Basically, you are removing a build up of grime below the key that is causing it to stick. Others have responded to this comment with profuse thanks saying it worked for them.

One last thing you might try before sending your MacBook out for repair is to follow the method described in the top comment of this 9to5Mac article of using your fingernail to scrape the metal edges of the keyboard deck below a stuck key. I've read that it's not as simple as replacing a single key but that the entire keyboard or bottom half of the laptop may need to be replaced. If the problem is happening regularly, either switch from everything bagels to plain bagels or visit your local Apple Store - ideally before your warranty is up.Īnd if you are already past your warranty, then be prepared to pay a sizable repair bill. So, my advice to those typing on a MacBook model with a butterfly keyboard - the current MacBook Pro models and the 12-inch MacBook - is to keep a can of compressed air on hand. I also emailed Apple, but it didn't immediately respond to my request for comment. He told me that they would need to send it out for repair and couldn't give me an estimate for the repairs. I called my local Apple Store and asked a technician for an estimate for the repair cost I'm facing if I'm no longer under warranty and my space bar goes kaput and stays that way. I then turned it around so it was facing sideways the other way and sprayed again. I then turned my MacBook Pro sideways - keeping it at the nearly vertical angle - and sprayed some more air.I grabbed my can of compressed air and sprayed all around the space bar.I held my MacBook Pro at a nearly vertical angle - Apple says 75 degrees is the magic number.After a trip to Staples for a can of compressed air, I got to work. Next, I consulted Apple Support's guide on how to clean the keyboard. Since I use my MacBook Pro primarily at my kitchen table and my local bagel shop (and always opt for an everything bagel), I figured a poppy seed, a piece of dried onion or garlic or a bread crumb got lodged underneath my space bar.įirst, I first tried blowing underneath the spacer bar to dislodge any trapped foreign matter. When I my space bar stopped working, I discovered numerous tales of woe in various forums about dirt, crumbs or even a speck of dust getting underneath a key and interfering with the delicate butterfly mechanism.

Macbook keyboard cleaning