Batteries corroded & stuck inside Apple Wireless Keyboard (Aluminum)

My aluminum wireless keyboard had only two batteries in it. The alleged "third battery" was actually not a battery, although, like the previous post said, it looks very similar. Meanwhile, after struggling and banging on the battery tube, I noticed there's a little diagram on the outside of the tube with only two batteries shown. So I followed the diagram, inserted fresh AA batteries, turned it on, and it works.

I guess some keyboards have three batteries, but mine had only two.

BklynPhotog

A couple of thoughts: Alkaline batteries leak alkaline, so baking soda (already alkaline) is not a neutralizer. Use mild white vinegar, an acid, to neutralize the alkaline. The neutralized alkaline will be a neutral salt, and still needs to be removed. Try duct taping a q-tip to a pencil. Clean carefully and thoroughly.

When alkaline batteries discharge, they swell, so don't wait until the batteries are dead to change them.

If and when the old leaky batteries can be removed, replace them with rechargeable nickel metal hydride (NIMH) batteries. They are very robust and chemically more stable than alkaline batteries. Therefore, far less likely to leak.

Good luck to all!

its called a lock ring too you can find in a engine repair shop. I have the tool, but the teeth were not long enough to reach the holes on the lock ring. here is an alternative

1. Get the longest screwdriver you can find, that can touch the battery and still have length showing once you put the screwdriver in the battery well. any type of tape, to tape down the wires.

2.remove plastic cover it will pop off once glue is removed. there is only 2 screws holding down the electronic board. remove the first screw, 2a, bend back slowly the soldered part that you just removed the screw from, 2b, unscrew the post.

3.there is a piece of tape the is covering the wiring lock to the circuit board. remove tape, unclip the plastic lock and pull circuit wire from the back of the board ( similar to Ipod,Iphone connection)

and push the circuit board towards the button you use to power up the keyboard. slide slowly, the battery connection is attached. once you see the connection take it off with your nail or screw driver

4.slide out circuit board, and using the some tape, tape down the circuit wire and battery wire. you can now see the lock ring.

• NOTE*** be careful and be attentive to the keyboard wire as you perform the next steps

****

5. tape the tip of the screw driver and stick the inside the battery well.you will use the screwdrive to push up the battery. put a PLASTIC BAG over the opening, because there is a spring that will pop out.

6. using the screwdriver with one or two forceful pushes, push hard and the slip ring will give way the battery will move up towards the opening over were the plastic bag is at. if the screwdriver is not long after the battery moved up, put another old battery in the well to give you an extension.

7. slowly push keep pushing up the battery until the spring and holder pop off. now the well is open and you can push the battery back down the original way it came in. REMEMBER THE KEYBOARD WIRES CAN GET DAMAGED IF YOU KEEP PUSSHING THE BATTERY FOWARD.

8. Clean corrosion and put back parts in reverse order.

I did this on 5 keyboard and the spring never broke once while i pushed. it very thick. i tried to put a picture on this but was unable.

hope this helps you

UPDATE: for battery insertion To possibly eliminate or reduce a future battery acid leak, i put 1 pieces of duck tape around each area were the batteries touch +/-. if you put to much the batteries will not slide in the battery well. I am hoping that this will contain as much acid leak as possible should it occur again

I used baking soda and a few drops of water and let it sit for about 15 minutes, then I forcefully banged the thing on a countertop and the batteries came out, it was thrilling. Thank you for the good advice!

Just in case anyone still needs to figure this out - I used the W-D-40 and it worked! I squirted some in, jiggled the keyboard around a little, and then I noticed that the W-D was seeping out the other end of the keyboard (where the power button is - not where you put in the batteries). So I jiggled it a little more, hit the sides of the tube where the batteries go, and after a couple of minutes the bad battery slid out. It was only very slightly corroded - normally I wouldn't even notice that tiny amount of corrosion - suggesting to me that the battery tube area (sorry don't know the technical term) is very tight. Probably as soon as you get the message that the batteries in the keyboard are about to run out, you should change the batteries. I always wait for them to actually die which probably had something to do with it.

Anyway - glad I solved this problem for myself and I hope I can help someone else with this technique!

