A key fell off the laptop keyboard. Fixing the problem.

One or more keys fell off the laptop keyboard and you are not sure how to put them back? Don’t worry, most likely you can fix the keyboard and it’s not necessary to buy a new one. There is no universal repair guide because all keyboards are different. Here’s what I usually do in this case.

Situation 1. The key cap and key retainer fell off the keyboard and you cannot figure out how to assemble them back.
Carefully remove the cap from any other working key so the key retainer stays connected to the keyboard.






Take a closer look at the key retainer, it’s connected to the keyboard at four different points.








Assemble the disconnected retainer the same way as one on the keyboard and put it back in place.




Put the key cap on the retainer and snap the cap back in place.





Situation 2. The key fell off the keyboard and you lost the cap or the retainer. In this case you can purchase a single key here, just search for it. (Search examples: “Dell keyboard key”, “Toshiba keyboard key”, “HP keyboard key”, etc… )
After you found a new key, put it back in place the same way as I described in the situation 1.
Installing the space bar key.
The space bar key is connected to the keyboard a little bit differently then any other key.


There is a metal retainer connected to the space bar key (on some keyboard models). Separate the retainer from the space bar key with a flat head screwdriver.




Install the retainer back in place as it shown on the picture. You have to engage the retainer with the small hooks on the keyboard.




Put the space bar key back in place and gently press on it with fingers until it snaps back in place.


That’s it. The space bar key is installed back in place and should work as before. If you still cannot fix your keyboard, then you’ll have to find a new one and replace it.