The question is whether it will stay fixed; here's hoping.
Did the 2016 rMBP have the first gen keyboard? The 2015 rMB keyboard (obviously gen 1) felt very different than the gen 2 keyboard in the 2017 rMB.
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Apple Faces Class Action Lawsuit Over 'Defective' Keyboards in Recent MacBook, MacBook Pro Models
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The question is whether it will stay fixed; here's hoping.
Did the 2016 rMBP have the first gen keyboard? The 2015 rMB keyboard (obviously gen 1) felt very different than the gen 2 keyboard in the 2017 rMB.
So its related to HEAT! Thats why another member stated that in clamshell mode for a year the keys misbehave as well. So HEAT is the issue here then. This make ssense too since my 13” 2016 mbp still has no key issues since I dont game on it and nothing strenuous that produces HEAT!
Edit Also CRUMBS as well.
[
Most CC's extended the mfr warranty by double, up to one year extension. That's what I did with my iPhone when the power button stopped working at about 18 months. So assuming you used a credit card, check your benefits, go get it fixed, and have the CC reimburse you.
[doublepost=1527097722][/doublepost]
Undoubtedly if this goes to trial, Apple will be expected to show actual repair data so that it won't be "he said, she said", and we'll actually know if it is hysteria or a real problem.
However, it's not looking good for Apple. Several Apple Stores have leaked keyboard repair rates, and that limited data supports the vocal minority on this one. In that limited data, repair rates are enormously higher for the current keyboard design as compared to the previous design.
I love the new keyboard BUT my macbook pro 2017 keyboard break very easily. I went to iCare repair 3 times already: 1 time fixed and 2 times full keyboard (and Battery) replaced in within 6 month so with an average of 1 break/fail every 2 months!!! and the last time they give me back the laptop with problem in the closing lid mechanism and still have coz I am traveling and have no time to leave my mac 1 week every 2 months.
Not to forget to mention that the keyboard is attached to the battery and if 1 key fail you have to replace all the keyboard and the battery also that cost in total USD 700 around 60% of the cost of a new machine.
Not to forget to mention that the keyboard is attached to the battery and if 1 key fail you have to replace all the keyboard and the battery also that cost in total USD 700 around 60% of the cost of a new machine.
Problem Solved
While in London a couple of months ago I visited an Apple Store. I tried typing on the 2017 MacBook Pro in the store and got all manner of random cursor jumping. I left a whole page of this on the computer.
Then I got talking with an employee. Nice guy. He said that the Track Pad oversensitivity, random cursor jumping could be fixed and urged me to bring in my computer. I was heading up to Scotland in a day or two, but that was good to know.....
Okay back in the States I finally got around to taking my 2017 15" MacBook Pro into the Apple Store. The Genius Bar guy said he hadn't heard of the track pad issue, but there was a free replacement of the keyboard because of the Known Issues they were having, and replacing the keyboard required replacing the whole top...(you guys know all this.)
It took two weeks. Not a problem because my 2011 still works. When I went to pick up my MBP, I paused to try the keyboard on the 2018 MBP. I didn't like it at all. It felt like I was typing on keys that didn't move. However, it didn't cursor jump, so.... I filed it as 'information,' and went to wait for my MBP to come out.
As soon as I tried typing on it, I said, "This is the 2018 keyboard." The Genius Bar woman said it was. Well, I could grumble, but... it didn't cursor jump, and that was the critical issue.
At home I started in on a long type session to see if the problem really had been solved. I was just rambling in my journal saying that I was getting used to the new keyboard and then I got a random cursor jump. Uh-oh... My palms were sweaty, the weather's hot. Maybe that was it, maybe not. It's been good since then. No more Jumps. If it does jump even every hour I can live with it. I make typing errors more frequently than this.
Here's what I also noticed. First I didn't go from the 2017 keyboard to the 2018 keyboard. I was typing on a 2011 MBP for two weeks. I really like that keyboard. I also liked the snappy click of the IBM Selectric and got the third party keyboard most like it for my first Mac (IIci) in 1992.
