A laptop’s keyboard key is a bit trickier to repair as compared to a desktop keyboard. If we talk about the human-computer interaction, the most primary peripheral is the keyboard. Regardless of any kind of technological advancement, having a fine keyboard is directly related to the best experience.
Having that said, a wobbly keyboard would impact your overall productivity hence, the issue must be resolved as soon as possible! Sometimes, the key not only wobbles but falls off entirely from the keyboard, making it even more frustrating.
Fortunately, you don’t have to take your laptop to a specialist in order to get the problem solved as the techniques to do so are pretty simple. If you want to learn how to fix a key that fell off a laptop keyboard, check out our detailed step-by-step guide below.
Note: No matter which model laptop you have, the guide is pretty basic that will help you do the job easily.
Components of a keyboard key
Before we start with the detailed guide, it is important to understand the components a keyboard key has. Why? Because you never know which component can get damaged or entirely fall off a keyboard, therefore, you must know it all.
There are three components of a keyboard key i.e.,
- Keycap – It is the upper casing of the key that you press.
- Key Pad – It is underneath the key and the keycap sits on it.
- Key retainer – A plastic thing therein.
Easy ways to fix a fallen key from laptop keyboard if
If you ever encounter trouble with any key of your laptop keyboard, you must know where it is arising from. As mentioned above, a key has three components and the issue can be in any of these.
Let’s learn how to tackle the situation if:
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Keycap is detached
The keycap of a key getting loose or detached is pretty common. If this is the case with your laptop as well, simply press down the key from the side it is loose. Make sure you are pressing hard and delicate at the same time and as soon as you hear a snap, leave it. the snap usually indicates that the keycap is patched up and good to be used again.There are different methods you can learn to how to unclog shredder.
But, on the other hand, if the keycap has completely fallen off, turn it the other way i.e., upside down, and see if everything is found there. Also, determine if the components beneath the keycap are placed finely.
On the downside of the keycap, you will notice a plastic thing along with a few small locks from where it is attached to the keyboard. If everything there seems okay, ascertain that the joining points where the keycap fits in are free of any damage as well.
Everything looks perfect there too? All you need to do now is hold your keycap and fit it into the keyboard. Place the keycap carefully and in a way that it locks perfectly with all the joining points. Keep pressing until you hear the snap since it makes sure that the keycap has fitted in about right.Learn how to open and manage power manager lenovo windows 10.
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Key retainer has fallen
Sometimes, along with the keycap, the key retainer also comes out and causes trouble in fine working. If this is the case with your key, we have a simple solution for you to resolve the problem.
But, first off, we recommend you try detaching a finely working key by yourself. Be very gentle and take off the keycap only and not the retainer. From here, observe how the retainer is placed, determine its placement pattern, and everything else you see.
Now, the steps to reattach the problematic key include:
- Once you have successfully understood the placement pattern of the finely working key, place the detached retainer at its place carefully.
- If you doubt your precision, we suggest you leave this idea and simply determine the retainer’s connecting hooks orientation.
- This will help you understand how you can put back the retainer into these hooks.
- Look at the keyboard, you will find four different points where the retainer locks itself.
- Now at the base of the keyboard, line up the retainer carefully and connect it with the four joining points.
- If things aren’t going smoothly there, remove the key pad placed on a rubber nub and place the retainer. Once the retainer is fitted perfectly, put the key pad back in there.
- Finally, you are done reattaching the retainer.
- It’s time to put the keycap back. Line it up according to the latching points and press down till you hear the snap.
After the keycap is attached, press the key a good couple of times and notice a perfect bounce that makes sure the key retainer has fitted correctly.
Note: Retainer is composed of two components that are joined together with a hook. If these two pieces are disconnected, it will be very easy for you to connect those back together and get the key working again.
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Keycap and retainer both are damaged or lost
You can also encounter damaged latching points or the worst case could be losing either of the components. So, how can you overcome this mess?
Well, the simplest solution here is to get new components, and fortunately, finding these components isn’t very hard. Just determine the right brand and model of your laptop and purchase new components.
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Rubber Nub is damaged
Rubber nub is a silicon thing and is the core of the entire mechanism that is responsible for transferring the commands to the circuit board as the key is pressed. Therefore, if it is damaged, nothing else could work.
To fix this, you can try the following steps:
- Detach a key that you find useless for you. Remove its keycap, retainer, and key pad so that you reach its rubber nub.
- Now carefully pull out the rubber nub from there. It is glued at the base so, remove it with a sharp knife.
- Once removed, use a powerful glue and apply it on its base.
- Now place this nub onto the right in the center of the damaged nub of the key that you wish to repair.
- Lastly, put back all the components following the steps mentioned earlier.
Note: Since you will be taking the rubber nub out of another key, ascertain to choose one that never comes in use.
Conclusion
The keyboard is undoubtedly the most important peripheral of a laptop and if anything happens to this peripheral, it can lead to several issues. Therefore, if you find trouble with any of the keys, follow our easy yet detailed guide and get the problem solved in no time.
