The spacebar on my MacBook just randomly stopped working unless I press it really hard in a certain spot, how can I fix it/get it fixed?

my bestfriends macbook does that, he dropped his and has not found a sufficient way to fix it besides having mac replace all the keys and that gets really pricey, he just makes sure he pushed the space bar really hard.

I didnt drop it, though. Shouldn’t applecare cover this?

i’m not sure about that, but i know his wasnt covered, his space bar didnt stop working cause he dropped it, Its just no longer covered under applecare because of the huge dent left in it.

Oh, that blows.

You should be able to buy a replacement keyboard off the internet that matches your laptop for less than $40. You can then (hopefully) find instructions for replacing the keyboard on Apple’s website. Replacing the keyboard should just require a screwdriver and some patience.

Anecdote: I spilled a Shiner Bock (Texas beer) on my room mate’s laptop. The ‘x’ key stopped working, so I got a replacement keyboard off eBay for about $25 and installed it in 10 minutes. It has worked perfectly since.

Good luck!

if it has apple care, just take it to an apple store or call 1–800-my-apple and they will fix it as long as its not something you did to it. They will not cover accidental damage.

I popped it off (after researching whether or not it would break) and cleaned out the space underneath it, now it works fine. Yay!

congrats!

In general (though I see you have the solution) the safest thing to do is to bring the computer to an Apple store or Apple authorized dealer and have them fix it. Replacing the keyboard yourself is the exact sort of thing that voids warranties.

I used to work at a retail store..I’ve heard some problems with some Macbook Keyboards…Take it to an Apple Store..if there isn’t an Apple Store nearby, call them—they will send you a box for you to ship it to the depot. They might have to just replace the keyboard…shouldn’t be a problem as long as there isn’t any physical damage on the machine.

“They will not cover accidental damage.”

True in policy, but not always true in practice. I’ve never had a problem that AppleCare wouldn’t cover, including things that were my fault.

I once dropped my laptop’s battery on the keyboard, shattering three of the keys. I told them the truth about what had happened, and they fixed it anyway. Actually, that was in addition to some prior spacebar issues, so perhaps that was why they fixed it. But the point is, they replaced my keyboard despite accidental damage.

They won’t cover any screen issues, but other than that, AppleCare is amazing. So worth it.

I had a similar problem – a can of compressed air cleaned it out without having to remove any keys (I was afraid of breaking them).