How to Fix a MacBook Unibody Spacebar

You can clean dust and crumbs off by removing the space bar.

Computer keyboards aren't known for their cleanliness. Crumbs, dust and other small debris often fall between the keys, sometimes making it difficult to type and even harder to clean. The space bar can be the hardest to clean if it sticks, due to its length. If you need to remove the space bar on a Macbook to clean underneath it or replace a broken one, it can be a slightly tricky process. All keys only have one clip that keeps them anchored to the keyboard, but the space bar has three white clips, two metal clips on the side and two metal bars keeping it in place. You can, however, remove the bar without using any tools.

Instructions

1. Remove the "C", "M" and "Command" keys around the space bar. To do this, slide your fingernail under the key and gently pull up until it comes off the keyboard.This gives you more room to work with the space bar.

2. Press the bottom half of the space bar so the top half rises. You must unhook the two long U-shaped metal bars under the space bar to take it off.

3. Press the top half of the space bar so the bottom half rises. The rising and falling will cause the metal bars under the keyboard to unhook themselves. It may take several tries to get the metal bars to fall into place, but once they do, they will unhinge the metal clips.

4. Press the left side of the space bar where the white clip is located underneath the key. You will hear a click when you have pressed the clip.

5. Press the right side of the space bar where the white clip is located. You will hear another click. Then press the middle of the space bar where the center clip is located. You will hear a third click.

6. Lift the space bar off gently.

7. Reposition the metal bars. Clean out any crumbs or dust.

8. Snap the space bar back in place. Then snap the "C," "M" and "Command" keys back in place.

References

• DSC: Replacing Space Bar Key on Apple Macbook Pro