Left Shift Key Came Out

Hello, everyone. Upon cleaning my laptop, my left shift key came out. This computer isn't even a year old and I barely use it at all. I don't know if the mechanism underneath the actual key wore out or what not. However, when the key popped out, I was examining if there was anything broken and there wasn't anything at all bent or broken. All I had in my hand was the left shift key with a white plastic piece and with the actual key came attached a metal piece that was attached to it. So what I did was I attached the white plastic piece first and it went into place and I inserted the metal piece that was attached on the shift key into two seperate metal tabs and I snapped back into place.
What I don't understand is if this usually a common problem amongst keyboards, especially for Powerbook G4's. And if I did anything wrong as in attaching the shift key, please let me know or if there is anything I could possibly do.
Thanks for reading and hoping for some responses.

Hi Tenlions,
Keycaps do sometimes come off. It's nothing to be worried about. As long as they go back on ok and still work normally, there's no harm done.
The only thing to worry about is if they actually crack in half, or come off continually.

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Xorg - SHIFT key bugs out randomly after TV-hardware is connected

I'm on Xfce4. When I hold down left SHIFT key and press some other keys, after a while the SHIFT key may "unregister" itself. What I mean is, it stops working as if I had released it, although I'm still pressing it down. Ie I'm suddenly writing lower-case again and stuff. This behaviour is application-independant apparently.
I tried running 'showkey' and it correctly reported pressing+releasing of the SHIFT key (keycode 42) when I actually physically pressed and released it. It did NOT report release of the SHIFT key when it in fact stopped working. So it doesn't seem to be a keyboard hardware problem or something.
The right SHIFT key (showkey says keycore 54 for this one) seems to work correctly though (but it's not really a comfortable work-around..).
Is there maybe a trick that could be used as a workaround, to somehow switch the right and left shiftkey's key codes? Maybe that could "fix" it. >:)
I had a look at xmodmap, but that shows entirely different "keycodes" for SHIFT keys so I'm a bit stumped:
$ xmodmap -pk
..for "keycode 42" it had this line:
42 0x0067 (g) 0x0047 (G) 0x0067 (g) 0x0047 (G) 0x03bf (eng) 0x03bd (ENG) 0x03bf (eng) 0x03bd (ENG)
..and for left shift key it had "50" in the "keycode" column:
50 0xffe1 (Shift_L) 0x0000 (NoSymbol) 0xffe1 (Shift_L) 0x0000 (NoSymbol) 0xffe1 (Shift_L)
Anyway, I tried out https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Xmodmap:
xmodmap -pke > ~/.Xmodmap
..then edited that file and changed the Shift_L (50) and Shift_R (62) lines, and did
xmodmap ~/.Xmodmap
..and my X froze up completely, not even registering mouse clicks, might wanna correct the Wiki there^^.
After a reboot, my xmodmap -pke showed the two lines swapped as intended though - but 'showkey' still shows keycode 42 for left and 54 for right, so swapping didn't work here.
Funny thing is, now after a fresh reboot I seem unable to reproduce the bug, so I'll wait and see what happens I guess.
Now I have read about people getting a bug where SHIFT key is suddenly _pressed_ on its own, unlike my prob where it is released, and those people always write that it happens when a TV card is connected, and that it is detected as "keyboard" according to X0.log.
So I just connected my usual bunch of USB stuff that I had disconnected earlier just while that reboot happened after which my problem didn't surface.
My X0.log:
[ 647.676] (II) config/udev: Adding input device UVC Camera (eb1a:2571) (/dev/input/event13)
[ 647.676] (**) UVC Camera (eb1a:2571): Applying InputClass "evdev keyboard catchall"
[ 647.676] (II) Using input driver 'evdev' for 'UVC Camera (eb1a:2571)'
[ 647.676] (**) UVC Camera (eb1a:2571): always reports core events
[ 647.676] (**) evdev: UVC Camera (eb1a:2571): Device: "/dev/input/event13"
[ 647.676] (--) evdev: UVC Camera (eb1a:2571): Vendor 0xeb1a Product 0x2571
[ 647.677] (--) evdev: UVC Camera (eb1a:2571): Found keys
[ 647.677] (II) evdev: UVC Camera (eb1a:2571): Configuring as keyboard
[ 647.677] (**) Option "config_info" "udev:/sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1d.7/usb1/1-5/1-5.1/1-5.1:1.0/input/input13/event13"
[ 647.677] (II) XINPUT: Adding extended input device "UVC Camera (eb1a:2571)" (type: KEYBOARD, id 14)
[ 647.677] (**) Option "xkb_rules" "evdev"
[ 647.677] (**) Option "xkb_model" "evdev"
[ 647.677] (**) Option "xkb_layout" "de"
[ 654.995] (II) config/udev: Adding input device Arduino LLC Arduino Leonardo (/dev/input/event14)
[ 654.995] (**) Arduino LLC Arduino Leonardo: Applying InputClass "evdev pointer catchall"
[ 654.995] (**) Arduino LLC Arduino Leonardo: Applying InputClass "evdev keyboard catchall"
[ 654.995] (II) Using input driver 'evdev' for 'Arduino LLC Arduino Leonardo'
