously popped it’s C key when opened but it now has refused to boot, aparrently going in to “sleep” and never waking up.. The screen does not come on. This occured doing an install of CS2, so I have a C keyless 5 day old mac book pro doorstop that is clinging on to my Disk 2 for CS2.
Calling apple support they were going to arrange for me to bring it in to an apple store however because I am not part of some secret decoder ring club they can only give me an appointment on that same day.. So I have to get up eaarly tomorrow, make an appointment and hop on a fairly short commuter rail train..
I have owned Macs since my Quadra 800 (and used them since the Mac II) and am just extraordinarily disappointed all the way around..
August 16th, 2006 at 11:08 am
My enter key has fallen off my PowerBook G4, and my entire top row of keys has always seemed a little crooked since I purchased my mac
August 16th, 2006 at 10:21 pm
I just bought my macbook 2 days ago and my number 6 key half-popped off! Argh. I waited so long for it to be in stock and now disappointment.
August 16th, 2006 at 11:02 pm
My G4 powerbook has not had any problems, until…..my caps lock key has popped off! Worse yet, no Apple store in Kentucky!! I will have to try and fiddle it back on myself, any suggestions would be appreciated!
September 4th, 2006 at 9:27 pm
I DID IT!
I came here looking for help getting my my 7 key back on after it popped off (cat jumped on keyboard) it only took me about 2 mins to get it back on.
What I did was turned the laptop on its side so I was looking at the keyboard from the side, first if the little plastic part came off the back of the key you’ll need to snap it back into place, there’s little grooves that the plastic piece snaps back into.
To get it back onto the board - turn it to the side, you’ll see the bottom of the key has a little groove where the little metal peice on the board fits into and then at the top of the key there’s little tabs on each side of the plastic piece on the key and it rocks back and forth.
How I got the key back on was to place it where its supposed to be slowly and gently rocked it back and forth and gently pressed on it - more so at the bottom of the key until the little metal piece snapped back into place then I rocked it back and forth applying a little more pressure on one side than the other until the little tab on one side finally snapped back into place and then the other side snapped right in!
Sheeeeeeeew!
I was SO not looking forward to a 45 min drive one way to just to get a key back on!!
Good luck!
September 5th, 2006 at 7:44 pm
It’s easier than Leslie says.
The main idea is to pop the face of the key out of the little plastic “folding chair” holder (she wants you to reconnect these, it’s much easier with them apart). Without the key, it is very easy to re-seat the folding chair. After the chair is in, simply press the key onto it and it will snap into place.
September 17th, 2006 at 5:26 pm
Thanks Leslie brooks.
I was trying in vain to get the little blighter [key] back on (my enter key). Then I read your comment about first getting the little white plastic piece on the keyboard (which for me was atached to the key, so I had to pull that off and attach it to the keyboard first). After that the key fit like my foot slides into a shoe; put the front ends of the metal piece into the little metal holes and then push the key down. You’ll hear/feel gentle snaps as the key goes in.
Do note that the whole setup looks very flimsy, but goes in sturdily. Do not use much force at all. If you can’t get it in easily, then you need to try a different approach, but force will proably break something. As with all apple repairs, you’ll proably get charged for a tiny piece of plastic, or even worse a whole new keyboard if you break the key or the little white plastic piece. If the technique is right it’ll take less then a minute. I fiddled around for 5-10 minutes before finding the right directions online after which everything went quickly.
sometimes the internet is useful.
September 28th, 2006 at 9:12 pm
Did you ever happen to think that the keys were actually made to come off so you could clean underneath them? And if they were made to come off they could snap back on. Honestly shouldn’t you think about these things before complaining to the world that your stupid key came off, and why the hell would you call applecare for something that stupid? I just took all the keys off my macbook pro’s keyboard to clean them and got them all back on within a few minutes without having to call applecare. If you don’t have the sense to figure out how to put a key on a keyboard, you shouldn’t have the right to own anything apple makes.
