Can You Replace a Laptop Keyboard?

A fall, an unexpected bump, a jumping cat, an accident with liquid. Laptop keyboards have several natural enemies, and they are always among the first components to be replaced. Many models reduce the process to a couple of screws, a few clips, and maneuvering thin cables, but there are cases like this HP Pavilion where changing the keyboard requires the entire top case—unless... we are patient and disobedient.

The Problem with Modern Laptops

The reasons are simple: on one hand, planned obsolescence. No matter how deep a manufacturer's “commitment” is, the truth is it is more interested in selling a new computer than in providing support and replacement parts for existing models. And on the other hand, format. The thinner that laptop PC is, the greater the cutbacks inside.

Integrating the keyboard into the chassis is just the tip of the iceberg. Memory and solid-state drives are also soldered to the motherboard, denying the user the possibility of expansion or repair without special equipment. How many laptops will remain eternally with 2 or 4 GB of RAM? How many will be unable to receive the latest builds of Windows 10 due to a simple matter of space? The situation is irritating, and it also costs us money.

The Hack: Melting the Rivets

So... a hack! A little surgery with a cheap soldering iron and a cutter. The portal Inside My Laptop recently published a kind of “step-by-step” guide to replace the integrated keyboard on an HP Pavilion, but it should be possible to extend its usefulness to other keyboards in the same situation. The key is to break/melt the plastic rivets causing as little damage as possible.

Once the back cover is removed, the keyboard should come out in the same direction, with all rivets free of obstacles. The rest is a matter of going in the opposite direction, installing the new keyboard and verifying that no rivet got stuck. From here, the user can recreate the rivets with the soldering iron, or use hot glue so the keyboard doesn't lose its position.

The Takeaway

If all goes well, the repair should be successful... but the point is that we shouldn't have to go to this extreme. Let this serve as a reminder to reject companies with disposable products, and support those that offer more complete support and after-sales service.

Source: Inside My Laptop