Spacebar sticking liquid spill

Question

Spacebar sticking liquid spill

I'm so close to being done with Apple. I went to Apple after I spilled a few drops, really it was two small drops, of sticky liquid on the keyboard of my 12" 2015 Macbook. Only the spacebar is sticking. They only tried to surface clean (and not didn't even do that well), didn't remove the key, and told me you're SoL, so your choices are to keeping use it where you have to pound on the spacebar to get it to work or pay $700. Their own Geniuses can't do a simple thing like clean a key, on a product that cost over a grand.

Anyone else have any good* guides showing how I can clean this key? Thx.

* There's one vid people share and it's awful. You can't even see what the guy is doing. I'm looking for a guide on how to remove and replace.

MacBook, 12" 2015 Macbook

Posted on Feb 26, 2017 7:18 AM

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Answer 1

Feb 26, 2017 11:06 AM in response to kermarshmallow

The way I look at it, you have three options. Pay the pesky $700 fee, find a trustworthy third-party repair center, or attempt to remove the keyboard yourself (and if need be replace the entire keyboard for ~$200). Should you go the third route, here is a link to an iFixIt manual on removing the upper case. For your model, you must remove the entire upper case assembly to even access the keyboard (and even after doing so you might not be able to just clean the one key). So for this reason you might need to replace the entire upper case assembly for the aforementioned roughly $200. This is a very tedious repair and should only be done if you have the confidence to do so on your own!

Links:

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Retina+MacBook+2015+Upper+Case+Assembly+Replacement /44898

https://www.ifixit.com/Store/Mac/MacBook-12-Inch-Retina-Early-2015-Upper-Case-wi th-Keyboard/IF301-001-1

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Answer 2

Klaus1

Level 9

52,873 points

Feb 26, 2017 9:25 AM in response to kermarshmallow

I was offering an explanation as to why Apple would not repair it for free.

These links may help you on how to clean the key:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCT-CldP_r4

https://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View/16333/How+do+I+clean+sticky+keys+on+MacBook+ Pro

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Answer 3

Feb 26, 2017 9:32 AM in response to Klaus1

Again, I didn't ask for free. Never mentioned wanting something for free. But $700 because one key is sticking? That's ridiculous and that's my point. AND that's not my macbook or my keyboard in the video. I do not have a Pro. I have a 12" 2015 Macbook as stated in my original question. These solutions were written before the butterfly keyboard was introduced.

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Answer 4

Feb 26, 2017 11:11 AM in response to Anonymous Jackal

Thank you for the guides! Your response was helpful! I had someone on another forum reach out to me and say that there's a local repair shop who can remove and replace keys very well. I'm hoping it's just a cleanup issue (it really does feel like that) and there is no perm damage. But if there is, I'd rather do it myself (I was ripping apart PCs desktop/laptops since the early 90s, but never Macs, why my initial hesitation and need for guidance) and risk it then pay $700 for something that imo should be a minor fix.

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Answer 5

Klaus1

Level 9

52,873 points

Feb 26, 2017 9:06 AM in response to kermarshmallow

AppleCare does not cover accidental damage, including liquids. That would be a matter for your insurance.

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Answer 6

Feb 26, 2017 9:11 AM in response to Klaus1

I never mentioned looking for Applecare. Not sure what your answer has to do with my question. Did you respond to the wrong thread?

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