Cleaning your macbook pro keyboard. Apple tip: how to clean your MacBook keyboard. Features of the MacBook cooling system

There are probably dust, crumbs, food bits, hair, and other debris under the keys on your computer. Even the tidiest Mac users can't keep their keyboard clean.

The buttons on Apple computers are tightly fitted, and the holes in the case have minimal clearance, but even that is enough to keep a lot of trash going on a regular basis.

Why clean your keyboard

At first, it is beneficial from a hygienic point of view. Computer keys are the first breeding ground for germs and bacteria in the house after the toilet. Not every time I wash my hands before typing something, and if it's a laptop, it will still collect dirt from the office, cafe and travel bag.

Secondly, dirt and dust can make buttons sticky. The contacts on the board can get clogged and react to pressing not the first time.

Thirdly The clean keyboard looks aesthetically pleasing. The Mac looks like new.

How often to clean the keyboard

It all depends on your desire and how you use your Mac. Home computers are recommended to be cleaned at least once every three months. It is advisable to clean portable laptops every 30 days.

How to clean the keyboard

Cleaning the keyboard is divided into two stages: external and internal. External cleaning of the keys can be carried out as soon as they become dirty or at the request of the user. It is aimed only at removing dirt from the surface of the keys and will not affect the operation of the device in any way.

Internal cleaning aims to remove dirt and debris under the buttons. This procedure must be carried out regularly to avoid contamination and sticking of buttons.

External cleaning

External cleaning does not require turning off your computer or turning off external keyboard... You can use the KeyboardCleanTool for Mac utility. This free utility locks keys and prevents false presses during cleanup.

Don't forget to grant permission to the app along the path Settings - Security & Privacy - Privacy - Accessibility(Administrator password will be required).

After blocking we arm ourselves with microfiber, cotton swabs or discs. They should be slightly moistened with water or alcohol. You can use special wet wipes to clean the keyboard and display.

Attention! The liquid should not drip off the rag, cotton or napkin. If you are worried about wetting, you better play it safe and unplug your computer.

Thoroughly wipe all buttons from the front and ends. Do not forget to wipe the surface of the keyboard itself, the bottom and the feet (for external devices).

How to clean the inside of the keyboard

This is a painstaking and laborious process. Please be patient and have up to one hour at your disposal. First, take a picture of the location of the buttons on your smartphone, so that later it is painful not to remember the layout.

Be sure to clean the internal cleaning while the computer is powered off.

Using a toothpick or a plastic tool, pry the upper corner of the key and carefully unfasten the mount from the groove (do not use screwdrivers or knives, they can damage the keys).

Now grab the entire button and unfasten the fastener from the second slot.

Attention! Excessive use of brute force can break the keys. Be careful.

If the retention mechanism remains on the keyboard, unfasten it and secure it to the key.

When all buttons have been removed, you can vacuum up the debris. Residual dirt and particles should be removed with a lint-free, slightly dampened cloth.

Wipe the buttons themselves with damp wipes or an eraser.

We put the clean buttons in place. Put the button with the fastened fastener in place and press it along the entire perimeter until it clicks. We press several times and make sure that all fasteners are in the right grooves.

Here's a cheat sheet if you forgot to take a photo of your keyboard:

Wait until the keyboard is completely dry before turning on the computer.

Do not forget to regularly monitor the condition of the keys and clean them. Do it right now - and tomorrow you will say thanks yourself for it.

Sometimes it happens that a key on your laptop refuses to respond to key presses or simply does not work well enough, causing a lot of annoyance. Don't rush to run to service center, but check out a simple guide shared by Apple itself.

We point out right away that this guide applies to the 12-inch MacBook, and to all newer models. To clean your laptop keyboard yourself, you first need to get a can of compressed air.

It is imperative to use the tube supplied with the cylinder to direct the air flow. The end of the tube should be separated from the keyboard by about one and a half centimeters. It is also recommended to keep the can as level as possible when spraying.

Take your MacBook at a 75-degree angle to the surface and spray air over the entire keyboard or just non-working keys in a left-to-right motion.

Then you need to turn the laptop to the right and spray air again from left to right. Repeat the action, swinging your MacBook to the left.

We hope that this method will save you extra time and money on going to the service center. By the way, you might be wondering why, in the illustrations, a 75-degree angle is actually a 105-degree angle. We have no answer to that question beyond the assumption that someone in Cupertino regularly skipped geometry classes at school.

Although Apple has opened the MacBook Keyboard Service Program, the user may not always be able to contact the service center. Here's how to deal with clogged keyboard and sticky keys on your own.

The keyboard can stop working for a variety of reasons. It could be dust, moisture, or crumbs that get on the keyboard during breakfast. Of course, in case of serious damage or complete failure of the keyboard, it is necessary to take the laptop for repair. However, a little preventive cleaning not only doesn't hurt, but it can fix the problem.

How do I clean the keyboard on my MacBook or MacBook Pro?

• Take your laptop and hold it at a 75 degree angle
• Use a compressed air canister or a bulb on the keyboard. Move in a zigzag from left to right
• Next, repeat these steps at different angles.

Here are some photos that clearly show the cleaning process:

If, after carrying out this procedure with the butterfly keyboard, the user still has problems, then you should immediately contact a certified service center. Employees will clean up at no charge if your MacBook is eligible for service. Here is a list of eligible laptops:

• MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2015)
• MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2016)
• MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, 2017)
• MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016)
• MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017)
• MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016)
• MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017)
• MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2016)
• MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2017)

After having previously failed to address the real issues faced by the owners of their premium laptops, Apple finally admitted that modern laptops MacBook suffer from difficult sticky keyboard issues.

