Alas, some of the batteries are stuck inside and I haven’t been able to get them to budge.
I’ve googled around and see that various solutions have been offered including using WD-40 to loosen things up, and even placing some ‘Krazy Glue’ (or equivalent) on the end of some sort of stick and, literally, glueing it to the refractory battery. Then, after letting it set, you’re supposed to try to pull out the whole connected mess (stick, glue, battery).
I thought that before I start using super glue or WD-40 inside of my keyboard, it would be a good idea to see what people around here think. So, I am all ears!
Thanks!
ETA: Of course, it figures - I have an important report to get out in the next few days, so am more than anxious to see if the best course is simply to buy a new keyboard.
I have had success drilling a small hole into the battery and installing a screw right into the guts of the battery. Grab screw head with vice grip locking pliers and pull.
Do not use lubricants. Try super glue first, then try my method.
Use NiMh rechargeable batteries instead of alkaline primaries.
Thanks. I don’t think the drill method will work for me, though, since the jammed battery(ies) are about six inches from the opening (and the opening itself is about the size of a penny). In other words, the batteries are end-to-end-to-end (in a long hollow cylinder) and only one, the one closest to the open end, would have been accessible to a drill. In my case, the jammed one is deeper inside.
I have the same wireless keyboard that came with my 27" iMac.
A few times I have used the screw method to remove batteries from 2 x AA flashlights (Fenix and 4Sevens brands) that had Duracells leak inside the battery tube. The battery tubes on the flashlights and our Apple wireless keyboards are almost identical. Both are 2 x AA in a tube.
On one flashlight I used a hammer and a scratch awl (long, thin, sharp) to puncture the base of the battery, then used a long screw. The others I used a drill.
It works, and may be the only practical way of getting them out. Good luck, and post a follow up of how you fixed it.