One or two keys stop responding. Annoying, especially if it’s a letter you use every day. It matters whether the problem is mechanical or something else — here’s how to work it out.
Step 1: Is it just that one key or several of them
Open Notepad and type your way through the whole alphabet. If several keys are dead (a whole row, say), it’s probably a general fault — the ribbon cable or the driver. If it’s only one or two, the problem is local, right under the key.
Step 2: A clean first (free, five minutes)
- Unplug the laptop from the mains
- Turn it upside down and give it a shake — crumbs, hair and bits of jewellery often fall out
- Carefully lift the keycap off (gently — there’s a small plastic tab on the edge)
- Under the key there’s a silicone mechanism — clean it with alcohol on a cotton bud
- Put the key back — you’ll hear it click
Careful: Keys like Space, Enter and Shift have extra metal bars — harder to put back. If “I’m no good with my hands” sounds like you, leave those big keys alone.
Step 3: The keyboard driver
Less likely, but it does happen:
- Device Manager → Keyboards
- Right-click “HID Keyboard Device” → Uninstall
- Restart — Windows reinstalls the driver
Step 4: Test with an external keyboard
Plug in a USB keyboard (any one will do, borrow one). If everything types fine on it, the built-in keyboard has failed — it’s a hardware fault and it goes to a shop.
Hardware fault — what it costs
- A whole laptop keyboard: 1,500-3,500 RSD labour + the price of the keyboard (2,500-8,000 RSD depending on the model)
- A single key (keycap): often all you need is a spare keycap — 500-1,500 RSD
- Ribbon cable: 1,000-2,000 RSD if it’s only the cable that has gone
Brands where the keyboard is cheap to replace: HP, Dell, a standard Lenovo model. Expensive: a ThinkPad with a backlight, a MacBook (the whole top case usually has to be swapped, 15,000+ RSD).
A stopgap until you get it into a shop
- Key mapper: Windows → Settings → Time & Language → “On-screen keyboard”. You can type with the mouse.
- An external USB keyboard — the easiest long-term fix
- SharpKeys — software that remaps keys (a key you barely use becomes the letter “j”, for example)
What we do
- Cleaning the keyboard in place: 1,500 RSD (if it really is just dirt)
- Keyboard replacement: 1,500 RSD labour + the part
- Replacing a single key: 500 RSD labour + the price of the key
We send a courier. A typical repair takes a day if we have the part in the shop, otherwise 3–5 days to order the original part.