Apple Faces Class Action Lawsuit Over 'Defective' Keyboards in Recent MacBook, MacBook Pro Models

[ActionableMango]

Nobody is going to win in court with individual anecdotes about their keyboard failing. There also doesn't appear to be any proof in the Bardo anecdote that it's actually the butterfly design itself that caused the problem either. It could have been a manufacturing defect, for example. Apple has the numbers on the keyboard repair rate and what those repairs entailed, and it seems unlikely that the majority would be an actual failure that requires the keyboard to be replaced.

Anecdotal stories are just the starting point. The trial itself is an investigation of sorts. Apple has the keyboard repair rate data, so if Apple wants to show the keyboard failure rate is normal, then they'll be expected to show it. If they refuse to show it, that looks really bad.

In any case, we aren't limited to anecdotal stories. Some limited data about the keyboard repair rates has leaked out. Although it is incomplete and it can be interpreted in a couple of completely different ways, the simplest and most likely explanation for how bad the data looks is that the keyboard is significantly more unreliable than other Apple keyboard designs.

 

[Fixey]

Apple these days make cheep products not designed to last and still sell them at a premium high price, your paying for the brand not quality and are designed not to be repairable so your force to pay again a high premium price as all your software and apps require macOS that Apple won’t allow to be installed on a third party hardware.

 

[Piggie]

We are talking about this yes? From Ms Smooth Talking, Let's Make It Thinner Man ?

Move in 25 seconds from the start of the video below:

 

[Fixey]

I have to think that if Steve Jobs was still alive, using one of these new Macbook Pros, and had this kind of keyboard issue himself? He'd be in a closed door meeting, screaming at all of the engineers and designers.

The fact is, Apple arrogantly paraded this new, ultra-low profile keyboard around as the latest, greatest tech. In reality, it stinks. They had to do some small modifications between the original one used in the first "new Macbook" and present, just to give it a *bit* more key travel -- but the whole design is flawed.

I own one of these and while so far, my keys still work? I just find it frustrating to type on it for any length of time. I make more mistakes than I do on any other keyboard I use, and I've had a few issues with "key bounce" where a letter is typed once but registers twice. Not able to duplicate it regularly when I try, but it has randomly happened.

The laugh is that this type of keyboard is using a technology not designed for prolong key presses, their using metal domed switches, were others are using the tried and tested technology.

Apple just all about design and not well engendered products.

 

[Val-kyrie]

I fully support this class action and hope it is the catalyst for Apple to rectify the problems with the keyboard.

The suggestion to use compressed air to maintain your keyboard on a 2k+ machine is unacceptable.

It is worse than the need to use compressed air to keep a Mac clean; it is the fact that an Apple support document concedes that the steps "do not fix the keyboard defect or prevent the keyboard from failing."

Not only is this a poorly implemented keyboard design, there is no simple way to fix or replace the keyboard.

 

[petsounds]

I have a 2016 MBP whose first keyboard failed (C key) with severe repeating of letters. Apple replaced it with a 2017 keyboard, and this second keyboard's N key is now repeating intermittently. Of course, not regularly enough to take it to the Genius Bar and verify the behavior, but just enough to be regularly annoying and mistake-causing.

As someone who has had to deal with these keyboards since buying my several thousand dollar Mac, I don't want a token amount of money thrown at me, and I don't want a warranty extension program. I want Apple to take their design schematics for the butterfly keyboard and throw them in the incinerator. This is a funndamentally-flawed (I left that repeated-n in there) keyboard design which Apple continues to use to push its "thin" branding, instead of focusing on what customers need out of a MBP -- speed, flexibility, and durability. The keyboard is a primary interface for the computer and should be bulletproof. This one is not even dust-proof.

 

[Val-kyrie]

YouTuber and New York repair specialist Louis Rossmann has been banging this drum particularly hard over the last three years.

Anyone interested in the problems encountered by Mac users should check out Louis Rossman. You may not like what he says, but his knowledge of engineering issues with Macs and how to repair them is insightful.

 

[newellj]

8 pages of arguments in 3 hours. That’s amazing!

Actually, and unusually, mostly agreements, not arguments.

 

[dboris]

In 3 weeks, 3 keys felt from my keyboard (Z, E and D, the most used on a French keyboard when gaming).

Well, since I got it used and since the seller (Fnac) doesn't respect the European law, I can't get it repaired.

 

[kuliand]

Good to see this awful keyboard design getting more attention as hopefully Apple will take note. Steve Jobs said the Mac was like a pickup so maybe Apple should use this as a guide for their pro laptops. People don't want a pickup with a small load area! they want a work horse and that's what I want from a MacBook Pro. It doesn't need to be the thinnest laptop in the world they can use the MacBook for the winning the thinnest competition.

Make the MacBook Pro a bit thicker and give us the best keyboard on the market and at the same time give is a SD card slot back.

 

[gwaizai]

If Apple doesn't introduce new keyboards this Fall, I'm not sure what I'm going to do. My GF needs a new laptop as her 2010 Macbook Pro is quite slow at this point. But I'm not going to suggest she buys into these style keyboards.

