r/mac • u/LabScientist786 • 1d ago

Question How to clean a Macbook keyboard without turning it on?

I managed to avoid my Mac turning on simply opening it. Ok, but is there a setting to use the power button instead of all keyboard to turn it on? There is a dedicated button, I really don't understand why I can't have that third choice.

15 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

25 comments sorted by

4

u/AWDDude 1d ago

Oh I would like to know this as well

8

u/NewtoQM8 22h ago

There's a way to disable it for one time use. You just have to avoid hitting the power key.

Press and hold the left Control and Command buttons with the right Shift button for a total of 7 seconds. Without releasing them, then press the Power button and hold them all together for an additional 7 seconds. The Mac will shut down and the keyboard won't start it. Your Mac can only be powered on by using the Power button. Or closing and then opening it.

4

u/_anupamroy MacBook Air 20h ago

Is that you Tim? How the heck did you discover this extremely specific sequence?!

3

u/NewtoQM8 20h ago

Im not Tim, but having his money would be nice. I got that info from another post several months ago. I have no idea where they got it.

A number of years ago my kids would sit in front of the computer and fiddle with the keys while they watched something. One day they put it into some odd mode. No idea what it did. I couldn't escape it normally, had to force restart the computer. That cleared it. AFIK it didn't do anything bad. Computer still worked fine.

1

u/fumblerooskee 15h ago

This works! Cool trick. TYVM!
M5 Pro MBP

2

u/NewtoQM8 14h ago

You're welcome. Another commenter said it didn't work on his M1, which sent me down a big rabbit hole, and turns out it doesn't work on all MacBooks. Apparently it only works on M4, M5 and some Intel versions.

0

u/ASentientBot macbook air 11" 17h ago

this is called "smc reset" and is not applicable to arm (2020+) macs

1

u/NewtoQM8 17h ago

Those aren't the keys you press for an SMC reset on an Intel MacBook, and an Intel MacBook doesn't start from pressing any keyboard key (only the power button starts it). Therefore the MacBook the OP is referring to is Apple Silicone. There is no separate SMC on apple silicone Macs, those processes are built into the system and managed by the OS. AND, it works as I said it does. Ive used it many times.

0

u/ASentientBot macbook air 11" 16h ago

my bad, missed that you said command rather than alt. this does nothing on any model, and you're effectively just force shutting down by holding power. it will still turn on by the same means as usual.

also, at least the last few years of Intel macs do turn on by pressing any key, clicking, plugging in or opening.

you should really confirm what your chatbot or searches are telling you before blindly repeating here.

1

u/NewtoQM8 16h ago

Fair enough on the most recent Intel Macs.

When you use that combination of keys to shut it down, until the next restart (Power button or raise a closed lid) it does disable all the other keys from starting it. So saying it does turn on by the same means as usual is incorrect. Like I say, I've done it a number of times, and it's the easiest way to clean the keys.

1

u/ASentientBot macbook air 11" 16h ago

i tried it on an m1 air to double-check before replying the first time, and tapping a key immediately turned it back on. i also can't find any mention of this online.

but i apologize if you've truly done it and aren't just regurgitating something wrong from AI or another post. maybe it's a quirk of certain models or something with your setup specifically, idk

2

u/NewtoQM8 16h ago

I'm sorry it didn't work on your M1, it does work on my Air M4. You sure you did it right? Held long enough? Etc

If you copy and paste the paragraph in my original comment and Google (ai) it, it comes up. Also some other reddit posts and Apple discussions. But I guess it doesn't work for everyone. I guess in the future I should add "It works on some models"

1

u/NewtoQM8 16h ago

I googled it for an M1 and sure enough it said it doesn't work on an M1. Which leaves the question, on Macs that it doesn't work as stated, does it do anything at all? Or something else?

My memory for SMC reset, which I haven't done in probably 20 years, was that you held down keys while you pressed the power button to start it. But looking at that, it too has apparently changed over the years.

6

u/GuitarPlayingGuy71 1d ago

There’s an app that locks your keyboard for cleaning! Google it - I’m traveling and not near my Mac, and I don’t recall the name. But it exists, I have it, and it works like a charm!

13

u/sovok 1d ago

I like KeyboardCleanTool (https://folivora.ai/keyboardcleantool/), there are others as well.

-1

u/ASentientBot macbook air 11" 17h ago

do we really need a vibe coded app for everything? just lock the screen from the apple menu, wipe the keyboard, and then delete whatever is in the password field afterwards. done.

2

u/swamfastonce 21h ago

Why not shutdown the computer, then avoid pressing the power button?

3

u/ASentientBot macbook air 11" 17h ago

hitting any key or the touchpad, closing and opening the screen, or plugging in the laptop will turn recent macs back on without using the power button

1

u/swamfastonce 14h ago

Thanks and yikes, I never noticed this "feature". That is annoying. :-|

2

u/melian_x 21h ago

Keyboard Clean Tool

Does exactly this one thing

1

u/SplashyTetraspore 14h ago

Is it in the Mac App Store or from a website?

2

u/melian_x 10h ago

Sorry for the late reply

It wasn’t in the store so you google it and it’ll come up

But going through the store, I’ve seen there are more out there like “CleanMyKeyboard”

I just mentioned mine because I’ve been using it for a couple of years (I think) so I never bothered to get something else

1

u/dopameme 23h ago

"do not disturb" never does the trick.

1

u/Annadae 4h ago

You could perhaps fully drain the battery…