11-18-2009, 07:14 AM

I'm having trouble with my MacBook keyboard and wondering if anyone's got any suggestions?

It has started to display weird combinations of characters for certain keys;

'r' now displays as 'R'
'n' is now 'nv'
'return' key now gives me a '/' as well as a return
'shift' is doing something else that I've not quite figured out yet
and a few others are also playing up.

I've managed to connect a USB keyboard and that's working OK. Also I don't think it's dirt because of the random placement of the keys affected. I've restarted and it's not made a difference.

Any suggestions? Thanks.

11-18-2009, 07:24 AM

Try switching to a different keyboard layout and see if the issues still continue. If the different layout causes similar problems, more likely a hardware problem.

You may try making a new account and see if you have the same issues.

11-18-2009, 09:27 AM

Thanks for the suggestions andr3wkim. Not sure what you mean by 'switching to a different keyboard layout'. Can you explain how I do this?

I created anew user and logged in but the problem persists.

11-18-2009, 09:31 AM

I have had/seen that issue in many computers that I work on. In almost every case the user spilled some liquid in the keyboard.

Is there any chance that happened to your Macbook's keyboard?

11-18-2009, 09:45 AM

Not that I'm aware of dtravis7. Although I wouldn't completely rule it out as it was in the kitchen the morning it started.

Any solutions if that is the case? Am I looking at physically replacing the keyboard?

11-18-2009, 09:47 AM

Originally Posted by selectabet

Thanks for the suggestions andr3wkim. Not sure what you mean by 'switching to a different keyboard layout'. Can you explain how I do this?

OK, I think I've found this; In System Prefs / International ? if so I've switched different input modes but the problem still persists.

11-18-2009, 03:45 PM

I doubt this'll help but it seems some of the keys are linked to each other;

Pressing 'r' displays 'ry'. Pressing 'y' also displays 'ry'
'f' gives me 'fh' & 'h' also gives me 'fh'
'n' and 'v' both display 'nv'
'4' and '6' display '46'

The shift key and return key seem to be working fine now.

Weeeeiryd

11-18-2009, 09:14 PM

From what you have told me, it seems the problem is hardware related. There's not much you can do except replace the keyboard.

You may want to check ebay to see if someone has a upper body for the Macbook, but depending on which Macbook you have (unibody or "old" white polycarbonate), it could be difficult to replace.

Hopefully someone who is more knowledgeable with this problem will shine some light on this. Good luck.

11-19-2009, 06:52 AM

Thanks andr3wkim.

Yep looks like I'll need to replace it. It's a white polycarb MacBook. Does this make life easier or more difficult?

11-19-2009, 09:43 AM

Really difficult. The top case and keyboard is one unit. (Youtube Video of Disassembly)

Might be time to upgrade.

11-19-2009, 01:18 PM

As if to add to the weirdness some of the keys are working again!

Ah, they were working.

As I type this theyre back to the way they werye