MacBook Keyboard Replacement in Dubai
Keys that repeat, stick or do nothing, on MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. We work out first whether it is the keyboard, a spill that reached the board, or a setting, then replace what has actually failed. Free pickup across Dubai and repair at our Deira workshop.
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- Price for your model shown first
- Warranty shown before you book
- Free pickup & drop-off
MacBook Keyboard Replacement prices by model
This repair is priced after a free diagnosis for now: book, and we diagnose your device at our workshop and confirm the required repair and applicable price.
Rule out the free fixes first
A few keyboard complaints have nothing to do with the keyboard, and they cost nothing to check:
- In System Settings, Accessibility, Keyboard, make sure Slow Keys and Sticky Keys are off. Slow Keys makes every key seem dead unless you hold it down.
- In Accessibility, Pointer Control, check that Mouse Keys is off. With it on, part of the keyboard moves the pointer instead of typing.
- Show the Keyboard Viewer from the input menu and press the faulty key. If it lights up on screen, the hardware is registering it and the problem is software.
- Connect an external keyboard. If that types normally, macOS is fine and the built-in keyboard is at fault.
- On a 2016 to 2019 MacBook, Apple's own advice is worth one try: hold the machine at a steep angle and sweep compressed air across the keys to shift dust from under them.
Butterfly keyboards, 2015 to 2019
The 12-inch MacBook from 2015, MacBook Pro models from 2016 to 2019 and the MacBook Air from 2018 and 2019 use the butterfly mechanism, which has very little travel and very little tolerance for dust. A single grain under a key is enough to make it repeat, stick down or stop registering. Apple ran a Keyboard Service Program for these machines, but it covered each one for four years from its first sale, so for practically every butterfly MacBook it has now run out.
From the 16-inch MacBook Pro of late 2019, and the 2020 Air and 13-inch Pro, Apple went back to a scissor mechanism. Those keyboards fail far less often, and when they do it is usually liquid or a damaged keycap rather than dust.
Why it is rarely a one-key repair
On current MacBooks the keyboard is riveted into the top case, the aluminium shell that also carries the trackpad, and on many models the battery is glued to the same part. There is no clip-in keyboard to swap. Depending on the model, the sound repair is a new keyboard fitted into your top case or a replacement top case assembly, and we confirm which applies to your MacBook, with its price, once we have looked at it.
On models with Touch ID, the sensor in the power button is paired to the logic board. The original has to stay with the machine through the repair, because a different one will not unlock it or authorise Apple Pay.
After a spill, the keyboard is the smaller problem
The keyboard is the open top of the machine, and anything spilled on it runs through to the logic board and battery underneath. Keys that die in a block, hours or days after a spill, are usually the visible part of corrosion that is still spreading. Switch the MacBook off, do not charge it, and do not keep trying it to see whether it has dried. Book it as liquid damage: the water damage repair page explains why time matters more than anything else.
Arabic, English, US and European layouts
A MacBook keyboard is not one part per model. The US-style and European-style layouts differ in the shape of the Return key and the number of keys, and MacBooks sold in the UAE usually carry Arabic and English legends on the same keys. Tell us which you have, or which you want, when you book. A different layout is a different part, and what is available for your model is confirmed before the repair.
What happens after you book
Until it is collected, an external USB or Bluetooth keyboard keeps the MacBook usable and lets you take a backup. We collect it free of charge, diagnose it at the workshop in Deira at no cost, and return it free after the repair. The model number we need is explained on the MacBook repair in Dubai page, and each stage appears on repair tracking.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to common questions.
Can you replace a single key?
If only the keycap or its clip is damaged and the key underneath still registers, sometimes yes, on scissor-type keyboards. If the key itself has stopped registering, repeats or sticks, the fault is in the mechanism or the layer under it, and that means the keyboard rather than one key. On a butterfly keyboard a single failed key almost always means the keyboard.
Is Apple's free keyboard programme still running?
Not in any practical sense. The Keyboard Service Program covered eligible butterfly models for four years after the first retail sale of each unit, and the last of those machines left Apple's range in 2020. If you think yours might still qualify, check with Apple before paying anyone, us included.
Will my data be affected?
No. A keyboard repair does not touch the storage. Back up first if the MacBook still runs, as before any repair; an external keyboard lets you log in to do it.
Some keys stopped working after a spill weeks ago. Is that just the keyboard?
Probably not only the keyboard. Liquid that reached the keys also reached what sits under them, and corrosion carries on after the liquid has dried. The board is inspected before a keyboard is quoted, because a new keyboard on a corroding board fixes the symptom for a few weeks.
My trackpad is stiff and the keys feel raised. Is that the keyboard?
That is more often a swollen battery pushing up from underneath than a keyboard fault. Stop using and charging the MacBook, and book it as a battery fault with the swelling mentioned.
For how booking, collection and the warranty work in general, see the repair FAQ.
Ready when you are
Book online in a few minutes. We collect your device for free, repair it at our workshop and bring it back, and you can follow every stage on the tracking page.
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