[ 654.995] (**) Arduino LLC Arduino Leonardo: always reports core events
[ 654.995] (**) evdev: Arduino LLC Arduino Leonardo: Device: "/dev/input/event14"
[ 654.996] (--) evdev: Arduino LLC Arduino Leonardo: Vendor 0x2341 Product 0x8036
[ 654.996] (--) evdev: Arduino LLC Arduino Leonardo: Found 3 mouse buttons
[ 654.996] (--) evdev: Arduino LLC Arduino Leonardo: Found scroll wheel(s)
[ 654.996] (--) evdev: Arduino LLC Arduino Leonardo: Found relative axes
[ 654.996] (--) evdev: Arduino LLC Arduino Leonardo: Found x and y relative axes
[ 654.996] (--) evdev: Arduino LLC Arduino Leonardo: Found keys
[ 654.996] (II) evdev: Arduino LLC Arduino Leonardo: Configuring as mouse
[ 654.996] (II) evdev: Arduino LLC Arduino Leonardo: Configuring as keyboard
[ 654.996] (II) evdev: Arduino LLC Arduino Leonardo: Adding scrollwheel support
[ 654.996] (**) evdev: Arduino LLC Arduino Leonardo: YAxisMapping: buttons 4 and 5
[ 654.996] (**) evdev: Arduino LLC Arduino Leonardo: EmulateWheelButton: 4, EmulateWheelInertia: 10, EmulateWheelTimeout: 200
[ 654.996] (**) Option "config_info" "udev:/sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1d.7/usb1/1-5/1-5.4/1-5.4:1.2/input/input14/event14"
[ 654.996] (II) XINPUT: Adding extended input device "Arduino LLC Arduino Leonardo" (type: KEYBOARD, id 15)
[ 654.996] (**) Option "xkb_rules" "evdev"
[ 654.996] (**) Option "xkb_model" "evdev"
[ 654.996] (**) Option "xkb_layout" "de"
[ 654.998] (II) evdev: Arduino LLC Arduino Leonardo: initialized for relative axes.
[ 655.001] (**) Arduino LLC Arduino Leonardo: (accel) keeping acceleration scheme 1
[ 655.001] (**) Arduino LLC Arduino Leonardo: (accel) acceleration profile 0
[ 655.001] (**) Arduino LLC Arduino Leonardo: (accel) acceleration factor: 2.000
[ 655.001] (**) Arduino LLC Arduino Leonardo: (accel) acceleration threshold: 4
[ 655.005] (II) config/udev: Adding input device Arduino LLC Arduino Leonardo (/dev/input/mouse3)
[ 655.005] (II) No input driver specified, ignoring this device.
[ 655.005] (II) This device may have been added with another device file.
Now I'm wondering, my webcam gets detected as "keyboard" (id 14) ^^' well and so does my Arduino, but that's natural for Leonardo models.
I started up the webcam, so the uvc modules are now loaded, but still I'm now unable to reproduce the bug for some reason. With either SHIFT key. Well that's good sort of, but then again, not so good to track what causes it when it happens And why does X think that webcams and tv cards are keyboards?
Will post again when the bug surfaces again I guess.
Ok, after plugging in a usb-tv box, the bug started happening again, except this time it's the rigth shift key that doesnt work correctly, while the left shift key seems fine.
So it seems the xmodmap change worked, although showkey still shows 42 for left and 54 for right.
This might do as a workaround for now, although someone should figure out why tv cards (and tv usb boxes in my case) mess up the shift key in Xorg.
Apparently the IR-receiver part of my tv-box was recognized as "keyboard":
[ 17549.633] (II) config/udev: Adding input device IR-receiver inside an USB DVB receiver (/dev/input/event15)
[ 17549.633] (**) IR-receiver inside an USB DVB receiver: Applying InputClass "evdev keyboard catchall"
[ 17549.633] (II) Using input driver 'evdev' for 'IR-receiver inside an USB DVB receiver'
[ 17549.634] (**) IR-receiver inside an USB DVB receiver: always reports core events
[ 17549.634] (**) evdev: IR-receiver inside an USB DVB receiver: Device: "/dev/input/event15"
[ 17549.634] (--) evdev: IR-receiver inside an USB DVB receiver: Vendor 0xccd Product 0x38
[ 17549.634] (--) evdev: IR-receiver inside an USB DVB receiver: Found keys
[ 17549.634] (II) evdev: IR-receiver inside an USB DVB receiver: Configuring as keyboard
[ 17549.634] (**) Option "config_info" "udev:/sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1d.7/usb1/1-1/input/input15/event15"
[ 17549.634] (II) XINPUT: Adding extended input device "IR-receiver inside an USB DVB receiver" (type: KEYBOARD, id 16)
[ 17549.634] (**) Option "xkb_rules" "evdev"
[ 17549.634] (**) Option "xkb_model" "evdev"
[ 17549.635] (**) Option "xkb_layout" "de"
Can I somehow find out which modules were loaded when I plugged it in so I can unload those?
Also, I tried
$ lsmod |grep dvb
dvb_usb_cinergyT2 6645 2147483647
dvb_usb 15171 1 dvb_usb_cinergyT2
dvb_core 79241 1 dvb_usb
rc_core 11081 1 dvb_usb
usbcore 126764 7 uhci_hcd,uvcvideo,dvb_usb,ehci_hcd,dvb_usb_cinergyT2,usbhid,cdc_acm
i2c_core 16944 7 drm,i915,i2c_i801,dvb_usb,drm_kms_helper,i2c_algo_bit,videodev
$ rmmod dvb_usb_cinergyT2
rmmod: ERROR: Module dvb_usb_cinergyT2 is in use
but I don't have any media player running anymore, so why is the module in use and how do I see by what it is in use? Forced removal via rmmod -f worked by the way. Then I was able to remove the other two dvb_usb_ modules, and usbcore and i2c_core disappeared automatically.. but the bug still occurs! Any way to find out which other modules were possibly loaded, or what was done by the system, when I plugged in the tv box?
Last edited by Jindur (2013-01-06 05:08:51)