September 28th, 2006 at 10:22 pm
JG,
Yes, it made perfect sense to be able to replace keys. Keys wear out! The reason for the post was to gather feedback to see if there was a potential flaw in the original production line of MacBook Pro’s …
After a month, I have yet to experience this again … it may have been due to heat actually, as I was using the MacBook Pro during the heatwave and it extremely hot.
I’m wondering now, if excessive heat cause the metal to expand, and the key to inadvertetly pop … pure speculation, and just a hunch.
The reason I took it to Apple Care was to *document* the problem with them, in case it was a production flaw. Turns out this is probably not the case. Yes, I am more than savvy to change keys, but I wanted them to do it to document the whole process …
Thanks for the post.
I love Apple products and this wasn’t a rip on Apple. I was merely posting to reach other MacBook Pro owners to see if they had encountered the same problem. Some people had.
October 25th, 2006 at 5:14 pm
My DELETE key fell off TOO!!! My computer is not covered under Apple Care anymore, though!! What do I do??
October 26th, 2006 at 7:55 pm
David Marasco’s explanation worked perfectly!
Thanks!
November 1st, 2006 at 4:02 pm
Scott,
How do you feel about that eject key? I just received a new Macbook Pro and my eject key is slanted like yours, along with some of the other keys being slightly slanted. Overall, the keyboard is not as flush as I would like it to be. (especially considering the price) Have you noticed this with yours?
November 16th, 2006 at 5:14 pm
After my “8″ key fell out, I was fiddling around for about 15 minutes before I found this page. David Marasco’s method worked in about 15 seconds. Thanks!
November 23rd, 2006 at 9:41 pm
Thanks a lot David Marasco!! That worked like magic! *HUG*
December 6th, 2006 at 10:36 am
Ah thank you Leslie! My husband was freaking out because one of his keys came off his NEW imac…. I read your post and could fix it.. Yay!
December 11th, 2006 at 8:00 pm
Classic! The same thing happened to me today, and what do you know a fellow Flasher from Boston had the same problem and blogged it. What a small world. Anyway, got it fixed with the help from the tips provided in the comments. Thanks for posting this Scott. You da man!
December 13th, 2006 at 9:11 pm
Anyone know where to buy the little plastic “folding chair” pieces?
I slid my hand across the keyboard; as to swat a fly away and 3 different
keys popped off. 2 of which broke the ever so tiny white plastic tips
that hold it to the keyboard. $100+ for a replacement keyboard is not
an option.
Cheers,
-T
December 22nd, 2006 at 11:42 pm
Google turned up one website
http://www.powerbookmedic.com/xcart1/customer/product.php?productid=16753
But at 8.95 a pop I’d like to hear of other replacement options - this macbook is no longer under extended care, so will apple replace the delete key/full keyboard?
December 23rd, 2006 at 6:05 pm
I Just bought Mac Pro 17″ and 2 keys fallen down after one week. alt key and Z key, after I read these comments I came to one conclusion that Mac Pro Keyboard is to sensitive for using in typing. I hope apple People readthis
December 31st, 2006 at 11:30 am
I hope don’t read your last comment, you got everything wrong. a “Mac Pro”, as you speak of, is another type of computer, not a notebook, but a model. Have the decency to name things correctly. You are surly speaking of a “MacBook Pro” which is quite different.
December 31st, 2006 at 11:33 am
pff sorry, I used words in brackets in my last post, and apparently this comment software isn’t intelligent enough to either warn the user you are not supposed to use them, or display them. So those words just went missing. Was this blog program made by Microsoft ? o_O
December 31st, 2006 at 11:35 am
heh, this might sound funny, but I’m looking for a way to make the keys pop out (to clean them)… mine just don’t want to come off… any ideas ?
