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2017 MacBook Pro with Touch Bar keyboard issue
- Thread starter sultanoflondon
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"I’m an Apple technician and have probably fixed about ten MacBook pros from 2015 which have issues with the keyboard. That’s ten in approximately 3 years.
I am currently fixing approximately 5-6 each week from the 2016/2017 range. Call it anecdotal but I have friends who work at different Apple Service Providers who experience the same.
This issue is real. This issue is huge."
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"I work for AppleCare.
This is totally a guess (and is completely antidotal), but I would venture to say that, of the calls I accept related to hardware issues on the new MacBook Pro, the keyboard is the culprit 70% of the time.
Meaning that, if a 2016/2017 MacBook Pro pops up into my system when the phone rings, I'd guess 7/10 of them are keyboard failures."
"I’m an Apple technician and have probably fixed about ten MacBook pros from 2015 which have issues with the keyboard. That’s ten in approximately 3 years.
I am currently fixing approximately 5-6 each week from the 2016/2017 range. Call it anecdotal but I have friends who work at different Apple Service Providers who experience the same.
This issue is real. This issue is huge."
permalink
"I work for AppleCare.
This is totally a guess (and is completely antidotal), but I would venture to say that, of the calls I accept related to hardware issues on the new MacBook Pro, the keyboard is the culprit 70% of the time.
Meaning that, if a 2016/2017 MacBook Pro pops up into my system when the phone rings, I'd guess 7/10 of them are keyboard failures."
Absolutely black & white, only message Apple understands today is $$$$ Stop buying this garbage, stay on your older Mac's until Apple wakes up.
No this isn't a message to switch to W10. Stop feeding the beast, if "you" accept this poor quality rubbish, it's simply a "Green Light" for Apple to continue it's poor behaviour. We as the customer need to hold Apple to a high standard and make it accountable, not excuse and diminish blatantly obvious design issues...
Frankly at this point those exonerating Apple for this fiasco should be simply ashamed of themselves. Some people save for literally years to own a MBP, only to be brutally disappointed by Apple's current negligence and shoddy design
Q-6
No this isn't a message to switch to W10. Stop feeding the beast, if "you" accept this poor quality rubbish, it's simply a "Green Light" for Apple to continue it's poor behaviour. We as the customer need to hold Apple to a high standard and make it accountable, not excuse and diminish blatantly obvious design issues...
Frankly at this point those exonerating Apple for this fiasco should be simply ashamed of themselves. Some people save for literally years to own a MBP, only to be brutally disappointed by Apple's current negligence and shoddy design
Q-6
Unfortunately there are too many posters here who either don't use their keyboard or keep their macbooks in a ISO class 1 cleanroom and keep defending Apple's worst keyboard. Worst keyboard since my IBM PC Jr. Yes, I am that old hahaha
I hope Apple learns from this and starts to back off from the "thin at any cost" mantra over the next few years. Hope it hits them hard in the pocketbook, which invariably has to at this point. It's not cheap for them replacing a whole top case + new batteries over and over again. I feel sorry for the poor sods who bought these computers without Applecare though. They're going to have the eat the ridiculous repair costs until the inevitable class action lawsuit goes through.
I actually believe the scope of this is actually a lot bigger. Many people will just live with sticky or repeating keys. Just think how many people use iPhones for calls and texts. For casual surfing and a couple of emails per day even the worst keyboard is OK.
I would speculate that in 2-3 years with regular use in a normal environment (so not in a clean room) ALL of these keyboards will show signs of deterioration. It's just simply bad design. Nothing more, nothing less.
I would speculate that in 2-3 years with regular use in a normal environment (so not in a clean room) ALL of these keyboards will show signs of deterioration. It's just simply bad design. Nothing more, nothing less.
I bought the 2017 MBP 15" in July last year and started having problems with B, N, G and H keys early January 2018. After removing dust and replacing the keys at the Apple Store, they were still doubling. So it ended in replacing the whole keyboard, plus trackpad and battery of course, which is almost 500€ in France ! So far I didn't detect any issues, but most of the time the laptop is connected to both external display and keyboard ...
My second keyboard is on the way out. Getting either lllllll or no l's at all. The trackpad is also making tinny clanging noises.
Add me to the list. On my second replacement and the "b" is doubling. Debating whether or not to make an appointment for the Genius Bar or just deal with it until I can sell this POS and replace it with a 2015 model...
This is getting interesting. The change.org petition now already has more than 16.000 signatures. Doesn't really look like this is an overblown problem...
My MBP gone to an apple repair center in Sao Paulo, after some days the repair center call me to tell that I'll need to wait more some days bacause the new parte (topcase) arrived with problem too (almost funny...). I'll need reconsider a MBP to work, this situation is complicated! In others words **** the client!
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I had planned on upgrading to a 2017 MacBook Pro soon, but I think I am just going to replace to battery in my 2011 model and hope this keyboard issue gets sorted. I just do some light photo and video editing, so the additional power is not needed yet for me at this time.
Hi I have a problem with my n key. It always seems to work when I put in all my strength into that key. Otherwise it's toast. Is there a way to fix this??