Do you have the 3 year Applecare? If so, you could try calling Applecare and see if they can help you resolve this over the phone. If not, be sure to get this problem documented with a case number before your 1 year warranty is up. If this has just been a constant hassle, you could ask to talk to Customer Relations.
It sounds like you may have some hardware problems with the keyboard and the trackpad, which could be causing at least some of the problems. Any chance of getting to an Apple store to have it looked at, or would you have to send it in?
Good luck!

T40's Left Shift key makes right click/context menu appear?

Hello All-
On my T40, on which I just recently got Windows 7 correctly installed, has a curious behavior:
When I press the left shift key, it functions the same as if I had pressed the right mouse button. It functions correctly otherwise, I.E., when using it to capitolize a letter in an email, the letter is capitolized, but as soon as I let go of the shift key, the right click/context menu immediately appears.
This is exceedingly irritating, as I cannot continue typing until I have navigated out of the menu.
I have checked to see if the Keyboard Customiser utility is causing this, as I currently have my left Alt key functioning as a Windows button, but it does not appear to be causing this particular issue.
Does anyone have any idea how I might go about fixing this?
Thanks in advance,
G
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Nevermind-
Had the keyboard customizer set to use the left shfit key as the application key. Duh.

Left Shift Key Remapped, How?

MacBook Air running OS X.
Left shift key when depressed remaps my keyboard, how can I get it to not do this? Example below:
Right Shift Key - ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ?><
Left Shift Key - ÅıÇÎ´Ï˝ÓˆÔÒÂ˜Ø∏Œ‰Íˇ¨◊„˛Á¸¿¯˘
Help please.
Kent

