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

[Christian 5G]

Half of my buttons are different feel and nothing helped other than repair at $600 I was quoted by Apple because “they needed to open it”.

I run a blog and type a lot, the keyboard really been an issue with my pro 2016, even my cheap $15 ebay keyboard is much better to type on and I had it for 4 years now. Don’t know what would my Macbooks keyboard be like in another few years.

 

[MacFather]

Deleted.

 

[DanBig]

Apple should probably do a replacement program for effected 2016 MacBook Pros but it’s annoying that the article fails to mention that they actually fixed the problem with the 2017 version.

They really didn't! The newest version still jams up.

 

[1rottenapple]

Apple has been hit with a class action lawsuit over "defective" keyboards in recent MacBook and MacBook Pro models.

The lawsuit, filed in Northern California district court, alleges that the low-profile, butterfly-switch keyboards in 2015-and-later MacBook and 2016-and-later MacBook Pro models are "prone to fail," resulting in "non-responsive keys" and other issues, according to court documents obtained by MacRumors.

The lawsuit was filed by law firm Girard Gibbs LLP on behalf of MacBook Pro owners Zixuan Rao and Kyle Barbaro, residents of San Diego, California and Melrose, Massachusetts respectively.

The proposed class:The complaint notes that keys can become unresponsive when small amounts of dust or debris accumulate under or around them:The lawsuit alleges that "thousands of consumers have experienced this defect," and highlights over 20 complaints shared by users on the Apple Support Communities, MacRumors Forums, and Reddit. The complaint also cites a Change.org petition about this issue that currently has over 22,000 signatures.

One of the comments included from a MacRumors reader in May 2015:The lawsuit alleges that Apple is "aware of" the keyboard issues, either through "pre-release testing," customer complaints, or a combination of the two, but has "failed and continues to fail to disclose" the defect to customers:Apple is said to "continuously monitor" complaints on websites like MacRumors:MacRumors first highlighted keyboard issues with the 2016 MacBook Pro over a year ago, including non-functional keys, strange high-pitched sounds on some keys, and keys with a non-uniform feel. The issues are back in the spotlight again after AppleInsider shared data on failure rates of the keyboards a few weeks ago.

The lawsuit acknowledges that Apple provides a support document with instructions to clean the keyboard of a MacBook or MacBook Pro with "an unresponsive key or "a key that feels different than the other keys," but notes that the steps "do not fix the keyboard defect or prevent the keyboard from failing."

When a customer takes their MacBook or MacBook Pro to a Genius Bar, the complaint alleges that Apple "routinely refuses to honor its warranty obligations," or is unable to permanently fix the problem when it does.

One of the two named plaintiffs in the lawsuit:Apple is accused of, among other things, violating California's Unfair Competition Law and Consumer Legal Remedies Act, the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, and fraudulent concealment.

The complaint requests that Apple pays punitive damages in an amount to be proven at trial, publicly discloses the defect, and reimburses customers for all costs attributable to remedying or replacing defective MacBook or MacBook Pro models. A jury trial has been demanded in Northern California district court.

Our Take: Apple has yet to launch a repair program for MacBook Pro keyboard issues, either publicly or internally, suggesting that the number of customers affected might not meet its threshold for doing so. But, given the increased attention and lawsuit, Apple may feel obligated to take action soon enough.

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

This is a good step but I want a recall to fix this issue permanently. Not a check for $30.

 

[Kobayagi]

Class action lawsuits, aka Apple's version of customer support.

Hahahaha. Good one (sadly)

 

[forerunnerg34]

Apple does send products with cheap parts, but if they have a program to replace it with a decent part then I don´t see why people should sue them. Apple can´t be cleaning and replacing the keyboard with the same part design that will keep generating issues.

 

[1rottenapple]

You know it’s bad when dust can knockout your $1600 computer’s space bar.

 

[The Cappy]

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.)

 

[1rottenapple]

Entitled much?

2) You could have waited for Kraby Lake, you chose not to.
3) You didn't buy AppleCare, thus your fault. Apple warrants for 12 months. All that is required.
4) If you took it back before AppleCare had expired, they would have been more than happy to replace the keyboard for you. Two friends have had their keyboards replaced under warranty, and the issue has never returned.

Lol it’s our fault for not buying AppleCare and spending an extra $$$. Lol ok.......

So basically do not ever expect your Apple product to last 3 yrs without any issue. Great quality right there.

 

[mi7chy]

I worry about how much it will cost me to repair the keys if (when?) the problem arises after the warranty has expired.

