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I'm confused about something. I keep hearing people say that they're replacing their "topcase" to fix this. What is the topcase? I thought the "topcase" was the screen.

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No, the screen is the screen. The lower part of the laptop (where everything but the screen lives) has a case made of two pieces of aluminum. The topcase, which is the top half of the aluminum body, and has the keyboard mounted very deep into it as well as the logic board and other parts. There is a smaller piece of aluminum that screws to the topcase to hold everything inside.

Close. The bottom case is just a panel, not holding anything in, so removing it just gives access to the inside. Everything is attached to the top case, but some parts, like the display hinges and motherboard, are removable at the shop, while others, like the keyboard, plus the trackpad and battery for retina MBPs and newer, are part of the top case assembly part.

(The 12-inch MacBook is different: some parts are attached to the bottom case, like, iirc, the motherboard.)

the keyboard, palmrest/keyboard surround, and batteries are all one unit. they replace the whole thing if you need a new battery too. It's been like this since 2012~

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