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Hi, My down arrow key started going crazy a couple weeks ago. It
suddenly scrolls down by itself. I tried to clean it (it had a serious amount of dirt in there) but that didn’t help. The nipple under the key disappeared in the process so I took one from an unused key and replaced it. There’s a little white bracket thing under the key itself that holds it in place (plus glue). This bracket split in two and it’s sort of sitting there (though I don’t dare to take the laptop anywhere). It’s still going crazy and will start making noises as well. I press the key a time or two and it settles down for a while, but it’s a real pain to work on this Mac. My question, can I get a replacement for the white bracket and if so, where? And will it work if I do? If not, do I have to replace the whole top case and keyboard? The latter is $399 here - might as well buy a new computer… Help!
Depending on what is broken you may only need to replace the given parts Retina MacBook Pro 2012-2015 KeyCaps But even that may not be enough if your keyboard is loaded with debris! Replacing the uppercase is by far the easiest path, but you can replace the keyboard alone but its a lot more work and is tricky! Given your systems age you likely need a new battery as well if you haven’t replaced it yet as well. While the new MacBook Pro’s are very enticing, unless you are hitting the performance wall of your system and/or its resource limits (RAM and/or storage) I personally believe this series is still one of Apples best! The 2016 to 2020 models are not as serviceable and the newer M series Mac’s are even more limiting as Apple’s parts pricing will be eye watering when they disclose them $400 won’t buy you any of the major modules! I would put the money into your system if you are happy with it otherwise.
