Comments on: Curiosity Killed the… Apple Keyboard

By: Valmir

Valmir — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 15:36:12 +0000

I actually managed to take mine apart after a spill got it useless. And I did it with far less damage to it.

What I did was to deep freeze it. It happens that glues in general don’t like to be frozen, and so it was quite easy to take it apart after some sub-zero love.

The top aluminum frame is far more difficult to take apart thought, as it is spot welded every two keys or so to the middle sandwich of aluminum with the circuit for the keyboard matrix. But with patience, it’s workable.

This middle sandwich I did not took apart, because I was not trying to destroy it, but to repair it, and I figured it would very likely damage the circuit matrix. As my intent was not achievable, I gave up.

By: Karl

Karl — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 11:55:58 +0000

I hate this keyboard it’s apples worst so far,the keys feel dead and unresponsive and if you need to clean it,forget it,my K key got stuck,so I pulled it off and cleaned the hole and tried putting it back,it went back,but is at an angle and even less responsive than before,the old keyboards the black and white one apple used to have were far better,sure they weren’t as good looking,but they were far more tactile and easier to maintain,I could pull the keys off of them a thousands times without doing damage,not so with this one,this keyboard is the computer version of the Bic pen or razor,and very over rated and over price,shame on you Apple.

By: User

User — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 20:32:07 +0000

It appears that when water gets into the keyboard, it dissolves the glue (or the dirt underneath the keys), which is what gets between the layers of contact film and shorts them out. I tried to cut the film on one side of the contact pad to peel them apart and clean out the gunk, but foolishly cut one of the traces that lead up to the pad. So the keyboard is really toast now. But, I think that knowing how the layers are made up, one can peel them apart with a thin knife and clean out the gunk with hopes of fixing the keys.

By: Guest

Guest — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 01:12:45 +0000

Your post makes me quite sad, as it means I won’t be able to repair my Keyboard

At least I didn’t destroy it…

By: Paul

Paul — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 04:48:10 +0000

It’s a shame these keyboards are glued together.
I was hoping there would be a way to remove the aluminium part to paint it black. So that it could match my PC better.

By: Randy

Randy — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 19:06:24 +0000

The keys caps are very easy to remove and replace. Very slight upward pressure under the front of the key will lift the front of the key until the front part of the cap unclips from the retaining clip. At this point the cap will still be attached to the back part of the retaining clip and you can simply push the cap up like you were opening a laptop allowing easy access to clean. If the cap should come completely off it is easy to put back on. Simply lift the retaining clip so that you can clip on the cap to the back of the retaining clip. When finished cleaning, close the cap and press on both front corners until you hear the click.

By: KidHack

KidHack — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 07:45:22 +0000

After my cat knocked a glass of water over on my Apple Keyboard, the key pad and arrows keys stopped working. So I took it apart and bought a new one.

The trick is patience, putting the keys face down on a surface, and peeling from the front to the back after heating the keyboard in the oven. I used a long knife to pry it apart and accidently cut a thin connector at the back, but now that I know, I’m sure I could do it without breaking it. I didn’t bend the aluminum at all. The oven was set at 220°f.

By: Ben FrantzDale

Ben FrantzDale — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 12:28:17 +0000

Hisham, thanks for sending me your busted keyboard. I went ahead and took it apart further: http://benfrantzdale.livejournal.com/238768.html

By: Hisham

Hisham — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 05:53:48 +0000

I’d say it’s a slim hope. They are difficult to put back. I’d suggest you get a good vaccum cleaner instead!

By: Brian Berneker

Brian Berneker — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 22:10:03 +0000

So is there any way you would say a person could take the key caps off to clean them with some hope of putting them back on?

My keyboard is fine for now (I really love these ones) but I know the day will eventually come to clean it, and I don’t want to have to shell out another $50 for the sake of a few stray eyelashes, skin flakes and the odd bit of dorito dust..