Lap top keyboard, easy to change?

[Someone-Else]

Just been watching "Tech support" problems on YT. Quite a few folk have damaged their laptop keyboards (One got it wet and thought it a good idea to dry it with a heat gun, yep, melted it.) So I was wondering, how close in cost is it to change a laptop keyboard or write it off.

How easy is it to change a laptop keyboard and are they expensive.

Just curious, I would not be that stupid, and if my keyboard wears out, plug a USB one in. But as they are so small I guess they are hard to change?

(Saw broken hard drive, hinge screws put through battery, bent CPU pins, broken screens, left on cooker, which was on, all sorts.)

[dewaltdisney]

When I have pulled my old laptops apart to remove the HDD you get a bit of an idea of how they hang together. The case is often hard to undo as screws can be hidden under rubber feet and the like. The screws are tiny and I would think that you carefully have to photo each stage to remind you of where things go for reassembly. It is not a job for the faint-hearted.

DWD

[kellys_eye]

Find the required replacement online first - it often gives a clue as to how they are fitted.

[Chippo1]

Don’t know about keyboards , replaced battery in our Mac book with no real issues other than making sure I had the right drivers for the multiple screws holding it all together.

[kfoto]

Well an easy remedy is to buy a either a usb keyboard or a Bluetooth keyboard. I have used both, but preferred the Bluetooth one. This one I have used here with a Mac and it has so many functions more than a standard one and is small.

[Someone-Else]

Well an easy remedy is to buy a either a usb keyboard or a Bluetooth keyboard.

Thanks for your reply, But you are in error, I already said as you suggested because my question is NOT what you think it is. I can only suggest you read the whole post again, slowly and as said, you will see what the actual question is.

[aeromech3]

On my Lenovo ideapad 100 circa 2003, I wanted to get to the HDD and to reach the last screws I had to release the keyboard; it is very delicate to prise and bend out (thin blade) and the wafer connector is almost gossamer; think copy replacement boards are available for about £30. As the integrated battery still gives about 45min use, I think I would consider changing, in fact I was thinking of fitting an SSD, one of those unfamiliar brands that sell for under £20; having already changed the OS from W10 to Linux Mint, I am quite happy with its performance and the SSD will enable an even faster start up, downside is I use it in my travels and the hinges are a bit worn, plus the power lead needs an adapter 3 to 2 pin for most places I visit.
Now my sisters old Acer is more substantial and easier to remove without threat of snapping but replacements seem to be about £60; she had been complaining about it for some time and I offered to take a look; well the keyboard was a mess, think she had used it as a dinner plate, some important keys were intermittent, so as she had been given a second hand i-pad, I used hers as a test bed for the change in OS; it worked but the sticky keys would not clean up so likely an e-bay parts sale.

[Mark G]

So I they can be hard to change, or they can be easy. It depends on the laptop and the fixing method. I've changed one on my wife's old laptop and it was a simple job. Remove a trim from the top, unclip the keyboard and replace. Job done in a minute or 2 and a cost of £30 or so for a replacement keyboard.

Fast forward a few years and I found myself looking for a replacement keyboard for her current laptop and it turns out this one is accessed from beneath. Battery, motherboard and more all need to be removed first, then the keyboard is held in with plastic welds. these all need to be melted off to get the keyboard out, new keyboard installed and then melt some tabs to secure. Again, would just be the cost of a keyboard, but much more hassle.

I wouldn't say that a faulty keyboard is a laptop killer, but it totally depends on the model itself and how it is accessed & secured, and of course the value of the laptop itself.

[MisterProzilla]

It really depends on the brand & model - on older Samsungs you took out a couple of screws from the back, pushed back some retaining clips and the whole keyboard just lifted out to let you detach the ribbon cable. On a lot of newer laptops, Acers especially, the keyboard is screwed and clipped tight into the top bezel by a metal mounting plate, often with sticky static-protection foil in places. You have to pull the whole laptop apart, THEN detach the keyboard from the bezel & mounting plate which is often even trickier. Sometimes just re-seating the ribbon cable will fix it if a couple of keys aren't working; I've even had one fix where there was some obscure setting accidentally activated that disabled a portion of the keyboard.

There are a lot of stripdown videos on YouTube for popular models, even if they're not specifically about changing the keyboard, so do a bit of research and see if it's going to be worth your while. Price depends on model, usually anywhere from £20 - £40 or more. It's definitely easier & cheaper to plug in a USB keyboard, just depends how far you're willing to go to have a fully-functioning laptop :)

[aeromech3]

I went ahead and changed to an SSD 2 weeks ago, bought for £18 a Gigabyte 120GB, reloaded Linux Mint and happy it works well also the battery lasts a little longer, not having to spin rust!