4 laptop keyboard failure warning signs to look out for

Laptop keyboard problem is common. Problem with your laptop keyboard varies from jammed keys, some keys not working to complete keyboard failure. In this post, I’ll explain to you what causes laptop keyboards to fail, what problems your laptop keyboard may have, and repairs on laptop keyboards.

Keyboard repairs, especially for modern laptops, is usually to difficult for DIY at-home repairs. At the end of this post, if you still need professional computer repairs, drop us a message. We can repair keyboard for laptops, including Apple Mac.

What causes laptop keyboard failure?

Trapped dust and debris

The gaps between your laptop’s keys are where all kinds of dust and debris can get in. Because of how small these gaps are, the dust can stay trapped in there and potentially harm the keyboard that needs repairs.

Things like pieces of lint, or crumbs from eating right above the keyboard can get right into the keyboard and jam it up.

To be fair, keeping your laptop spotless at all times is pretty impossible. It’s natural to get a little dust in there, and your laptop would still work perfectly normal. But when it reaches a point where there is a lot of dust trapped inside, it could become a problem for the keyboard. An accumulation of dust could also cause other hardware problems like overheating and fan failure.

Moisture in the air

It’s common knowledge that liquids and electronics don’t mix. You probably already know not to use your laptop around the pool or in the bath.

But what about rooms with high humidity? You might not be aware about this, but the moisture in the air can sometimes affect your laptop’s keyboard. Just like dust, moisture can get trapped inside a laptop and get you in quite a bit of trouble. So just to be on the safe side, you might want to use your laptop in a cool and dry spot.

Physical damage and liquid spills

Physical damage is another thing that can kill laptop keyboards. These usually occur as accidents. You wouldn’t try to break your keyboard on purpose, would you?

Liquid spills are a very common cause for keyboard failures. Accidentally spilling your drink over your laptop can short out the keys and ruin the keyboard.

If it’s only a water spill, you might be able to use it as normal once it’s dried out completely. In other cases like sugary liquids or wine, it’s a little bit more tricky.

After drying, the sugar in these liquids will still remain between the keys, and inside the laptop. Corrosive liquids like beer and seawater do the worst damage, corroding the connective parts of the keyboard.

Neglect – laptop unused for an extended amount of time

In our computer repair experience, we’ve learnt that neglect can also frequently result in the failure of a laptop keyboard. Some cases of keyboard failure all share this observation: the laptop was neglected and not used for more than two months.

In these situations, users may just be using a different computer, or just primarily using their work laptops more often than their personal ones. Then when they take up their other laptop, they find that some keys are not working.

Often a customer came to me saying “I haven’t used my laptop for 2 months, then I took it out and some keys are not working.”

When this happens to you, you may wonder why the keyboard just fails for no reason. You may feel like you’re the only person who’s come across this issue. It’s just so strange, isn’t it?

But, I hear this every few weeks. It’s become the norm.

If you drive, you’d know that when your car sits in the garage unused for a few months, the next time you drive it, it’ll have problems. The battery may have gone flat. The tire may have gone flat. The steering wheel makes a weird noise and feels heavy. You may not even start the car.

It is the same with your computer.

What if it’s actually…?

Keyboard issues are generally hardware faults. They come from physical damage. Like any kind of computer hardware, laptop keyboards don’t last forever and will begin to fail at some point in the laptop’s lifetime.

Some may think it’s a software or driver issue, or even a possible computer virus, but it’s quite unlikely that those are the case. It could be a connection that’s come loose, but that’s rare.

As a piece of computer hardware, the keyboard will start showing signs of malfunction when it gets damaged. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to update your laptop’s drivers.

Now that we understand the different causes of keyboard failures, we can move onto the kinds of warning signs that you should look out for. These are some obvious and noticeable signs of keyboard failure that you may come across on your laptop.

4 Laptop keyboard failure warning signs to look out for

1. Keys not working

This is pretty straightforward. You’ll notice certain keys don’t respond no matter how much or how hard you press them. Nothing comes out. This could be just a few keys or even a whole row of keys. It’s completely random and unpredictable.

2. Keys repeat itself

This type of malfunction happens when you press a key once and the output appears to be repeated many times. Say your F key is repeating itself. You could press it once and out comes “fffff”. It could get annoying when you’re trying to type emails or work on documents.