Please read this whole message before doing anything.
This procedure is a test, not a solution. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.
Step 1
The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is localized to your user account.
Enable guest logins* and log in as Guest. Don't use the Safari-only “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac.”
While logged in as Guest, you won’t have access to any of your personal files or settings. Applications will behave as if you were running them for the first time. Don’t be alarmed by this; it’s normal. If you need any passwords or other personal data in order to complete the test, memorize, print, or write them down before you begin.
Test while logged in as Guest. Same problem?
After testing, log out of the guest account and, in your own account, disable it if you wish. Any files you created in the guest account will be deleted automatically when you log out of it.
*Note: If you’ve activated “Find My Mac” or FileVault, then you can’t enable the Guest account. The “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac” is not the same. Create a new account in which to test, and delete it, including its home folder, after testing.
Step 2
The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party system modifications that load automatically at startup or login, by a peripheral device, by a font conflict, or by corruption of the file system or of certain system caches.
Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards, if applicable. Start up in safe mode and log in to the account with the problem. You must hold down the shift key twice: once when you boot, and again when you log in.
Note: If FileVault is enabled, or if a firmware password is set, or if the boot volume is a software RAID, you can’t do this. Ask for further instructions.
Safe mode is much slower to boot and run than normal, with limited graphics performance, and some things won’t work at all, including sound output and Wi-Fi on certain models. The next normal boot may also be somewhat slow.
The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.
Test while in safe mode. Same problem?
After testing, reboot as usual (not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of steps 1 and 2.

Left shift key is defective

By merely touching the left shift key, the key will function. That means that while typing the 'y' or the 'x', I will get instead 'Y' and 'X' respectively. I have a QWERTZ keyboard.
Solved!
Go to Solution.

The metal contact inside has most likely flattened out. You'll need to get the device replaced. If it's less than a year old and you bought it from your carrier they should be able to get a warranty replacement for you.
1. Please thank those who help you by clicking the "Like" button at the bottom of the post that helped you.
2. If your issue has been solved, please resolve it by marking the post "Solution?" which solved it for you!

Left shift key problem help please

My left shift key is shifting my open page up out of the way and bringing me to my desktop page. My right key works fine. Does anyone know how to fix this problem?

Well, not sure about you new-fangled Snow Leopard users, but I'd check the Dashboard & Exposé preference pane in System Preferences and see if the Desktop shortcut is "Left Shift" instead of the normal F11.

Left shift key on MacBook Pro (10.7.5) malfunction... how to reset?

I have a mid-2011 MacBook Pro, OS 10.7.5. After a water spill, the left shift key on the keyboard now operates as an options key by default. I cannot figure out how to reset the left shift key to perform shift functions by default. Any ideas?

Water spill more than likely damaged your shift key if that was the only key that is damaged. Did you let your MBP dry completely (48-78 hrs) prior to using it?

Help! Left shift key not working!

all of a sudden today my left shift key has ceased to work. the right key works fine, increasing the chance that it's hardware. I'd like to remove the key cap and see if re-seating it might fix it. I've looked in many places on how to remove it, but no luck. Is there a web site that shows how it's done for a G4 Aluminum? Thanks in advance.

Marco,
I've been having intermittent left shift key problems for several months. My laptop is now 3 days out of Warranty, Apple web site says so. Anyway, the only reliable fix I've found is to do a re-boot. I can also (sometimes) get reliable shifting if I slide my finger closer to the outer edge - meaning, no shift if pressed on one side of the key, sometimes shift on the other side.
I've also had success shifting in one application which seemed to "clear" the problem in the original application. Example: typing in Mail when left shift key stops working. Switch to MS Word, shift works fine. Switch back to Mail, shift works fine.
I have a feeling it's a combination of software and slowly failing hardware. I feel bad to have waited until after the warranty period, and now the problem is getting worse. My wife was just in for brain surgery, so you can't really blame me! She's doing fine.
So, my suggestion is to try rebooting to see if that clears a memory buffer problem. Kinda annoying, maybe a future software update will fix the software problem?

Why is my left shift key sticking?

I used my i7 MBP last night without incident. I opened it this morning to have the left shift key start sticking. Took out my can of air, blew it. It still sticks if you touch it in the center bottom of the key. When it "unsticks" it makes a click sound. No other key sticks.
And, no, there was no soda/coffee/tea spills.
John

Surely it is still under warranty for repair.
I would take it to an Apple Retail Store or an Apple Authorized Service Provider (AASP) for evaluation, or call your nearest Apple Contact Center. Visit the Genius Bar at the Apple Retail Store, make a reservation.

My left shift key isn't working, and i can't take it in for repair is there any other way

my left shift key isn't working, and i can't take it in for repair is there any other way

Sarwahhhh wrote:
my left shift key isn't working, and i can't take it in for repair is there any other way
Why not? If you are under warranty and/or have AppleCare, call them. Let Apple deal w/hardware problems. If you mess up, your warranty will be voided!
OOW: For DIY instructions check out the following:
iFixit
YouTube's “How To” tutorials.

