Broken laptop keyboard buttons can usually be repaired at home

By Tobias Hanraths Dec 18, 2011, 3:06 GMT

Munich - You don't have to rush to a repair shop if a key on your laptop's keyboard breaks. Sometimes, with a few tricks and a little skill, you can fix the problem at home.

Often the problem is a simple mechanical one, says Robert Tischer from notebookjournal.de. It might be as simple a problem as a few crumbs under the keyboard.

'Dirt or crumbs under the keyboard can block the mechanism,' he says. The problem is usually noticeable when the key can't be depressed properly, or only comes back up with difficulty after being pressed.

To fix the problem, try to pop the individual key out of the machine, remove dirt from underneath and check the individual components before putting everything back.

But if a key stops working suddenly, it's not always a mechanical problem. 'There might be a software problem, because there are problems with the driver,' says Tischer. Check the problem by connecting a desktop PC's keyboard to the laptop with a USB cable. If the keys there don't work, then the problem isn't with the laptop's keyboard.

Hardware problems, like a cable problem, can be much harder to solve. The only solution might be to swap out the keyboard. A layman might be able to handle this job, says Tischer. 'If the keyboard is just clamped in under the housing, you can remove it from the notebook just by unscrewing it.'

Replacement keyboards are usually available for between 30 and 50 euros (40 to 67 dollars). But some keyboards have keys poking individually through the housing. 'That kind of keyboard can only be replaced if you completely unscrew the device and take it apart,' warns Tischer.

If you can't do without your broken keyboard, even for repairs, then you need to try an external keyboard. Another option is a screen-based mouse-operated keyboard. Check Accessory Options with a Windows machine, or Keyboard Viewer in Apple computers.