MacBook Unibody Keyboard Replacement

[Diablocabra]

you know you can just pop out the keys and click em back in...

[rdklinc]

@Diablocabra That doesn't help a whole lot if the circuitry underneath them is fried, which is the case 99.9% of the time when a liquid spill occurs.

[amanvet]

Hi There, excellent tutorial.

I have a little question. Can I use a top case from Macbook pro 15" 2009 in my Macbook Pro 15" 2011? I means, are these two top cases interchangeable?

Thank you

[rdklinc]

@amanvet Hi! If you can post the question on rdklinc dot com slash answers, I'll respond there. Thanks

[ThaFooooosa]

I can get a macbook pro 13 (april 2010) for £375, however the keyboard doesnt work, but an external one does.

how much will it cost to get it repaired, its only £30 For the keyboard and £60 for the unibody case, this seems fairly hard to fix :(

[rdklinc]

@ThaFooooosa If you're replacing the topcase with keyboard, it's not that difficult a repair. I'd check out iFixit and look up the guide.

[Evangelos1991]

hi rdklinc I want your help, 3 keys of my keyboard stopped responding so I want to replace it where can I find this Part?

[rdklinc]

@Evangelos1991 eBay -- eBay is always the place for pretty much anything.

[hairul20]

Dude i dnt knw how to assemble the wiring back proper can u please make an assembly vid :)

[rdklinc]

@hairul20 I'm not sure what you mean by "wiring"....

[bramVE239]

would this work if i wanted to change from a qwerty to an azerty keyboard in terms of software? will my mac now it's azerty now or should i do this in a different way?

[rdklinc]

@bramVE239 Wow, that's a new one. I suspect you would have to change a setting in System Preferences. As a test I would look for that setting and see if you can switch it right now (in the software) from querty to azerty. If that works, you know what's left is simply swapping out the keyboard.

[HeffernanProductions]

i got my top case/keyboard combo for $189 from dvwarehouse.

[rdklinc]

@HeffernanProductions That's a little expensive...I've found them for as low as $80 on eBay.

[HeffernanProductions]

@rdklinc really? i looked for a while, couldn't find anything good. i got a NEW top case (the whole metal unibody) that came with many of the cables already in place (power button, battery connection, battery indicator, hd cable, etc. and of course the backlit keyboard), with the exception of the trackpad. ifixit offers this piece, USED, w/ a trackpad for 299, which is too much. i did the install yesterday, and there were a few problems, but overall it went well.

[TheLorgirl]

The space bar on my macbook pro is not working. I think I shorted it out. It's the only key that is not working. I believe that I just need the "plastic" piece that all the screws go into, the part with the metal bits. What is the part number? Or whats it called? I can't find anything online. :(

[rdklinc]

@TheLorgirl I don't know that there is a specific part number, since Apple doesn't sell a lot of components separately. eBay is going to be your best bet for things like that.

[saywhatjames]

just want to ask what size of the screwdriver is needed for the keyboard.

thanks in advance.

[rdklinc]

@saywhatjames Hi! I don't know the screwdriver size. Do yourself a favor and get a complete $12 screwdriver kit, and then you'll be prepared for this and other repairs.

[RAGO101]

NOT a Good video you had to take it apart on video so we can see how you did it

[rdklinc]

@RAGO101 Should I take out your trash and do your ironing for you as well, and for free? Go to ifixit.com if you want a guide to how it's taken apart!

[rdklinc]

Hi all!  Please post your questions to rdklinc dot com slash answers. I am not going to spend time providing tech support on YouTube...at the very least the questions need to be posted to my site, so that the site benefits from my work there. Thanks

[samminik]

John I spilled orange juice on my mac pro & got it blow dried overnight. It came on, the power button works, but the keys are all dead. any thoughts? do i need a new key board or need to replace the whole thing. My eject has some solid movement when i eject from the menu but it won't come out for me to pull out.

[rdklinc]

@samminik Please post your question to rdklinc dot com slash answers.

[hraqhraq]

You have to make another video that show those 2 magic startup points. Please.

[homePicShow1]

is this the 2010 model?

[mstrOFtechno]

where can i turn on the 17" inch model from the logic board

[rdklinc]

@mstrOFtechno If you cold please post this question to the rdklinc.com answers page, I'll answer it there. Thanks!

[NBrookLand]

@mstrOFtechno Short circuit the 'pwr button' pins on the logic board.

[Rmilyard]

I have a question. I have a Mid 2010 MacBook Pro 13". I got some water on keyboard. After looking inside I don't see any water sensors tripped. I found this webpage:

I found the 4 from the first picture but the second picture shows 4 more under the keyboard. Do you happen to know if only 4 or is it 8 sensors?

[smninerniner]

MAN!! My 13" Macbook unibody went down a few months ago due to the keyboard going out. After watching your video I was finally able to "jumpstart" it and get it back up and running with a bluetooth keyboard. I greatly appreciate this vid, one question though, where exactly did you find the replacment keyboard. I would like to replace it but can't seem to find the particular part number..

Thanks Again!

[rdklinc]

@smninerniner Awesome, it's great to hear the video was helpful! I found the replacement keyboard on eBay. The best way to search is to find the model number of your machine, i.e. A1278, and then search eBay for "A1278 keyboard". They generally run about $50-$60. Also, I've noticed it's often possible to find an entire replacement topcase in the $100 range, so the argument can be made for replacing the whole thing and bypassing the fairly difficult keyboard replacment procedure. Good luck!

[mojo3120]

Did every hole in your keyboard contain a screw? Mine only about half of them had a screw, it was a refurb though.

Not that it matters.....just curious.

[rdklinc]

@mojo3120 Hi! Yes, all the screws had holes, but this machine was NOT a refurb. I'd guess some guy at the Apple depot just got a little lazy with yours. :-) There are so many screws that I imagine it's not necessary for all of them to be in place, as long as you have a good assortment spread across the keyboard.

[Walczyk]

this is probably the best keyboard tutorial, but i've got a few questions. those liquid sensors you pointed out, am I right in assuming they turn red when wet? i discovered that one out of three of them was actually red so I assume they would have spotted it. More importantly, when you showed where you jumped your board, I noticed my unibody macbook (not pro) is a little different, its a 5.1 (late 2008/2009), would any ebay'd kit work? and do they come with new sensors/replacement black cover?

[rdklinc]

Hi! Sure, if you could please post the question on the Answers page (as I referred to below) of my web page, I'll explain it in detail there. :-) Thanks!

[latinoguy36]

What I didn´t understand is about the short thing when you mention that put a metallic thing to joint two contacts near the power button switch, I have had problems with my keyboard, it only writes capital letters, I already dissasambled the macbook and the keyboard also looking for fisical problems in the keyboard, but I could not see anything wrong, can you explain me about the "jumping techine " that you mention in minute 6:18 aprox, thanks

[latinoguy36]

Excelent tutorial, It really helped me a lot, thanks to guy like you,internet and youtube are usefull tools

[rdklinc]

@latinoguy36 Hi! Thanks for the feedback -- I really appreciate it! I helps to hear from people, and inspires me to do more of this type of thing. :-)

[rdklinc]

@latinoguy36 Also, if you ever have repair questions, feel free to go to rdklinc dot com slash answers, and I'll respond to the best of my ability