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Anyone use a keyboard cover on their MBA?

B

Bigredhawkeye

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 13, 2012
71
0
Hey everyone.

Does anyone around here use a keyboard cover on their Air? I see a lot of people around campus with MBP's with them on, but never anyone with an Air.

If so, does it decrease the ventilation on the Air, how does it feel, etc.?
 
Not sure about the air, but I use a Moshi Clearguard on my Macbook Pro. It does a great job of keeping out dog fur and keeping the keys oil free and preventing the normal shine that happens with normal use. Not sure about how the Air ventilates so I don't know how it will impact the temperature and stuff. It's kind of expensive but if you go on amazon and search "cosmos keyboard cover", a similar one will come up and it seems like a cheaper alternative to the Moshi, although I haven't tried it. It's not a needed accessory but for someone obsessed with keeping their electronics perfect for resale value and longer life, its a good choice. Anyway, best of luck in your search. Cheers!
 
I use a keyboard cover I purchased from Radtech. It doubles as a screen cloth.
 
Bigredhawkeye said:
If so, does it decrease the ventilation on the Air, how does it feel, etc.?
Click to expand...
There is no air intake or exhaust through the keyboard on any Mac notebook, and there never has been. Both intake and exhaust is through the vents in the rear near the hinge, which allows venting with the lid open or closed (for operating in clamshell mode). There is a solid panel under the keyboard, preventing any meaningful airflow.
WTBDHrUFidEXI1d4.large
 
mfuchs88 said:
Not sure about the air, but I use a Moshi Clearguard on my Macbook Pro. It does a great job of keeping out dog fur and keeping the keys oil free and preventing the normal shine that happens with normal use. Not sure about how the Air ventilates so I don't know how it will impact the temperature and stuff. It's kind of expensive but if you go on amazon and search "cosmos keyboard cover", a similar one will come up and it seems like a cheaper alternative to the Moshi, although I haven't tried it. It's not a needed accessory but for someone obsessed with keeping their electronics perfect for resale value and longer life, its a good choice. Anyway, best of luck in your search. Cheers!
Click to expand...

I ended up buying a Moshi one from Amazon since I was purchasing a few other things anyways. Plus it only cost like $8. I'll give it a try and see how it goes!
 
GGJstudios said:
There is no air intake or exhaust through the keyboard on any Mac notebook, and there never has been. Both intake and exhaust is through the vents in the rear near the hinge, which allows venting with the lid open or closed (for operating in clamshell mode). There is a solid panel under the keyboard, preventing any meaningful airflow.
WTBDHrUFidEXI1d4.large
Click to expand...

I don't know about that. When I use a Radtech screen protector when running clamshell mode, my MBA gets about 10-15C hotter. So there must be significant airflow going thru the keyboard.
 
calvol said:
So there must be significant airflow going thru the keyboard.
Click to expand...
That's not true. There is no airflow through the keyboard. All intake and exhaust is through the vents at the rear, near the hinge.
 
calvol said:
I don't know about that. When I use a Radtech screen protector when running clamshell mode, my MBA gets about 10-15C hotter. So there must be significant airflow going thru the keyboard.
Click to expand...
GGJstudios is correct, there isn't any sort of airflow through the keyboard. But I'd imagine there is plenty of heat dissipation throughout the chassis. So when the MBA is closed, you reduce a large amount of surface area exposed to the cooler air, probably leading to increased temperatures. More importantly though, the CPU/GPU is probably working harder to drive whatever external monitor you're using, again leading to a temperature increase.

Granted, it's nothing to worry about and perfectly within operating temperatures. If it gets too hot, it'll shut itself off to prevent any damage.
 
FYI: Moshi cover is by far the best I've every used. Sooo thin and unnoticeable.
 
I use the Moshi one, I use my MBA outside a lot and if I didn't have the keyboard cover on there would be all kinds of dust and crap in there. Only downside is you need to clean it every so often or else it gets to looking like crap.
 
