Bleah.... the DELETE key on my M1 MBA is failing

[Lifeisabeach]

Well this is annoying. The DELETE key on my 2020 M1 MBA is starting to fail on me. Unfortunately I don't have AppleCare. Yeah, I know there are fans of it and actually I had intended to get it but missed the window to add it on. ANYWAY... has anyone ever replaced a key before on these? I found a site that sells replacement keys and they have a video walking through the process of replacing them. It looks simple enough, and cheap.

Apple M1 MacBook Air Keyboard Key Replacement (NOV 2020)

Apple M1 Chip 2020 Apple MacBook Air keyboard key replacements are in stock, 100% OEM Apple so you are sure to get perfect fit and finish, fix your MacBook Air today!

www.replacementlaptopkeys.com

One more video from another reseller:

 

[Horsa]

I really hope it's just the key top that's misbehaving, not the switch itself. Fingers crossed...

 

[pm-r]

I really hope it's just the key top that's misbehaving, not the switch itself.

I was thinking the same thing myself, as isn't it the contact switch area below the actual key that makes the key work properly or not...???

EDIT: I still can't really tell where the actual switching contact is taking place, but I would suspect it is under the key mechanism that one can expose:

EDIT 2:
This video actually shows the actual key contacts makes the key function properly or not:

They can be very very fussy... at least if they were anything like the old Apple keyboard contacts mechanisms... very simple and very crude and very very fussy as to whether they work correctly or not... but remarkably reliable...



- Patrick
=======

 

[Lifeisabeach]

The key seems to be working properly again here. Guessing something got in under the key and now it's out? /shrug

 

[pm-r]

The key seems to be working properly again here. Guessing something got in under the key and now it's out? /shrug

Good news, I'm glad you got a fix.

This might be a good time to tip the keyboard on its side and upside down and give it a fair number of good long blasts using an aerosol can of "Dust-Off" with the extension blast tube attached and with the blast tube aimed under the keys...



- Patrick
=======

 

[nickyr]

Many years ago I was sat in my garden with my white MacBook on my lap. Dexter, my border terrier, was a very young pup at the time and after doing several laps of the garden leapt up onto my lap from my side, knocking several keys and the scissor switches underneath them flying!!
I was lucky that I was able to source and fit replacements.
I still have both the MacBook and Dexter, and they both still work although somewhat slower these days!!

 

[Slydude]

Many years ago I was sat in my garden with my white MacBook on my lap. Dexter, my border terrier, was a very young pup at the time and after doing several laps of the garden leapt up onto my lap from my side, knocking several keys and the scissor switches underneath them flying!!
I was lucky that I was able to source and fit replacements.
I still have both the MacBook and Dexter, and they both still work although somewhat slower these days!!

Speaking on behalf of Dexter, I must remind you of the following rule, which has stood the test of time. When events such as these occur, the cat did it. It's the cat. It's always the cat.