Apple Pro Keyboard M7803 Disassembly

• Apple Pro Keyboard M7803 Disassembly Manual
• Apple Pro Keyboard M7803 Disassembly Tool
• Apple Pro Keyboard M7803 Disassembly Instructions

The Apple Pro Keyboard is mushy and unresponsive, but worst of all, it traps and showcases dirt inside its clear plastic shell as if it were a disgusting work of art.

To get service for your Mac, you can make a reservation at an Apple Store or an Apple Authorized Service Provider. Make sure you know your Apple ID and password before your appointment. Or, if you have a Mac notebook, contact us and we'll send you a box you can use to ship it to an Apple Repair Center. I confirmed that this is just a failed keyboard by turning it on using the power-on pads. The keyboard is attached to the internal side of the top cover assembly. In order to remove and replace the keyboard the entire MacBook Pro (MBP) has to be disassembled. You can find the year of your MBP by running the serial number on Apple website. David Savery's Pro mouse disassembly/repair. Byron Gracey's Disassembly of an Apple Pro Keyboard (model M7803) Stephan Kurz's Disassembly of an Apple USB Keyboard (model M2452, the ones that came with the original iMac) Lloyd Sommerer's Opening and Repairing an Apple Pro Mouse Other. David Savery's Laserwriter 12/640PS memory upgrade. The Magic Keyboard is an amazing companion for iPad Pro and iPad Air. It features a great typing experience, a trackpad that opens up new ways to work with iPadOS, a USB‑C port for pass‑through charging, and front and back protection. BTW, I don't know which keyboard you're talking about, but if it's the M7803 Pro Keyboard you'll want to disassemble it to access the colored bezel. You may need to Retrobrite this also. The above will generally get the A1048 looking good. BTW, I've been working on an IBM Model M the last few days and have folks amazed that it's even the same.

If you want to get back to your pristine-looking APK, it takes a fair amount of effort to take apart and clean. This guide should save you a bit of the stumbling around it takes to discover how to disassemble the thing, and let you get to the nitty-gritty, as it were.

You will need:

• Surface cleaning solution (Formula 409, Windex Surface, or similar)
• Paper towels, Q-tips and an old toothbrush
• Small plastic bin with a watertight lid
• Keycap-puller tool, or a plastic or nylon stick of some sort
• #1 and #2 Philips screwdrivers
• T5 Torx driver
• Someplace to put the screws that you’ll remove, keeping them in order. Maybe a nice little segmented container.
• Silicone grease

First, the APK in question:

Doesn’t look too terrible at this resolution, but trust me — up close, it looks positively horrid.

First, we’ll pop off the keys, and OH MY GOD WHAT THE HELL IS THAT.

Apple Pro Keyboard M7803 Disassembly Manual

Popping off the keys is very straightforward if you have a keycap-puller tool, but really any thin, flat blade can be used to pop ‘em off in a pinch. Just be careful about scratching up the case if you’re using a metal screwdriver or something like that. Once you have the keycaps off, you can also use the blade to pry off the three plastic rectangles that separate the function keys on the top row. Once you get under the edge, they pop off just like the keycaps do.

Toss them in the plastic bin, spritz ‘em with the surface cleaner, and let them soak for a few minutes. Maybe several. We’ll move on to separating the upper frame while those get all nice and soak-y.

To remove the upper frame, first flip the keyboard upside down and remove the four Torx/hex screws on the back, being careful to keep them in order (they’re two different lengths):

To be perfectly honest, they look like tiny hex, but the T5 Torx was the bit I had that worked. Let me know if you discover a better fit.

Turn the keyboard back over, and lift up on the top edge of the clear plastic frame, and gently wiggle the plastic clips free across the bottom edge of the keyboard.

Now, we can work on releasing the white middle bits from the acrylic sandwich. Remove the three tiny Philips screws from the middle of the keyboard (again they’re two different lengths, keep ‘em sorted):

Now to the two Philips screws that hold on the clear acrylic clamp around the USB cable:

Great! Now we’re ready to gently lift on the… Crap! There’s still another screw, isn’t there?

Turns out you need to need to punch a hole in the label on the back of your keyboard, here:

…to get at this screw:

This probably voids your warranty, but seeing as how any Apple Pro Keyboard is at least seven years old at this point, your warranty’s long over anyway. Still, if you void your warranty, break your keyboard, spill something horrible and sticky in it, and your computer explodes, it’s your own damn fault. Don’t come crying to me.

Now, we can finally lift up gently on the white bits in the middle (the USB “hub” ports may take a little individual nudging) and separate everything so we can really get at it.

The clear acrylic bits can withstand the surface cleaner straight up, but the white surface where the keycaps pop on needs an indirect touch. Spray a bit of cleaner on the toothbrush, and use that to scrub between all the nooks and crannies. You don’t want to spray it directly on, as then it may leak into the rubber membrane area where the keys press down, and you might gunk it up or short something out if it hasn’t dried before you plug things back in.

Use the Q-tips to get in the tight spots, and in the super-tight front edge of the upper frame where the clips are, I found a paper towel wrapped around the edge of a credit card lets you get in there and scrub.

Now, for the keycaps, add some hot tap water to the bin (just enough to cover the keys), put the lid on, and shake, shake, shake, Senora. That lid was water-tight, right?

Use towels (paper or otherwise) to wipe off the keycaps. The long soak and the agitation should have dislodged or loosened most of the oils and dirt that plague keyboards, but if there’s a particularly stubborn spot, feel free to take the toothbrush to the keycaps.

Re-assembly is the reverse of disassembly. Make sure everything’s dry before you start putting it back together. Put a little dab of silicone grease on the little metal wires where they touch the keycaps, and where they slot into the tabs on the white keyboard base.