Due to the design of the butterfly key mechanism, billed as a start-up improvement, it appears to be much more susceptible to dirt ingress and therefore malfunction compared to more traditional scissor keys most likely. In the article you will find a link to official instructions, and not only.

The internet reported the first MacBook with butterfly switch design back in March 2015. The switches debuted on the thin-and-light MacBook, Apple previously said it was “reinventing the laptop,” otherwise notable for including only one physical I / O port ( USB Type-C), which is used as a charging port. Apple told MacBook attendees at the launch that the butterfly switch mechanism helped it flatten the laptop's keyboard component by 34%.

As stated in the introduction, butterfly switches have improved over the past three years to feature on a growing list of new laptops (at least 9 models) and have earned a reputation for poor reliability. For keys that have been described as providing greater accuracy and four times greater stability, this can only be described as failure.

In June, Apple released a companion article with instructions on how to clean the keyboards of its laptops equipped with butterfly pushbutton switches. The challenge involved rotating your MacBook while purging the keyboard with compressed air at different angles. If the home remedy didn't work, Apple advised affected customers to visit an Apple Store and seek help. However, the post claims that such a trivial sounding repair on machines without a warranty could cost more than $ 700.

In a change in promises, after prolonged consumer-based pressure and a series of lawsuits, Apple has released data on its keyboard maintenance program for the MacBook and MacBook Pro. You can read the full post here, but in the end now agrees "a service authorized to repair MacBook and MacBook Pro will replace keyboards, free of charge." Depending on the verdict of an Apple engineer, and on the state of your keyboard, he may change one or several keys, and if replacing some does not help, perhaps all.

If you are not sure if you are affected by the butterfly switch situation in MacBook, then here are some of the symptoms that show up as letters or symbols being pressed unexpectedly, letters or symbols are not displayed, and / or key (s) feel like " stuck ”or do not respond in a consistent manner.

These models are eligible, / affected by, and pertain to MacBooks that may be covered under warranty:

MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2015)

MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2016)

MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, 2017)

MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports)

MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports)

MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports)

MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports)

MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2016)

MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2017)

It is very interesting to see what keyboard design will be used on future portable Mac computers and whether they will use a butterfly switch. And if they somehow get stuck as a result of dirt / dust, or just fold back as a practical design. His efforts with the "second generation butterfly mechanism" introduced on new MacBook Pro laptops in October 2016 didn't seem to help in this regard (these laptops are included in the free service repair list above).

If you still encounter a similar situation, but not on a MacBook, but with a simple computer or laptop keyboard, I recommend reading this topic "".

This morning I drank tea and leafed through the news on the Internet, spilled tea on the keyboard, quickly pulled out the batteries, turned it over and shook it over the sink, wiped it with a towel (also leaving it upside down), came home from work in the evening, started chatting and realized that the buttons did not work so smoothly, slowly return to place when pressed, get stuck, crunch, stick, etc.

I twisted the keyboard in my hands, realized that the body was all-metal, and the back plastic part was firmly glued in, googled the forums and was convinced of my assumption.

I had to do everything "outside", the digital block works fine, only the letters are buggy, so I did it like this

The buttons on the scissor mechanism are picked out with a fingernail (or with a screwdriver), to remove the button, you need to gently hook it from above and pull it until it clicks, if the click does not occur, then pull the upper left and right corners, after the upper part of the button is unhooked - carefully unhook in the same way, be extremely careful, it is possible to break the mechanism.

We arrange the buttons on the table in rows so as not to confuse their location, in the reverse operation we will put them in place from left to right in rows.

For flushing, we need a tube of clean water or isopropyl alcohol, for example, a liquid for cleaning monitors is fine.

It is necessary to evenly spray the liquid along the open push-button mechanisms (when puffing, move quickly with your hand), after spraying, wait 20-30 seconds, gently move each scissor mechanism and gently wipe each hole (sticky tea usually sticks around), wipe the entire keyboard, briefly blow it with a hairdryer and make sure that the keyboard does not heat up, otherwise the plastic mechanisms can be damaged.

Now we wipe each button around the perimeter and from the inside and install it back, you just need to put the button in the niche and gently press on it and push it in all corners.

Particularly noteworthy are the elongated buttons such as tabs, caps, spaces, etc.

I do not recommend removing the buttons once again, tk. soon they will wear out from such use and will fall out on their own, so remove only problem buttons.

This method can also help if dust or wool is clogged into the scissor mechanisms, when the buttons become clogged, they begin to creak, stick, lose their smoothness, etc.

By the way, on the last keyboard, which I took to work, I slightly lubricated the space bar perimeter and the lever in the place of its contact with the metal, it saved me from squeaking.

It should be noted that the keyboard turned out to be very resistant to moisture; usually, when flooded, the keyboard stops responding to pressing, and the contact tracks turn into mush.

But at the same time, I would advise Apple make slightly better devices and stable operating systems, often the reliability and ergonomics are inferior outward appearance devices (for example, a mouse).

Although in fairness it is worth noting that all these apple gadgets in the USA cost almost like similar products from competitors, and our accessories are very bulky, in some stores branded headphones can cost about 3,000-4,000 rubles, and in the USA about 4 times cheaper, I also found keyboards on the same Avito at a price higher than the new one in "special places", I just have friends who bring devices from various suppliers without extra extra charges))) When I bought an AirPort Express router for 3400, then in some "branded" shops in the city, the price reached 5900.