3. Keys come out with a different output

Another instance of a keyboard not working properly, this issue happens when you press one key and a different thing comes out. You could press the F key and the number 9 comes out. And then you’ll have to work around this quirk, keeping in mind to press which key for which thing until you can’t take it anymore.

4. Keys are jammed, or stuck

A laptop keyboard is a part with connective points and mechanical parts. Over a period of use, the keys can get jammed, just by wear and tear, or from external factors like dust and liquid spills.

Sugary liquids can cause the keys to stick together, and pieces of debris can jam the keys. So when you can’t seem to press down the keys, or notice that keys are stuck to its base, you know you have a problem.

5. Apple laptops are no exception

No doubt, Apple laptops are well built with premium quality. But its build quality does not help protect against dust and water spill.

Personally, I believe that Apple’s higher quality build does help reduce the damage of water and dust on its internal parts. But this comes purely from the fact that I’ve seen a higher chance of repair success rate on Apple laptops only.

Repairs on Apple laptops are more difficult due to their design, but (counter-intuitively) at the same time easier due to Apple spare parts are widely available in the market.

How can I be sure? Here’s how you can test your keyboard

If you have a spare external keyboard, use it to test whether your keyboard is indeed faulty. Plug in it, and test the keys that you usually have problems with. You’ll be able to confirm that your laptop’s keyboard is indeed faulty when everything works fine with the external keyboard. Then you’ll need to fix this internal problem.

So far, that’s the only way to test whether you have a keyboard failure. Pre-boot diagnostics won’t be able to test the part, and you don’t really need to open up the laptop to check things out.

Opening up a laptop just to see what’s going on when you can already confirm the problem can be unproductive to the problem at hand. This can also harm the laptop as well. That’s a common mistake that users make when they try to fix their computer by themselves. We try to only open up a laptop when we’re actually fixing the hardware, and not as a testing method.

How to fix a dead laptop keyboard

The tricky thing with laptop keyboards is, there’s no fix for only one specific faulty key. Even if one key is dead, the whole keyboard will need to be replaced.

If you see retailers selling individual keycaps for faulty keys, those won’t fix your problem as they are only cosmetic. With that said though, if your problem is merely a lost keycap that’s popped off, then sure, you can get an individual key cap fit back in easy as.

Keyboard repairs are known to be quite complicated, as the keyboard is usually hard to get to. When you open up the laptop to take the keyboard out, most of the time you’ll need to get through the motherboard to reach the keyboard.

The motherboard is a delicate piece of circuitry that takes experienced hands to deal with. If you’re not that confident in your tech repair skills, you might want to get it checked out by a professional.

Laptop keyboard is no longer easy-to-replace for consumers

Back in the early days of computers (the era of Windows XP to Windows 7), laptop keyboards were much easier to be replaced. You simply pop it up from the keyboard frame to install a new one.

Unfortunately, newer models of laptops, especially ultrabooks are no longer repair-friendly for end-users.

Since laptops are getting slimmer and more portable, manufacturers no longer make them easy to replace keyboards.

It’s certainly an improvement in terms of improving the laptop’s appearance, but it comes at a cost. Replacing the keyboard means the laptop battery, hard drive, fan, motherboard, etc have to be removed first before you can even get to the keyboard.

Not only that, most keyboards are fixed into the frame. After removing the broken keyboard, you’ll have a great deal of trouble securing the new one properly. You need lots of experience to do this.

Apple MacBook keyboards are incredibly difficult to replace

Incredibly difficult! Yes it is absolutely difficult to replace keyboards for Apple MacBook laptops ever since the butterfly keyboard design came out.

It is a painful, time-consuming challenge when it comes to replacing keyboards for Apple Mac laptops. You literally have to rip out, break every key in the old keyboard to remove the keys one by one.

There are no more screws to install a new keyboard either. You have to use super glue to help secure the new keyboard. Every mistake is costly and you’ll have to repeat the whole process again.

If your laptop has a keyboard problem, it’s almost inevitable that you’ll need a professional computer repairer to do it for you.

Getting your laptop repaired by a professional

With how complex the process is with most laptop keyboard repairs, you might be turning to a more “hands-off” approach and hand it off to a professional. That’s where we can help!

At Safemode Computer Service, we are always happy to help with any computer issue, from Macbook butterfly keyboard repairs to Windows PC hard drive failures. We are located in Enmore, conveniently in the Inner West of Sydney.

