How much to repair a single broken key on a MacBook (12" Retina - 2015)

I have a single key on my MacBook 12" (Retina - 2015).


The actual key clips are broke, so i think i only need a new key "T", and to fit it.


Anyone have any idea how i can source one and if it's easy to fix myself (clip it on)...


...or how much Apple would charge to repair this minor damage?

MacBook, macOS High Sierra (10.13.3), Mac OS High Sierra 10.13.4 beta

Posted on Mar 23, 2018 10:35 AM

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Posted on Mar 27, 2018 1:26 AM

You can fix individual keys yourself. Be careful though. This video explains everything:

How to Replace Apple Macbook 12 inch Retina Keys (Butterfly Clips) - YouTube


Buy replacement butterfly or key caps from here:

Parts for Apple Retina 12" family

Navigate through to find this page:

TheBookYard : Replacement Apple Key Caps

You will find the butterfly part here under Clips, Domes and Sets


View as as many videos as you can and familiarise yourself before attempting this. The usual disclaimer applies!

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Mar 27, 2018 1:26 AM in response to MattMacUserUK

You can fix individual keys yourself. Be careful though. This video explains everything:

How to Replace Apple Macbook 12 inch Retina Keys (Butterfly Clips) - YouTube


Buy replacement butterfly or key caps from here:

Parts for Apple Retina 12" family

Navigate through to find this page:

TheBookYard : Replacement Apple Key Caps

You will find the butterfly part here under Clips, Domes and Sets


View as as many videos as you can and familiarise yourself before attempting this. The usual disclaimer applies!

Mar 27, 2018 1:44 AM in response to MattMacUserUK

I have looked into this recently, I have seen prices quoted from £500 to £700 to replace the whole top case. These are not prices from Apple though, I must stress that.

I have seen DIY guides on iFixit and on YouTube that show replacing just the keyboard in the top case. It looks like you can buy a ‘replacement’ keyboard for about £200 but I couldn’t verify the quality of these.

What is obvious though is that it looks a right b*st*rd of a job.

If you just have a problem with one key it is worth trying to replace it by using the sources I have given above. The butterfly and key cap are quite a simple construction and quite clever. As you will see when you go to The Bookyard, these keys and butterflies are from used computers as I think it is impossible to get NEW parts.

Mar 23, 2018 11:45 AM in response to MattMacUserUK

These forums are used to obtain free, non-Apple provided help from other users to solve users' problems. However, some problems are beyond our capability. One of those is how much Apple charges for work. Apple does not sell parts to the public. Each job is different as is each Apple retailer. Hence, your question needs to be answered by an Apple technician. And, this is how these things kinda work here. 🙂

Mar 23, 2018 4:39 PM in response to MattMacUserUK

The new apple butterfly keyboard is extremely advanced and is not user replaceable (that's not just some Apple BS there is virtually no way to repair these other than taking it back to the manufacturing plant). Hopefully your laptop is covered under warranty and you can go to your local apple store and ask them to help fix it under warranty (as long as there are no obvious signs that you have abused or broken it). I am currently trying to find out the cost of the replacement because you will probably have to replace the entire upper case (Keyboard, trackpad, entire aluminium piece and will go to the apple store tomorrow to find out.


:-)

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How much to repair a single broken key on a MacBook (12" Retina - 2015)

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