German keyboard to English?

[TH Gamer]

I'm thining of buying a 17" macbook pro of ebay but the keyboard is in german, would i be able to set the keyboard to english in Macos and the then change the keycaps around on the keyboard with out buying a new one or just put a key cover on the keyboard with the english layout?

[dfsdfgfkjsefoiqzemnd]

You won't be able to swap the keys over.  Firstly you'll break them, secondly the uppercase vs lowercase symbols and special characters may not be on the same key in the different layouts. 

You'll have to replace the entire keyboard, which on a Macbook is a costly part that on some models (for example the generation where the keys stop working after a couple of months) is riveted to the palmrest in 50 or so places. 

[TH Gamer]

if i put the language on to english, wont it just type in english and make it think that it is a english keyboard where as it is actually just a german keyboard with a cover over it

 

[dfsdfgfkjsefoiqzemnd]

Yes, if you change the language in the settings the OS will think it's an English keyboard. 

[NeuesTestament]

4 minutes ago, TH Gamer said:

if i put the language on to english, wont it just type in english and make it think that it is a english keyboard where as it is actually just a german keyboard with a cover over it

 

That is how it works in W10, I don't know about Mac OS X but I suspect it is the same.

[TH Gamer]

Beasue it's a macbook from that time where apple actually let you upgrade everythink execpt the cpu, i will try using it with the german keyboard in english and see if all the keys are correct, if so than i will get a cover for it as it is a lot easier than replacing the keyboard, otherwise i will look at another one.

Thanks for your answers.