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I have a 16-inch MacBook Pro, 2021 M1 Max, however it comes with a foreign keyboard. This is not a total disaster, but quite annoying if you're used to US keyboards. Having seen plenty of replacement keyboards on eBay ($20-$100), I was wondering if anyone has replaced a keyboard in one of the machines.
Is this a good question?
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If you loved doing the 2014/15 MacBook Pro's you'll love the this one too, NOT! Apple made it even harder!
Frankly, I would just replace the upper case assembly MacBook Pro 16" (2021 A2485) Upper Case Assembly and Battery
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Forgive the lack of experience, but from what I can see, taking out the keyboard is maybe not much more difficult than replacing the upper case assembly? (ie. ripping the entire laptop apart)
That is why I am asking, since I have not seen yet how the keyboard is positioned/installed in the upper case assembly ...?
What is the main concern why you'd get a $300 part (assembly) versus a $30-$60 part (just the actual keyboard)?
@hansaplastique - True the keyboard alone would be cheaper from a parts perspective! Now the labor is the killer and what you get in the end.
The keyboard is held by a few screws and a ton of plastic rivets! You will need to removed the rivets and replace the rivets with screws. Then we have glued in keyboard backlight and the ribbon cable which is likewise stuck to it, which needs to be removed to even get to the keyboard.
Ah! That's what I was wondering about.
Too bad Apple made it this hard.
I'll try to see if I can find another route eg. replace the key caps or something like that (I know: tedious and one needs to be super careful) - keeping your perfectly good, but expensive, suggestion in the back of my mind.
Thanks again Dan!
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