Keys are Coming off our Apple Keyboard

I’m a Dvorak typer, and, while having the keys in a QWERTY layout on my keyboard isn’t usually a big deal, it does get really annoying when trying to use keyboard shortcuts in Photoshop or Illustrator. While I can type the letters fine, It’s all muscle memory, and I have trouble picking out Cmd+J and the like (The bracket keys too!). Finally, I decided to pop all the keys off my iMac’s wireless keyboard and rearrange them to my preferred Dvorak layout.

This also works if you break a key or want to replace it with a half set of black keys, to achieve a patterned effect. You can buy extra keys here.

Luckily, this is easy with the Apple range of keyboards, and I was able to do it in about fifteen minutes, not counting time to take photos of the process. NOTE: While I’ve only done this on the Apple Wireless Keyboard, a bit of research shows that it’s like this on most Apple chiclet keyboards, including MacBooks. Basically, each key is a simple plastic face attached to a sort of plastic spring, which is two distinct pieces that pivot around each other to hold the key up. One side of this key is just held on by little plastic grabbers, which pop out really easily, without breaking. Let’s jump in!

Using an iTunes gift card to remove the keys off of our Apple Keyboard

Your first step is to start popping all the keys off, but first you have to determine which way your keys are mounted, as it varies from model to model. On my keyboard, the grabbers that we need to pop off are on the top side of the key, but your keyboard may vary. The easiest way to find out is to slip your prying instrument (Whatever you can get in-between the key and its recession will work, but I’m using an iTunes gift-card because it’s plastic, and won’t scratch my keyboard up.) underneath the key, and lift it up just enough to see how the little plastic accordion-like spring is held in there. The side with the two narrower supports will be the side with the grabbers, and you’ll want to pop that side off first.

To pop the keys off, just slide your instrument underneath the key, and quickly lever it up, so it pops off the aforementioned half of the key off its holder. The other half of the key (With the wider attachment on the bottom) is just a little channel that, when the top half is of, you can slide the key out easily by just wiggling it a little.

Take note here, you want to pop the first half of the key off quickly and with force, but not enough to break anything. If you slowly pry it up, you’ll stretch the plastic bit that holds the key up, and it’ll stick farther up than the rest of the keys. Once you pop a few of them off, it’s easy to get a feel for it, so don’t fret too much.

If you misjudge how your keys are attached and accidentally pop the entire plastic spring off with the key, it’s easy to put back, so long as none of the little pins broke off. Each bracket has three metal holders in the body of the keyboard, like so:

The slot on Apple's keyboard for the key holder

You can see that there’s a metal tab sticking up to the right of the actual button, and there are loops in each of the left corners. (It’s worth noting here that, on my keyboard, the “\” key was mounted sideways from all the others. I don’t know if this is the same for others, but you might check that one before prying it off.) So, take the plastic spring and align it so that the metal tab fits into the wide slot in the spring:

Sliding the key holder into place

Once you slide it into place, it should be obvious how the other corners pop in their loops. Just press in on the corners, and pop those pegs into the loops one at a time:

Replacing the key bracket on the Apple Keyboard

Once you have the spring back into place, it should lie flat like the others. Finish popping off the rest of the keys, and you’re done with the harder half!

All the keys are off our Apple Keyboard

Now, figure out how you want your keys arranged, be it Dvorak, AZERTY, Colemak, or some other weird arrangement you’ve thought up. Pull up a photo of the layout, just to avoid unnecessary errors, and start popping your keys back on. This is a pretty easy process, since all you really have to do is align the keys correctly and then press on them. As you’ve no doubt seen if you’re following along, the backs of the keys look like this:

The back side of an Apple Keyboard key

The top half (On my keyboard, yours may vary) has two little grabber arms, and the bottom half has two little channels that slide over the wider-spaced pegs on your plastic spring. To re-attach your key, slide the bottom two pegs in their channels so that it catches:

Popping the key back into place

And then just press the key back down! It takes a bit of force, but be sure you have your key on the right way, and in the correct slots, and then just press until it clicks both of the top pegs back in.

Pressing the key back on the keyboard

There, just repeat that another several times, and you’re finished! If you find that you’ve put keys in the wrong position, you should be able to pop them off and try again.

And we're done! Dvorak layout on Apple's wireless keyboard!

DISCLAIMER: Replacing and/or switching the keys around on your keyboard can break it, and you must understand that you do this at YOUR OWN RISK. I am not responsible for any broken keys, keyboards, or fingers that result from attempting this tutorial. This is simply a documentation of what worked for me, and it may not work for you.