I have a 2010 MacBook Air and the L key is unresponsive. No spills, ever. Is it possible to remove the key and check underneath it for any grit under it? Any other troubleshooting suggestions? I tried resetting the SMC with no luck.
Thanks for any advice.
ken
MacBook Air 13″, macOS 10.12
Unfortunately this sounds like a keyboard hardware failure. But I would try using a can of compressed air to blow around the key first. If you try to pry the key up and it breaks you’re out of luck.
Now for the bad news. A now 15 year MacBook Air will be hard to find parts for and Apple will no longer service your Mac. You might check for third party repair shops that will do this using salvaged parts.
Bottom line may be to consider retiring your MacBook Air and replacing it with a new one. This is the time of the year when Apple releases new hardware and software.
Here is the official cleaning procedure:
How to clean the keyboard of your MacBook or MacBook Pro - Apple Support
The MacBook Air keyboard repair is a top-case replacement.
Not cheap.
Keys are not removable.
You’re headed for a newer or new Mac, if the cleaning fails, or if the switch has failed.
A switch failure in a fifteen year old MacBook Air would not surprise.
An external keyboard, and maybe a shortcut, and the virtual keyboard, can be used pending repair or replacement.
Thank you both for your replies! Much appreciated. I replaced that 2010 MB Air computer in 2017, with a new MacBook Air, so my old one doesn't owe me anything. I am a photographer and needed a faster processor and more storage space for what was my travel computer. I just replaced that 2017 Air with a brand new MacBook Air with M4 processor, yesterday. The 2017 still works fine, but larger camera files are calling for another, faster machine with more storage. So it all boils down to the fact that I am very sentimental about my older computers... I didn't use the 2010 much but I just like to see if I can keep them all going. So there is no longer any reason to hang on to the 2010. But it served me well and I hate to part with it... :-( Thank you both so much for your help and information .
Ken
I have a 2010 MacBook Air with an unresponsive L key