You could try swapping out the hard drive for an SSD drive.

 

[mrzz]

hopefully they'll fix the whole laptop this year, not just the keyboard. 4xUSB-C and removal of magsafe were terrible ideas too and I can go on... The biggest problem with Apple is that they never admit they did something wrong so we can expect continuation of 4xUSB-C nonsense even if people still own 70%+ of USB-A accessories as well as their usual ignorance of any users' ideas and wishes

 

[jermwhl]

I have this issue with my "N" key. Whenever I type an "N", it double presses. I've taken it to apple 3 times. The first time they replaced the key (somehow) and both other times I was told it was "probably a software issue". I really don't like the keyboard. I really miss my old MBP keyboard.

 

[kemal]

I have to think that if Steve Jobs was still alive, using one of these new Macbook Pros, and had this kind of keyboard issue himself? He'd be in a closed door meeting, screaming at all of the engineers and designers.

The fact is, Apple arrogantly paraded this new, ultra-low profile keyboard around as the latest, greatest tech. In reality, it stinks. They had to do some small modifications between the original one used in the first "new Macbook" and present, just to give it a *bit* more key travel -- but the whole design is flawed.

I own one of these and while so far, my keys still work? I just find it frustrating to type on it for any length of time. I make more mistakes than I do on any other keyboard I use, and I've had a few issues with "key bounce" where a letter is typed once but registers twice. Not able to duplicate it regularly when I try, but it has randomly happened.

If Steve Jobs were still alive, he would take out the keys (from his unlicensed Mercedes) and methodically pry out the TouchBar.

 

[Future-Proof]

YouTuber and New York repair specialist Louis Rossmann has been banging this drum particularly hard over the last three years.

2 months into owning my late 2016 MBP, the space bar began needing more and more effort to register a keystroke. It took me about a month before it became enough of a problem for me to seek help. The guys at the Genius Bar all acted like this was a common thing. They had to replace the whole top half of the damned laptop. THAT'S the insanity of the design. The keys are a little more flaky but there's no simple repair. I was about 3 ½ months post-purchase. If I hadn't had Apple Care, it would have cost $475 to repair, they said. Because of a wonky space bar. Seriously, no one should be defending this ridiculous design.

(And now I'm getting inadvertent double-spaces where I only typed one. Never had that before.)

Agreed. Badly flawed design decision.

If a class action puts pressure on Apple to start an out of warranty replacement programme that's fine with me. I have just picked up my late 2016 model from Apple in the last hour; it's had the top case/keyboard/battery replaced after a few of the keys were playing up. The service bill would have been £430 which is ridiculous. If it were to break again (its warranty expired on the day I took it in for repair) I would be seriously unhappy if Apple wanted to charge me. Thankfully in the UK we have consumer law which gives protection beyond 1 year which I think is entirely reasonable in this case.

I was listening to a MacBreak weekly and it was interesting to hear ****** Ritchie from iMore try his best to minimise this issue, but then he is really just a mouthpiece for Apple, rather than an objective journalist.

I live in the UK. Where do I find info on that extra warranty?

I don't mind the keyboard on my 2017 MBP with Touch Bar... when it works. My "O" and "P" keys seem to be particularly prone to sticking. Eventually, they do free up, but it's not consistent, and incredibly annoying when the keyboard isn't functioning the way it should.

It's clearly a design flaw, on a simple moving part of the machine that literally has one job to do.

...and which has had DECADES to perfect.

I have a MBP 2017 model and have already had 3 new keyboards replaced.
At request of my Apple reseller, I now use a vacuum cleaner every 2-3 weeks to suck any dust and crumbles.
I also noticed when a key is become numb, put the MBP on his side and start typing on that key very fast. In many cases the dust/crumbles move a bit and the key becomes back usable.

In the +25 years using Apple products with succes, the latest MBP keyboards are a disaster. :-/

Shows how real an issue it is.

A keyboard shouldn't fail to a single crumb, though.

“Crumb kills Apple’s entire laptop division”

I have a 2016 MBP whose first keyboard failed (C key) with severe repeating of letters. Apple replaced it with a 2017 keyboard, and this second keyboard's N key is now repeating intermittently. Of course, not regularly enough to take it to the Genius Bar and verify the behavior, but just enough to be regularly annoying and mistake-causing.

As someone who has had to deal with these keyboards since buying my several thousand dollar Mac, I don't want a token amount of money thrown at me, and I don't want a warranty extension program. I want Apple to take their design schematics for the butterfly keyboard and throw them in the incinerator. This is a funndamentally-flawed (I left that repeated-n in there) keyboard design which Apple continues to use to push its "thin" branding, instead of focusing on what customers need out of a MBP -- speed, flexibility, and durability. The keyboard is a primary interface for the computer and should be bulletproof. This one is not even dust-proof.

Exactly. Thinness at the cost of durability and repairability is NOT skating to where the puck will be.

