[Andrej]

So a few of my keys on my pro macbook are a little loose, e.g., if I press on the left side of the return key, it depresses, but the right side of the key tilts up as the left side tilts down. It just feels loose.
Can I just pop the key and put it back on to see if that will fix it?

[P]

You don't mention the exact model, but the regular way is that there is some sort of bar fixed in two spots under each of th bigger keys and two corresponding spots on the material underneath. It sounds like this bar has come loose from at least one fixation point.

[Waragainstsleep]

You can pry them off easily enough but be gentle and don't force anything, the clips on the back of the keys can break and then you'll have to go to eBay for spares as Apple don't provide individual keys (though AASPs with any sense of decency do keep dead top cases for keys sometimes).

[Andrej]

It's a unibody Pro Macbook

[euphras]

Some pics of a detached key from a DVI Tibook, i guess, Apple hasn´t re-invented the mechanics of these keys in case of later `Books. In the second picture the ends connected with the green lines slide into slots on the backside of the key and the ends connected with the blue lines are press fitted (they "click" in place).











I even wrote a how-to, but that disappeared when the Appletalker´s plug was pulled.

[Andrej]

Originally Posted by euphras 

Some pics of a detached key from a DVI Tibook, i guess, Apple hasn´t re-invented the mechanics of these keys in case of later `Books.

Are you sure about this? Because those keys look like they are from the 1st or 2nd generation Pro Macbooks, not the 2011 unibody models.

I'm still hesitant to just pry/pop the keys off. Has anyone actually tried doing this? If I pop a key off, will they key still even register?

I'm not trying to be sarcastic, I just am a little nervous about opening up my Macbook and then finding out that, oh crap, the keys suddenly don't work, or something else doesn't work, or a part came out and I have no idea where it goes, or some random thing, because I've had that happen before and I'm not experienced with this stuff.

[Waragainstsleep]

Those pics are way older than any MacBook Pro, thats an original style PowerBook G4.

The method of securing the keys is largely the same however. Use something flat and plastic to pry the keys off but be gentle. It is possible to chip the edges or break the clips even when you are being quite careful.