Chosen Solution
I recently upgraded my MacBook Pro 13" Retina display (early 2015) hard drive to 480 gigs, which was done by a friend who has replaced 3 of his apple hard drives with no issues. After installation the keyboard would not work. He did not know a lot about the inner workings of things related to the keyboard so we took it to a local Apple technician. (Keep in mind, I was with my friend the whole time and at NO time did he go anywhere near the keyboard area, which is on the opposite side of the computer) When the Apple tech looked at the ribbon that connects to the keyboard, he saw that the zif lock was missing and also the flap that covers it when the laptop is sealed. Here is the kicker, the connector itself was GLUED in place at some point and obviously was never connected using the zif lock. Here is what I have:
Here is what the ribbon and connector are supposed to look like:
When comparing the two pictures, notice there is no flap on the one I have and the zif lock is also missing. There is glue residue on the top of the connection area and you may not be able to tell but there is glue on the area that is under where the connector sits. The tech says that if I never had it opened before, (which I have not) then it must have been sent this way from the factory and when we opened the back to replace the hard drive and released pressure on it, it popped off. He said it wasn’t even in the slot when he opened it and the glue was so thick he could not get the ribbon connector in the slot without removing some of it. I notified Apple, but of course, they say it’s out of warranty and can’t do anything. I am trying to see if anyone else has had this issue. I feel this is factory fraud! It was sent to me defective and without all its partsfrom Apple. My question is has anyone else had this issue? Update (05/26/2018) Here is a video of a glue like susstance found when my Macbook Pro was opened for the first time
Here is a video the tech made when he examined the zif connector
I’ve serviced quite a few of the 2015 13" systems and have never encountered a glued connection. Are you sure you are not confusing the top shell of the logic board connector. Could someone have pulled up Vs side it out? The photo is a bit blurry so I can’t tell. Update (05/27/2018) If you look again you’ll see the ribbon cable clamp is missing on the connector!! Thats why it was glued. Basically the assembler broke the connector and someone re-worked it to make is work Vs replacing the part (which they can’t without replacing the entire Uppercase to get to the trackpad)! This is the risk you get when you over do the integration. Once you drop the serviceable parts down the cost of just getting the product out the door goes up! You need to write a very strong letter to big Tim and they owe you a new system. This is another case of Apples direction to a less serviceable system - The newest MacBook Pro’s are 2-3k throw aways! OUCH!!