But just before that Random Cursor Jump an hour into typing, I had become used to the new keyboard and it seems just fine. It does raise the issue of whether or not the 2017 keyboard had more problems than when it stopped typing J. Maybe it was missing a lot of letters just not all the same letter. If so I just figured I was making more typing errors.
My writing did fall off significantly when I got the 2017 MBP in June 2017.
The more interesting observation I had was that subjective impressions about keyboards are far more significant than any objective result, and this should be taken into account. It works like this. Suppose you paid a user $1 a word for as many words they can type in ten minutes. Maybe I'm the user. On my 2011 I happily type away and come up with 280 words. Terrific. Then I switch to this 2018 keyboard and plug away for another ten minutes. Before I'm told that I've just typed 320 words, I'm already grumbling about preferring my old keyboard. Am I wrong?
Well, even if I'm completely neurotic about it; and I stop writing-- then it is a problem. I should just write on the old computer and not worry.
If however, I keep an open mind, give the new keyboard a chance; than I'll arrive at being more productive and then just think of the old keyboard as just different. (I've been through this many many times: In the mid-1990s I pulled out my mid-1970s Smith Corona electric typewriter. It was like pumping water with my fingers. It made me remember switching from my mom's manual Underwood to the Smith Corona. My mom could type on that Underwood probably 60 wpm, maybe more. She used to break the Remington typewriter at her job at Ford about once a week, typing faster than 100 wpm (I can't even match this with copy-paste) She begged them to just get her an IBM.)
Tip: When you get that new computer and you hate the keyboard. You probably just have to get used to it. What I think would help this process is to just work on your typing. What mistakes are you making? How can you slowly but more precisely move your fingers so that you hit the correct keys? Set up some drills. Long standing Deliberate Practice technique says to first concentrate on making the movements without error. Only after you've completely mastered this, do you speed up. (Anders Ericsson Ten Thousand Hours and Deliberate Practice. Academic papers, but proven science, easy to read; and the foundation of building world class level skills)
I have an iHome USB numerical key pad. It just seems so obvious to me that we trackpad or mouse with our right hand, so why not enter numbers with our left? However, with the numerical keypad I found that I could never successfully touch type on it.
Issues, all the keys feel the same, he little dot for the home key is too small, so you think 6 and type '+' or '5'. So I tried dots of hot glue: the corner keys 7913 a dot in the middle 5, and a horizontal line for 0. Now I can touch type on the silly thing. It's just so obvious.
Looking for dots and textures commercially made that might be better....Nothing seems as easy, cheap or useful as the hot glue dots. They don't mess up the keyboard, are easy to remove and you can fiddle with different shapes and remove them as you progress. I'd already done some of this with bits of tape on a bluetooth keyboard and it helps.
So on my MacBook Pro I'm going to hot glue 'dot, dash, line' some keys to improve my typing. But I'm already use to this new keyboard.
One last thing: Durability of keyboards. On my 2011 MacBook Pro, which I used from about October 2011 to June 2017, that's almost 6 years. At well over a million words a year (my daily journals are at least 700,000 each year) that's heavy usage, yet the keyboard still works like new. That's durable. With the new keyboards I think the 2016 and 17 keyboards just had serious issues, first impression with the 2018 keyboard is that it seems to have fixed those issues.
(and to the MacRumors member who busted my chops that I should've returned the 2017 and gotten a 2015? Still good advice. Thanks.)
While in London a couple of months ago I visited an Apple Store. I tried typing on the 2017 MacBook Pro in the store and got all manner of random cursor jumping. I left a whole page of this on the computer.
Then I got talking with an employee. Nice guy. He said that the Track Pad oversensitivity, random cursor jumping could be fixed and urged me to bring in my computer. I was heading up to Scotland in a day or two, but that was good to know.....
Okay back in the States I finally got around to taking my 2017 15" MacBook Pro into the Apple Store. The Genius Bar guy said he hadn't heard of the track pad issue, but there was a free replacement of the keyboard because of the Known Issues they were having, and replacing the keyboard required replacing the whole top...(you guys know all this.)
