My MacBook keyboard is broken and it's insanely expensive to fix

>Here’s hoping governments regulate laptop manufacturers to actually make repairable machines in the future.

No, this is a bad solution. If you want a repairable machine, buy one. They exist. Others have already mentioned Framework, but there are other options that aren't that far down the spectrum either.

One of the things macbook users praise the most is "build quality", which often means the solidity of the device, lack of flex, etc. These quality features are, in part, achieved by the same choices that make it hard to repair. Ease of repair and "build quality", are to some degree (although not entirely) tradeoffs against each other.

I say this as a framework owner who would never buy something as irreparable as a macbook. Regulation is not the answer here.

I replaced the keyboard MacBook Air M1 keyboard with a $20 model from Amazon and it's been going strong for a full year. I had spilled ginger ale on the original.

The board is riveted in, but there are enough screws to hold the replacement in place. Removing the board is a shockingly violent process, but it worked for me.

Keyboard: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CQBVMM3X (price has gone up).

Video of rivets breaking: https://i.tonybox.net/9f2083b218d5.mp4 (you can see I missed a screw and slightly cut my hand here too).

While i think the usecase of a Macbook and a Framework are really different i will always be thankfull to framework for how easy they make it.

Broke my keyboard, a few days later i had a new one that didnt even take a minute to swap. Wanted to upgrade my GPU twice, didnt even take 10 minutes. Biggest difficulty was swapping the motherboard, but even that was easy.

The ports i need change all the time, and i can just swap them all the time :D

While a framework might be a bit expensive, overpriced even, i think the repairability and upgradeability is worth it for me

My MacBook Pro M1 keyboard broke too and Apple wanted $900 to replace it. I bought a $30 replacement on Amazon and started replacing it myself. Unfortunately the repair was a bit too complicated for me, but luckily one of my co-workers had more patience and replaced it for some beer.

This video is a good overview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGmMpEEP5ls

I'm sure this is failure by design. A lot of customers will think "Hey well, this one's got a few years on it, good reason to upgrade"

It's worth mentioning that the Neo finally does away with the pairing of topcase and keyboard that has been present ever since the launch of the plastic and unibody macbooks! Probably to comply with upcoming EU regulations.

They do this by riveting the entire keyboard assembly to the top case. Meaning you can’t just replace the keyboard, you have to replace the entire top case.

As others have already alluded to, drills and self-tapping screws exist, as do replacement keyboards without the top case.

In many other machines, it is common for the factory to use rivets on initial assembly, but to service you drill them out and replace with bolts or screws. This is the expected procedure and even described in the service manual. I actually did this a few weeks ago for an old fan.

I'm advocating for right to repair as anyone else, and not fond of Apple's decisions in general, but this seems like a tempest in a teapot.

Framework Laptop + some form of Linux - MacOS keeps getting worse and the hardware exceeding hard and expensive to repair.

Finally got my $45 payout from the last class action suit against Apple for the butterfly keyboard fiasco. Seems like Apple didn’t learn the overarching lesson here: keyboards have to be robust and replaceable because they frequently need replacement.

That's why I only buy Thinkpads from the business/professional lines... Replaced the keyboard om my t480 for $24, and replacing it myself was a 2 minute job (2 screws, pop 2 connectors, replace, and put back together).

What exactly broke? I had this problem recently and thought the keyboard was done for, but turns out you can also replace the switches (not keycaps) and that solved the issue in my case. You have to be very careful though since it is very easy to break the switch or key cap if you remove it incorrectly (this happened to me while I was trying to clean the keyboard)

My camera started malfunctioning lately (because tropicalized doesn't mean you can use it in tropical weather). It worked, but when I switched batteries I had to wait a minute for whatever capacitor was blown to discharge before it would boot again.

I sent it back for repair to the manufacturer, they gave me an "estimate" that it wouldn't be repairable, and generously offered a replacement with a refurbished one, at $10 off the price of new (plus shipping, of course). I declined the "repair" and asked for the camera back.

