Quite often, people are faced with the problem of a torn button on a laptop. If this trouble overtook you, do not despair and do not run to buy a new keyboard. The button is completely fixable.
If the button not only came off, but also split, then you have to throw it away. You can try to glue it with superglue, but this design will most likely be short-lived. By contacting the service center, you can purchase a new button. Or try to make it yourself: mold a mold from plasticine and fill it with epoxy, lower the contact to the right place. You can even out the unevenness of a homemade button with sandpaper. The fastening of the key to the keyboard occurs due to a special rocker (several parts connected by a hinge principle). If the rocker fell off along with the button, detach the rocker and carefully replace it. Now insert the protrusions on the rocker into the grooves of the lid. When the lugs are in the slots, lightly press the button and lock it in place.
The main thing - do not rush and do not get upset if something does not work out. First, take a closer look and understand what and where is attached, and then proceed with the repair.
Laptop users are often worried about the issue of key breakage or loss. After all, even one key that is out of order can cause great inconvenience when working with a laptop. Moreover, given the huge variety of computer models, repair tips for one may not be suitable for another. Each laptop has its own keyboard design. Therefore, before using general recommendations for repairing a key without resorting to the services of specialists, it is necessary to determine the model of a computer device.
Causes of broken keys
Most laptops have fairly thin keyboards with little key travel. This leads to the fact that this part is most often subjected to mechanical stress. The most common causes of failure can be:
- accidentally spilled liquid;
- clogging with household dust, dirt, pet hair;
- incorrect user actions during self-cleaning of the keyboard, and so on.
Of course, any breakdown caused by one of these causes is unpleasant. However, after reading the necessary recommendations, the user himself can repair the key.
In addition to the above causes of failure, there are also factory defects or low-quality parts, as well as software malfunctions that lead to disruption of one key or the entire keyboard. Only service centers are involved in eliminating such causes, since for this, first of all, it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive diagnosis.
What to do as a result of a broken key
Although laptop models differ from each other, the keys, as a rule, are attached in the same way. The button on the keyboard is a rubber base with a built-in contact. In the process of pressing, the contact touches the circuit, as a result of which the desired action is performed. Therefore, you must first of all ensure that this contact is correctly installed.
Of course, from the very beginning it is necessary to find out the cause of the damage. If the button sticks, you should try to pull it out using a special screwdriver or a thick needle. To do this, the end of the tool must be brought under the key and gently pulled up. It is worth remembering that as a result of such an action, in no case should you apply a lot of force, since the key can be damaged, and this already leads to additional financial costs.
After pulling out the key, you need to examine it well and find out the cause of the damage. Of course, if the button cannot be restored, then it must be replaced with a new one, which can be purchased at any computer repair shop.
Sometimes a key can simply be glued with super glue, however, when installing it in place, you need to make sure that the contact is in the right place. Otherwise, the breakdown will not be repaired.
In the event of a key falling out, first of all, it is necessary to carefully consider the design of its fastening. On the reverse side of the button there are grooves and latches with rocker "ears". They are designed to connect the keyboard to the cover of each individual button. If the key fell out along with the rocker, then they must be separated. After that, you need to install the rocker itself, on which the key cover is located. These two parts are connected using grooves located directly on them.
It is worth remembering that before installing the element in place, it is necessary to tidy up the opened niche, while removing all the dirt with a napkin.
It is much more difficult to repair a breakdown that is caused by an accidentally spilled liquid. Indeed, in this case, contacts are blurred, which, in most cases, are almost impossible to restore on your own. With such damage, it is best to contact the service center specialists or try to change the keyboard yourself.
Do-it-yourself laptop keyboard replacement
Such manipulations should be carried out very carefully so as not to cause even more harm to the laptop. First of all, you need to turn off the power, including pulling out the battery.
Basically, the keyboard is attached to the base of the device using special latches or screws, which can be easily removed. After that, you need to disconnect the cable that connects the keyboard to other devices. It is a rather fragile structure, which, if careless, can be easily damaged. When replacing the keyboard, the cable must be disconnected by pulling up on the black frame.
There are no particular difficulties in performing such actions. The only thing to remember is to be careful when working with fragile parts. So any user, having read the recommendations, can independently repair not only broken keys, but also the keyboard itself.