With our highly-rated services and our friendly technicians, trust us to diagnose and fix your computer issues expertly. Call us today or come down to our Enmore store today!

10 tips and tricks for a better Apple macOS experience

Did you know that your Mac has built-in tools for better productivity and performance? Apple Macs are popular for their smooth user experience and high quality hardware. In this guide, we’ll be looking at the various tips and tricks for every Mac user to take on.

1. How to clean up storage space

Perhaps you’re looking for more space to fit more files on your Mac, or you’ve got an alert that says “Startup disk full” or “You disk is almost full”. Either way, clearing your hard drive of unused files not only gives you more room to work with, it could also improve the performance of software and apps.

To do this, we’ll have to check out how much storage you have on your Mac’s hard disk. Go to About this Mac from the Apple menu, then click on “Storage”. There you’ll see a brief overview of how much storage you have, and what kind of files take up the most space. To look at how you can optimise your Mac’s storage, click “Manage”.

From the Recommendations tab, you should be able to find four options to manage and optimise your storage. These include, Store in iCloud, Optimize Storage, Empty Trash Automatically, and Reduce Clutter. All four of these methods could help with cleaning up some files and documents that hog up your hard disk.

Along with getting rid of files on your hard drive, you could also look into uninstalling apps that you don’t use anymore. Under the Applications window, go through the apps that you don’t need anymore and uninstall them. These apps take up space, and will rarely be of use anyway. Another thing is, because applications are installed on your OS, uninstalling them could make things easier for your Mac.

2. How to use Time Machine to back up your data

For personal data backups, most people are used to just dragging and dropping to their USB drives or external hard drives. Apple’s Time Machine is a more convenient and quick solution to creating regular backups to an external storage space. All you need is an external storage device, something like a USB or Thunderbolt drive should work. You could also use dedicated devices like AirPort Time Capsules.

To set up a Time Machine, connect the external storage and then you can choose whether you want to encrypt the backups. After you’ve selected a backup disk, Time Machine will begin to make regular backups automatically from time to time. You should be able to continue using your Mac as usual while these backups are underway. If you want to start a backup manually, you can click “Back Up Now” from the Time Machine menu. From this menu. You can also check on the status of a backup or skip an automatic backup.

3. How to check your Mac’s battery health

Unlike Windows devices, Apple Macs provide information on its battery health. This gives the user a better idea of when they should be replacing their MacBook laptop’s battery.

Laptop batteries are consumable parts that have an approximate lifespan of 2-4 years. Battery failures can also go awry pretty quickly, as the lithium-ion parts are quite volatile when malfunctioning. They can catch on fire, or explode. So with that said, it’s a good idea to catch these problems before they get dangerous.

To check your MacBook’s battery health, click on the battery icon on the menu bar. The status should read either: Normal, Service battery, Replace soon, or Replace now. You can also find a more detailed report from your MacBook’s System Report, under the Power tab. Information about the battery’s power capacity and charging cycles.

4. How to reinstall macOS

Sometimes you Mac might need a little refresher, or you want to reset it back to factory settings before selling it. You can do this by reinstalling macOS. Be sure to back up your data before doing this though, as reinstalling macOS will wipe out everything on the Mac.

To reinstall macOS, restart your Mac and hold Command + R at startup. You’ll reach macOS Utilities. Select “reinstall macOS”, then choose a language. The process will begin and your Mac will download and install the right version of macOS for you.

5. How to screenshot individual elements

The traditional way of screenshotting screen images on an Apple Mac is by holding these three keys: command, shift, 3. What if you want to screenshot individual elements without having to go through image editing and cropping what you need?

There is a way to do this, so you can screenshot elements like the menu bar, dock, or any open windows. Hold down command + shift + 4, then press and release the spacebar. Then you can click on the thing that you want.

6. How to use Apple Diagnostics

Apple Diagnostics is a handy tool that can help you find possible faults with your hardware. It’s helpful to run this maybe every few months, even if your Mac seems to be running normally. This way you might be able to catch problems earlier, before it starts to create bigger problems for you. Apple Diagnostics can test hardware like the hard drive, RAM, or battery.

Simply restart your Mac and press the D key when it turns on. Apple Diagnostics should run immediately after. If it finds any issues, it will report them along with an error reference code and support solutions.