Apple keeps doing that.
Einstein....definition of stupidity....do the same thing again and again and expect different results.
Apple replaces faulty keyboards with faulty keyboards.
But then again, what else can they do?
Nothing.
The keyboards are just the beginning of this disastrous 2016/2017 MBP release, there are many other major issues going on.
No issues with the MBA, which uses the old scissor-switch keyboard design. However, keep in mind that the MBA, while an extremely solid and reliable design, is a really old machine with a terrible TN display.
All in all, with updates likely coming in the fall, I would wait if I could. This is definitely not a good moment to buy a Mac, unfortunately.
I believe Apple currently doesn't have ANY viable options if you're in the market for a portable computer.
Either it is great design, but old hardware (Air, old Pros) or vice versa.
While some think that the keyboard problems are widely exaggerated, I don't think so. These are not isolated manufacuring defects. Keyboards are just simply prone to failure and depending on several factors (dust, heat...) they will start exhibiting problems sooner or later.
Keep in mind that this is not like a display or a processor, where a problem is clear as day (screen artefacts, computer crashing). Keyboard problems will be masked by a user thinking they just mistyped something, most often a password (muscle memory, demands absolute precision).
Either it is great design, but old hardware (Air, old Pros) or vice versa.
While some think that the keyboard problems are widely exaggerated, I don't think so. These are not isolated manufacuring defects. Keyboards are just simply prone to failure and depending on several factors (dust, heat...) they will start exhibiting problems sooner or later.
Keep in mind that this is not like a display or a processor, where a problem is clear as day (screen artefacts, computer crashing). Keyboard problems will be masked by a user thinking they just mistyped something, most often a password (muscle memory, demands absolute precision).
Really thanks for your response Sterkenburg
But do we have any estimation when is the release day of Macbook 2018?
And can they guarantee that the keyboard issues will be resolved?
[doublepost=1529130894][/doublepost]
But do we have any estimation when is the release day of Macbook 2018?
And can they guarantee that the keyboard issues will be resolved?
You cant be guaranteed of anything with Apple as it marches to the beat of it's own drum. Apple could do absolutely nothing or inversely launch a completely new model.
Best guess is no revision of the MBP until October, if that juncture passes 2019 and onwards...
Q-6
I think the refresh was ready WWDC last week. But the class action suit(s) and the service requests for keyboard replacements growing exponentially (just my estimate, but it makes sense that as publicity increases, people also start paying attention to the fact that their typing accurancy keeps deteriorating - all because of keyboard defects) made them scrap the announcement.
Keyboard redesign, due to its fusion with the topcase, requires a complete laptop redesign. I do not think we'll see an updated laptop from Apple this year.
You're welcome. But unfortunately, like everyone else here, I can only hazard a guess. I think there is a fair likelihood of a spec bump in the Fall with the new 4-core (13") and 6-core (15") Intel CPUs, and maybe an upgrade to mobile AMD Vega GPUs (which aren't out yet) if Apple can get their hands on them in time.
Will they also fix the keyboard issue? Common sense dictates they'll try to address it: it's hurting their reputation among Mac enthusiasts, and all the fixes under warranty are probably costing them a non-negligible amount of money. But there is no guarantee. And don't expect them to ever admit that there was a problem. I'm expecting them to roll out silent fixes/tweaks, like they did for the 2017 model, until it's time for a redesign.
My own 2017 MBP (13” Touch Bar) is in with the Genius Bar at the moment for a top case replacement. Took them a while to agree to replace rather than just going through the motions of the cleaning process but thankfully this time I got someone who agreed it wasn’t good enough for a £1700 laptop to have these problems. We’ll see if this new one solves the issue.
The more I think about it, the more this makes sense to me. I have been thinking along the same lines. There is literally no reason for Apple to delay the updates. The only logical explanation is that the update was ready but at the last minute, they decided to cancel it and got Mark Gurman to "leak it" to the media to manage expectations. Even Tim Cook saying "It's all about software today" was an unnecessary sentence to start off the event with.
Unfortunately, there is no other explanation that truly explains what we have been seeing. Dell, Lenovo, HP, etc. all have the new CPUs in updated hardware. So there shouldn't have been an issue for Apple to do the same.
I have a sinking feeling that we aren't going to be seeing new MBPs this year. By the time they redesign or solve the keyboard issues, these CPUs are going to be old enough that Apple may just hold off for the new ones.
[doublepost=1531848554][/doublepost]OK - I have a keyboard problem noone seems to have reported. I have been typing email messages - or within a Blog, as here - and have suddenly found my entire text disappears - prompted by my striking one or 2 keys the computer didn't 'like'. With my old MacBook, I would sometimes highlight text by mistake and any typing would then cause a big delete. But I could always backspace any over-types to the point where the original text would re-appear. Not with this keyboard - any backspacing returns me to Zero.. This has happened too many times within the couple of weeks I have had this MB...
Anyone else experienced this? If not, what could be my problem?
Nigel
I think they are probably trying to avoid setting expectations for hardware at every event. With software they can control release dates, but with hardware they are often reliant on other parties (i.e. intel) getting chips out in time.