On a side note some have mentioned the 2015 mbp still sold by Apple. Can’t find it on uk store page...

 

[BiscottiGelato]

Of course. At the same time Apple has the data on how many are affected. And people who have issues are going to be vocal about it which could make it look like the problem is more wide spread than it really is.

What’s the last class action lawsuit against Apple that went anywhere?

iPhone 6 and above battery replacement program, amongst others.

If Apple has firm data that the alleged models' keyboards have failure rate similar or lower than their previous models, I'd love to see it. And this is coming from someone that has AAPL stock as the biggest holding in his portfolio. There's money and there's making money while also being fair. Apple really gotta do something about these keyboards! It's good for the company to do so.

 

[ir_fuel]

In the MacBook Pro replacing the keyboard means replacing the whole TopCase, which includes the battery, TouchPad, aluminium shell and TouchBar led stripe. No wonder it costs a kidney if done out of warranty.

Luckily they just received a prize for being an eco friendly company ....

 

[marcushe]

I’m actually happy for this lawsuit. I have a 2011 MacBook Pro ready for a upgrade but been hesitant because of the keyboard issue. Hopefully this lawsuit rings in alarms in Apple that the keyboard has to be fixed

If you keep your Mac clean, the keyboard doesn't have any issues. It's the people with food and cat hair all over their computers that are having keyboard problems.

 

[kemal]

Never owned one, but when I saw it announced, I remember thinking "What a silly idea!". A far, far cry from the IBM Model M, Dell AT102W (which I currently use), etc. I don't understand why Apple doesn't make the keycap tops from GLASS; that'd look & feel GREAT, I've thought this for years. Key travel and tactility is what we desire, not typing on a sheet of aluminium foil!

Do you remember the first MacBook Pro where the silver paint would wear off the transparent keycaps, leaving it BARE?:

I always thought how poor a design choice that was; in my mind, I would have thought that back-spraying the keycaps so that the paint was UNDER the surface would be wiser (in the same way that the white iMac polycarbonate was painted white on the INSIDE surface)

- The IBM Model M is a membrane keyboard. And it is so amazingly good.
- All the backlit black keycaps on laptops are painted black. If the keycap were painted from the back, the keycap would be milky white with no legend in the daylight.

 

[jwdsail]

Don’t you miss the days when you could toss some of these electronics out of a third-story window and it would still work....?

Hear here!

My dad's PowerBook G3 (Lombard) (I had a Wallstreet) survived a trip down an escalator. Not a scratch/dent/problem.

*The most fragile part on either was the power connecter. (Am I the only one here that replaced that daughter card (Power/Sound?) out of warranty myself?) Apple finally fixed that w/ MagSafe.... RIP MagSafe.. sigh.


* Before anyone gets pedantic - Yes, all computers, even the two above had things that were probably more fragile than they could have been. The little rubber plungers for the curser keys, sure, I replaced a handful over the 8 years I had mine. Of course that didn't require replacing half of an epoxied together computer either... My PCCard Cage was replaced under AppleCare when the eject mechanism failed. This also didn't require disposing of half of the surrounding computer and an expensive repair either. Believe it would have been a $70 part out of warranty? The replacement lasted for the remaining life of the PowerBook.

 

[jermwhl]

If you keep your Mac clean, the keyboard doesn't have any issues. It's the people with food and cat hair all over their computers that are having keyboard problems.

Possibly in SOME cases, but not all. Mine has been like this since day 1 - out of the box. As I stated earlier, I've taken it to apple 3 times. Once they replaced the "key cap" and the other two times I was told it was a software issue.
I just got off the phone with a "senior apple specialist", who ran through a series of troubleshooting steps, and admitted this is indeed a hardware issue and has put me in for a new top lid for my MBP. I quickly mentioned the class action lawsuit to him when I started the call. Finally, I hope this will resolved soon enough!

 

[a0me]

Well deserved. The build quality of this new MBP is hot garbage soldered together.

In the period I've been using it I've also noticed dents on the inside of the unibody chassis (where I rest my hands), light leaks around the edges of the display, and the occasional hinge creak.

I've been wanting to buy a MacBook or a MacBook Pro to replace my ageing mid-2012 MBP. I didn't like the feel of the new keyboard and all the negative reviews since then have convinced me to keep my old MacBook.

 

[chefwong]

Good golly. I just came tp MR to see if any rumors of new MBP for 2018. Whaddya say. Happening or not.
(been waiting forever for a newer MBP) - battery is on it's last legs.

 

[JPSaltzman]

This is where choosing 'design over engineering' gets you eventually. Bad hardware.

As first seen in the Mac Pro Darth Vader edition. Five years later, we're still waiting for *something*.

 

[tim0409]

If you keep your Mac clean, the keyboard doesn't have any issues. It's the people with food and cat hair all over their computers that are having keyboard problems.

Not true. I never eat/drink anywhere near my laptop and have just had the keyboard/top case etc. replaced by Apple in the last week. Keys sticking, especially when the laptop was under load.