Using a laptop in everyday life, users sometimes encounter a problem: a key on the keyboard “broke off”. Any factor can be the reason: cleaning the keyboard, using a vacuum cleaner for cleaning, a crazy cat (yes, even this happens), a small child who is interested in everything around and accidentally plucked a key, and much more. But not everyone knows that this little trouble is easy enough to fix.
I will tell you how to put the button back without loss.
(carefully! a lot of photos)
Trouble has happened, and your laptop keyboard looks like this:
Laptops are all different, but most often they have a similar mount (the principle of fastening).
The key from the back side looks like this:
We see two pairs of mounts:
- two latches;
- two grooves for the ears of the rocker.
The key cover is attached to the keyboard using a special rocker, which consists of 2 parts connected by a hinge in the middle and forming the letter X (ha).
It often happens that the key "breaks out" along with the rocker. In this case, you must first disconnect the rocker from the key cover, install the rocker on the keyboard, and only then return the key to its rightful place.
To do this, take the key, snap off the latch, on one side of the key, and display the antennae of the rocker and grooves, on the other side: 
We get 2 parts: a key cover and a rocker.
There are 3 lugs on the keyboard for mounting: one larger and two smaller.
If for some reason these mounts are bent (for example, a heavy object fell on the keyboard, as a result of which the key jumped out), they must be bent into the correct position. Be careful, these fasteners cannot be strongly bent, because. they are made of aluminum and break off easily, after which the repair will become much more complicated.
Installing the rocker on the keyboard:
- we start under the big ear of fastening
With a light touch, we start the rocker on 2 small fasteners
After the rocker is installed, you can put the key cap back on.
- we start the protrusions on the rocker into the grooves of the lid
Here you need to act carefully and not miss the mark :).
Next, making sure that the ears are in the grooves, by lightly pressing the top of the key, we fix the key cap,
a slight click will be heard.
Ready! key in place.
Large keys (Tab, Shift, space, enter), in addition to a plastic rocker, can have a metal stabilizer for uniform pressing.
There are two extra tabs on the keyboard backing to secure this stabilizer. The rest of the design is the same as described above.
First we start the ends of the stabilizer.
Then we put the lower "antennae" of the rocker into the grooves and lightly press the button into place.
The space key (and sometimes other long keys) rests on two rockers and a stabilizer.
In principle, the installation is no different from the above-described setting of the Shift key.
Above, the internal arrangement of the keys of a Hewlett-Packard laptop was considered.
I almost forgot. If the rocker, consisting of two parts, was dismantled during an emergency, do not despair. Using a needle, toothpick or other suitable object, it is easy to assemble it. We get one side into the groove, and to install the second side we use our auxiliary item.
Now, dear users, you will have no questions:
- how is the laptop keyboard arranged?
How to replace the key cover?
- what to do if a cat pulled out a key on a laptop?
etc.
P.s. Because there were too many photos, an additional part of the article can be viewed on my blog (if someone is interested in this topic), where, for example, you can see the key devices of Asus and Apple laptops, some differences and similarities are described.
Laptop repair service centers are often contacted with such a problem as a broken or dropped button. Even one key that is out of order can cause problems with the operation of the computer. How to fix the button on an acer laptop may differ from laptops from other manufacturers. This is due to the fact that keyboards differ in design in different models of laptops. Therefore, at first you must, and then you can only look at how to attach keys on the Internet. However, there are also general recommendations on how to fix a key without resorting to the services of specialists.
Possible causes of failure
The keyboard on a laptop is usually quite thin, and its buttons have little travel. In this regard, this part on the laptop is very susceptible to mechanical stress. The most common cause of failure is spilled liquid. In this case, the conductive paths fail, and one or more buttons, and sometimes the entire keyboard, stop working.
In addition, the keys are clogged with dust, pet hair, dirt, etc. in this case, you need to properly. When the user starts cleaning the keyboard on their own, often the button falls out as a result of some wrong action. It's annoying, but it's fixable. And you can find out how to clean the keyboard without consequences without consequences for it from this. Well, then let's take a closer look at how to fix a button on an asus laptop or models from other manufacturers.
What to do if the button on the laptop is broken
Despite the fact that laptops differ from each other, the way they attach buttons is usually the same. In fact, the key is a rubber base with a built-in contact. When the button is pressed, the contact is in contact with the circuit, as a result of which the desired action occurs. Therefore, it is necessary to restore contact, make sure that it is correctly established.
