I’m doing it for fun just to see how it’s built. I’m taking apart a damaged one and have no intention to use it in the future.

I’ll be using one of my tools shown on the following picture.

STEP 1.

Remove sticky tape securing the cable to back of the keyboard.

STEP 2.

Carefully unglue the cable from the back.

STEP 3.

Start peeling off the aluminum protective film.

STEP 4.

Remove the protective film.

After the protective film is removed it cannot be reused.

STEP 5.

My keyboard had two plastic separators on the top.

They are secured to the back via pins.

Plastic pins are melted on the back and secure separators in place.

Push all plastic pins though wholes on the keyboard.

Start removing the separator.

The separator has been removed.

STEP 6.

Now you’ll have to remove all key caps.

In order to remove the key cap carefully lift it up with your fingers.

Remove the key cap so the hinge underneath stays connected to the keyboard.

Some big keys have a different design.

In addition to the hinge, some big keys (Back space or Space bar for example) might have an additional support bracket.

Remove the key cap with the support bracket.

STEP 7.

Some laptop keyboards might have blank covers on the left and right sides from the up arrow key.

Lift up and remove the blank cover.

All key caps and plastic separators have been removed.

STEP 8.

Now you can start removing key hinges – key lifting mechanisms.

Carefully separate the key hinge from the keyboard body.

Each key hinge has two parts – external and internal pieces.

When you remove the hinge, try to keep the internal part inside the external. Do not separate them.

If they separated, put them back together.

The lifting mechanism (hinge) assembled.

As I mentioned at the beginning, I’m taking this keyboard apart just for fun. That’s why I don’t care about removed parts.

If you following this guide to repair the keyboard, I would recommend to keep all hinges in the right order.

STEP 9.

Remove the sheet with silicone (or rubber) plungers.

STEP 10.

Remove the second sheet with traces.

Both sheets have been separated from the base.

STEP 11.

The sheet with traces has two layers and all traces are running between these layers.

STEP 12.

You can separate these layers from each other.

The keyboard has been disassemble.

Can you repair a keyboard? My answer is NO! Keyboards are cheap and not designed to be disassembled.

Also read how to repair individual keys.

The connector is a very delicate mechanism. It’s very easy to get it damaged if you apply too much force while trying to unlock it.

The cable retainer (locking clip) is made of thin plastic and if it’s damaged, you are in trouble. Unfortunately, this part is not sold separately.

Well… let’s say it happened. The damage is done. How to fix it now?

On the picture below I show one of the most common connector types. It has the base (white in my case) and cable retainer (brown in my case).

When the connector is closed, the cable secured between the retainer and base.

The retainer applies some pressure on the cable and it makes contact with the pins inside the connector.

To unlock it properly, you have to move the retainer about 2 millimeters in the direction shown by two yellow arrows.

IMPORTANT! The retainer must remain attached base.

After that you can pull the keyboard cable and remove the keyboard.

If you are not careful enough, you can move the retainer too far and break it.

On the picture below you can see the retainer broken on both sides. It is missing the both locking hook.

IMPORTANT! Do not though away the retainer. You still can use it.

The cable will not stay inside the connector without the locking clip.

Here’s how fix this type of damage.

Position the broken piece the way it was inserted before.

Carefully insert the cable into the connector. In this case the cable goes above the retainer.

While holding the cable, carefully push the broken clip back in place. You can use a small screwdriver for that.

The clip fits tightly into the connector even though it has two broken hooks.

Secure the connection with sticky tape and test the keyboard. It should work just fine.

Here’s another connector type. The only difference – the keyboard cable is routed under the locking clip. Fix it the same way as the previous connector.

On the next picture you see another type of connector. The cable is inserted vertically.

In order to unlock the connector, you’ll have to move the locking clip (brown piece) about 2 millimeters up in the direction shown by two yellow arrows.

After that you can pull the keyboard cable (green arrow) and remove the keyboard.

If you move the locking clip too far, you can break it.

In my example one side of the retainer got damaged.

Insert the keyboard cable into the connector, position the broken retainer correctly (behind the cable in my case) and carefully push it in.

Even with a broken retainer the cable should be secured inside the connector.

Here’s the same connector shown from the opposite side. You cannot even tell it is broken.

If this trick worked for you, it means I just saved you big bucks on the motherboard replacement. And I’m glad I did.

REPAIR TIPS FROM READERS:

Thank you to Alex for the following suggestion:

I found another way to fix it…
Have you lost the broken “Locking clip”?
Then do this…
Get some “electrical tape” on the back of the “flat cable” to make some “thickness”.
Make sure you are putting the tape on the right side, where there are no visible connections…

Then very carefully push the cable into the connector… It will not come loose and the keyboard will work just fine!

Also read this post explaining how to repair broken touchpad connector.

If your keyboard is missing a key, it’s not necessary to replace the whole keyboard. You can fix it using this guide: how to fix keys on a laptop keyboard.

Warning!
– if your laptop is still covered by the manufacturer’s warranty, do not open the case or you can loose the warranty.
– always remove the battery and unplug the AC adapter before you open the laptop case.
– if you damage the keyboard connector on the motherboard you’ll have to replace the whole motherboard.
– proceed on your own risk.

Sony laptop

I took these pictures from a Sony Vaio PCG-K33 (model PCG-9S1L) notebook. Should be similar for some other Sony notebooks too.

