2017 MBP Keyboard Problems [MERGED]

[LizKat]

My wife and I have had our 2017 MBP 13' for 6 months now. My wife uses her keyboard for her PhD at UCLA every day for hours and hours. No problems for either of us. She is a lot rougher with her laptop than I am / eats near it, etc...

I don't do anything out of my way to care for my laptop that I haven't done with my other laptops. But at 6 months our laptops are kinda young.

This and other favorable reports about the 2017 13" MBP are good to hear. I'm starting to think about my next Apple-refurb laptop. I think I don't want the touch bar model. I do see some 2.5/i7 13" in the refurb inventory without TB now and then. Probably going for 16GB/512GB memory/SSD configuration. I like being able to stash a lot of music and TV/movie files on it for when I can't access the net to stream entertainment.

1TB would be nice since it's what I have now on a refurb 2012 MBP, but the extra $$$ will probably dissuade me. Even shelling out what they ask for 512GB will be somewhat annoying. But, I must remember that my first laptop a zillion years had only a 40MB drive in it at a fancy price indeed and yet in the end I went for it rather than a 20MB and was happy with it.

 

[1154729]

From what I’ve seen/read online,the way I see it is that the chances to experience keyboard issues are approximately 1 in 4(take that with a grain of salt as I’m not a statistician).

 

[IngerMan]

There was a very recent thread for this same topic. Are you asking because you are thinking of purchasing a 2017 or do you already own one?

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...ever-had-a-problem-with-the-keyboard.2154779/


And another thread on the 2018 Gen 3 keyboards if you are interested.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/gen-3-butterfly-keyboard.2127111/

 

[JustinRP37]

The keyboards are definitely not as good as the older ones. Now that I have used both extensively, I much prefer the 2015 and earlier keyboards. As a matter of fact most people I have talked to prefer the older ones, but those without issues for the current ones say they don't mind the new ones, but still prefer the old ones. Those who have had problems with the current ones and the loss of productivity because of it, much prefer the old design. Apple had the best keyboards in the industry and now when you ask people, most are hesitant about it. This will go down as one of the most bizarre changes Apple as made imo. Now that I am back on my wife's old Air as my MBP is back out for its 3rd repair in 22 months, I can firmly say I love and miss the old design.

 

[seeforyourself]

I had mine repaired twice. First time my space bar was acting up and they replaced the top case. Second time my "f" was acting up. I had an appointment and still had to wait 1 hour to be seen. When I was seen, they blew air into it and it temporary fixed the issue for a day. The ludicrous thing is that the service girl who blew the air into it even said that a can of air is essential for this. She was being all friendly and joking, but I took it infuriating and was kind of an ******* about it. Like did a service advisor seriously acknowledge it is a design flaw that I may keep getting the issue reintroduced and didn't even offer a refund? I had to bring it in a couple days later and the service guy took the key out to inspect it and he broke it even more (wouldn't even go in anymore). I had the keyboard replaced and top case repaired again.

Its been a couple of months now since the last repair, but I do notice some keys double clicking sometimes. I wonder if the next time I bring it in if they will replace my computer. I heard the 2018's are even less prone to get this issue. Heck, I may just ask for a total return since I paid extra for the apple care, so I paid even more to be covered, yet this computer is less than a year old and having so many issues. I kind of want the new iPad Pro, but I heard those even bend very easily. You can never win.

So annoying how the 2018 keyboards aren't even compatible with the 2017's.

 

[DTKblaster]

Wrote my PhD thesis on mine, among other publications... no issues (2017 15")

 

[WickedPorter]

I’ve experienced all three iterations of the butterfly keyboard. I also support a large number of MacBooks at work.

We had one instance of a sticky key issue with a 2016 15” MBP - this would be the first gen butterfly keyboard. The system was brand new and came from the factory with the defect. It was replaced under warranty.

I am pretty picky about keeping my MacBooks clean, especially keys and screen. I’m guessing if you clean them regularly they’ll last the life of the machine. I don’t eat around them, do not use them in any harsh environments, etc. I’m sure that helps as well.

I personally clean my keyboards 2-3 times a week, excessive oil from fingers really gathers on the keys for some reason. Not typically a concern, but our “finger oil” also contains some acids which can etch the keys and transfer to the screen from the keys in certain situations. A few years ago (pre-butterfly), the oil/acid that was transferred from the keys to the screen permanently etched the screen (this was a 2015 13” MacBook Pro). This may have been an issue with the coating on the screen being a bit weak on that particular model.

 

[seeforyourself]

I have. I had it brought in 3 times with the top case/keyboard replaced twice (they used the compressed air the second time and wound up replacing it again a few days later).

I am having issues AGAIN with some of my keys. About to ask for a refund at this point. I know they replace computers after 4 repairs, but i was even told my a service advisor that this is a known issue and there’s nothing they can do. Apparently the 2018’s are better than the 17’s.

I am eying the new iPad Pro though.

 

[coghlan]

We bought 2 13" nTB 2017 MBP last March for our twin sons to take to university. No issues so far, although one received an email suggesting there was a recall on the SSD which I think requires it to be reformatted.

 

[seeforyourself]

Guys I wanted to update this thread. I had the keyboard replaced two times since my november post. I had it replaced a total of 4 times with the same issue. after the 2nd repair, it is defective out of repair shop. They also replaced the display on the third repair (must of messed it up on the third repair) and gave me a new display with a blotch of dead pixels (really?!) also the E key wouldnt register if hitting it on an angle and seemed to get stuck. I also needed the USB C ports replaced, but told me that the USB ports are changed with the bottom case. I told them that it was like this before the 2nd repair but they didn't listen.

So after the 3rd repair my USB c ports were the same (no shocker),along with the messed up display and key. Had to get it fixed for the 4th time on the spot of getting back the the laptop (yep, I noticed it RIGHT when i got it back and the genius bar girl was surprised they didn't test the USB ports, display, or keyboard.). She totally agreed that the key was messed up along with the display. I thought they would return my product, but nope they serviced it AGAIN. Got the laptop back and a few keys are very tacky feeling. My U doesn't register sometimes too. It happened right out of service again, but i didn't want to make another scene again.

Also when I was going to get it serviced for the fourth time, she said that this is a very common issue with the 18's as well.

So I am going to probably wait until the rumored 16 inch ones come out (im sure they tweaked the keyboard even more) and then bring it in and demand a refund or replacement with the new model since its obviously a design flaw.

It's so odd how some people have the issue and some don't

My boyfriend has the 2018 13" and his keyboard is PERFECT. Keys feel all different and no issues whatsoever. He even notices the huge difference when typing on mine - he doesn't like it. But like I said, the 2 last repairs were defective on arrival.