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I own an A1708 which needed a battery and keyboard replacement, which I got around to looking at a couple of weeks ago. Wondering if anyone has undertaken this and has any tips in fitting the new keyboard? It’s an absolute nightmare to remove the keyboard due to the strength of the rivets and the fact that the back of the keyboard is a PCB material, so it breaks apart rather than coming off in one piece (like older models). You have to push the plastic keys inward to remove it, since you cannot rip it out, which slightly bends the aluminium cutout for the palmrest (although this can be rebent easily). The issue I am having is fitting the new keyboard. I have removed a few rivets, and no matter if I pull, twist or knock out the rivets (all proven methods with Air and older Retina models), the rivets do not completely come out. Apple have made the tip of the rivet slightly smaller than the rest, so a bit of the rivet will always stay inside the hole, preventing the usual keyboard screws from going in due to the shallowness of the hole. I have not removed all the rivets, since I want to see if anyone has any ideas of a way of completely removing the rivet, or how to secure the keyboard in the palmrest properly (before I remove all of the rivets). I’ve attached a picture of the palmrest with the keyboard removed, and you can see the rivets (the head on these are very strong, and always stay attached to the rivet, which makes keyboard removal very tough), the holes left after the rivets are removed, and also the screw holes (there are a few screws holding the keyboard in, mainly the corners and lower right of the palmrest when looking at the back of it). Bonus picture attached of the state of the keyboard after removal :) Any advice is appreciated! If anyone needs any clearer pictures, let me know and I’ll take some more when in shop tomorrow
Apple now has a program for keyboard issues. Keyboard Service Program for MacBook and MacBook Pro https://www.apple.com/support/keyboard-s… Eligible Models To identify your computer’s model and to see if it is eligible for this program, choose Apple () menu > About This Mac. Eligible models are listed below. 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)
@reecee I have successfully removed the keyboard and installed in a new one. You need to get hold of a diagonal cutter that looks something like THIS Use it to grip (not cut) the rivet, twist it a little, and then pull it out with a pivoting action. You need to keep the rivets to reuse them. Hopefully you kept the some that were already pulled out when you punched the keys out from their socket. To install, clean the base with isopropyl alcohol just in case the keys get stuck to the frame after installing. Lay the new keyboard back and screw back the screws (remember their positions before unscrewing) Then use the flat back of a screwdriver, or the tip of a big enough torx screwdriver to punch the old rivets back. It can be done be is tedious. The most of the rivets will go in, but some may be too deformed to use.
Rivets and screws are the key. You want to get an “ear” of a corner of the keyboard with some needle nose pliers (with teeth). Then you pull very hard until the rivets start popping out. Then you want to take a sharp edged paint scraper and go to each left behind rivet and pop them out 1 by 1 until it is done. This will be your screw holes. Be careful some screws are not milled long enough to fit in the rivet hole. So make sure you have more than enough screws. The area should be cleaned and deburred of any metal shavings before you install it. There are many screws to install. Do 10 and take a break or knock it out in an hour. I charge customers for this process at my shop.