Insert a small flathead screwdriver under the keyboard bezel and carefully lift it up. Continue releasing plastic latches and removing the keyboard bezel with your fingers.

Be careful, on some models the bezel might be connected to the motherboard as it shown on the picture above. If you accidentally pulled the cable, connect it back. It is not necessary to disconnect the keyboard bezel from the motherboard in order to remove and replace the keyboard, just put it aside so you can access the keyboard screws.

Remove three (or more) screws from the top of the keyboard. Carefully lift up the keyboard from the laptop case.

The keyboard connects to the motherboard via a flat ribbon cable. Before you pull the cable from the connector, you’ll have to unlock the connector.

The image above illustrates how to unlock the keyboard connector. Carefully move the connector lock 2-3 millimeters up and after that pull the keyboard cable. To install the keyboard, follow the above mentioned steps in the reverse order.

Toshiba laptop

The following pictures were taken from a Toshiba Satellite A135 laptop. The keyboard removal instructions will be almost the same for most modern Toshiba laptops.

The keyboard bezel removal procedure is similar to the above mentioned Sony Vaio laptop. Lift it up with a small screwdriver and remove using fingers. On most Toshiba laptops the keyboard bezel doesn’t have any circuit board underneath, it’s just a piece of plastic and you don’t have to worry about cables.

After the bezel is removed you get an access to the keyboard screws. Remove two (or more) screws. Release the plastic latch pointed with the red arrow and lift up the keyboard. Carefully put the keyboard aside so you can access the connector underneath the keyboard. Do not forget that the keyboard is still connected to the motherboard.

Before you remove the keyboard, you’ll have to open the connector and release the flat ribbon cable.

Here’s a closeup picture of the keyboard connector on the motherboard. Be careful, this type of connector is fragile. On the left image the connector is closed. On the right image the connector is opened. Unlock the connector by moving the lock up as it shown on the right image and after that release the ribbon cable. Remove and replace the keyboard. For assembly instructions follow all the steps in the reverse order.

UPDATE. What can you do if the keyboard connector was damaged?

If you are looking for laptop disassembly instructions, check out laptop service manuals.

Situation 1. The key cap and key retainer fell off the keyboard and you cannot figure out how to assemble them back.

Carefully remove the cap from any other working key so the key retainer stays connected to the keyboard.

Take a closer look at the key retainer, it’s connected to the keyboard at four different points.

Assemble the disconnected retainer the same way as one on the keyboard and put it back in place.

Put the key cap on the retainer and snap the cap back in place.

Situation 2. The key fell off the keyboard and you lost the cap or the retainer. In this case you can purchase a single key on the internet, just search for it. (Search examples: “Dell keyboard key”, “Toshiba keyboard key”, “HP keyboard key”, etc… )
After you found a new key, put it back in place the same way as I described in the situation 1.

Installing the space bar key.

The space bar key is connected to the keyboard a little bit differently then any other key.

There is a metal retainer connected to the space bar key (on some keyboard models). Separate the retainer from the space bar key with a flat head screwdriver.

Install the retainer back in place as it shown on the picture. You have to engage the retainer with the small hooks on the keyboard.

Put the space bar key back in place and gently press on it with fingers until it snaps back in place.

That’s it. The space bar key is installed back in place and should work as before.

Here’s another technique you can use to fix a broken keyboard key.

As you see on the picture below the keyboard is missing the U key. The key cap, retainer and even silicone membrane were lost. Let’s see if it’s possible to temporarily fix the U key without buying any spare parts.

Personally, I cannot use keyboard without U key but I can live without a key located on the side from the right ALT – the “Right clicker” key. In the following guide I will remove one key I never use and install it in the place of missing U.

Carefully remove the key cap with your fingers.

Remove the retainer. The retainer has two pieces connected to each other. If one piece got disconnected from the other, connect them back together.

The silicon membrane is glued to the keyboard. Very very slowly separate the membrane from the keyboard with a sharp knife. While creating this disassembly guide I damaged one membrane because I wasn’t careful enough.
Again, you have to be very careful removing the membrane.
If you damage the membrane you’ll end up with two broken keys instead of just one.

The silicon membrane has been removed.

Now apply some superglue on the bottom edge of the membrane, just enough to keep the membrane in the place.

Carefully place the membrane in the center of the U. Make sure the membrane is positioned correctly. Wait until the glue cures.

Install the retainer.

Position the key cap above the retainer. Gently press on the key cap until it clips in and connects to the retainer.

Now you can use the U key again.

Troubleshooting. Why the key will not clip on.

Turn the key upside down and take a closer look at the locking clips. It’s possible that one of the clips is damaged and because of that the key will not clip on the retainer. If that’s the case, you’ll have to purchase a new key.

On the next picture you can see that one of the clips is missing, it’s broken. This key will not stay connected to the retainer either. If that’s the case, you’ll have to purchase a new key.

It’s possible that the key is fine, but the retainer itself is broken. On the next picture you can see that one of the tips is missing on the retainer. The left tip is OK, but the right one is missing. If that’s the case, you’ll have to purchase a new retainer.

Here’s one more picture. In this case two parts of the retainer will not stay connected to each other. It happens because one of the tips is broken. The left tip is OK, but the right one is missing. If that’s the case, you’ll have to purchase a new retainer.