Help with Apple Mac repair solutions

If you require any help with your Mac, you’d generally make an appointment at the Apple genius bar. But there are certain situations where you might not be able to get help. Your warranty might be expired, or that the problem is out of their reach.

That would bring you to a repair shop like us. At Safemode Computer Service, we are dedicated to providing the best Mac repair service in Sydney. Our experienced repair technicians can help you with any Mac issue, from logic board repairs to iMac screen replacements. Call us today to make an appointment at our Enmore store.

3 Computer issues that your device is prone to having

Ever wondered what kind of computer issues that you could run into during your computer’s lifespan? Every computer user is bound to experience some sort of computer hardware issue. Each part of the computer works together to function, so once one part starts to fail, it is quite noticeable in your computing experience.

From our technical experience, we’ve found that some common computer issues come from the hard drive, motherboard, or the keyboard. All these hardware faults could cause various disruptions in performance and functioning. In this guide we will cover the different error messages and issues that come with hardware failure.

Hard drive failure

Whether you have a hard disk drive (HDD), solid-state drive (SSD, flash storage), or a combination of the two, you will likely experience a hard drive failure. Hard drive issues are very common in the world of technology. This is mostly because they generally don’t last very long. While SSDs are less prone to damage compared to HDDs, they are still vulnerable to bad sectors. If you’re familiar with what bad sectors are, then you’ll know that they are unavoidable.

Why do hard drives fail?

Hard drives are made quite sturdy, but can still get damaged from physical damage. Or they can also be damaged from software issues. These two types of damage can cause hard and soft bad sectors. Physical damage like blunt force, or air and dust contamination increases your chances of getting hard bad sectors. They will have to be marked off the drive so it doesn’t try to read and write on there. Software issues like viruses or improper shutdown while the drive is writing information would then cause soft bad sectors.

All this does sound quite daunting, but not to worry, a small amount of bad sectors is totally fine. In fact, every hard drive ships with a tiny amount of bad sectors. As long as it is only in a small part of the drive, you’re good. But when bad sectors accumulate and spread out on the drive, it is intolerable and the drive will start to fail. And this type of failure can definitely show in various ways, depending on how far gone the drive is.

What hard drive failure can look like

Unlike straightforward computer errors like screen or keyboard damage, hard drive failure can come in varied ways. Luckily with our computer repair experience, we can recognise a few of these signs and know where to look. Some of them are pretty apparent, so you can also figure them out yourself.

Your hard drive is usually used as the boot drive. This means that it is essential for starting up your laptop or desktop computer. Not only does it contain all your files, it also contains the operating system (OS) and necessary boot files. Without them, your device won’t run at all. So a faulty hard drive could get you computer startup issues.

These sort of startup issues come with system error messages like “no bootable device”, or “operating system not found”. All this just means that the boot files are either corrupted or lost from hard drive damage. With this, the system will have trouble starting up, or won’t start up at all. Sometimes startup repair can fix startup errors. But when the drive is too far gone, it may not work.

While data corruption can occur to boot files, other files on the hard drive can also get corrupted. An accumulation of bad sectors could also slow down your computer, as writing and reading processes get interrupted with these damaged parts of the drive. Keeping regular backups of the files that you need could be a smart way to combat sudden data loss.

How to fix a faulty hard drive

When you do find that your hard drive is faulty, the solution is pretty straightforward: replace it! A hard drive replacement is a fairly easy repair job to do. It can also be a simple way to refresh your computer. You could also consider getting an upgrade to a better performing drive, or an upgrade from an HDD to and SSD. This can get you the performance boost you’ve been looking for in your computing experience.

But first, we do need to test the hard drive before repairing it. You can start with built-in utilities like chdsk or pre-boot diagnostics, then move on to extensive tests on dedicated software. That way you can thoroughly detect and confirm hard drive issues. Because sometimes, even though you think you’re sure about something, it could be some other issue on your computer. Learn more about common hard drive error messages and how to fix them in our guide here.

Motherboard failure

While motherboard failure can happen a lot, it can be very hard to detect and repair, even for computer technicians themselves. The motherboard, or logic board, connects all the parts of the computer together. It is like the nervous system of the entire computer. Signals are sent from the processor through the motherboard for the rest of the system to work properly together.

So you can probably imagine what would happen if the motherboard stopped working. Without the motherboard as the nervous system, none of the components can communicate with each other. Most of the time, this would lead to the computer’s inability to turn on. When it does turn on, it might not even start booting up at all.

