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13" aluminum unibody, 2.0 or 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo processor.

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Water over keyboard, some buttons don't work

Yesterday I dropped a small bucket of water next to it was my MacBook, and a few small splashes hit the keyboard. Now the 5 and the "t" button don't work. Although sometimes they magically do and fall away again or when I press 5 a 1 appears instead. I pulled the buttons off and cleaned it a little bit to no effect. Any other suggestions? I'm very new with Mac equipment so forgive a newbie.

Update

Ok guys its been a while. The t-button went down for 2-3 weeks but 5 minutes ago it suddenly came alive, albeit not 100% operational it works! I never used the hairdryer thing because I taught it was too late, should I do it now? I'm very afraid the t-button will die again. :(

Update

I'm going to a Mac store tomorrow. Since the keyboard sometimes magically works and sometimes some of the buttons drop dead I think the problem lies somewhere else.

I noticed the battery is dysfunctional as well. When I'm working on battery power my laptop gets extremely hot and also doesn't come back from standby. A fully charged battery gets empty in a very short period of time.

I will keep you informed.

Update

I brought my Macbook to an local apple store/reseller and they confirmed that there was indeed water damage and the keyboard had to be replaced. This cost me 248 euro's. Very pricy considering just a very small amount of water fell on the keyboard.

I'm not an expert with laptops and this was my first Macbook(2009 version) so I decided to let them replace the keyboard. But I can imagine the replacement could be done by myself at a much cheaper price. But hey, c'est la vie.

I wish everybody success with this very annoying problem.

Answered! View the answer I have this problem too

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I spilt water on mine, now the keys are working on and off and sometimes it types 1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 or ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// on its own and wont stop O.o help?

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Read the answers. You will need a new keyboard (topcase)

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My shift and right arrow doesn't work. My brother spilt milk and water on them.

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I guess I was extremely lucky. After few keys initially stopped working, after I shut it off, wiped, and dried out the keyboard, all of the keys regained functionality.

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Hairdryer NOT a good idea

It can blow wet into where it wasn't causing more problems.Certainly there's nothing more to dry after 3 weeks, but corrosion could be a problem.

You might be able to clean the keys from the bottom with dielectric cleaner and/or 99% isopropyl alcohol.

Do a search for spill liquid and there's some good advice to know or follow.

Good Luck,

N.

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+ Gabe

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Change the keyboard yourself by folowing this guide it's so easy !! Upgrading your 2.0 GHz 13" Aluminum Unibody MacBook to a Backlit Keyboard

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I'd recommend using a hair dryer on warm (not hot) and getting some air into the k/b. Keep your hand between the dryer and the mac, if your hand is too hot then the mac is too hot!

Hopefully that will dry out the remaining water and restore your system. Most modern k/b are reasonably resilient.

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I don't have a hairdryer with me right now, can I wait 1-2 more days or should I get a hairdryer real fast?

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Sooner the better. In a couple days the water will likely be gone and any damage will be done.

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Well if you had a liquid spill the keyboard will go crazy if you don't clean it right away. To be very clear Apple avoids the warranty for liquid spills in less if they replace your logic board at your expense, could run you from 600 to 800 dollars. And they also add the dots under the case so there aware there was a liquid spill. To start if the MB is working fine, accept for the keyboard, I would recommend you to tear down the book clean it right(make sure let everything dry good, wait a day or two). Also replace the keyboard, you could fine some here on ifixit or on eBay. If you didn't have a backlight maybe this is your chance to put one in. Or just clean that keyboard good, remove all the keys everything make sure you got all that gunk off. Good luck with that.

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Well that sound like the keyboard got the bulk of the water. Well you shouldn't boot the MB on for now. You should open up the MB. Do a teardown of MB and clean the logic board and all the contacts. From what your saying you'll need to remove the keyboard and clean it well and let it air dry. But most likely you need to replace the keyboard, because it sounds like the keyboard fryed. The trackpad you'll need to remove it and clean as well. Then reassemble MB after a reasonable time of dry.

Here's check off list you should of done if not you should do, but now at your own risk.