It took two weeks. Not a problem because my 2011 still works. When I went to pick up my MBP, I paused to try the keyboard on the 2018 MBP. I didn't like it at all. It felt like I was typing on keys that didn't move. However, it didn't cursor jump, so.... I filed it as 'information,' and went to wait for my MBP to come out.
As soon as I tried typing on it, I said, "This is the 2018 keyboard." The Genius Bar woman said it was. Well, I could grumble, but... it didn't cursor jump, and that was the critical issue.
At home I started in on a long type session to see if the problem really had been solved. I was just rambling in my journal saying that I was getting used to the new keyboard and then I got a random cursor jump. Uh-oh... My palms were sweaty, the weather's hot. Maybe that was it, maybe not. It's been good since then. No more Jumps. If it does jump even every hour I can live with it. I make typing errors more frequently than this.
Here's what I also noticed. First I didn't go from the 2017 keyboard to the 2018 keyboard. I was typing on a 2011 MBP for two weeks. I really like that keyboard. I also liked the snappy click of the IBM Selectric and got the third party keyboard most like it for my first Mac (IIci) in 1992.
But just before that Random Cursor Jump an hour into typing, I had become used to the new keyboard and it seems just fine. It does raise the issue of whether or not the 2017 keyboard had more problems than when it stopped typing J. Maybe it was missing a lot of letters just not all the same letter. If so I just figured I was making more typing errors.
My writing did fall off significantly when I got the 2017 MBP in June 2017.
The more interesting observation I had was that subjective impressions about keyboards are far more significant than any objective result, and this should be taken into account. It works like this. Suppose you paid a user $1 a word for as many words they can type in ten minutes. Maybe I'm the user. On my 2011 I happily type away and come up with 280 words. Terrific. Then I switch to this 2018 keyboard and plug away for another ten minutes. Before I'm told that I've just typed 320 words, I'm already grumbling about preferring my old keyboard. Am I wrong?
Well, even if I'm completely neurotic about it; and I stop writing-- then it is a problem. I should just write on the old computer and not worry.
If however, I keep an open mind, give the new keyboard a chance; than I'll arrive at being more productive and then just think of the old keyboard as just different. (I've been through this many many times: In the mid-1990s I pulled out my mid-1970s Smith Corona electric typewriter. It was like pumping water with my fingers. It made me remember switching from my mom's manual Underwood to the Smith Corona. My mom could type on that Underwood probably 60 wpm, maybe more. She used to break the Remington typewriter at her job at Ford about once a week, typing faster than 100 wpm (I can't even match this with copy-paste) She begged them to just get her an IBM.)
Tip: When you get that new computer and you hate the keyboard. You probably just have to get used to it. What I think would help this process is to just work on your typing. What mistakes are you making? How can you slowly but more precisely move your fingers so that you hit the correct keys? Set up some drills. Long standing Deliberate Practice technique says to first concentrate on making the movements without error. Only after you've completely mastered this, do you speed up. (Anders Ericsson Ten Thousand Hours and Deliberate Practice. Academic papers, but proven science, easy to read; and the foundation of building world class level skills)
I have an iHome USB numerical key pad. It just seems so obvious to me that we trackpad or mouse with our right hand, so why not enter numbers with our left? However, with the numerical keypad I found that I could never successfully touch type on it.
Issues, all the keys feel the same, he little dot for the home key is too small, so you think 6 and type '+' or '5'. So I tried dots of hot glue: the corner keys 7913 a dot in the middle 5, and a horizontal line for 0. Now I can touch type on the silly thing. It's just so obvious.
Looking for dots and textures commercially made that might be better....Nothing seems as easy, cheap or useful as the hot glue dots. They don't mess up the keyboard, are easy to remove and you can fiddle with different shapes and remove them as you progress. I'd already done some of this with bits of tape on a bluetooth keyboard and it helps.
So on my MacBook Pro I'm going to hot glue 'dot, dash, line' some keys to improve my typing. But I'm already use to this new keyboard.