Why do motherboards fail?

Motherboards usually get damaged by physical accidents or natural wear and tear. This kind of physical damage could corrode or rust the connective points of the motherboard.

When a computer is not properly cooled down and has blocked fans due to dust accumulation or faulty fans, overheating may occur. Not only does an overheated computer work less efficiently, the undispersed heat can also warp the motherboard. So you might want to make sure that your computer is clean and can cool itself properly and efficiently.

Another common thing that quickly kills a motherboard is liquid spill damage. We’d like to say that spilling a drink is something that can be avoided, but sometimes it just happens. Or you might have left it out in the rain by accident. Liquid spill usually gets to the keyboard first, then seeps into the motherboard. It can cause rust or even corrosion on the circuits, depending on what kind of liquid was spilled. Read more about liquid spill damage and what not to do when you’ve spilled on your laptop here. Definitely don’t reach for that rice now.

What a motherboard failure can look like

Motherboard failures are sometimes not as clear as hard drive failures can be. There are still some signs that could point you in the right direction. So you’ll have an idea to test which component first.

When your computer does not turn on at all and seems to be dead, this could be a sign that the motherboard is dead as well. Sometimes it does turn on, but does not pass the Power-On Self Test. Not passing POST means there is something seriously wrong that the computer will not start to boot at all. A more apparent sign would also be the computer not turning on after getting liquid spilled on it.

Some specific laptop models also have some signs that point to a motherboard issue. Incredibly dim screens on Apple Macbook Air and Macbook Pro laptops is an example of this. The LED screen brightness on these laptops is controlled by the logic board. So when it is not lit properly, the logic board is probably malfunctioning.

Certain Dell laptop charger lights could also be an indicator of motherboard failures. From our repair experience, we’ve found that when the charger is plugged in and both the charger light and the laptop doesn’t turn on, the problem is usually a faulty motherboard. There’s not really a reason for this, it’s just something we’ve noticed over time.

How to fix a faulty motherboard

As motherboard errors are so hard to detect, thorough testing should definitely be done to confirm a motherboard fault. As there is no specific test for motherboard diagnostics, we’ll have to test it out by eliminating other components. This would be either the RAM or GPU, which may require some disassembly. Especially when your laptop or desktop computer does not turn on at all. When you do find that your motherboard is faulty, you can replace the entire board to fix it. Some repairs may also allow you to only replace small parts of the motherboard. To find out how to test and repair a faulty motherboard, read our guide here.

Keyboard damages

Laptop keyboards are also quite easy to break, as they are moving parts that have gaps in between. Sometimes the keys might come loose or not work at all. These days laptops are designed to be more advanced and travel-friendly, so parts are usually made thinner. This is also the case for keyboards on modern laptops like Ultrabooks. They are generally harder to repair and easier to break.

Keyboards are also prone to rust and dust damage, due to the gaps between keys. Air and dust can get in the keyboard and wear out keys. This includes liquid spill damage as well. If not kept in a cool and dry environment, an unused keyboard may also fail as well.

To fix a damaged keyboard, you’ll need to get it replaced. The thing is, even if you want to fix a keyboard with only one worn out key, you have to replace the whole keyboard. With this, we have to take out everything else to get to the keyboard. And because of certain thin designs, taking out a keyboard for a replacement can sometimes be quite tricky. Something like the butterfly keyboard on Apple Macbooks are especially difficult to repair due to their intricate and thin design.

Healthy computing habits

So now you know what can happen to your computer, now’s the time to think about precautions. Keeping regular habits could help you be prepared for any eventual computer failure.

Back up data

For the safe storage of your data in case of any data loss, we recommend regularly backing up data. The more the better, actually. You may also store it both online and on an external hard drive. That way your precious files are protected against data loss or corrupt when your hard drive starts to fail.

Ensure proper ventilation and cooling

Overheating is not only bad for the motherboard, it can also harm other parts of the computer. So make sure your laptop vents are clear of obstruction and no dust has accumulated in the fan. That way your system can efficiently disperse heat for normal computer functioning.

Getting a professional repair

Suspecting that you have computer hardware issues? You may be thinking of taking it to a repair shop to avoid all the hassle. That way you can get a professional opinion about fixing your laptop or desktop computer. A brand authorised service centre or a third-party repair service might be where you’re headed.