Never looked better!

Well, okay… maybe the once, a decade ago, but this is pretty close.

You should check out my podcast about movie magic and VFX:The Optical.

In the following guide I explain how to disassemble a MacBook Pro 15″ (Mid 2010) in order to remove and replace the keyboard.

In my case something sticky was spilled on the keyboard and it stopped working completely. In fact, the laptop didn’t even start with the damaged keyboard connected to the motherboard.

I confirmed that this is just a failed keyboard by turning it on using the power-on pads.

The keyboard is attached to the internal side of the top cover assembly. In order to remove and replace the keyboard the entire MacBook Pro (MBP) has to be disassembled.

You can find the year of your MBP by running the serial number on Apple website.

The serial number can be located on the bottom case or memory slot.

For this repair you’ll need the following tools:
– T-6 torx screwdriver.
– PH000 Phillips screwdriver.
– 1.5 mm slotted screwdriver ( I used it for removing battery screws).

MBP has a very small screws. I recommend using only high quality precision screwdrivers. I prefer Wiha screwdrivers.

Before you start the disassembly process make sure the computer is turned off.

Also, keep track of all screws (they are all different). Make notes, pictures, etc… This will make your life much easier during the reassembly process.

STEP 1.

Remove ten screws securing the bottom cover.

STEP 2.

Separate the bottom cover and remove it.

Under the bottom cover you can access the following internal MBP components:
– Memory modules.
– Optical drive.
– Cooling fans.
– Hard drive.
– Notebook battery.
– Motherboard aka logic board.

STEP 3.

The battery is secured by three special screws (tri-wing screws). I was able to remove them using a small 1.5mm slotted screwdriver without any problem.

Be careful, using a wrong screwdriver can easily strip the screw.

STEP 4.

Lift up the battery and unplug the battery cable from the motherboard.

Remove the battery.

STEP 5.

Unscrew two screws securing the hard drive mounting bracket.

STEP 6.

Lift up and remove the hard drive bracket.

STEP 7.

Carefully lift up the hard drive and disconnect the hard drive cable.

Remove the hard drive.

STEP 8.

Remove both memory modules.

Spread latches on both sides of the memory slot. The top memory module with pop up at a 30 degree angle. Pull the top memory module from the slot.

After that pull the bottom memory module.

STEP 9.

Remove six screws securing the cooling fans (three screws per one fan).

STEP 10.

Disconnect both fan cables from the motherboard.

STEP 11.

Remove both cooling fans.

STEP 12.

Remove two screws securing the keyboard and trackpad connectors shield.

Remove the shield.

STEP 13.

Disconnect 10 cables from the motherboard.

Be very careful with connectors 6 and 8. I’ll explain how to unlock different types of connectors in the following pictures.

Unplug the video cable (connector 10).

Here’s how to disconnect the keyboard backlight cable (connector 6).

Carefully lift up the left side of the connector retainer with a small screwdriver.

The retainer will open up at a 90 degree angle.

Now you can pull the keyboard backlight cable from the connector.

Remove the keyboard cable (connector 8) the same way.

First, lift up the connector retainer.

After that pull the keyboard cable from the connector.

Lift up and disconnect the speaker cable (connector 4).

Lift up and disconnect the Wi-Fi/Bluetooth assembly connector. Unlock connectors 1,3,5,7,9 the same way.

Unplug the camera cable form the connector on the motherboard.

STEP 14.

Remove nine screws securing the motherboard and MagSafe board.

STEP 15.

Start removing the motherboard from the left side.

Lift up the left side and work the right side of the motherboard out of the notebook case.

Note: you can leave the MagSafe board connected to the notebook case but in this case you’ll have to unplug it from the motherboard.

I found it easier to remove the motherboard with the MagSafe board attached.

STEP 16.

Remove the motherboard.

STEP 17.

Remove two screws securing the Wi-Fi/Bluetooth assembly.

STEP 18.

Move the the Wi-Fi/Bluetooth assembly aside.

STEP 19.

Remove three screws securing the optical drive.

STEP 20.

Lift up and remove the optical drive.

STEP 21.

Remove two screws securing the mounting bracket.

STEP 22.

Remove the mounting bracket.

STEP 23.

The keyboard almost ready for the removal and replacement.

Carefully separate the trackpad cable from the keyboard assembly.

STEP 24.

Now you can start separating the keyboard backlight from the keyboard.

The backlight has a few layers. Do not separate them from each other.

Be careful if you plan to use the backlight with a new keyboard.

I purchased a new keyboard WITH backlight so I didn’t care much about the original backlight.

STEP 25.

Remove the keyboard backlight.

Apple Pro Keyboard M7803 Disassembly Tool

STEP 26.

Now remove about 70 very small screws securing the keyboard.

STEP 27.

Remove two screws securing the display cable mounting bracket.

STEP 28.

Lift up and remove the bracket.

STEP 29.

Apple Pro Keyboard M7803 Disassembly Instructions

Remove two screws securing the power button.

NOTE: the power button is permanently attached to the keyboard. It’s part of the keyboard.

STEP 30.

Start removing the keyboard.

STEP 31.

While removing the keyboard pay attention to the power button.

There is a metal ring (spring) located under the power button. Do not lose it. Do not forget to install this spring back in place under the new power button.

After the old damaged/failed keyboard removed you can install a new keyboard.

New keyboards available on eBay.

Install a new (or old) backlight on the keyboard and assemble the laptop following all steps in the opposite direction.

By the way, If you have damaged keys it might be not necessary to replace the entire keyboard. In some cases it’s possible to fix individual keyboard keys.

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Apple Pro Keyboard M7803 Disassembly