Before you fix the button on an hp laptop, like on other laptops, you should understand the cause of the breakdown. If the key is stuck, then you need to try to pull it back or just remove it. For this operation, you will need a special screwdriver or a thick needle. Place the end of the tool under the button and gently pull up. You do not need to apply a lot of force, the action is done smoothly, otherwise there is a risk of damaging the key, and it will be quite difficult to find a replacement part. As a result of manipulations, the button should pop up.
Before proceeding with the repair, you should inspect the key. It may not work due to mechanical damage. If the button cannot be restored, then replacing it with a new one cannot be avoided. You can buy a separate part of the keyboard in repair shops. In the case where the key can be glued, you can use super glue. It is important that the contact ends up in the same place where it was, otherwise the button will not work anyway.
If the key has fallen out, then the following actions should be performed. First you need to understand the button fastening design, which is usually the same. On the reverse side of the key there are latches and grooves in which there are “ears” of the rocker, the purpose of which is to connect the entire keyboard with the cover of a separate button. In the case when the key fell out along with this rocker, they should be separated. Next, the rocker is installed directly, on which the button cover will be placed. These two elements are connected to each other by grooves that are located on them. Before proceeding with the manipulations, in the opened niche, remove all the dirt with a napkin, the surface you are working with must be clean.
As you can see, it is not so difficult to repair the button on your own, if you first understand what is the cause of the breakdown. However, when a liquid is spilled, it is not always possible to handle it yourself, since it is quite difficult to restore blurry contacts. In this case, you will need to either contact the service center or you can. And it will not be difficult to install the dropped button in place even for a beginner who has encountered this for the first time.
With careful handling, any laptop is a pretty indestructible thing, unlike other mobile devices. Its body is very durable, reliable cases are used for carrying, the load on the most fragile element - the screen - is minimal. However, physical injuries are the most popular category of “diseases” that are treated in service centers. The main blow is taken by the keyboard - the only element that is in constant contact with the user. Knowing how to fix a key on a laptop is essential for those who do not control their own strength, children, cats and dogs, but do not intend to wait long for their laptop to return from repair. Well, he wants to save some money.
- you need to work exclusively with a completely de-energized laptop, which means that the battery must be removed;
- the design of the keyboard of different manufacturers may differ slightly, therefore, if the picture in front of your eyes differs from the picture on the monitor, use the analogy method;
- force is not required during the repair process.
Key cover fell off
Service center employees must sigh heavily when an embarrassed laptop owner lays one, two or three key covers with letters or arrows on the table. Repair in this case consists only in placing it in place. Since the device is still compact, the fasteners are minimized to a ridiculous extent - tiny latches and grooves that, with little effort, can disengage. The result looks like this:
If during inspection of the damaged area no fragments were found (both on the button cover and at the place of its attachment to the elevator), then we just have to insert the cover back. It has two symmetrical slots and two symmetrical latches, and the elevator that remains on the keyboard has two protrusions and two locks. We combine the grooves of the key cover with the protrusions of the elevator (the fit is quite tight), and then, by lightly pressing until it clicks, we install the latches into the locks. Thus, first we act on the lower part of the key, and then on the upper one, not vice versa. When installing, make sure that the cover is placed exactly in the center, does not warp or move: the fasteners are quite fragile, and action with considerable effort will lead to breakage.
If you have a “space”, “enter”, “shift” or another beautiful key, then another operation is added during the installation of the cover. Large keys are equipped with a stabilizer for uniform pressing. We don't always hit right in the middle, do we? A stabilizer is a big name for a piece of stiff wire that is attached to the inside of the lid. Its two ends are wound into special ears on the keyboard, located on both sides of the elevator mount, after which the key cover snaps into place in the usual way - first the bottom side, then the top.
Plastic is everything, but some manufacturers do not skimp on metal, so the key bindings can look almost exotic:
This, of course, was different from Apple. True, today you will not see this anymore, and MacBook keyboards are no different from others. But if you are a happy owner of a rarity, then let's clarify just in case: first of all, a wire is placed in the mount on the keyboard, and already a key cover is placed on it. Well, it will come in handy.
