MacBook Pro butterfly: Actuator broke off

I sent it to Apple as they first stated that they would cover it, but after inspecting they keyboard they said that they would not cover it. There was some glue on some of the keys (my brother uses hot glue for architectural models), which I suspect is the reason why they wouldn’t fix it. The apple repair shop said it would cost 250 $ to fix it. And according to apples program it doesn’t cover keys that has fallen off. Only stuff such as sticky keys, and repeating characters.

@Swagve - Ouch! Thats not good ;-{

I would still try again if the glue was just on the Key Cap top and not used underneath.

Otherwise this is an expensive repair as you'll need a new uppercase. As an example:

∙ 13" MacBook Pro Fn Uppercase & KB US - Space Grey, Apple P/N 661-07946

∙ 13" MacBook Pro Fn Uppercase & KB US - Silver, Apple P/N 661-07947

You might be able to find a cheaper used unit but be careful! And the US top case is different than the ISO units used in the EU and some other countries which have localized keys.

The problem is the keyboard is riveted into the uppercase and not really removable on its own. Thanks Apple!

Thanks for the reply @danj! Some of the glue went under one of the keys, but the delete button broke off by just wear and tear. I tried to mend the button to the keyboard with some double-sided tape, and it almost fixed the problem. The only problem it’s that the left side is raised a bit higher than the right side(because of the leg that is left in the hole). So the delete button now is a bit unreliable. So I think that maybe melting some of the legs on the actuator in order to make them shorter would maybe fix that problem. Any thoughts if that would work?

@Swagve - Delrin (the plastic Apple uses in the key mech)

Sadly, you can't really glue it you need to alter the chemistry of the surface and then bond it! Polymer Bonding Process

Given the small size here its not not practical and you can't alter the dimensions either. Replacement parts is the only other way but given the other key is so messed up I think your best way is to just get a bluetooth keyboard and use it instead.

I know you don't want to hear this, please don't shoot the messenger!