Macbook keyboard not working after cleaning?

I know, that this is an old thread, but I want to add this trick here (so people who google and find this thread can have help) that completely saved me from having to clean/change my keyboard.

So I have a mid 2011 Macbook Air and yesterday I decided to clean my keyboard with desinfectant wet wipes. They worked very well for getting my keyboard clean and shiny however to my dismay I noticed, that the buttons 7,8,9,u,i,o,j,k,l,m,. didn't work anymore. Initially I wanted to take my Macbook apart and rinse the keyboard with water and let it dry for a long time. Curiously however, I noticed, that when on log-on screen I pressed those buttons the "*" symbol still appeared on the password line. So obviously some kind of input was getting through when I pressed the faulty buttons. So I had the idea to remap those to their correct output and I downloaded keyboard remapper software https://pqrs.org/osx/karabiner/. After installing this software those buttons started working again no problem and I didn't even have to do any kind of remapping myself! Fantastic!

I'm so thankful I don't have to take my Macbook apart to tiny pieces and waste a lot of time (or even order a new keyboard), so maybe this tip helps someone else too!

I am on my 3rd keyboard since March. They look like the old ones, but the new ones are very hard to clean. I've never had an Apple keyboard that you couldn't use a cue tip with a little alcohol to clean. First one the eeeeee stuck. Second one just wouldn't work again. Now I have a combination. Apple Care support said to use Windex if alcohol didn't work. Now a less sympathetic support person said it needed to be unplugged from usb, which I would love to think will work and will try, but until my apple care expires, I will keep asking for replacements, so I hope he is right. I just reach for my old iMac keyboard that keeps working through all the cleanings, now for many years, until FEDEX shows up with a new one.

Well I flushed the keyboard with distilled water for 5 minutes - then dried it overnight with heat lamps and the furnace heat.

NO change - it's still as broken as it ever was. Wow... and all I did was carefully clean off the grime with a paper towel sprayed with windex. I guess from now on we will just live WITH the grime!

BEWARE cleaning your keyboard! Grime is good! I know that Grime hardly fits with the Apple aesthetic of sparkling clean white - but in the real world we have a problem here - using it gets it dirty - cleaning it breaks it permanently!

I tried to do the right thing and keep it clean.

I have a Mac aluminium keyboard and, after cleaning with a anti-bacterial wipe, half the keys didn't work and I was getting the iiuiiiiiiiidddddddddddddddiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.................... treatment. So, I wacked it in the oven for 15 minutes at 50 degrees. Pulled the thing out and found that now neither of the keys worked. Undeterred, I put it back in at around 35 degrees and left it in for the hour, then switched the oven off and left it in there for the rest of the day and overnight. Woke up next morning with a sense of positiveness, a great night's sleep was had and morning sunshine was beaming in through my windows. Switched my Mac on, took the keyboard out of the oven, plugged it in and, hey presto, a fully working keyboard 🙂

PS Cooking temperatures and timing may vary, I was using a fan-assisted oven. Other, more conventional ovens may require more time.

I had the same issue and I resolved it by pouring an entire bottle of alcohol isopropyl over it (the 90% alcohol) keeping it leaned on one of the sides so the excess alcohol to come off then dried it by putting it upside down on top of a space heater at a very low temperature (I live in Chicago so I did not have a lot of sun heat) . I tried it again after 3 hours. At first it still did not work but after a minute or so of typing it started working fully again.

Good luck!

I've had my new keyboard for 2 weeks. It was time to clean. I've disconnected it from the USB and then slightly cleaned it with alcohol on a paper towel. When I plugged it back all keys stopped working. This is a major flaw in the design. I can clean my other keyboards without any issues.

Wow... I too had this same problem. I just used a paper towel sprayed with Windex. I didn't spray directly on my standalone mac keyboard.

But after I cleaned it suddenly at least 3 keys no longer work - (I'm typing on my clackity old Powermac keyboard).

So... pour distilled water on it? It's weird because I remember reading how the whole keyboard was waterproof and water wouldn't hurt it. But I guess a tiny dab of Windex will knock it out. I needed Windex because naturally keyboards get very dirty after a year of use.

