I have a 4 year old MacBook Pro Retina 13″. A few months ago a very small amount of liquid spilled on my keyboard. I started to belive that I got away with this, but last week, my T key started to work improperly. Here is where the story begins.

I started doing my usual research to find the best way to replace or fix the keyboard. I’m a long time apple user so I didn’t expect any good news. If you have a retina MacBook Pro or MacBook Air, and you need to replace your keyboard, the first shock is finding out that your keyboard is riveted to the top case. Unlike screws, rivets are permanent fasteners. This means you cannot remove them without damage. An authorized apple service provider would just replace the whole top case, and probably your local apple service shop may do the same. The top case contains the keyboard, the trackpad, and the batteries, so it is definetely not the cheapest solution.

Luckily, there are some clever people who tried to replace only the keyboard with success. And they are shareing their experience. There are a lots of videos on youtube, a lots of posts on forums, and replace guides on ifixit about replacing macbook keyboards. I’m sure you can find at least one guy who have the same model number as your’s and posted some information about the process.

I have an A1425 model and I’m writing this post to share my experiences.

Buying the replacement keyboard

• The backlit and the keyboard are two different part, and usually you need to buy them separately.
• yes, you have to replace both, its very hard to remove the backlit without damaging it.
• you should double check that you are buying the right model, the right layout (language), and your enter key and left shift key has the correct size.
• You can buy them on e-bay, or from some more reliable source, but don’t spend too much on it. You are going to get a cheap chinese copy anyway.

Preparing for the surgery

• You need some special screwdrivers for the pentalobe and tamper free TORX screws. The list depends on your model.
• You really need a good wire cutter to remove the rivets. it’s going to be a nightmare even with a good tool. I can recomend something like this: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FZPDG1K/?tag=tolnaiz-20
• watch as many videos as you can, especially if you are not really experienced in repairing electronic devices.

Doing the repair

• Only start the repair if you have several hours distraction free. You are gona need to remove the complete logic board, and thats not a five minute task.
• Only start if you are ready for a really stressful job. Those rivets are going to drive you crazy.
• Try to remember which screws going to where. Better if you take notes about it.
• There is this little plastic layer on the end of the keyboard connector. You don’t need to remove it.
• It some keys are not working after the replacement, try to move the keyboard cable a little bit.
• If you cannot remove some rivets, thats not a big problem, but remove as many as you can and put screws in their place. The more screws you put in, the more sturdy your new keyboard will be.
• Do the repair with an open lid. Place the laptop on the edge of the desk, with a hanging display. This way the screen remains clean.

These are the most important thinks to keep in mind I think.

Good luck with your repair!