Yeah, as I mentioned earlier, I absolutely swear by my Moshi. It slows my typing a little, but it's totally worth it for the benefits.
 
philxor said:
Only downside is you need to clean it every so often or else it gets to looking like crap.
Click to expand...

don't underestimate this right here. I bought a keyboard protector when I first got my air, with the intent to keep it on there forever and protect the keyboard. But depending on your usage, if you're not taking it off and cleaning it under running water and soap every few days, your cover as well as your screen where it will pick up all the grease/dust from the cover when it's closed, will start to get nasty.

After a while I couldn't bother doing this task so often so I just said screw it and started using it the way it was meant. Just my 2 cents.
 
KylePowers said:
GGJstudios is correct, there isn't any sort of airflow through the keyboard. But I'd imagine there is plenty of heat dissipation throughout the chassis. So when the MBA is closed, you reduce a large amount of surface area exposed to the cooler air, probably leading to increased temperatures. More importantly though, the CPU/GPU is probably working harder to drive whatever external monitor you're using, again leading to a temperature increase.

Granted, it's nothing to worry about and perfectly within operating temperatures. If it gets too hot, it'll shut itself off to prevent any damage.
Click to expand...

I think you and GG missed the point. When I use the MBA in clamshell mode WITH a Radtech screen protector (which covers the keyboard), it runs about 10-15C hotter than WITHOUT the Radtech in place. This indicates there indeed is airflow through the keyboard, whether it's designed that way or not.
 
calvol said:
I think you and GG missed the point. When I use the MBA in clamshell mode WITH a Radtech screen protector (which covers the keyboard), it runs about 10-15C hotter than WITHOUT the Radtech in place. This indicates there indeed is airflow through the keyboard, whether it's designed that way or not.
Click to expand...
There is no airflow through the keyboard that contributes to cooling. Period. Whether you believe otherwise doesn't change the facts.

Here's another pic of a 2011 MBA 13", showing the solid panel under the keyboard, preventing airflow:
rl2vDtXBqSu1BXSG.medium
 
calvol said:
I think you and GG missed the point. When I use the MBA in clamshell mode WITH a Radtech screen protector (which covers the keyboard), it runs about 10-15C hotter than WITHOUT the Radtech in place. This indicates there indeed is airflow through the keyboard, whether it's designed that way or not.
Click to expand...
If that is the case, it is more likely that the screen protector is an insulator and doesn't allow the ambient heat to dissipate through it very well. In clamshell mode, even though the keyboard is not an air vent, heat will rise through the top of the laptop to dissipate.
 
keyboard cover is showing that you are too pressed.

No cover for iphone no cover for comp.

Keep it classy and dont over stress.
 
I guess I should add that I tried one. Lasted me about 10 minutes before I put it back in the box. Plan on returning it during my next trip to the Apple Store.

The feeling wasn't right, it was too thick and it touched the LCD when I closed my laptop.
 
Well I just put it on so I figured I'd give it a day or so for me to get used to it. It definitely changes the feel of typing and I can imagine it getting pretty gross after a day or so of use.

We'll see. If it doesn't grow on me it's only $8 down the drain.
 
For the record, even though there may be no "air flow" through the keyboard, there is definitely heat that dissipates through it. You can feel heat when you hold your hand above the keyboard. My keyboard protecter gets warm and when you take it off, the computer cools slightly according to iStat Pro. There are no vents in the keyboard, but heat dissipates through it.
 
Of course heat dissipates through the keyboard. "Hot air rises", so since the keyboard is above the heat generating components, heat will dissipate through it.

I suspect your keyboard cover is trapping the heat and not allowing it to dissipate, thus the temperature difference w/ w/o it.

But as stated numerous times, there is no airflow through the keyboard.
 
LaWally said:
Of course heat dissipates through the keyboard. "Hot air rises", so since the keyboard is above the heat generating components, heat will dissipate through it.

I suspect your keyboard cover is trapping the heat and not allowing it to dissipate, thus the temperature difference w/ w/o it.

But as stated numerous times, there is no airflow through the keyboard.
Click to expand...

U are right, but why to stop this natural way of cooling ? I have such cover, but after an advise from a specialist, I don't use it.
 
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