After this question posted I bought a keyboard just to do a teardown and posted it here:

Apple Wireless Keyboard (A1255) Teardown

Tried this and busted the keyboard. The batteries were s corroded when I pushed the screwdriver in it went through one battery. The repeated pushing disconnected the wire from the attachment. And it was all over. I suggest care in doing this. Though I have to say the corrosion on my batteries were quite bad.

I've fixed this before. My wife took the keyboard to an Apple store and they had no solutions. I told her to put it in the freezer after sealing it in a zip-loc bag. Left it over night. Opened the battery cover and lightly tapped the keyboard, batteries slide right out. Ours were not corroded but the Applet told my wife that this was an issue with this design and that the batteries swell. Swelling? How about ice. I wasn't sure it would work thinking that the keyboard battery chamber may shrink a bit as well. If it did it was insignficant relative to the shrinkage of the batteries.

Actually, I find if you pour a small amount of white vinegar where the batteries go, it will dissolve the green crud effectively. You may need to try this a couple of times. Once finished, be sure and let the keyboard dry out before using again.

I have two keyboards - model A1255 takes three batteries and model A1314 takes two batteries. Make sure you check before you go looking for the "missing" third battery.

Find a rod slightly smaller than the AA battery. Drop a small amount

of Super-Glue on the end and lower the keyboard over the rod and hold for a few seconds. Don't put more Super-Glue than a drop else

you'll have a rod stuck in the keyboard. Good Luck!

I just had this issue and a screw driver just wouldn't grab the slot. So secured a nickel into a pair of vice grips and worked the cap back and forth until it was loose enough to remove.

The nickel was warped but it is the perfect size and got the job done.

I just managed to get 2 jammed batteries out of my apple wireless keyboard-

i mixed a little baking soda with water, as suggested, and using a teaspoon dribbled a bit down onto the batteries.... at first I though it hadn't worked, but then they dislodged pretty easily with a scribe tool about a minute later, whereas before I had been trying to dislodge them like this for ages with no progress at all.

I guess I will have to wait a few days to see if the keyboard actually works once it is dried out though!

Interestingly, it turns out it was an energiser battery that was provided with the keyboard which exploded. (This happened about a year ago, but I've only just felt the determination to do something about it!)

Just before resorting to this method, I gave the technical guys at apple a call, and they seemed to think there was no alternative but to buy a new keyboard!

Also, possibly kind of important:

I read a few blogs just now about removing battery leakage in general, and the general consensus seems to be that these chemicals are not particularly good for you, so it might be sensible to wear gloves and open some windows while you are experimenting!

I'm irrationally hyperparanoid about things like this so just reading this has made my skin crawl slightly, but its probably all in my mind really..

Thank you all for the tips. Had the same problem as all of you. Used water and baking soda to loosen the corrosion and a good long and sharp corkscrew to hook into the batteries. The third battery was more difficult to extract and needed more water and baking soda than the other 2 batteries. With my 4 1/2 inch corkscrew was able to uncork my last battery after adding also a little WD-40.

My recommendation would be to use baking soda and water, WD-40 if necessary, and buy a good corkscrew with a sharp tip, and a bottle of good wine. The latter is not for the keyboard, but for you as a reward for having mastered the art of uncorking batteries.

You will have a hard time finding a 4 1/2 inch long corkscrew, but mine did just fine. It is a Screwpull corkscrew, a little pricey, but even with a bottle of wine, still cheaper than a new wireless keyboard.

À votre santé!

Cheers!

I read all the posts and were about to try alll these methods....I had banged it many many times vertically when it struck me that it may help to strike it horizontally.... (g-force, batter full weight, wedge, u get the idea...) etc) and it helped :) - got loose after ONE big bang :)...cheeers :)...!! Hope it helps some soul out there!

My keyboard was an older type, batteries go in one end. The top battery was stuck so I screwed a broad threaded screw into the centre of the top battery, about 2 cm, then pulled the battery out by pulling on the screw with pliers. Easy

I used the old Jiffy Lube trick of using coffee to get rid of the corrosion. You might not have baking soda around the office so give it a try.

Coffee is alkaline so it does neutralize corrosion. I just used a paper towel and a few drips in the battery container. Leaving it for 15 min.