January 3rd, 2007 at 11:50 am
Had this whimsical idea that I could change the keyboard layout to Turkish, so I popped out some of the keys. Easier popped out than popped in again. I tried the methods posted here, and managed to put in one of the keys. The rest was easier by putting a little piece of paper under the left side of the underneath. Then the small plastic part always stays erect and you can easily put it in. After the right side catches the part on the mainland, just pull the paper out and easily fit the left sight. Difficult to explain, but easy to do.
January 3rd, 2007 at 11:59 am
Thanks for everyone posting here! Lots of great tips, feedback, etc. I just switched from a macbook pro to a macbook … some might call it a downgrade, but I actually like the smaller footprint, and well, besides not being illuminated, the keyboard I find is actually much nicer than the one on the pro! Stupid, I know. But I do a lot of writing and coding so the keyboard needs to stand up to my daily dose of punishment!
If anyone knows where I can pick up some sort of “inlay” for a macbook keyboard that glows in the dark, let me know … basically, I miss the illumination feature in the MBP when watching DVDs on the go … I’ve seen some keyboard protectors … but what I’m really looking for is something thin to insert or possible even glow in the dark key replacements … does Apple make such a thing? They should. Not sure how well, it would work, but anything is better than trying to hit black keys in the dark!
January 14th, 2007 at 7:48 pm
You could buy some fluorescent paint with a small brush and paint the letters over your keys. The same kind of paint you can find on the hours and minutes branches of some watches. But be careful to not lick the brush, florescent paint is slightly radioactive… and the girl’s who used to paint the watches daily in the ’60s all ended up with a tongue cancer ^^
January 26th, 2007 at 9:55 pm
Marasco is king, thank you sir - worked like a charm.
February 1st, 2007 at 10:06 pm
Today, my RETURN key on my MacBook has just stoped working. It started to make some annoying “click” sound when pressed, while normally macbook’s keyboard are quite silent. So after a few more presses, it doesn’t seem to be “pressable” any more, it’s just there and won’t go down when you press it, it’s like something it’s blocking the spring from the inside or something.
Anyway, real shi%%y. I mean RETURN is the key you keep using all the time, even more than BACKSPACE or the arrow keys. I’ll have to live with the ENTER key until it gets fixed. I’m certainly calling Apple tomorrow as I’m still in the One-year warranty period. And there’s no way I’m going to mess with the computer to fix a problem of THEIR hardware. Apple must take care of it, not me.
March 10th, 2007 at 9:37 pm
Putting keys back on is tricky but doable! After reading all these posts, i played around getting the little white piece back on - that’s the hardest part! You really have to make sure and slide the bottom of it in first and then the top hinges. It took about 15 mins to finally wedge it in! After that, the key plate pops on easily.
June 19th, 2007 at 2:06 pm
The Apple key came off my new 10 day old MBP, I took the metal cover off the white plastic bit fixed that back in then popped the cover back on, annoying but not hard… easy off easy on, not impressed thought…
July 12th, 2007 at 10:07 am
David Marasco–Thanks—you saved my MAC!! =]. It worked so well I think I will purposefully pop them all off to clean my keyboard (which is, why it was intended to pop off, right??).
Thanks for your insight. I knew there was a way…just wasn’t sure how!
July 31st, 2007 at 3:54 am
OK… it’s possible… but… a pain in the @ss !
It took me about 30 minutes to finally get it in place. The little white plastic folding chair thingy was already attached to the detached key. It was just a matter of placing it correctly so the little metal latch and the side latch dodads fit in properly.
I was about 3 beers deep, which probably didn’t help… BUT… it was still quite a chore
August 6th, 2007 at 6:28 pm
Yes this has happened to me and let me tell it is the most pain in the ass problem I’ve ever had with a computer let alone a mac. I’ve built computers and repaired them, but repairing a mac book pro’s apple key is the most annoying problem I’ve run into. As of right now I still have it out of place after trying to get it back for over two HOURS STRAIGHT.
October 26th, 2007 at 5:09 pm
We just replace the X key after our dog tore it off. While I was reading this looking for hints, my wonderful partner figured it out. Here’s what he did: We ordered a replacement key. First remove the white frame from the back of the new key. Then gently clip it into place. Then slid the bottom side of the key on to catch the two prongs and then gently snap the top of the key on with downward pressure. Hope this is reproducible and helpful!
