One or more keys fell off the laptop keyboard and you are not sure how to put them back? Don’t worry, most likely you can fix the keyboard and it’s not necessary to buy a new one. There is no universal repair guide because all keyboards are different. Here’s what I usually do in this case.
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 here, 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. If you still cannot fix your keyboard, then you’ll have to find a new one and replace it.
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.
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April 20th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
Hey,I have a labtop that recently lost a key (number seven key). My computer is an Acer labtop (Windows) and it has two notches on the bottum and one notch on the top,so it’s different from the one you did on the exampe to fix a broken key. I need help to fix this so it would be very nice if you could help me. Thanks.
April 19th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
I’d like to add for the person who says they have a Compaq Presario laptop and had a key come off with a piece of the retainer still attached to the key. That’s exactly the model laptop I have, and my key also came loose with a piece of retainer attached.
But you may be mistaken in thinking that the key won’t snap back in because the retainer has bits broken off it (unlikely, imo).
First you’ll need to remove the retainer piece from the key. The two parts of the plastic retainer need to be reassembled onto the keyboard itself, not the key. So long as you still have the two parts, you should be able to reassemble them.
Please read my prior post to see in detail how I was able to successfully reassemble the two parts of my retainer and fix my detached HP/Compaq Presario’s key. Good luck!
April 19th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
Thankyou!
Your excellent post gave me sufficient hints that I was able to restore my HP/Compaq’s “Z” key back to it’s rightful place! My meddlesome cat pulled the key off this AM, with one deft hook from one sharp claw.
After the cat’s misdeed, one part of the 2-part plastic retainer (the round-ish part)was still attached to the key itself. The other half of the retainer (the more rectangular part)had come loose from both key and keyboard.
I never would have figured it out without taking your advice to carefully remove another key,and use it as a template or model to refer to in restoring the key assembly that flew apart. I soon realized I would need to remove the retainer piece that was attached to the key, and reassemble both parts onto the keyboard, not the key.
One must find out which side is the correct “up” side for each retainer part (I found one side is flatter than the other in each case). And also ascertain which is the top and bottom end in each case. Neither of these parts is symmetrical. Each has a correct top and bottom end, and an up and down side.
With the aid of a magnifying glass,an ultra-mini screwdriver tool to help move pieces into place (rather than to screw screws), plus fingers, I went to work.
I attached the round-ish piece first. It attaches to the keyboard at two points at the top of the part.
Next, I attached the rectangular piece. It attaches to the board at two points at the bottom of the piece. The undisturbed template retainer I used as my model showed me how the two parts fit into each other. It took a little fiddling and squeezing to get the two parts to fit into each other properly, while remaining attached to the keyboard properly. But persistence won out, and now my two retainers (the model one,and newly repaired one) both looked and behaved identically when inspected.
I prayed that I had it right, but feared I might end up with not just one, but two keys that would no longer attach to the keyboard!
Fortunately,snapping the two keys back into place was the simplest and quickest part of the process! They easily snapped back in immediately. No coaxing required. The two keys seem
solid, good as new!
I noticed online other people’s useless advice on how to repair detached keys. e.g. “just push down and the key will snap back into place”. Yeah right. This of course won’t work in the case of plastic retainer parts becoming detached from the board, and from each other.
I appreciate your helpful tips!
April 19th, 2009 at 11:22 am
Hilal,
One of the retainers is broken and the key will not stay connected to it. You’ll have to replace the broken retainer.
April 19th, 2009 at 2:18 am
My Q key felt today from Toshiba keyboard laptop just like the 2nd keyboard here but i am not able to fix it !!!! every time i put it , i cant get it to get stable ! specially from above !
April 17th, 2009 at 5:21 pm
Thanks! ‘V’ key fell off today, and this definitely aided in my fixing it!
April 17th, 2009 at 3:25 pm
FRED,
That happens a lot. You’ll have to replace the retainer. Search for a new key on eBay, it’s possible you can find a new one with the retainer attached.
April 17th, 2009 at 2:17 am
THANK YOU SO MUCHHHHHHHH!!!!
DDDDDDddddddddddddd
honestly wikkihow disnt help at all, ur amazing!!!
April 16th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
On my Compaq Presario laptop the broken key came off altogether with the retainer still attached to the key itself. The problem seems to be that two of the points where the retainer attaches to the keyboard itself have broken off. Any ideas?
FRED…
April 15th, 2009 at 9:40 am
Confused,
Sorry, I do not understand the problem you are experiencing.