butterfly key problem

Last week I noticed that the "O" key does not make a light click sound like the rest of the keys and often does not record the letter and I go back thru what I have typed to put in all the O's. It's like something is under the key. I've read about the keyboard replaced under a recall but I missed out on the program. I've looked at a few repair suggestions and thought it would be good idea to try here too. I saw a photo of a key being picked off with a blue "guitar pick" on iFixit but no instructions on how to clean out the key or replace the key top. Any suggestions?


MBP 15,2 13-inch, 2018, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 10.13

Posted on Nov 20, 2023 6:18 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Nov 20, 2023 6:54 PM

Try using the instructions in this Apple article to clean the keyboard:

How to clean the keyboard of your MacBook or MacBook Pro - Apple Support


Make sure to hold the can of compressed air completely upright or you will damage the laptop with the cold wet propellant.


I don't recommend removing the keycap since it is very easy to damage both the keycap and the butterfly mechanism. The keycap is very thin and easily damaged. You may be able to find replacement keycaps online (can be hard to get a match since the font & color of keycaps can differ), however, if you damage the butterfly mechanism, then it will cost your $500+ US to have the keyboard replaced since there is no replacing the butterfly mechanism itself.


There are two issues with the butterfly keyboard. There is a design flaw where there is not enough clearance for the butterfly mechanism to operate so that even the tiniest bit of dirt will cause the key to bind. Second, is a manufacturing and/or another design defect where the key switch fails. Both issues can appear to have the exact same symptoms so it is nearly impossible to tell which issue is causing the current problem. I've personally gotten pretty good at differentiating between them after five years of testing thousands of my organization's Apple laptop keyboards to see if they qualified for the Apple free repair program.


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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Nov 20, 2023 6:54 PM in response to bob.c

Try using the instructions in this Apple article to clean the keyboard:

How to clean the keyboard of your MacBook or MacBook Pro - Apple Support


Make sure to hold the can of compressed air completely upright or you will damage the laptop with the cold wet propellant.


I don't recommend removing the keycap since it is very easy to damage both the keycap and the butterfly mechanism. The keycap is very thin and easily damaged. You may be able to find replacement keycaps online (can be hard to get a match since the font & color of keycaps can differ), however, if you damage the butterfly mechanism, then it will cost your $500+ US to have the keyboard replaced since there is no replacing the butterfly mechanism itself.


There are two issues with the butterfly keyboard. There is a design flaw where there is not enough clearance for the butterfly mechanism to operate so that even the tiniest bit of dirt will cause the key to bind. Second, is a manufacturing and/or another design defect where the key switch fails. Both issues can appear to have the exact same symptoms so it is nearly impossible to tell which issue is causing the current problem. I've personally gotten pretty good at differentiating between them after five years of testing thousands of my organization's Apple laptop keyboards to see if they qualified for the Apple free repair program.


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butterfly key problem

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