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Model A1286. Released February 2011 / 2.0, 2.2, or 2.3 GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7 Processor

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Some keys on the keyboard are not working? ("2" "F2" Tab Esc)

I was supposed to meet someone to have a look through information on my laptop and prior to the meeting quickly decided to wipe the keyboard with a wet wipe as it was a little dirty. Don't ask why, but I've used the floor wet wipes (probably stupid, but had nothing else around....). I can't even understand why it went wrong as I literally just wiped it with a wipe..

Everything came out perfect and had no problems, went to the meeting, worked on my laptop for 5 hours with no breaks after the meeting, only to realise "2" was not working, then tried to make the screen a bit brighter and realised F2 was not working too.

Checked other keys that weren't working and realised Tab and Esc weren't working too.

I have read quite a lot of information online, and will try getting Isopropyl tomorrow to wipe everything under those specific keys.

Can someone please suggest something else I could try? And please suggest the best way to wipe under the keys using the rubbing alcohol!

[Already tried damp q-tips and hairdryer on a cold/a little warm setting]

[Plus it has only been 12 hours since I've wiped it]

Answered! View the answer I have this problem too

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Not good ;-{

The floor wipes have both cleaners as well as an acrylic finish to coat the floor so it looks shiny!

In this case the problem is the acrylic dried coating the contacts so they don't make electrical contact anymore. If you can't get the keys cleaned from the top you'll need to take the system completely apart to gain access to the keyboard from the inside so you can remove it to try cleaning that way or just replacing it.

Here's the IFIXIT guide: MacBook Pro 15" Unibody Early 2011 Upper Case Replacement. While the guide only gets you to the keyboard you'll need to remove a ton of screws and very carefully peel the sections apart. Here's a vid to give you an idea whats involved: MacBook Pro Mid 2011 Keyboard replacement. The other option is replacing the keyboard which you can find on eBay or replace the full upper case (which is the most expensive).

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9 Comments:

You may want to take one of the floor wipes you used and wipe down a piece of sanded clear Plexiglas sheet so you can see the finish as a test bed to try different liquids to clean off the acrylic finish. Having a sanded surface will make it easier to see what works.

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Dan,

Firstly thank you so much for your help. I will attempt that tomorrow and let you know.

Please could you suggest how to use the isopropyl? Shall I put it straight on under the keys or shall I put it on a piece of cloth beforehand and wipe under the keys?

Thanks

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Slightly dampened cotton swabs (Q-Tips). You don't want to get the system any wetter than needed here. Make sure you're using a high grade isopropyl alcohol (85% or better).

If you take the keyboard out you could try soaking it.

But again, before you go down this path see if the isopropyl alcohol will even cut though the dried floor wipe using a test bed. You may need to try something else here.

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Okay so I've tried cleaning it, the buttons do not work, however I have noticed that if I hold all four of them together and press backspace by brightness and sound goes down and it works all the time. Can that mean that something has worked ?

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You did pop the keycaps off and clean under them correct?

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