The lid fell off along with the elevator
And this happens: the lid is fastened to its elevator, and he unfastened from the keyboard fasteners. As a result, we get this thing in our hands:
If nothing is broken at the same time, then there will be no problems during the repair: first we send the elevator into place, then the cover. Of course, before that, we separate their tandem by simply dividing the fasteners: latches from locks, protrusions from grooves. On the keyboard, the elevator mount is metal - two small ears on top and one wide bottom. Often they turn out to be bent (that's why the key fell off), and they must be straightened before installing the elevator. It is important not to overdo it here: the metal is very thin, so a couple of flexion-extension movements can lead to separate lugs and the purchase of a new keyboard. It is most convenient to take a thin flat screwdriver and use it to straighten the deformed areas.
When the fasteners are in order, you can proceed to install the key. First, we insert a wide metal eye into the corresponding hole in the elevator, correct the position of the part, and then we lower the top until the small ears are installed in the windows intended for this. At the same time, the pressure should be minimal: everything is installed easily, and if something doesn’t fit somewhere, you either warped the elevator or crushed the metal fasteners. Try again and everything will work out.
It happens that the elevator, separated from the cover of the key, crumbles into two parts in the hands. There is nothing to worry about: they are interconnected by means of protrusions and grooves on both sides. You may need a needle or a match to match the tiny plastic pieces. The procedure will be the same: first we put the protrusion into the groove on one side, then on the other. It turns out such a "rocker". Then we install it in place, as if nothing had happened.
When the elevator is firmly attached to the keyboard, we fasten the lid on the count of one-two-finished: we already know how to fix the key on the laptop. First the bottom slots, then the top latches. We check - the move is smooth, nothing dangles, the letter remains the same. Even with the known slowness, this cosmetic repair takes several minutes, so spending hours visiting the service center and days waiting for employees to get their hands on your laptop is not at all necessary. If, nevertheless, the hands are afraid after the eyes, then this video will help overcome fears:
Everything is easy and simple with desire and patience.
Key cracked
It happens that as a result of a blow with something hard (I would like to believe that it is not fingers in pursuit of another monster), the key cap crawls with cracks. The best repair option in this case is to find the same cap and replace it. If this is not possible (they will sell the keyboard in stores, but they will not pick out the key caps), and for some reason contacting the service center is not suitable, then there are two working options.
If the cracks are minor and the cap does not fall apart, then you can smear it with any adhesive that seizes the plastic (except for the wonderful “super-glues” that make the connection brittle). This is only if the cracks are located on the contact surface. It is only necessary to glue the cap, rubbing the composition and following the instructions from its manufacturer. Epoxy resin is also suitable, just keep in mind that the dimensions of the part should not change due to the thickness of the adhesive layer.
You can also replace the long-suffering cap with a less-suffering one - remove it from the key that is hardly used. For example, “Ё” or “/” (depending on the direction of work on a laptop, of course). In this case, it is also desirable to glue the cracked one in order to avoid accidental final damage, but the load on it will already be much lower. You just have to either get used to the fact that in place, for example, one of the WASD will be Yo, and keep it in your head all the time, or buy keyboard stickers and return the status quo.
Both options suggest a temporary solution to the problem, since the damaged key will still have to be replaced as soon as possible.
The key is broken
A broken lid that has fallen into several pieces cannot be repaired. A broken elevator cannot be repaired. Broken lid and lift fasteners cannot be repaired. These parts can be purchased either from service centers or very specialized shops that serve service centers. For a short time (to complete a course paper or complete other important matters), a broken key can be replaced with the same, but lightly loaded, but instead of it, a hole will gape in the laptop keyboard. If the fasteners are not damaged, then you can glue the cap and put it in this place with the condition that this key is not used at all and replaced in the near future.
It is impossible to glue fasteners to the cover or the elevator to the base of the keyboard. In this case, one awkward movement or a drop of glue will lead to the need to replace the keyboard, from which it will not be possible to simply tear off the restored one with skillful hands. Finding and replacing a key is much easier and cheaper.
If the metal fasteners of the keyboard, to which the elevator clings, are damaged, you will have to purchase a new keyboard. Soldering in this case will not help and is even dangerous, and glue and other compounds are unreliable, and the elements are too small.
The key gets stuck
Or generally behaves strangely: it transmits the wrong characters or the wrong amount. Most often, it's not a key, but that "someone eats too much." Or drink. Above the laptop keyboard. Filled with liquid and covered with debris, the keyboard starts to show tricks, and you can’t fix this by rekeying the keys. Disassemble and clean, and in the most severe cases - change.