So I guess mine will get the waterboarding treatment...

I have the same problem: Cleaned my parents keyboard (usb, numpad, bought in 2013/14, which was a bit scruffy after a year or so.

I did the same, that i did many times with my keyboard (also USB, Numpad, but with one or two different keys, bought in 2009 or 10) and with my 2008 MacBook (Alu unibody).

Sprayed a paper towel with "Glassreiniger" (I guess windex is a brand of glass cleaner?!) and wiped the keyboard thoroughly.

I have to blame myself, that I didn't unplug it, before I cleaned it. But I'm almost certain, that I also did this with my devices.

The keyboard immediately stopped working at all. I let it dry for several days and even took a few keys out, so that it dries better, but nothing!

I'll now try the dishwasher + distilled water method and let you guys know.

(It's just frustrating, that almost all the apple products seem to decrease in quality. I mean I gladly pay double the price of an "ordinary" computer (or other device) for a thought through and high quality product. (And my 2008 MacBook is more than it's money's worth!) But lately they just seem to be well designed, high power scrap...:-(

Franky Eight seems to refer to °Celsius because if low numbers mean

°F. - doesn't indicate a need to even use an Oven - or any heat within.

Too low a temperature won't allow for water to exit as vapor.

"... I wacked it in the oven for 15 minutes at 50 degrees. Pulled the thing out

and found that now neither of the keys worked. Undeterred, I put it back in at

around 35 degrees and left it in for the hour ..." ~ Franky Eight

{Some clothing dryers with a 'removable horizontal rack' for drying items flat

while the drum goes around -- may be OK for some super low settings that

could be timed + move warm air around; like a convection without cooking.}

Haven't so far gotten keyboards or macs, wet... Of many dozens of dozens.

Good luck & happy trails! 🙂

You'll truly be suprised how even a small amount of liquid can get in and damage the keyboard, it's very common unfortunately. Chances are you may have not damaged anything besides the keyboard, and that too may be repairable as well. I would first remove your keyboard and cleanse it via some rubbing alcohol and let it sit in direct sunlight for at least a few days, even using a hair dryer on cold to aid in it's drying process. Great guides on how to step by step remove your keyboard can be found here: http://www.ifixit.com/Device/MacBook

After you feel you've given it sufficient time to dry, re-install the keyboard and be sure to perform an SMC reset as demonstrated here: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964 If the keys still do not respond, it's time for a replacement. Luckily you can find many for sale in great condition and or brand new for relatively little. Remember, always make sure your battery is removed and your laptop turned off when cleaning, and squeezing that microfiber cloth as much as possible in getting rid of that excess water before applying it in the future.

Good luck.

Are the temperatures you listed celsius or Fahrenheit?

I'm on my 8th keyboard... these keyboards are complete crap. They die easily and are unrepairable.

Hey. I did the same thing. My keyboard started to spam random letters (liiikkkee 9999999dddddddddaaa). So I turned it off and now it won't start again 😟. I've tried SMC reset, checking RAM, let it dry in a bag of rise for 3 days. Nothing...

It was really merely MOIST... not a drip of water even. Please tell me if you found any solution.

best /david

Hello,

I did the same thing using a disinfectant cleaner that is environmentally safe. My keyboard stopped working completely and then sticking and repeating keys. I read to pour DISTILLED water on it to flush away any residue of cleaner. I ordered a new keyboard, but thought I had nothing to lose, so I poured the distilled water onto it, and I did get a slight scent of the cleaner. I tipped it and drained it as best I could and set it aside for three days. I just plugged it in and it glitched initially a bit, but now it's fully functional. I say try the distilled water.

Hi Josh,

Sorry, I wouldn't pour Distilled water on your macbook pro, but you could wipe it with a cloth using distilled water. I poured distilled water on the extended keyboard I have for my iMac naturally after disconnecting it. If you have a standalone keyboard and it's not working then you have nothing to lose by trying rinsing it with distilled water.