Laptop Keyboard Replacement Ottawa

Quick check: keyboard or something else?

1. Plug in a USB keyboard. If it types normally, Windows and the laptop are fine and the built-in keyboard is the problem. If the external keyboard misbehaves too, the fault is in software or elsewhere in the laptop.
2. Restart and test before anything loads. Keys that work on the startup screens but not in Windows point to a driver or software issue rather than the keyboard itself.
3. Think back to spills. Keys that started failing after a drink went over need the board under them checked, not only a new keyboard.

Why we replace the whole keyboard

We don't replace single keys. By the time one key has failed, the ones around it have seen the same wear, and more usually follow. Fixing one key often costs too much for what it buys you, so a complete replacement is the more economical repair and the one that lasts.

What the replacement involves

How the keyboard comes out depends on the laptop. On some models it lifts out from the top after a few screws and a ribbon cable. On many thinner laptops it's riveted or glued into the palm rest, and the palm rest assembly is replaced with the keyboard already fitted. We tell you which one your laptop uses when we quote.

Either way, the battery is disconnected first, the old keyboard's ribbon cable is released from its connector, the new keyboard goes in, and every key is tested, backlight included on backlit models, before the laptop is closed up.

What we look at on the rest of the laptop

The keyboard connector on the board gets a close look, since a damaged connector can make a new keyboard act like the old one. If a spill was involved, we check the board under the keyboard for liquid and corrosion. Liquid that reached the board is a board-level repair, the same micro-soldering work we do on liquid-damaged MacBooks.

We replace keyboards on all the major brands, including Dell, HP, Lenovo, ASUS, Acer, MSI, Samsung and Toshiba. MacBook keyboard replacements are part of our MacBook repair service.