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foomanchoo

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 10, 2019
2
1
I can't believe I'm saying this, but my 2-week old MBP Air's keyboard is sticking. At first I wasn't sure as it was random sticking, but then my "6" key failed and was stuck....I gently pried it back open.

I'm within the 30-day returns period, should I just return and re-buy? Has anyone else heard of continued problems? I thought this was fixed!
 
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rumor is new MacBooks from this fall and beyond will switch back to the scissor mechanism. BUT: people like me need their MacBook now so I'd keep the MacBook and just take advantage of apple's 4 year keyboard repair program
 
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now that explains the mysterious new material Apple put under the keys:

it's sticky material which makes your keys stick before dust can, so they fail even faster

I just got a 2018 MBA on sale for under 1k. the machine is great but it is kind of a bittersweet feeling knowing there is an important part of the machine that might fail on you soon(er or later) ... the 4 year replacement program makes me even less confident
 
now that explains the mysterious new material Apple put under the keys:

it's sticky material which makes your keys stick before dust can, so they fail even faster

I just got a 2018 MBA on sale for under 1k. the machine is great but it is kind of a bittersweet feeling knowing there is an important part of the machine that might fail on you soon(er or later) ... the 4 year replacement program makes me even less confident


I rather wait till late 2020. Never thrust the Butterfly effect since Apple introduce it in early 2015 todate. I would rather wait 6 years then buying "lemons" product when I am paying the price of a Ferrari Enzo ... so to speak .

Still scouting for good news on the change of keyboard, Ming Chee Kuo please make a reliable statement.
 
I rather wait till late 2020. Never thrust the Butterfly effect since Apple introduce it in early 2015 todate. I would rather wait 6 years then buying "lemons" product when I am paying the price of a Ferrari Enzo ... so to speak .

Still scouting for good news on the change of keyboard, Ming Chee Kuo please make a reliable statement.

yeah, you are my bad conscience .. you are right, I fear (this is the first apple purchase I feel mixed / bad about)

I expect the 16inch MBP to be the first MB featuring the "new" scissor keyboard with launch date in October 2019

which will be adopted by the remaining MB line later in 2020 ..
[doublepost=1564918454][/doublepost]I am on day 3 and I still can ttttyyyypppeee it seems ....
 
Love my 2018 Air, especially the keyboard!! It's fast and easy to type on. I've had no issues with it at all. However, I do keep a can of compressed air on my desk and blow the keyboard out once a day. But I've done that with every laptop I've ever owned just to keep the hair and dust out.
 
yeah, you are my bad conscience .. you are right, I fear (this is the first apple purchase I feel mixed / bad about)

I expect the 16inch MBP to be the first MB featuring the "new" scissor keyboard with launch date in October 2019

which will be adopted by the remaining MB line later in 2020 ..
[doublepost=1564918454][/doublepost]I am on day 3 and I still can ttttyyyypppeee it seems ....

The Oct 2019 keyboard just an additional of polythenes membrane underneath that butterfly twigs. Well I won't take a chance of my eggs full in a basket for one of a better word.
 
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Love my 2018 Air, especially the keyboard!! It's fast and easy to type on. I've had no issues with it at all. However, I do keep a can of compressed air on my desk and blow the keyboard out once a day. But I've done that with every laptop I've ever owned just to keep the hair and dust out.

going to love it til the keyboard brakes down

I am not willing to give that keyboard any special attention, I am just going to use it just the way I used my computers since 1992 (not one single keyboard since 92 ever failed on me)

as for typing ... I do not care, I can type fast on anything (started with typewriters back in the 80s, the mechanical, not the electronic ones .. )
 
Maybe some chips or Nachos snacks in front of MacBook

love to read those new instructions for butterfly keyboards:

- use in sterile environment only
- better do not use it at all but if you can't avoid:
- do not type too fast
- do not type too slow
- do not look wrong at it
- do not type on it at all unless using gloves
- do use siri instead
- enjoy the look of it instead of touching it
- dddd do nn nnnn dd
 
love to read those new instructions for butterfly keyboards:

- use in sterile environment only
- better do not use it at all but if you can't avoid:
- do not type too fast
- do not type too slow
- do not look wrong at it
- do not type on it at all unless using gloves
- do use siri instead
- enjoy the look of it instead of touching it
- dddd do nn nnnn dd

Blaime me ... I love the second last phrase ....
 
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Ugh!! I love my 2014 MBA, but I cant get myself to pull the trigger on a 2019 model. The keyboard reliability issue is just such a turn off. I know there is a 4 year warranty, but it goes against my instincts to buy something with a known defect.

I am going to wait to see how iPadOS works with my iPad Air 3 + ASK + Pencil. If my mobile productivity needs are met with this combo, when the time comes, I will just replace my 2014 MBA with a Mac Mini, since I already have a monitor, keyboard, and mouse.
 
love to read those new instructions for butterfly keyboards:

- use in sterile environment only
- better do not use it at all but if you can't avoid:
- do not type too fast
- do not type too slow
- do not look wrong at it
- do not type on it at all unless using gloves
- do use siri instead
- enjoy the look of it instead of touching it
- dddd do nn nnnn dd


perfect LOL
[doublepost=1565029864][/doublepost]to be serious, ì have no issue (knocking the wood also) so far.