One last thing: Durability of keyboards. On my 2011 MacBook Pro, which I used from about October 2011 to June 2017, that's almost 6 years. At well over a million words a year (my daily journals are at least 700,000 each year) that's heavy usage, yet the keyboard still works like new. That's durable. With the new keyboards I think the 2016 and 17 keyboards just had serious issues, first impression with the 2018 keyboard is that it seems to have fixed those issues.
(and to the MacRumors member who busted my chops that I should've returned the 2017 and gotten a 2015? Still good advice. Thanks.)
My 2017 MBP 13 in “Letter B” started acting weird. Like when I press it it doesn’t move at all. It still registers. I tolerated it for 1 week until I fired up my automotive air compressor. I blew up the “dust” that crippled the B button. But I know this issue will keep coming up due to this ****** design. It’s only a matter of time. I use this laptop a few times a week and not full time at all. It’s also in a Incase sleeve with a magnetic latch so it’s covered when not in use.
I do not look forward to having to stand at the Apple store for 30 min waiting for my late appointment given these days the Apple store is like the DMV.
I do not look forward to having to stand at the Apple store for 30 min waiting for my late appointment given these days the Apple store is like the DMV.
1rottenapple (Like the name. I once had the rottenapples dot something domain. I wanted to make it a blog site to try to get Apple to wake up. Think of the level of success a company could have if you could absolutely trust their products. If it turned out they had some serious issue, you wouldn't have to wait for the online riot or the class action suit-- they'd contact you.)
Just take it in and get them to replace the keyboard-- you'll be happier once it's done.
I suspect the dust problem may just be the worst case. You keep it in a sleeve, and you're still having problems? Maybe the 2017 keyboards never ever worked very well, but we just think we're making typos until one key just stops working. I've never typed on a 2017 that did not have an overly sensitive trackpad: the Randomly Jumping Cursor Problem. (Remember I had two different ones in my first two weeks. Both had the exact same problem).
Just make an appointment. I hate the nonsense too. When I go to the Apple Store I'm either listening to an audio book or I bring a magazine or my journal. Best not to worry. Or if you own Apple stock you can just look around at the crowd and think, All these nice people are making me rich. Nothing I love better than a crowded Apple Store, seeing Apple devices in the hands of movie actors....
I did find one of my local Apple Stores to be more porcupine populated, if you catch my drift.... I go to one of the first area Apple Stores in the Glendale Galleria. Everyone is very cool. (Its parking structure was designed by protein folding. They just added digital signs that all say, all the time: '998' meaning there are this many parking spots available.... somewhere.... ) Find a relaxed Apple Store and if they give you any flak just tell them with great authority that you know me at MacRumors. Make sure you deliver this just right so they don't actually ask 'So ah, who is ....?'
Just take it in and get them to replace the keyboard-- you'll be happier once it's done.
I suspect the dust problem may just be the worst case. You keep it in a sleeve, and you're still having problems? Maybe the 2017 keyboards never ever worked very well, but we just think we're making typos until one key just stops working. I've never typed on a 2017 that did not have an overly sensitive trackpad: the Randomly Jumping Cursor Problem. (Remember I had two different ones in my first two weeks. Both had the exact same problem).
Just make an appointment. I hate the nonsense too. When I go to the Apple Store I'm either listening to an audio book or I bring a magazine or my journal. Best not to worry. Or if you own Apple stock you can just look around at the crowd and think, All these nice people are making me rich. Nothing I love better than a crowded Apple Store, seeing Apple devices in the hands of movie actors....
I did find one of my local Apple Stores to be more porcupine populated, if you catch my drift.... I go to one of the first area Apple Stores in the Glendale Galleria. Everyone is very cool. (Its parking structure was designed by protein folding. They just added digital signs that all say, all the time: '998' meaning there are this many parking spots available.... somewhere.... ) Find a relaxed Apple Store and if they give you any flak just tell them with great authority that you know me at MacRumors. Make sure you deliver this just right so they don't actually ask 'So ah, who is ....?'
Its a design flaw. They extended the stupid warranty so as long as the compressed air fixes it, i'll live with it for now. Its gonna keep happening because of this defective design. I bet a "fixed" one will act up in a year or less. I really detest going into the apple store. I'm too busy to go at this time.