Hey all

Anyone had any experience of converting a unibody MBP from AZERTY layout to QWERTY at all please? My new one has arrived with one unexpectedly... (or would have been expected had I read properly.... oops).

Anyway - is is as easy as swapping keys? Seems to function in UK settings... just actual keys aren't what they should be....

Thanks!

Ben

Initial search suggested that you had to replace the aluminium top part of the casing, but my second search found this which suggests that the keys can be replaced.
You might have to live with the horizontal return key though.

Mark

I may be okay - it's got the upright one!

Thanks though - I have a friend looking to see if he can get the keys through his contacts!

You may be able to take the keyboard apart and rearrange the letters.
Good luck. (8+)

Mark

Ah, but the number keys and some of the others won't be correct, so I'll need to replace them... I'll look again when I've got a bit more time!

Thanks for the replies!

Sorry I'm being not at all helpful, but French keyboards are a right pain in the derrière.

Have you tried taking it back?

yeah, if it's a new laptop with the wrong. Keyboard then why don't you take it back?

By ripping out the keyboard you'll be invalidating the warranty so shooting yourself in the foot twice.

Yes but it means that they have to nominate themselves for Tales of Fail.

He said the description stated it was French, so no. Not really.

Why not just select the relevant keyboard layout in System Preferences? True, you'd need to learn the new key positions but at least the keys would match what you're typing!

Set it to Qwerty.
Spend weeks learning to touch type on it.
Having memorised where every character is located, sand off all the characters from every key.

^
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Heh... yeah, I've set it to Qwerty already, and yeah - I may well see if I can send it back yet. They have messed me around somewhat with it already to get it to me, so out of goodwill (and that the keyboard layout wasn't exactly highlighted in the description) hopefully they might.

17" refurbs of that age are hard to find now though, hence why I was hoping for a conversion. I may ask if they can do it, to not void any warranty.

I'll get in touch with them tomorrow and see what they say.

Thanks!

Because French layout keyboards are a right pain to use, even for those people who it's their 'native layout'? Shifting to use the numeric keys, the increased number of 'symbol' keys next to the right shift, and the slightly cryptic way of getting slashes or brackets or braces are what spring to mind.