Chosen Solution
I would like to know if the internal keyboard can be changed with MacBook Pro’s. I had liquid spill on MacBook unibody a1278, and keyboard stopped working. Now my brother has spare MacBook Pro 13 a1278 keyboard. I know that all top case will not fit, but what about internal one’s?
Yes you can! The 13" MacBook (aluminum unibody) (Late 2008) keyboard can be swapped out for a newer on from a 13" MacBook Pro (mid 2009) The 2.0Ghz late 2008 model does not have the backlit keyboard but it does have the port for it on the logic board, so when you swap it out you may get backlit functionality on your late 2008 MacBook aluminum unibody! There is no guide for doing this on ifixit that I could find, but it can be done with a little patience and a few tools… The hardest part is stripping the MacBook down and getting at the underside of the keyboard, which requires removing the logic board, the optical drive, and a couple metal crossmembers, most of which can be accomplished by reading the logicboard replacement instructions in the repair section of iFixit… Hope this helps!
I’ve seen this question a couple times around here, but I thought the problem was that the keyboard ribbon was changed to the other side? Maybe that’s just the MacBook white then. Otherwise, as Nathanael said, they are essentially the same problem, and although there is a complicated mod to get a backlit keyboard working, switching in the MBP keyboard would work.