An authorised service centre can usually get you specialised free service. That is as long as your warranty or care plan is still valid, of course. Still sometimes you might not be able to get a repair. You might not be able to get repairs that involve obsolete devices, liquid spill damage, or complete motherboard replacements. That would probably get you to try out a third-party repair service.

We’re here to help! At Safemode Computer Service, we can offer you a free checkup and quote when you bring your computer to us. Is your brand authorised service centre too far away? If you are in Inner West Sydney, consider us! We are in the heart of the Inner West, in Enmore. With our expert technicians and highly-rated service, we can definitely help with your computer repair needs. Give us a call at 1800 85 83 82.

Why you should be thinking about your computer’s repairability

As a computer user, you’ve probably owned a fair few devices over the years. When your computer starts to fail, you may see this as a sign or opportunity to buy a new computer. Rather than repairing the part that may be causing you trouble, buying a new computer may be exciting and all, but a simple repair may actually get you a long time on the computer. You might be able to get upgrades to boost your laptop’s performance as well.

All this depends on the repairability of the computer. These days a lot of new models come with flashy features and are more travel-friendly. However, these features come at the cost of the computer’s repairability. This benefits the brand, but not the consumer when they can’t get their computers repaired early into the life of the device. In this guide we will be looking at what makes computers harder to repair and how you should go about choosing a more sustainable device.

What makes computers harder to repair

Using glue over screws

Screws were more commonly used for laptop and desktop computer assembly. This changed with the manufacturing process of gluing parts together instead of screws. Laptop screens are often glued together these days, which makes it impossible to replace only the display screen. With these glued together parts, it’s very easy to break the screen while replacing it.

Other parts that are assembled by glue would also take longer time to repair or replace. The repair technician would have to take the time to melt the glue to take out the faulty parts for repair.

For example, Apple iMac screens are mounted onto its frame using strong double sided tape which make repairs very difficult. This comes with a higher risk of damaging the screen as well. This is also the case for touch screen laptops with screwless designs. Generally “thin” spells out “difficult and expensive to fix”.

Soldering

Traditionally, computers were bulkier and heavier, and actually well made. These days they adopt more of a thinner design for convenience. Assembly of components has changed from “through-hole soldering” to “surface mount soldering” to accommodate for newer designs. This is so that manufacturers can squeeze more power into smaller computers.

With this type of assembly, the computer’s durability is sacrificed. This reduces its lifespan. Having said that, there are still some very durable computers out there in the market, like those that are built as business-grade laptops.

Thin parts and design

The thin designs of laptops and its components make them delicate and challenging to navigate through, when we’re taking out parts to repair. They require more experienced and careful hands to prevent breaking parts that are working normally while repairing the faulty parts.

Some models of laptops are also designed in a way that is very lightweight and convenient for travel. This kind of design then loses a great deal of repairability. Such models like the Surface Pro and Surface Book are often deemed impossible to fix. These models aren’t really made to be opened up, and require a lot of force that will inflict further damage to do so.

Replacement part accessibility across brands

Branded parts from Apple, Dell, and HP have universal part look-up systems with part numbers that you can refer to when ordering. There we can easily find the right part for the specific computer model that needs repairing. They can also be ordered directly from the brand manufacturer or from other suppliers as well.

Other brands might not be able to offer such convenience, namely Acer and Asus. Both brands don’t have universal part numbers for computer components. This way, you can’t readily search for the part that you need for your computer. It would take a little bit more digging around to find the right component. Without part numbers, you’ll have to inspect visually to make sure that you’ve got the right one.

Users of Acer and Asus laptops usually have less repair options than brands that offer more accessible replacement parts. However, it is common that technicians do not always look up parts by part number because searching by part number could limit your choices for parts in the market.

High cost replacement parts

The high cost of certain replacement parts can make the computer’s repair less accessible as well. The cost of these replacement parts can be from how much the brand marks them to be, or that the part is made more advanced and powerful than other alternatives.

Premium brands or models such as Apple, Dell XPS 13, Dell Latitude, Lenovo X1 are more expensive to purchase and more expensive to fix. Simply because they have more expensive components and higher specs parts. If you are prepared to fork out a few thousand dollars to buy a laptop, don’t expect a $100 bill to fix it.

Apple is known as a tech company that makes premium products that run on Apple’s specialised software and operating systems. With that said, replacement or upgrade parts that they make are also quite expensive.