November 19th, 2007 at 3:08 pm
Had the same problem with the apple key…secrect to fixing it…hold the key up with pliers so that the white harness is dropped down from the key plate. Get the front prongs to line up with the front holes on the harness, gently drop down, then gently press the top of the key plate into place.
Thank you all for your help and comments
November 26th, 2007 at 12:30 am
Happened to me earlier today. Total bummer and i nnever realized how much I used the delete key.
November 26th, 2007 at 4:57 pm
My delete key looks like wanting to pop out when the computer runs hot.. It seems that something inside expands and pushes that area upsides, just about left of the power button it creates a little bump. Hope this is not serious. I believe that is the reason that your delete key is popping out.
December 18th, 2007 at 7:52 pm
Just fixed my enter key.
Get tweezers or something tiny and gently expand the bottom of the key, there are three components. The metal rods, and a the X shaped plastic pieces with a hook and a hole, respectively.
1) Keep the key facing at a 45 degree tilt from the face of the keyboard and extend the metals bars so they are parallel with the keyboard.
2) Start with the metal rods, sliding them into their slots. Gently pull the the key towards you while decreasing its angular pitch from the keyboard top (this will require you pushing the key in front down to fit your fat fingers in the small area.
3) Here’s the tricky part, push the key backwards to have the “hole” locked in.
4) Finish with a gently push down on the key, you should here a quiet snap of the plastic hooks locking into place. A load snap is bad– you broke your key.
btw, 40 words/min IS DEFINITELY a hunt and peck typer
cheers,
ka
December 31st, 2007 at 10:39 pm
My “k” key just fell off somehow… I have to push the little rubber nub to type a k…
January 19th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
Thank you David Marasco!!! That was the easiest solution!!! I was sweating it for a little while, but when I read your suggestion, I fixed it in less than a minute!
April 9th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
something goes wrong… and you blame china… maybe it was just your fault.. get a flashlight and some tweezers and put it back on for cying out loud.
August 22nd, 2008 at 10:25 am
Greetings all:
As I was looking for a set of instructions for placing the shift key back on my MacBook Pro, I came across this page. I notice that others here had the same issue I did: the proper technique for replacing keys. I found an article that layed the procedure out perfectly. I hope it will be of use to someone else:
http://www.powerbookmedic.com/MacBook-Pro-Keys—Individual-Key-Keycap-p-16753.html
September 3rd, 2008 at 1:30 am
David Marasco was accurate on the solution he posted. We have a kitten that has pried the keys off our iBook G4 more than once if we forget to close the cover. Gently pressing the keys back on is usually all that is needed.
If the white plastic scissor bracket is off the keyboard, separate it from the key. The scissor bracket is composed of two parts that snap together, one inside the other. If necessary snap the smaller bracket into the larger bracket, two plastic pegs on the smaller should find matching holes.
The bracket then should be put onto the keyboard around the key post, using the least amount of force to get it seated. There are three contact points, a flatter metal tab and two vertical metal loops. Hook the bar of the smaller bracket under the metal tab, then two pins on the larger bracket should catch between the vertical metal loops.
Last line up the key cap with the key post and the scissor bracket. If all is lined up, just a little more force than normal typing should snap it back on.
I recommend this site for further reading and the good photos.
http://www.nonverbla.de/blog/2006/11/12/how-to-clean-your-macbook-pro-keyboard/
I’ve also read on this blog:
Also, if you are able to go to the Genius Bar at an Apple Store, they generally have stashes of old, dead keyboards and can give you replacement keys and scissor-brackets for free, no questions asked.
I’ve also heard that the level of competency and service can vary quite a bit between Apple stores. There are two near me, and another Apple user I know says the more distant store will fix something in 5 minutes for free while the other wants to write up a service order and says they should get to it by next week.