Repair dead (non-registering) keys on Macbook Pro, late 2013
My letter 'i' key completely stopped working yesterday. And for awhile I've been having 'intermittent deadness' w/the right arrow key as well. When I found how easy it was to fix the 'i' key, I pulled the right arrow off and cleaned that too. In a nutshell... a 'lil DeoxIT on a lint-free patch... clean the circle where the cup presses down. Dry it off... Voila'. (Rubbing alcohol would probably work too.)
But...FIRST THINGS FIRST!! If you notice one of your keys is dead while working on your Macbook Pro, IMMEDIATELY go to your System Preferences and REMOVE THE PASSWORDS from your accounts. (leave the field blank when asked for your NEW password.) I also tried changing the Privacy setting where the box is ticked "Require password after screen saver and sleep" but that's glitchy and it didn't allow it. Changing my password to blank was especially important for me because my user account (my main working account) has 'i' in the password. Thankfully my Admin account does not have an i, but if both accounts had 'i's in the passwords and the screen locked, I would have been locked out until I fixed the darn key. Then the next thing I did was a Time Machine backup, just in case the little Macbook was a gonner. I had to launch a text file and copy the letter 'i' into my clipboard, because I was not able to make changes to Sys Prefs without typing in my current password. But to be safe I also nixed the password in my Admin account, because if one key stops working, who's to say how long it's gonna be before some other ugliness raised its ugly head?
Basically w/these 2013 Macbook keys (same design as IBM tablets circa 2012-2015, it's a scissor scaffold) you simply pry the actual key off, slowly and carefully starting with a corner. When the key is off you then pry up the TOP two scissor hinges, STAND the scissor UP, and remove the 'scissor lift', and the cup. I like spudging (prying with a plastic tool, or fingernail) the top, or bottom, of the key first, and then the opposite side. The little hinges underneath the keys are paired, two top, two bottom. So for me it makes sense to try to release them in pairs.
PAY ATTENTION to what the parts look like and lay them on your worktable exactly how they come out. The capital letter 'i' key is symmetrical, so it's kind of easy to try putting it back in wrong. The underside of the keys are NOT symmetrical. Neither is the scissor hinge. So get it right.
(Pls see text attachment for detailed information about cleaning the pad and removing, and fixing, a scissor hinge)
