Replacing X230 touchpad

[richthofen]

Hi all!

I've been doing some small upgrades to my new (to me) X230, first was a backlit keyboard, more RAM is on it's way and now I want to replace the touchpad as it's pretty worn out.

Now, I've found for sale both the entire touchpad assembly and the plastic cover/touchpad surface alone (this part). If I were to buy the latter part, can I safely remove the touchpad circuitry and put it on the new plastic thing or it's a job not easily done/one that requires specialized tools? I don't want to purchase the whole touchpad assembly if I don't need to, specially since the current one works just fine.

[RealBlackStuff]

You could also just remove the worn touchpad layer and replace it with a piece of black self-adhesive plastic, or buy a larger touchpad sticker such as this and cut that to size.

[richthofen]

Do you know how's the feel on those stickers by any chance? That's an interesting option if the feel is alright.

[RealBlackStuff]

My link is for a smooth sticker, which is fine for everyday use, and used on most newer laptops..
Your link is for a coarse surface, used on older laptops.
Advantage of smooth stickers: they don't get dirty as fast as the coarse ones.

[janeckart]

Hello,

I did replace just the plastic part on the touchpad of my X230. I heated the touchpad with a hairdryer then used a flat edge between the plastic cover and the logic board and did some twisting. The glue is quite sticky but it did come apart without any damage to the logic board and only some minor damage (bent plastic) to the old plastic cover. As the glue is still very sticky, you can just press the new plastic cover on. Very happy with the result and I will do the procedure again if needed (bought 3 covers).

Best regards,
jan