Mine is aged from asthma Christmas. Following coconut it have been manufactured at end of November 2018.

hope it will pass through :p
 
Dust has nothing to do with the Butterfly keyboards issues with jamming. It's susceptible to debris and specifically very hard debris, but not dust. You'd need a pretty impressive pile of dust before you can impede the action of a butterfly mechanism.

butterflyswitch.jpg

That's the inside of a butterfly switch key from a 2016 MBP I had. The switch itself is sealed. It's actually an ordinary rubber dome switch that's similar to what you find in a scissor keyboard. Dust is not getting in there. It's sealed. That leaves the stabilizer, which is the butterfly. There are specific points in which solid debris can cause the levers to get blocked, but it's a pretty hard mechanism. Dust alone is not going to stop it from moving.

If you don't have hard chunks of debris that somehow managed to get under the keycap, then either something is causing the butterfly mechanism to deform so that it fails to collapse or the keycap is misaligned.

Try giving the key a firm press. Hold it down and wiggle it clockwise. Then repeat counterclockwise. If it's soft debris, doing this a few times should crush whatever it is. If it's an alignment issue, it might be able to realign the keycap.

If this doesn't work after a few tries, return it and get a new one. They won't all do this and it's possible that some get better with breaking in. The 2016 that I had would get stuck every month or two the first year I owned it, but was completely trouble free afterwards.

BTW, don't pry the keycaps up. If it lifts up when you gently try to lift it, then the keybinding between the keycap and the butterfly is broken and the keycap should be replaced. If you have one corner or side that appears to be sunken in and it's truly because the butterfly jammed, it's better to just give a firm press to try and get it to bounce back up. Prying it back up via the keycap might snap the keybinding between the cap and the butterfly if you don't do it right.
 

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awesome! finally a post that has substance!

Dust has nothing to do with the Butterfly keyboards issues with jamming. It's susceptible to debris and specifically very hard debris, but not dust. You'd need a pretty impressive pile of dust before you can impede the action of a butterfly mechanism.

View attachment 851641

That's the inside of a butterfly switch key from a 2016 MBP I had. The switch itself is sealed. It's actually an ordinary rubber dome switch that's similar to what you find in a scissor keyboard. Dust is not getting in there. It's sealed. That leaves the stabilizer, which is the butterfly. There are specific points in which solid debris can cause the levers to get blocked, but it's a pretty hard mechanism. Dust alone is not going to stop it from moving.

If you don't have hard chunks of debris that somehow managed to get under the keycap, then either something is causing the butterfly mechanism to deform so that it fails to collapse or the keycap is misaligned.

Try giving the key a firm press. Hold it down and wiggle it clockwise. Then repeat counterclockwise. If it's soft debris, doing this a few times should crush whatever it is. If it's an alignment issue, it might be able to realign the keycap.

If this doesn't work after a few tries, return it and get a new one. They won't all do this and it's possible that some get better with breaking in. The 2016 that I had would get stuck every month or two the first year I owned it, but was completely trouble free afterwards.

BTW, don't pry the keycaps up. If it lifts up when you gently try to lift it, then the keybinding between the keycap and the butterfly is broken and the keycap should be replaced. If you have one corner or side that appears to be sunken in and it's truly because the butterfly jammed, it's better to just give a firm press to try and get it to bounce back up. Prying it back up via the keycap is likely to damage it.
 
awesome! finally a post that has substance!

Heh, thanks. Everyone has different tastes so I don't care if people like the butterfly keyboard or not, but it's just hard to watch everyone beat up on something by spreading a widely repeated misquote. iFixit never said dust kills the keyboard. The hall of Internet experts paraphrased creatively and everyone else ran with it. Thank you echo chamber.
 
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I can't believe I'm saying this, but my 2-week old MBP Air's keyboard is sticking. At first I wasn't sure as it was random sticking, but then my "6" key failed and was stuck....I gently pried it back open.

I'm within the 30-day returns period, should I just return and re-buy? Has anyone else heard of continued problems? I thought this was fixed!

get the money back and get a Thinkpad: you will never have keyboard issues
 
I can't believe I'm saying this, but my 2-week old MBP Air's keyboard is sticking. At first I wasn't sure as it was random sticking, but then my "6" key failed and was stuck....I gently pried it back open.

I'm within the 30-day returns period, should I just return and re-buy? Has anyone else heard of continued problems? I thought this was fixed!

Return, and do not re-buy if you do not "need" the new computer. Wait a year for the scissor mechanism to come again.
 
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Return, and do not re-buy if you do not "need" the new computer. Wait a year for the scissor mechanism to come again.

And thats a long wait to year 2020 . The most anti climax will be that the new design for Butterfly will only be included in high end model of MBA or MBP. That will be year 2020 bummer indeed. Not everyone can fork up two thousand Dollars for a decent machine.
 
And thats a long wait to year 2020 . The most anti climax will be that the new design for Butterfly will only be included in high end model of MBA or MBP. That will be year 2020 bummer indeed. Not everyone can fork up two thousand Dollars for a decent machine.

Too many "will be's" used. None of us know for sure.
 
After saying I would wait, I just pulled the trigger on a 2019 MBA on sale. This makes me a hypocrite per my earlier post. I am sure I will be punished by the tech gods with incessant keyboard problems.

No excuses. I just wanted to update now while the price was good.
 
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Has the op managed to get the keyboard repaired? Wondering how it panned out for him.
 
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