When it arrived, the stickers I had put around made it clear it hadn't even been open. Having seen enough Louis Rossmann, I brought it to a camera shop around which is doing microsoldering. They replaced a single capacitor (after making me sign papers that it would probably never work again, and charging me quite a bit - still better than wasting an otherwise perfectly functional camera). The unrepairable camera was repaired.

It is so disappointing and unsurprising that a manufacturer wouldn't put even remotely any effort into actual repairs, that a street shop with actual expertise will happily do. I've come to expect no expertise from any service department I communicate with. Sending something for repair is almost a sure way that it will be broken even further. When even replacing the top case in the example of that mac seems overkill, when they could probably replace the faulty key with skill and will.

I guess that's a matter of incentives, given that in mass market, repairability is not something people look into when shopping.

Cautiously optimistic, given the repairability of the MacBook Neo keyboard, that this design will make it to the rest of their laptops when the refreshed designs are released (next year?).

> I’ll remember this experience and choose to buy a more repairable laptop like a ThinkPad or a Framework laptop.

> Here’s hoping governments regulate laptop manufacturers to actually make repairable machines in the future.

So there is already a solution on the market but for some reason the immediate desire is for the government to get involved and start regulating laptop keyboards?

My first computer was a Mac Plus.

I got to experience Apple's customer hostile practices.

Many years ago l decided never to buy an Apple product again.

For me, for day-to-day usage, I sit at a desk and use an external keyboard. The ergonomics of working directly on a laptop aren't very good for extended periods of time.

Case in point: I don't put a lot of stress on my laptop keyboards.

> After thinking about it for a bit I decided to remap all the arrow keys using Karabiner Elements . I disabled the right arrow key and mapped capslock + J K L I. And donated $10 to the project. A small price to pay to postpone a very expensive repair bill.

Great idea! Though I'd suggest to use RightCmd instead of Capslock, it's more ergonomic - you use your right hand just like before.

(and yes, it's both insane that the hardware is not repairable and that the OS software sucks so you have to use some other apps)

> I say “stopped working”, but technically it works too well now, it is being pressed constantly, which makes the laptop pretty unusable.

I had this problem in my Framework. I fixed it by... holding the laptop upside down and mashing the offending key for several minutes. Didn't work immediately, but now you wouldn't tell that it was ever broken. I've managed to panic-order (~€80) another keyboard though, so now I have a spare.

For context a laptop keyboard is build like this:

https://www.iqsdirectory.com/articles/membrane-switch/membra...

This problem is caused by the layers sticking together. In the case of the Framework 16 the "d" key sits on top of a foam pad which in turn is placed on top of a heat pipe, so this area gets particularly hot under load. The layers are often made from PET, which starts softening anywhere in the range of 65-87C - so easily within range of a laptop heat pipe.

By mashing the key I was hoping to detach the layers and apparently it worked.

That being said for gaming I use an external keyboard now, because the one built-in is made by an external supplier and I don't think they'll start using a more heat-resistant material anytime soon.

Does anyone know if this is covered under the Apple Care plans? My 16" M1 MBP keyboard has been no problem, I'm just curious. Not saying that negates the issue.

Unfortunately, AFAICT, these repairability issues are largely due to the move to thinner and lighter laptops. Replacing my MILs Microsoft Surface tablet was a pain in the butt. Had to cut the case open and tape it back together. But that thing was insanely small and light. My MIL liked it because she has a lot of trouble carrying anything very heavy.

An anecdote on third-party keyboard replacements.

I have an ASUS Zephyrus G15 (2021), GA503QM. I’ve been using it extremely heavily for five years. After about three years the left arrow key gradually stopped working. I adapted. Some keys have become a little less reliable, too, most notably E, and it’s nowhere near as crisp as it was when new. But it’s still a decent keyboard, which definitely wasn’t the case for two of my three previous laptops after even three years.