Apple also makes their own proprietary parts and screws specific to only Apple devices. This makes things harder for a regular consumer who does not own the right screwdrivers or tools to fix their Apple laptops. The use of proprietary parts might also give the consumer less replacement or upgrade options for their Apple Mac laptops or desktop computers.

Laptops that come with higher capacity batteries that last more longer than regular ones will also cost more to replace. These batteries are often found in Apple MacBook Air, MacBook Pro laptops and Ultrabook laptops. If the laptop you’re looking at purchasing has a user-replaceable battery, this is a sign that it will be cheaper to replace the battery. This is because it’s simply a matter of sliding out the old battery in place of a new one, something that you can just do yourself.

How repairs are done and how the computer’s repairability affects this

Computer repairs usually go like this: We test to confirm a possible hardware failure, order replacement parts if needed, then repair and do final tests. This promises a thorough diagnosis and a sure solution to the problem detected. A computer’s repairability does play a large part in the process, as it determines how the repair should be tackled. With a lower repairability, more work might be needed to take out other parts of the computer to get to the part that needs fixing. Let’s see how the computer’s repairability affects each step in the repair process:

1. Initial testing

When a computer is not working properly and disrupts usual performance, this may be a sign of a hardware issue. You can then run diagnostics on the device to find out what’s causing these issues. Sometimes these tests involve taking out the part to test on a different desktop computer. If the laptop is not made to be easily opened by unscrewing bottom screws, the process will be more complicated.

Popular makes from Apple, Dell, HP, or Lenovo are often easier to diagnose for problems by yourself. Manufacturers provide built-in testing utilities, better part look-up systems and after-sales support. Replacement parts are also easily identified and sourced.

If it’s easier for you, it’ll be easier for a computer technician to do the testing too. Though we technicians have access to better tools, we still partially rely on support from manufacturers to test and order spare parts. While we at Safemode Computer Service provide free quick testing and free quotes, it is common that some repair shops don’t do the same. The more complicated the tests are, the more you’ll need to pay.

Learn how to test for common hardware failure such as your hard drive or motherboard in our guides.

2. Ordering parts

When parts are not easily found or identified, it makes finding a replacement a little more harder. Replacement parts that cannot be identified via a part number will need to be found by looking with our own eyes. It can be a real inconvenience if you miss something and receive the wrong part after ordering. In some situations, even the manufacturing brand cannot offer any part replacement solutions.

For brands that make their own proprietary parts or screws, it can also take time to source the right tools and parts needed. This is especially for some Apple Macbook laptops that use proprietary pentalobe screws and Apple-only components. You can’t use widely-owned screwdrivers or any other component for replacement repairs. Usually you’ll have to find the exact same component or other compatible alternatives.

3. Repairing or replacing computer parts

Earlier we’ve learnt that a computer’s design can affect how the repairs are done. When a computer is hard to open up, or its parts are less accessible for repair, its repairability is brought down.

Parts of a computer usually aren’t assembled in the same way or position in different models. Some parts are fit in different places compared to other laptops. Parts like the screen, keyboard, and motherboard are unique to every laptop model, and its assembly would also require specific methods. Some easier repairs like RAM and hard drive replacements are pretty straightforward, but can also differ depending on how the part is fixed on the device.

Parts that are glued or soldered on to the laptop are more tricky to deal with. They take more effort to take out, compared to parts that are fixed with screws. Specific tools are needed for these processes, which regular consumers may not even own.

Thin and delicate parts in particular, are also quite challenging to repair. For less experienced hands, one slip could break other parts of the computer. Things like glass screens or thin keyboards could complicate the repair process.

What to buy if you want higher computer repairability

If you’re thinking about keeping your computer for longer, look out for ones that give you better repairability. That way, even when a small component fails, you can repair it easily and might not even need to break the bank. You can look out for this with a computer’s model and design. Popular tech repair site ifixit also offers reviews for popular computer models, which includes repairability ratings.

Screw adhesives

Components that are fixed with simple screws are great for repairability. You won’t need proprietary screwdrivers or tools to take things out. This makes things easier for the regular consumer to fix things. Without soldering or glue, these parts can be taken out quite easily.

Pick something that opens up

Before we get to the components, we also should make sure that the laptop can be opened up fairly easily. Screws will also benefit you in this case. A straightforward opening process will definitely make things easier. If the laptop requires stronger force to open up, there’s a chance that you might also break something inside.