My left shift key on Macbook Pro Retina (15") is behaving like the F11 key (show/hide open windows). The key behaves the same for the laptop keyboard and for an external Apple keyboard? This just started in last week after 6 months of use

My left shift key on Macbook Pro Retina (15") is behaving like the F11 key (show/hide open windows).
The left shift key behaves the same on the laptop keyboard and on an external Apple keyboard.
This just started in last week after 6 months of use. The right shift key and other keys on the keyboard all appear to work correctly.
Suggestions greatly appreciated.

I have a solution to this issue now after a discussion with Apple Support. Some where in the last few weeks, there was a change in the key that would do a Show Desktop under the Mission Control settings in the System Preferences. Even though the key sequence that was shown for the Show Desktop setting did not include the Left SHift key, by changing this first to having no key sequence and applying that and then changing it back to the F11 key, the Left SHift key issue that I was having has cleared up.
A second issue that was uncovered was that the SSD had some issues (uncovered when I ran Disk Utility using the Repair Disk key). I had to restart and use the Disk Utility through the Command R sequence to get to the stand alone Disk Utility. The SSD appears to be running better as a result as well.
Hope that this is of use to someone else in the future.

How do I fix my left shift key? Any open windows leave and make the desktop visible.

How do I fix my left shift key? Any open windows leave and make the desktop visible. I have tired to go into system preferences and reset all of the keyboard settings to default but the issue hasn't gone away.

You are not running as administrator, I think, which may be required and the only way to properly work and register. Also check for compatibility mode settings, UAC and DEP, all of which may require to be adjusted for a legacy app like PS CS2 to run properly. Also turn off Aero and switch to a conventional visual theme. The brush issue may be related to that or is a more generic problem with your graphics card and mouse config, but since you didn't provide any info on that, it will be hard for anyone to advise.
Mylenium

Left shift key doesn't work on some characters

In some applications, such as Excel and AOL, my left shift key doesn't work on some letters. Consequently, when I'm typing I get lower case letters when I've typed shift plus the letter to get a cap. Right shift works OK, but I'm not used to using it. It happens on i, t, and p, I've noticed so far. I don't know if it's the keyboard or the application. Word seems to work fine.
Would welcome any ideas on what is causing this and how to fix it.
Powermac G5 Mac OS X (10.4.7)

Is it possible that you have inadvertently switched to a different keyboard layout? Open System Preferences, then click on the Language & Text preferences. Within the Language & Text preferences click on the 'Input Sources'. You should see a long list of languages representing the various keyboard layouts that are available. Make sure that only the keyboard language you use is selected. If there are multiple languages selected then de-select the extras.
If you continue to have problems then check the 'Show input menu in menu bar' checkbox in the lower section of the preference pane. This will place an icon in the upper right menu bar (it looks like a flag representing the language you have chosen for your input device) that provides additional options. I suggest selecing the 'Show Keyboard Viewer' option and then try pressing the keys that you are having problems with to see how they show up on the keyboard viewer graphic. If you've set the correct language for your keyboard and the key sequences still don't match, then you may need to take your keyboard in for service. Better yet, borrow another keyboard to confirm that the keyboard is the issue.

3 letters + left shift key not working - 2 of them + right shift key working

Hi all,
as in subject, I have just bought a laptop g50-45, italian keyboard.
I encountered this problem:
"LEFT shift key" + "e" or "d" or "c" combinations do not work. Nothing happens.
"RIGHT shift key" + "e" or "d" work properly
"RIGHT shift key" + "c" do not work. Nothing happens
CAPS key + "e" or "d" or "c" work properly.
I noticed this issue before making any updates of windows 8.1
I tried making an update of the bios and later updating windows but the problem is still there.
I check with an external keyboard and everything work correctly
I don't think it could be a mechanical problem because "e", "d" and "c" keys alone work properly, so it seems more a software side problem.
Thank you for your help.

thanks, i thought there some quick procedure to do before heading to apple store. i was just wondering, it was working for a while, and then suddenly like that. i have macbook 10.6.8 software. intel core 2 duo. less than a year old, if i'm not mistaken.

My left shift key stopped working right one is fine

my left shift key stopped working this morning. never had a problem tell I started using snapshot shift plus command

Keyboard Keys Do Not Respond

Left Shift Key Came Out

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