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago I tried getting a replacement keyboard on Amazon, not clearly identified as inauthentic (looks identical to the original; perhaps you should guess it, as a brand name is attached, WeFly in this case; but I know some of these things do claim to be genuine parts despite that). Worst new keyboard I have ever even heard of, barring those dumb roll-up keyboards. F2 a little sticky, have to press it straight. F and J requiring firm pressing to activate. Space not activating at the ends. And maybe worst of all, 2KRO (the original is NKRO!), with horrific ghosting. When you touch-type, you frequently have three keys active at once. Typing “you” would get a bonus F11 activation around half the time. “he ” a bonus N activation. Mashing the keyboard put the laptop to sleep, which doesn’t even make sense, and badly messed up key pressed state (though that’s possibly a software problem). Some combinations activated keys which don’t even exist, like Numpad 0.

With difficulty I was able to return it and get my money back. (I also got a refund on a counterfeit battery purchased at the same time—branded Wistar but unquestionably labelled as a genuine ASUS part, it was labelled in depth as 90Wh, but reported a design capacity of 74Wh and behaved so. Not sure if you can even find that information under Windows—maybe in Device Manager? So alas, for now I’m back on my original battery which is down to 51Wh capacity.) I wrote detailed one- and two-star reviews on Amazon, which were approved, and then deleted (one same day, one after a few days) for no apparent reason.

I’m trying to talk to ASUS to see if I can get a first-party replacement, but they don’t sell them independently at least, and can’t tell me a price, so I have to try talking to the local service centre. Hopefully it’ll be possible and not too expensive. Definitely not going to try third-party again for the keyboard, though maybe for the battery I’ll try one clearly marked as third-party.

Since reinstalling the original keyboard last week, a few days ago both Control keys stopped working, and the right tweeter (which gradually died a year or two ago) has started producing white noise when powered up. I should try reseating cables and such. It’s definitely fairly invasive surgery to replace the keyboard. The keyboard, incidentally, is fastened to the case by about 70 tiny screws (mine had 71 holes but only 69 screws). For now, I mapped Right Shift to Right Control, and have since been discovering that I used Right Shift more often than I realised!

FWIW the Macbook Air is slightly more repairable and modern ones are decent enough to do work on without the display limitations of prior non-pro apple silicon. As a travel machine, I shy away from the Pro because of how poor it is to repair.

Unfortunately a Macbook is a hard requirement for travel simply because of battery life, at my desk I use my Windows gaming rig for work.

I'm glad to hear you are able to fix it with software for now. So many people can't just do that though and it is ridiculously expensive to have it repaired.

Any purchase is a gamble, macs are one of those gambles that seems more risky with its difficulty to repair, however I guess the expectation is that it's less likely to need it.

I had the same issue with a different key on 2 separate macs. A 1 and a 2 year old MacBook pro. 95% of the time I'm WFH using magic external keyboard, which also has the same problem so I bought a new one. Keyboards are a massive problem at apple.

> order a replacement keyboard, take the laptop apart, replace the keyboard and good to go

That’s all it took with my Framework laptop, and I’m very grateful for it. I was in a good place financially when I got it, but now I’m not. I feel a strong sense of relief that if an accident occurs and I need a repair, it won’t set me back too much.

Had a broken key on my m2 air that I couldn't easily fix. Took it to an Apple store and a tech worked on it for a bit and came back with it fixed.

No charge. I was pretty grateful!

been there, done that

unfortunately, the karabiner workaround will work for a little while, but the rest of the keys will start failing until it's impossible to remap the keys :/

I have a Framework that I love and bought for that exact reason, but recently Lenovo seems to have upped their repairability game again as well:

https://de.ifixit.com/News/115827/new-thinkpads-score-perfec...

ifixit sells just the keyboards, why doesn't that work?

https://www.ifixit.com/products/macbook-pro-14-a2442-a2779-a...

Had an issue with a broken keycap hinge a couple of years ago. Went to local Apple store and they also told me it's a whole motherboard replacement. Got the keycap + hinge from Aliexpress for $2. :/

Looks like it’s possible to replace just the keyboard https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SeSQ0DpG1HA&t=907s&pp=2AGLB5AC...

I had the same issue and now I cannot use "F" and "Right arrow". It is a smart idea to disabled the right arrow key and mapped capslock + J K L I !