Now, the last time you booted up the MB did ethernet work? did usbs work? did earphone work? did bluetooth work? did airport work? and the most important did the MB charge? we know the trackpad and keyboard are not functioning correct. This is something for you to round off to know the extend of the damage. Just to let you know the keyboard and power source are together in the same ribbon. There no option screen that could help you. But I could say it a good project to work on. Just have the right tools, you could find at home depot. Tools : phil#00 torex #6.

Good luck with that.

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i recommend purchasing a new or like-new top case and swapping everything over to it. i purchased one off ebay for $100 and the only noticeable problems were a ripped mylar cover that covered the left speaker wire, some interior scratches and the black plastic cover behind the keyboard isn't adhered very well so it pulls back. the good news is the water sensor things are white so warranty isn't voided that way. however i dinged up some screws pretty bad and tore the microphone cloth so i have to replace those.

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Hey, i also had the same problem. Mine was a Mid 2010 MacBook Pro. I spilled a bit of water and the mac was working fine, but the keyboard is malfunctioned. Bought it to an local apple store and it costs me about $260 but i got a top case replacement.

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i have perfect solution to this problem without spending a penny...

while cleaning the keyboard of apple mac some liquid spilled in and some of the keys on the keyboard were working wrong. , the caps lock key was working vice versa to the normal function ...

what i did without opening the keyboard . i kept the laptop open under the fan.. dried it for a while and checked it .. there was not any change

and then next day my mac book was showing some updates to install which it does on regular basis ... i installed the updates and the keyboard was restored to its normal working condition..

u are right i found this solution accidently.....

for intalling updates

go to system preferences

select "software update" under system

now under the tab "scheduled check" press "check now"

the computer will come up with all the updates . make sure u get mac osx update aswell along with the other softwares or mac application.....

do try it .. m sure it ll help

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I have had a similar issue, and indeed the same keys.

I had touchpad issue, cleaned the keyboard with a damp sponge, and had problems with T and G. I put it in the sunshine with some rice on the keys, and that fixed it for awhile. Next day it was failing again, so I tried a blow dryer. That fixed it for two days, then suddenly it failed again, this time the entire column: 5, T, G, and B.

The failure is that when the key is hit, a stream of characters is generated, including those associated with keys to the left. For example, if I hit "5", I might get something related to "12345". Similar with the other keys, although sometimes "opt" characters are generated, for example "delta" when I hit "G".

After this latest failure, it's simply not improving. I tried popping out the offending keys and the underlying support hardware, then wiping it with some isopropyl with a swab, and while that cleaned off some dirt, functionality is the same.

Apple told me I needed to replace the entire keyboard hardware for $199, a 4-5 day operation.

The curious thing is the regular nature of the symptom, and that it happens to include two of the same keys as you. There must be something related to how keys are addressed.

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Corrosion takes place over time. Sometimes cleaning corrosion temporarily solves a problem, until corrosion worsens and shorts something out. There are few simple solutions to complex problems. You could replace just the top case faster - not sure if it's more economical.

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i spilled coke on my k/b some keys dont work,on screen k/b works ,all keys ,.wifi k/b works perfect ,touch pad works. cleaned k/b som e keys still dont work.what say you.

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luigi -- For future reference you posted a Question in the place where only Answers belong. Please use the add comment link to the appropriate Answer, Question or create your original Question. Refer to accepted answer, replace the top case with keyboard''

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how can i recover the sound of my lap after water spills

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drmonatalaat-- For future reference you posted a Question in the place where only comments belong. Please create your original Question''. Remember to include as much detailed information in your question as possible'''. Specify the exact model of your laptop, what was spilled, any steps you have already taken.

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I was able to restore full functionality to my macbook keyboard after some keys stopped working after typing on it with a wet hand by sucking the moisture out 2 days later with a hand vac. I first removed the key caps of the non-working keys then placed the small vacuum mouth on top of the key and held it there running for about 5 seconds over each non-working key. Gradually all keys regained functionality.

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keep your keyboard under a table lamp for a day. that should solve it.

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rice my friends will indeed absorb all moisture from mac.

cover it with rice!

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Why not just use dictation on the laptop? You hit the function key twice and just talk to the machine lady and it types for you.

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Arz will be eternally grateful.
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