Finally! Thanks everybody. I started yesterday and got one battery out by hitting the side of the key board. Then went to two Mac stores, and one owner got one more battery out by poking and hitting, but the third battery was stuck. All batteries were swollen with corrosion. Today I tried a little moist baking soda, before went on this site. Then, as suggested, I tried a few drops of vinegar, twice, finally, I went to WD-40 and waited a few minutes, hit the board more on the side. Nothing happened, so I gave it another shot

of WD-40, and poked the battery with the long screwdriver. Battery didn't move, so I just slammed it down really hard flat on the back and out popped battery #3. So I cleaned it up with soft rag and screwdriver - don't know yet if it still works after all that hitting and slamming.

I new would have got this far without the above postings. I should know better than to leave anything electronic for a long period with the batteries in it.

have the same problem....but have to say my husband thinks I am a techie as I know how to use vinegar, baking soda and a q-tip! Two batteries out and one to go! didn't use the screwdriver yet!!

Because of this thread, I immediately decided I should just insert the batteries only when using the keyboard, not giving them he chance to corrode. I don't use it that often. I was horrified to find that already I could not get the third battery out, and immediately made an appointment for the genius bar, about an hour from my home.

Imagine how stupid I felt when the man pointed out that the batteries were already out. There are only two, not three. The contact inside looks just like the head of a battery! I wasn't sure he was correct until he showed me the tiny picture of two batteries close to the cap, right in the crease where the tube meets the keyboard.

I'm thankful I didn't do any more drastic action than to bang the tube pretty hard against something, and hope I don't see any problems in the future from my abuse.

Use a dremel tool to cut a narrow slot into the battery channel on the bottom of the keyboard where it won't be seen. Then tap out the corroded batteries with a sharp tool like a pocket knife blade or small screwdriver.

Hi I just had the same problem with the batteries and the covers stuck. I sprayed the top of the cap with WD40 and left it for about one hour. Came back, grabbed a big long screw driver and opened it fairly easy.

Now I have to figure out to get the batteries out without destroying the keyboard.

I sprayed the batteries with the WD40 but no luck, I fumbled with a knife, nothing... all three batteries are stuck, hopefully its just the first one.

Wow, I can't tell you just how satisfying it is to have finally retrieved the last corroded battery from my keyboard. I tried baking powder, GT85 lubricant, then white wine vinegar and I think it was the latter, combined with slamming the keyboard against my desk that did the job.

Next question: how do you get a cleaning rag out of a wireless keyboard battery slot??

Just kidding! Well now the batteries are out I hope it will work, but after pouring all that stuff down the tube I'll wait a couple of days before trying it.

Here's how I successfully removed two corroded AA batteries from my Apple Bluetooth keyboard: Following others' suggestions I first tried baking powder, then vinegar, then WD-40 over a period of three or four days. What did the trick, I think, was several liberal applications of WD-40 followed by several soft blows to the "barrel" of the holder with a rubber mallet, then firmly tapping the open battery end against a kitchen counter padded with several newspaper sections. I did this more than a few times before the second battery fell out.

I gave the keyboard 36 hours or so to dry out, inserted fresh batteries and damned if it doesn't work. Maybe it'll work for you, too.

Ok so I read some comments I got the first battery out but nothing worked for the second one

Here are the methods I used.

To open the cap I used a the pliers to hold the quarter and forced it open. I tried screw driver but it bends the metal and not enough surface area. Quarter fills the whole crevasse.

Now to the batteries

I used baking soda and vinegar. Used wd40. Openned the middle cover and tried to push the battery out from the middle. Scraped the crud off with metal picks. Nothing worked.

So, I went to the garage found the longest thinnest screw. Drilled the screw into the battery. Stuck the end of the screw into the vice and put all my weight on the keyboard. By putting all 200 lb of my weight and pounding on it took like 2 minutes to slowly pull it out.

And that's how I got an oxidized battery out of my wireless keyboard.

Good luck to all!

My wireless Apple keyboard had the corroded battery problem. I read through the prior helpful comments but I’ve a slightly different suggestion that worked for me.