> mapped capslock + J K L I

you need to visit the confessional for that

I am sure there's a video guide on how to do it on your own. But actually, your solution is also quite good.

I was gonna suggest to the author to lobotomize the key, but Karabiner is a viable fix too.

Had a similar experience with the XPS series. Was able to find a keyboard. When taken apart, realized they had used plastic bits, tape, and other things to connect the keyboard to the top lid. Seems they expected one to either be handy with epoxy or buy the combo.

I thought the keys were replaceable now?

(first video I found on a search)

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/WYT7YIh00Xk

I know in the Butterfly days those keys would break when you removed them.

€780 is 1/5th of the price of a laptop?

The trackpad on my 2.5 year old Macbook Air stopped working. Apple wanted over £400 to fix it. Thankfully I found a local guy who did it for a fraction of that. Screw Apple.

I use right command + HJKL with karabiner and use it way too much, typing on someone else’s keyboard really throws me off but it’s great for my daily usage

This is like complaining that BMW maintenance is expensive.

I just had the most horrendous Apple repair experience. In standard warranty with Apple care. Would NOT authorize a mail in repair. Would only authorize walk in to my local shitty Apple authorized third party repair center who were unable / unwilling to reproduce.

Fought with them for weeks. Escalated. They lied and said they were doing a no cost replacement. Had to fight the charge. Then they lost my return.

So much so that I’ve started switching to Linux and de-googled phone. (Switching off of iPhone just to go to google seems like the greater of evils)

The non Apple ecosystem is much more mature than last I checked but still irritating. De googling was my biggest challenge. Getting a viable replacement for Mac OS was the easy part.

This is what you get when you purchase Apple products. Nothing new here, I had to deal with this back in the G3/G4 days when the laptops were so stupidly-locked you couldn't even apply security updates.

Overpriced COTS garbage.

I remember being so disappointed with Apple back when I had a Macbook and the Apple store people were like "nah, if you spilled stuff on it you just buy a new macbook"

I have a broken left key and went with karabiner too. I still plan to take the laptop to assistance at some point and try to get it a deep clean up and maybe that will help.

Otherwise fuck apple I'm not paying 700+ to fix a key.

It would have been cheaper if the author would have bought AppleCare.

Over a decade ago, my father would fix washing machine controllers, replacing mechanical timers, buttons, panels, or other parts; Now, for the same problem, we just need to replace a control circuit board; the circuit board itself is sealed with adhesive for waterproofing, which also means the circuit board is not repairable.

Maintainability is actually not a mandatory standard, but a design trade-off; the biggest problem with the MacBook is not this, but rather that Apple does not allow other means of repairing the MacBook, such as various certification chips, etc.;

so this happened to me some years ago. visited a local shop and they wanted to change the whole board. went to Los Angeles, visited an apple store, got an appointment. went back again to the appointment brought the MacBook, they said the same.

went to ebay bought the key, replaced it with tweezers after removing it from above without disabling the keyboard (I know, a little brutish) and it worked again for years.

give it a try

Sure it's a giant PITA, but it's not expensive to repair if you do the labor yourself. Parts for macbook are easy to comeby since Apple decentralizes repairs so heavily.

I strongly recommend not buying a Macbook and instead hacking a mini: https://github.com/vk2diy/hackbook-m4-mini ... cheaper and restores control of peripheral selection and replacement. That is to say "such a system will last ~forever instead of ~3 years [when the first major component dies and replacement costs ~70% of a new Apple product]". Particularly with Asahi Linux progressing so quickly. https://asahilinux.org/ Without Asahi Linux I would not buy a Mac in 2026.

I too looked at Framework and like the idea, unfortunately in my case the supply chain was too slow to be tolerable, before even considering the price-performance ratio.

I strongly support the idea that the EU should force vendors to make consumer device repairs cost-effective and available or open source and expose their component interfaces in exchange for the right to sell in Europe. After all, the EU brought us USB-C, so we know regulatory pressure works. Thanks, EU!