I've heard $800 mentioned. For comparison, that's the price of a new Thinkpad laptop with keyboard that's known to last a decade or longer.

 

[TheMacDaddy1]

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.

They still sell the 15inch MacBook Pro with the old keyboard. They will support it for at least 3 years (Apple care) after the stop selling it.

 

[1rottenapple]

I've heard $800 mentioned. For comparison, that's the price of a new Thinkpad laptop with keyboard that's known to last a decade or longer.

Yup $700-800. Number one rule in marketing don’t piss off your customers. It’s easier to hold on to a customer than anticing new customers to your brand. What is wrong with their engineers. It’s lkke they’re catering to the 1% and we are stupid for calling for this trap.

My mom got a surface pro 4 and I’m telling you the quality is 98% there. It’s almost parity to Apple. It might not be worth spending an extra $$$ for a mbp

 

[mi7chy]

They actually updated the keyboard for the 2017 version and the problems are basically gone now. So they have actually fixed the issue.

Not according to other people. For example...

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/2017-macbook-pro-spacebar-sticking.2107781/

The more you know...

 

[DanBig]

I'm sorry, but a consumer cannot blame a company for the consumer not purchasing the extended warranty. If you chose not to extend your warranty, then its on you. At a minimum a consumer should at least purchase the item with a credit card that doubles the manufacturer warranty. I have been burned in the past by not extending warranties on items, including a car. Thats on me. I cant go around suing because I chose not to extend my warranty. Thats ridiculous.

The real issue here is what is the reasonable lifespan of the keyboard. This is the metric you need to work from.

If the keyboard fails before that then the manufacture needs to cover it under warranty. The only exception would be if the end user damaged it in some way (i.e. liquid spill).

Keyboards need to be almost bulletproof! The new butterfly design is much more sensitive to failure. This is a design failure!

Apple made the compromise for 'Form over Function!' And in the end, the end user is paying the price!

We don't buy laptops to put them on a pedestal to admire, we use them for work in harsh places.

 

[ghostface147]

Unfortunate that the 2015 model they still sell online is far superior in many ways. It only loses in processor technologies. It has the better keyboard, MagSafe port, and a full suite of ports (not just USB-C).

 

[pat500000]

Think lawsuit.... apple’s latest motto. Pff. What happened to quality?

 

[VulchR]

I have a Powerbook 180 that still boots and functions. It ain't thin, but thin=flimsy. If Apple want thin and lightweight, they should be using titanium rather than aluminum, and they should have very robust components...

 

[Appleaker]

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.

In terms of replacements, I agree. They need to speed up with producing a modified and tested the keyboard to prevent future issues. In terms of future MacBooks, they already have a solution. But this shouldn't have happened anyway, it's ridiculous.

 

[allOfSomething]

I've noticed that the keyboard on my 2017 is starting to cause damage on the screen from opening and closing. It was merely annoying when it was only transferring hand grease to the screen but now I'm starting to get key edges imprinted on the screen that don't seem to buff out.

 

[tim0409]

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.

 

[femike]

Good. I hope this action is a success and that Apple gets done for an amount high enough to make them think twice about doing treating customers like this again.

Under Tim Cook, institutional shareholders before the customers. What Tim Cook thinks of customers is revealed in the 4 year old products are that still being sold at the same release price. Tim Cook just wants your money because he wants to get recognition as the first CEO of a trillion dollar company. Tim needs to go.

 

[curtvaughan]

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.

Here's a link regarding replacement keyboards for the Dell XPS 13-9360, which is comparable to the MBP 13 of last year. The keyboard (currently out of stock for this seller) is $69. Included in the link are step-by-step replacement instructions. If you are correct about having to replace the whole TopCase assembly in order to replace a MBP keyboard, this illustrates a problem with current Apple products lacking in modularity. The XPS 13 requires removal of multiple parts for insertion of the keyboard, but not a repurchase of both keyboard and said parts as a unit.

https://www.laptopmain.com/parts/dell-xps-13-9360-keyboard-p-277756.html

 

[redneckitengineer]

I literally handed off my MacBook Pro to the Apple store for repair Saturday on this EXACT issue. It’s off to the depot right right now. Isn’t this funny timing.

 

[1rottenapple]

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.

******... gmhes pretty much a shill for Apple

 

[dogslobber]

Sounds like Apple's butterfly keyboard technology has had its wings clipped.
[doublepost=1526312646][/doublepost]

I literally handed off my MacBook Pro to the Apple store for repair Saturday on this EXACT issue. It’s off to the depot right right now. Isn’t this funny timing.

Did you have to waive your right to sue them to get it fixed?