They should throw 2016/17 MBP out the window and finally create a worthy MBP 2015 successor. They should not allow 'design over functionality' guy(s) touch any product like MBP anymore..
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Apple Faces Class Action Lawsuit Over 'Defective' Keyboards in Recent MacBook, MacBook Pro Models
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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)
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)
Twenty persons complaining on an Apple forum? Even 22000 on other forums is statistically insignificant. Forty-five million MacBook Pros sold over this time. Lawyers getting rich is what I see.
I have the same year MBP. Soon as I upgraded it to a SSD and bumped its memory to 16gb, the MacBook was blazing fast and felt brand new again! You should consider the same, you will no doubt resurrect your device.
We've heard of designed for obsolescence but this keyboard issue sounds like designed to fail prematurely to push extended warranty. There's no reason any laptop keyboard should fail so prematurely when other companies' laptop keyboards still work fine after a decade or more.
Dents on the unibody chassis? Photos if you don't mind. Not that I don't believe you. I find it fascinating.
Assuming you haven't done this already, you there's always the option of switching the mechanical HDD for an SSD. This is one of the last models where this was pretty easy and my 2011 machine got a pretty damn nice speed-up when I did that myself in 2013.
Oh boy. Apple is clearly in the wrong here, but you just know that this is going to push them to replacing the keyboard with a touch keyboard. They'll extend the Touch Bar all the way down. You just know that has to be the next step because they always want to make everything thinner and more like iOS and drive down use of macOS by pissing us off. Freaking hell! Hope I'm seriously wrong, or at best, they develop a radical new haptic technology using pliable displays that can form individual keys or some crap. But that has to be far future.
Maybe it's very good that the MBA update has been delayed: The current MBA shines in terms of keyboard, MagSafe, and USB ports...
The funny thing is that the MBA has the same weight as a 13inch MBP, while having all the good design that Apple has abandoned these years. Yes, slower than the MBP, but man... same weight, rock-solid keyboard, MagSafe, USB...
My late-2010 MBA still works perfectly in my everyday use (still at SnowLeopard, that boots in a few seconds on it). Never had any issue with the keyboard.
The funny thing is that the MBA has the same weight as a 13inch MBP, while having all the good design that Apple has abandoned these years. Yes, slower than the MBP, but man... same weight, rock-solid keyboard, MagSafe, USB...
My late-2010 MBA still works perfectly in my everyday use (still at SnowLeopard, that boots in a few seconds on it). Never had any issue with the keyboard.
They are very well aware of the issue.
When the keyboard of my 15” 2016, which I bought on the day it was introduced, failed in November 2017, AppleCare exchanged the keyboard against a different model, which you can identify by the old alt symbol being present instead of alt being written on the option key.
Am I happy about it? No, since we are not sure about it’s durability, since 2017 models which this new keyboard is probably based on, fail as well!
When the keyboard of my 15” 2016, which I bought on the day it was introduced, failed in November 2017, AppleCare exchanged the keyboard against a different model, which you can identify by the old alt symbol being present instead of alt being written on the option key.
Am I happy about it? No, since we are not sure about it’s durability, since 2017 models which this new keyboard is probably based on, fail as well!
I'm pleased to hear about this! I'm disabled from the military and live about 200-miles from the nearest Apple Store. By the time I was able to get into the store, it was out of warranty even though I reported the problem while it was still under warranty. I ended up paying for the repair, but I don't believe it was fair. In my opinion, the keyboard issue a latent defect.
I blame the issue on the current CEO at Apple. I believe that Apple would rather pay through the nose in a lawsuit than to admit they made a mistake. I plan to sign the petition that's floating around.
I blame the issue on the current CEO at Apple. I believe that Apple would rather pay through the nose in a lawsuit than to admit they made a mistake. I plan to sign the petition that's floating around.
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It was time for me to buy a new MacBook Pro in 2016 but just 20 seconds of typing on the new keyboard was enough to tell me to run the other way. I purchased a leftover 2015 MacBook Pro instead, and boy am I glad I did.
Mark
Mark
I agree. Gone are those days when companies used to stand behind the product for life time! I
The 2017 models have the gen 2 keyboard, so those should be fine. This applies to both the retina Macbook and the Macbook Pro. Get Applecare if you're worried (you should get Applecare regardless anyway, as it extends the warranty for 2 years (3 years total) for Macs).
If you're still worried, the 13" Macbook Air with the old style keyboard is still available, and despite its age, it is a much better computer compared to the 2010 MBP.
Same issue with my macbook pro. My solution was to buy a plastic dust protecting cover for the keys. It makes typing a little less comfortable, but does the job. It does suck to spend 5k on a laptop and have issues with tech thats been around forever and I have never had issues with keyboards in my entire life.
I've experienced this problem on both a MacBook and MacBook Pro. Apple asked me to pay for the MacBook repair, but paid for the MacBook Pro repair because it was still under warranty. In both cases, I was without my laptop for a week. I like the new keys, but do believe they are prone to defect.
I worry about how much it will cost me to repair the keys if (when?) the problem arises after the warranty has expired.
I worry about how much it will cost me to repair the keys if (when?) the problem arises after the warranty has expired.
Still you will have to go to the Apple store, drop your laptop there for a week or two...all to get a key fixed that was a design failure by Apple itself. You will be wasting your gas, your time and not to forget all the inconvenience because you don't have your laptop for a while. And don't forget, past the 3 year period, you are still looking at an expensive repair. And regarding resale value of this MBP, well...all I can say is that this lawsuit is going to make this MBP very popular.
Just my two cents - i want new macbook pro, but almost everybody I talked to has problems with keyboard, it seems like when macbook gets hot those keys melt and starts to stick to the base and you have to turn it off and wait for it to cool down (3 macbookpros 13" 2016 without touch bar) ...
Same issue here. Chatted with support not long after buying it. They wanted me to bring it in, appointments weren’t open for a while, but then the problem stopped . And then it came back. And then it stopped. And then back. Etc. Very annoying. And unacceptable for such an expensive machine.
But we're getting Carpool Karaoke free on the TV app so at least Apple have their priorities right.
A kid in another school in my district "accidentally" dropped his MBA down an elevator shaft a few months ago, I'm guessing from the 3rd floor. It was all bent, but it (including the screen!) still turned on.
The answer is to go back to the older keyboard design! Until then you'll need to plan for a yearly keyboard (uppercase) replacement.
Ugh, I know right? I bought an iPhone 6S some years back and you'll never believe it, but Apple released an updated iPhone 7 the year after! I mean, the tenacity!
On topic, I'm really hoping this gets fixed this year. I'm a software dev and I love my MBP '15 2014, but it's getting to the point where I'd like to upgrade. I'm seeing a lot of reports of keyboard failure amongst other devs I know with these machines though which is really putting me off buying any of the current models.
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