Clever designs

Certain models have clear designs that allow better accessibility and ease when repairing things. Relatively modular and flat designs let you get to a single part effortlessly. You won’t need to take out other components to get to it.

For keyboard repairs, certain laptop models that have a tiny gap surrounding the keyboard also have better repairability. This small gap usually indicates that the keyboard can be taken out from the top. Usual keyboard repairs involve opening up the laptop’s back cover, then taking out everything else to get to the keyboard. By being able to take out the keyboard from the top, we don’t have to go through such a hassle.

What not to buy if you want higher computer repairability

Sleek computer designs that complicate things

As we’ve covered, newer sleeker models often contain flimsy parts that are glued or soldered on. These travel-friendly laptops may seem flashy and all, but having a low repairability may make things very frustrating when something does start to fail. It might not be worth it if you can’t fix things on such an advanced machine.

This also includes specific parts like Apple’s butterfly keyboard, an advanced and thinner keyboard design. Its design makes for a thinner keyboard, where less space is needed as the keys move less when pressed. While it does seem like an improvement, it also comes with a lot of issues like key jamming and failure. Its thin design makes it more delicate, and assembly could also hurt other components like the motherboard.

Touchscreen laptops

Many laptops now come with touchscreen. If the touch function is not a must-have for you, we suggest that you opt for a non-touchscreen laptop instead. A laptop touchscreen is made of two parts, the LED screen that displays images and a touch panel that is sensitive to your fingers’ touch. It is common nowadays that the LED screen and the touch panel are glued together and cannot be separated. This contributes to higher costs to replace either part because you will have to pay for both parts, not just one.

Laptops that aren’t made to be opened up

Models like Microsoft’s Surface Laptops aren’t made to be opened with simple tools. You can only open it up with a great deal of force that might inflict more damage to the laptop. There are usually no repair options for Surface Laptops. Macbooks that use proprietary pentalobe screws may also prevent you from getting inside without the right tools needed.

A final word

Green computing is something we certainly support, and repairing our electronics is a sustainable practice. Computers that are easier to repair or upgrade can give you a longer life on the device. You can keep up or improve your computer’s performance along the line. This means you can keep it for a long time.

When you don’t want the computer anymore, its high repairability can also be good for the environment. As long as it is simple enough to disassemble, recycling the computer will be easier.

Got a question for us?

Our technicians at Safemode Computer Service are always happy to help! We can assist with any repair problems and advise you with your repairs. With highly rated services across Sydney, we can offer check ups and quotes for free instore (Ts & Cs apply). Come on down to our Enmore store today for a chat!

Reported Problems:

An Apple MacBook Air laptop was booked in with keyboard problem.

     

Owner of the laptop spilled water onto the keyboard of the Mac, since then the keyboard didn’t work properly. Random letters came up when typing. The laptop booted up straight into Safe Boot as if Shift key was engaged.

     

On this Apple MacBook Air, its keyboard unit is integrated into its aluminium casing. The keyboard is connected to touchpad unit, and touchpad unit is, via a ribbon cable, connected to logic board. Thus the problem may lie within any of these units. Replacing the keyboard unit does NOT guarantee to fix the problem. We have come across a different job (same Apple MacBook Air that had water spilt on) that had the same problem but due to both damaged keyboard and touchpad (demonstrated in another post).

The Repairs:

Using available spare parts and a number of tests, we have determined that the laptop keyboard needs to be replaced.

Let’s first have a look at its bottom cover.

     

Battery need to be disconnected to stop power going in to the laptop, so let’s take the battery out from the laptop.

There we’ll see logic board, fan and other parts. All these parts need to be removed before keyboard can be taken out.

Take extra precaution here because these electronic parts are sensitive, any “minor” accidental damages can cause great damages to the computer.

     

Once fan, logic board, wireless adaptor etc are removed from the laptop, we should have the below (speakers not yet removed).

Now let’s take out a same keyboard (integrated in aluminum case).

Different MacBook Air has different keyboard, make sure the part is compatible otherwise it will not fit and will not work.

Now we need to remove the keyboard and bottom casing from the laptop’s display panel. The job is simpler from here. Let’s put in the new keyboard, connect it to the display panel, reassemble the laptop and test it out.

The laptop starts up fine, open TextEdit and check every key.

All the keys are now working as they should. Another Apple MacBook Air laptop fixed successfully.

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