Some keys on my MacBook are not working.

Question

Level 1

9 points

Some keys on my MacBook are not working.

Some of the keys on my white MacBook (13-inch Mid 2007) have recently stopped working.

Here is a list of some of the keys that are not working: "1 2 3 4 5 9 0 r o p h m BACKSPACE".

Here are some keys that are working just fine: "6 7 8 q w e t y u i a s d f g j k l z x c v b n SPACEBAR".

The symptoms are consistent. No changes noticed over a period of two weeks during which the machine has been restarted several times and left turned off for a couple of days in a row.

The top case was replaced free of charge about 2 years ago due to cracks in the palm rests. All the keys on the external USB Apple keyboard that I am currently using are working fine.

I am wondering if anyone else has had this problem and if so what you did to solve it. As the machine is quite old I don't mind taking the risk of opening it up to fix it if necessary. If all else fails I shall take it to the local dealer and get a quote for them to fix it for me.

MacBook (13-inch), Mac OS X (10.7.2), Mid 2007

Posted on Mar 7, 2012 10:10 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Best reply

Janardhan0506

Level 1

12 points

Apr 22, 2017 6:46 PM in response to TimTip

Thanks TimTip.

This worked for me. Somehow mouse key was enabled.

unchecked mouse keys checkbox as given in below link and it worked for me.

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1381

Reply

Answer 2

TimTip Author

Level 1

9 points

Mar 7, 2012 12:31 PM in response to TimTip

I found this helpful article (http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1381) and worked my way through the section "Some keys don't work as expected".

All the following functions/settings are disabled or turned off:

Text to speech / Speak selected text when the key is pressed
Slow Keys
Mouse Keys.

The keyboard viewer just confirms my list of keys that are not working.

Starting in safe mode makes no difference; nor does booting from the Mac OS X Install Disc and running Terminal from the Utilities menu. The same keys as before fail to work.

This seems to confirm that it's a hardware issue. Anyone have any suggestions?

Reply

Answer 3

Mar 7, 2012 2:33 PM in response to TimTip

It does look like hardware, but I'm afraid it will need to be a hands-on diagnosis. Off to the nearest Apple authorised repairer, I'm afraid.

Reply

Answer 4

Jun 24, 2012 12:44 PM in response to TimTip

same here (macbook mid 2008). my keys are p, -, ß

any news on that or experience?

Reply

Answer 5

Aug 24, 2012 1:47 PM in response to flori_plo

Those are the exact same keys that just stopped working on me! 😕

Reply

Answer 6

TimTip Author

Level 1

9 points

Aug 24, 2012 11:20 PM in response to TimTip

The local Apple dealer confirmed that it was a hardware problem - the whole top case had to be replaced again. I wanted to fix it myself but they told me that they weren't permitted to sell the parts to me. So I caved and paid them to do it. The old MacBook is now as good as new again.

Reply

Answer 7

Aug 25, 2012 3:53 AM in response to TimTip

Thanks for the feedback, Tim.

Hope it lasts a bit longer this time!

Reply

Answer 8

Aug 25, 2012 5:00 AM in response to TimTip

how much did it cost?

Reply

Answer 9

TimTip Author

Level 1

9 points

Aug 25, 2012 5:26 AM in response to flori_plo

You may want to sit down before reading further, it wasn't cheap.

The store charged me NOK 2499 (approx. USD 430) for parts (entire topcase including new keyboard and trackpad), labour and tax. They also recommended replacing the battery for NOK 1199 but the battery still lasts about an hour and I had already blown my budget.

I have to say I am pleased with the repair - it does look like a new machine. But I am also disappointed that I was not allowed to attempt the repair myself to save some money on such an old machine. This Apple policy *****.

Reply

Answer 10

res6jya6

Level 1

0 points

Nov 28, 2012 3:30 PM in response to TimTip

Hav'ng the same prob... class action?

Reply

Answer 11

TimTip Author

Level 1

9 points

Nov 28, 2012 11:26 PM in response to res6jya6

Class action for a problem on a five year old machine? Good luck with that one.

Have you checked if Apple will replace it free of charge? They did for me the first time, when the machine was already three years old.

[off topic 1]

I had to giggle when I saw that someone had censored the final word from my previous comment. I suppose I was supposed to say "This Apple policy was less than optimal for me".

[offtopic 2]

"Hav'ng" - really?

That has to be the worst contraction I have seen for a long time. You could have typed "Having" and used exactly the same number of keystrokes. Thanks for making me smile 😉

Reply

Answer 12

JimJam4

Level 1

0 points

Feb 21, 2013 3:44 PM in response to TimTip

Hi guys, having a very similar problem on my MacBook White 13" A1181, where my DELETE key will not work when I press it and where 1 also triggers 6, Q also triggers Y, A also triggers H, Z also triggers N and SPACE also triggers DELETE.

I strongly believe its a hardware fault, I was just wondering due to being able to get a US keyboard layout easier and cheaper then an EU (or UK) layout would a US layout still function 100% the same (obviously keys will be different) but will all the keys still work correctly when connected to the ribbon connector within the mac?

Reply

Answer 13

Mar 17, 2013 9:27 AM in response to TimTip

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1381?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

Reply

Answer 14

Apr 3, 2013 7:26 PM in response to TimTip

I have the same problem and would like to know how much such a hardware replacement approx. costs? Because if it is too expensive, I might want to consider to get a used MacBook Pro as replacement and retire my MacBook White Mid 2010.

I am pretty sure that it is a hardware problem, because when the MacBook is open, I cannot enter sleep, since it awakes itself immediately (there might be a closed circuit?).

However, when I use a bluetooth keyboard when the MacBook is closed, everything works just fine.

Reply

Answer 15

TimTip Author

Level 1

9 points

Apr 3, 2013 11:17 PM in response to shanti srinivas

Thanks for trying shanti, but that was the same article that I linked to over one year ago (see my second post above).

Reply