Can I fix my own space bar on this stupid keyboard?
June 12, 2020 11:35 AM Subscribe
I have a Magic Keyboard for my iMac. The space bar is half-failed, meaning that it only really springs back on the left side and not the right. And yet the actual thing that gets pressed by the bar is in the middle. I mostly space with my right thumb, so this doesn't work for me. Can I fix this myself? Is there a way to buy the one tiny part I need?
I bought this keyboard from a reseller on Amazon 11.5 months ago so warranty repair is unlikely. I have a backup keyboard so I'm not in a jam. I have tools. I took apart the space bar and removed a ton of fuzz from under it but it's clear that the scissor mechanism on the right is busted. I have found places I can buy a new entire space bar assembly for $20. I really only need the one scissor mechanism. Is there a place I can buy this one teeny part, or is this the best I can do? Or is there something I can toss in there that will approximate the springiness? Not interested in "reprogramming" the keyboard to use another key for the space bar. I have a backup non-magic keyboard for now.
I bought this keyboard from a reseller on Amazon 11.5 months ago so warranty repair is unlikely. I have a backup keyboard so I'm not in a jam. I have tools. I took apart the space bar and removed a ton of fuzz from under it but it's clear that the scissor mechanism on the right is busted. I have found places I can buy a new entire space bar assembly for $20. I really only need the one scissor mechanism. Is there a place I can buy this one teeny part, or is this the best I can do? Or is there something I can toss in there that will approximate the springiness? Not interested in "reprogramming" the keyboard to use another key for the space bar. I have a backup non-magic keyboard for now.
Oh, sorry, I didn't see that you had already cleaned out fuzz, so my compressed air trick won't work.
Anyway, let me know fi you want the keyboard.
posted by jonathanhughes at 12:00 PM on June 12, 2020
Anyway, let me know fi you want the keyboard.
posted by jonathanhughes at 12:00 PM on June 12, 2020
eBay sells Magic Keyboards for parts, but they also sell used (working) Magic Keyboards for around the same price. One was even cheaper than a dead keyboard, under $20, with no shipping.
If it was me, given the cost is about the same (or less), I'd skip trying to repair it and just get a used or other replacement. In the worst case scenario, the replacement eventually fails, but you'd be able to cannibalize it for parts, anyway.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 12:34 PM on June 12, 2020
If it was me, given the cost is about the same (or less), I'd skip trying to repair it and just get a used or other replacement. In the worst case scenario, the replacement eventually fails, but you'd be able to cannibalize it for parts, anyway.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 12:34 PM on June 12, 2020
These sorts of modern keyboards are rarely designed to be repairable, at least not easily.
It's one reason I went to mechanical keyboards years ago. They only cost a little more, but they last a LOT longer (I'm typing on a 12 year old Kinesis now).
posted by uberchet at 12:42 PM on June 12, 2020
It's one reason I went to mechanical keyboards years ago. They only cost a little more, but they last a LOT longer (I'm typing on a 12 year old Kinesis now).
posted by uberchet at 12:42 PM on June 12, 2020
Sounds like you've done enough troubleshooting to know it's a mechanical issue rather than an electronic one so I think your best option is to buy a dead keyboard from someone else and use the mechanical parts from that one to fix yours. Make sure you're buying the right thing though because even the same make/model keyboard can sometimes have different parts under the skin.
They're built to such extremely tight tolerances that I think using anything else for a spring wouldn't work very well.
(I have fixed a million, billion keyboards in my time as a PC tech, though admittedly I haven't fixed many modern-day Apple keyboards. I did enough pretty tight laptop keyboard repairs to know enough of which I speak, though)
posted by bondcliff at 1:38 PM on June 12, 2020
They're built to such extremely tight tolerances that I think using anything else for a spring wouldn't work very well.
(I have fixed a million, billion keyboards in my time as a PC tech, though admittedly I haven't fixed many modern-day Apple keyboards. I did enough pretty tight laptop keyboard repairs to know enough of which I speak, though)
posted by bondcliff at 1:38 PM on June 12, 2020
What about switching the springs over? Would that work? So then it's under your right thumb, which is the one you use more often?
posted by freethefeet at 11:02 PM on June 12, 2020
posted by freethefeet at 11:02 PM on June 12, 2020
Can you steal a spring from a key you literally never use (scroll lock, looking at you bud)
posted by chasles at 7:26 AM on June 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by chasles at 7:26 AM on June 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
If you haven't solved this problem, this animation studio sells individual Apple parts: DV Warehouse
posted by effluvia at 4:05 PM on June 15, 2020
posted by effluvia at 4:05 PM on June 15, 2020
This thread is closed to new comments.
I also have two of these keyboards I'm not using and i'd be happy to send you one. I need a full-size keyboard, so the one has never been used. If you want it, email me.
posted by jonathanhughes at 11:59 AM on June 12, 2020 [1 favorite]