keyboard right shift key not responding

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SmilinEd Author

Level 1

9 points

keyboard right shift key not responding

My right Shift key is not responding when I push to select a cap. What can I do to resolve this issue?

iMac (27-inch, Late 2012), OS X Yosemite (10.10.2)

Posted on Mar 3, 2015 12:42 AM

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Answer 1

seventy one

Level 7

27,424 points

Mar 3, 2015 2:31 AM in response to SmilinEd

This is what I can do with Snow Leopard. I do not know if Yosemite offers the same procedure. If it does follow my notes.

Go to Apple logo > Systems Preferences > Keyboard > check Show keyboard and Character Viewer in Menu bar.

Then go to menu bar and click on Character viewer > Show Keyboard viewer > A diagramatic picture of a keyboard will appear.

Then click on your left hand shift key to see if both shift keys light up in the diagram. Then click on the right hand key to see if both keys light up. Then come back and tell us what happened.

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Answer 2

SmilinEd Author

Level 1

9 points

Mar 3, 2015 3:10 AM in response to seventy one

I did what you said, and the left shift key indicated it was depressed on the keyboard viewer. However, the right shift key did not have a response on the viewer.

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Answer 3

seventy one

Level 7

27,424 points

Mar 3, 2015 4:12 AM in response to SmilinEd

Can you try the keyboard with another (a friend's) computer? If it does not work properly this will confirm the keyboard itself is at fault. It certainly looks that way.

It may be soiled or has met with liquid in some way. Disconnect the keyboard and use a fine brush around the key plate to try to remove any build up of soiling. You can, with care, remove that key plate but you do so at your own risk. If the problem is liquid you may have to replace the keyboard.

Incidentally, you have marked your own post as having been solved when it isn't. That can be rather confusing to other members. Read up about when and why you mark posts.

https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-6081

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Answer 4

SmilinEd Author

Level 1

9 points

Mar 3, 2015 10:17 AM in response to seventy one

I thank you for your help, but when I clicked on that response accidentally, I did not see a way to uncheck my response. I did remove the key plate successfully, and found nothing that had the appearance of liquid under the key plate. It appears that I have some other type of failure. Unless you have any other suggestions, I think it may be time to take it to apple and get it evaluated.

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Answer 5

seventy one

Level 7

27,424 points

Mar 3, 2015 2:57 PM in response to SmilinEd

I was thinking more of some small amount of liquid, now dry, that had found its way into the underside of the plate and thence the electical contacts. There is very little you can do when this happens but replace the keyboard. If you have an authorised Apple store nearby, they will test it for you. They may not be able to explain what happened but they will confirm its situation. Wish you well.

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