After unscrewing the cap to the battery tube, I applied white vinegar with a Q-tip to the end of the first corroded battery and let the keyboard sit for 15 minutes or so. Per a previous suggestion, I was planning to drill a hole in the battery, insert a long screw, and try to pull the battery out. I fixed a bit in my drill press, and propped the keyboard up vertically on the drill press table. But when I lowered the bit to drill a hole, the pressure of the bit against the battery loosened the battery without even drilling. I could see the battery move slightly in the tube. When the battery moved, I decided to see if it would come out without more work.

I knocked the keyboard gently on a table, and the first battery came out far enough that I could remove it with pliers. The remaining two dropped out easily. It appeared, luckily, that only the first battery was corroded. I took Q-tips and vinegar and cleaned out the battery tube.

Then I inserted new batteries. No luck; the keyboard wouldn’t turn on. I looked into the battery tube and found that some corrosive crud had lodged on the positive contact at the other end. Cleaning this off with a wood dowel solved the problem.

The essential element was applying pressure on the batteries. Not much pressure was required, perhaps because only one battery was corroded, and the batteries need only move enough to loosen the corrosion. But this method eliminates banging the keyboard hard or removing the circuit board. Other methods of applying pressure might work equally well.

I looked at the responses online and it seemed to me that the problem was being considered the wrong way. For me, the issue was that I didn't have sufficient force to turn the sealed cap. So I used a vice with a coin in place and used my weight to turn the cap/keyboard. Worked first time. Then I used a cotton bud to remove the acid powder. It is all in tact, no mess and fixed in a couple of minutes.

Only one of my batteries was lodged in there with corrosion. I took a metal tool and tried to scrape off some of the corrosion, then used the baking soda method with a q-tip. Let it sit for about 10 minutes, tapped it horizontally, and whoosh! The battery slid out easily. Best feeling ever.

This design is ridiculous. Apple needs to address the issue. Meanwhile, my keyboard is in the freezer for the night in the hope that it will shrink the battery and let it come out, having failed at drilling into it (too far into the barrel) and unable to smash it out. Absurd.

Apple already addressed the issue..... by releasing, almost two years ago, a new keyboard, mouse and trackpad with non-removable batteries...

Personally, I think it is a bad idea, but, oh well...

I opened a support case with Duracell. I sent in my corroded keyboard and trackpad, and they reimbursed me for them. I had to provide the approximate costs of the keyboard and trackpad, how long the batteries had been installed, where they batteries were made and where I bought them from. The whole process took about 10 or 12 weeks.

I haven't been able to get the screw cap off.

The vice technique didn't work for me. Australian coins aren't up to the challenge.

I'm going to try soaking the cap to loosen the bond.

Here's the vinegar solution bath it is sitting in to dissolve the acid residue.

It might not show in the picture, but the ribbon is clear of the solution, and the board is angled to keep the other electronics clear too.

Hopefully after a good soak the cap will turn freely.

I had the first battery stuck, just last night on an A1255. Brand new Duracells.

I tried everything, long screwdriver push against spring, rubber hammer.

So, as some have said, I did the following.

1. Remove the other two batteries. Easy.

2. Spray in some WD-40, not too much. Let rest upright.

3. Using an air spray electronics cleaner, I flushed it (messy).

Lo and behold, the stuck battery came out. Now drying on the radiator.

Now, If someone could help me figure out why the "1" and "3" keys don't work, I'd be grateful.

WP

Thank you; this page was EXTREMELY helpful. First tried removing loose battery & then pressing down on stuck battery with long screen driver; nothing. Next followed above tips regarding small squirt of WD40 . Later sprinkled baking soda & letting it stand over night. Next kept gently thumping keyboard on a towel which caused plastic battery tube cover to pop out. With screwdriver gently pushed battery spring assembly out of chamber while still attached, removed battery & wiped the entire chamber clean of the corrosion, WD40 & baking soda.

By now was sure the keyboard was dead forever & ready to toss it but reinserted spring assembly & added 2 fresh batteries and tried pairing.

Voila! Never give up. This post is being typed with the trusty Apple keyboard. Amazed that it is so well built that it could take the above abuse that it was subjected too.

Thank you all for the above tips.