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Apple Faces Class Action Lawsuit Over 'Defective' Keyboards in Recent MacBook, MacBook Pro Models
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For a company that is nearing $1 trillion market value in spite of a focus on quality, fit, and finish, quality becomes an unnecessary expense. What has been consumer response to the numerous hardware issues with the Macbook Pro over the past 6+ years? Ditch the problematic unit and buy another Macbook Pro.
This issue, as with all of the others, will soon pass and fade away as everyone gets spun up with excitement for the next WWDC.
About damn time. Fixing my 2016 MBP out of warranty would have cost me $795. That is absurd.
Sorry, the current gen2 keyboards are also failing! My friend just bought a system for christmas and its gone back twice for bad keys.
Stuff like this makes me glad my MBP from the Steve Jobs era is still going strong.
Actually you right on the button there. Apple makes most of their revenue from iPhone/iPad (and accessories) and subscription services. Tim Cook has directed most of Apple resources to these areas as it brings in the most profits and growth for his number one customer, the shareholders. So TV shows are part of the subscription services area.
Mine makes me crazy. Then I take it to the Genius Bar and it stops happening.
The clicks sound like someone is snapping their fingers or there is something sticky under the keys.
The clicks sound like someone is snapping their fingers or there is something sticky under the keys.
Here's hoping the lawsuit wakes Apple up from its Mac design-coma. In the meantime, here's hoping Apple updates the internals of the 2015 MacBook Pro, so at least we have one option to buy with a real - functioning - keyboard,
Let me tell you, real and long time Apple users have spoken against this keyboard. Its a serious issue and I'm afraid of Apple because it ignores the issue. Same as with the battery gate. When SJ was alive, he addressed the issues publicly but current Apple exec does not show their face when issues of this magnitude arrive
That mindset has come about since Apple began to focus primarily on its phones and tablets, which generally are expected to need replacement every 3 years. Gone are the days of the primacy of the Mac, when indefinite lifetime was expected for Apple computer hardware. That's why they were worth the extra expense. I have an old 2006 MBP which cost $2100 when new. It still runs fine, though no longer has software support (largely due to its 32-bit design and memory/HDD limitations). The only repair I've ever had to do on that machine is to buy 2 replacement batteries over the years (remember those?). I never purchased Apple Care for it, anticipating - correctly - that it wouldn't be needed.
As someone with a rMBP with the 2nd generation butterfly keyboard, I can assure you: no, it isn't.
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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.
It's clearly a design flaw, on a simple moving part of the machine that literally has one job to do.
Mmm, ok? So it’s ok that $1500 computer might be unusable after warranty is off after one year?
You might even think that Apple wants you to buy expensive AppleCare because of the crappy quality..
Btw, here in EU warranty is 2 years. The year after the first is because of the consumer protection law.
It's really ridiculous that a company like Apple, who charges premium prices, won't help their customers when they get a defective product.
Even if they replace it, they can refurbish it and sell it as a refurb. It's not like they give that big of a discount on a refurb.
It would be a win-win.
Even if they replace it, they can refurbish it and sell it as a refurb. It's not like they give that big of a discount on a refurb.
It would be a win-win.
I wonder how many of those people actually try to get in contact with Apple for a reasonable solution before they take part in the lawsuit.
Well, here is where Apple’s obsession with thinness at the expense of usability and repairability is going to bite them in the ass. And consumers are the ones who will pay for it. This defect will cost consumers an arm and a leg to fix post-warranty and likely cause many to have to consider trashing it and buying a new machine instead (over a keyboard!). Not to mention nearly require them to buy AppleCare. That’s not right.
Even though I haven’t had problems with my 2017 MBP yet, if these do have a high rate of failure, I actually hope Apple loses this lawsuit because I don’t want to be faced with that choice when my AppleCare runs out.
I normally sell MBP after 2-3 years, and buy a new one, but not this time. You can't replace a key or keyboard, you have to replace the entire top for $700! I have a late 2013 MBP. 4.5 years old. ZERO issues. I never blew dust out of the keyboard, still 100% function. Apple has $150+ billion in cash. This is proof management doesn't give a hoot about the customer. Amazing. They new, they know, they kept making these, they continue to make these.
I brought my MacBook Pro 2016 twice to the Apple Store and they explained to me the top side of the mac is only replaceable as a single unit and it includes the components I mentioned. In both cases they replaced the whole TopCase, the first time with the 2016 model, the second time with the 2017 model.
This is the way Apple's official service repaired my issue, thankfully under warranty: I'm not sure if there are "unofficial" ways to do it which replace less components, but IIRC the MacBook Pro's "repairability" rating according to iFixit is very low. It wouldn't surprise me if the TopCase is basically all glued together making the replacement of single components very difficult.
Yes, I'm in the same boat. I have an MBP '13 that I'm looking to upgrade in the near future, but I don't want to purchase one of these machines with a risk that something as basic as the keyboard will malfunction. I wish Apple would just use the equivalent of their Magic Keyboard for the MBP. The latest Magic Keyboards presumably wouldn't suffer from this design defect since they use a scissor mechanism. They are advertised as having increased stability and a lower profile than previous models, so they should also be comparable to these butterfly keyboards with regards to slimness--and likely quieter too! I'm holding out for WWDC to see if the MBPs get upgraded, but I'm not too hopeful. I've thought about just buying an older '15 MBP that they still sell to avoid the keyboard issue altogether (not to mention for the ports and MagSafe), but I'll likely just keep using my '13 for another year or two.
I personally love the feel of my 2016 MBP keyboard, but I'm not ok with it failing prematurely at $700 a pop.
While the power of this laptop is sufficient for me for some time to come, my desktop machine at home is not, I am considering -- for the first time in a long while -- replacing it with something other than a Mac. My needs have changed over the years and I'm less dependent on macOS than I used to be.
Time will tell. If the upcoming Mac Pro turns out to be grossly overpriced, junk, or both, the decision will be an easier one.
While the power of this laptop is sufficient for me for some time to come, my desktop machine at home is not, I am considering -- for the first time in a long while -- replacing it with something other than a Mac. My needs have changed over the years and I'm less dependent on macOS than I used to be.
Time will tell. If the upcoming Mac Pro turns out to be grossly overpriced, junk, or both, the decision will be an easier one.
I have been lucky with a 2016 Pro keyboard, but when I had the 2015 rMB, I had two keyboards fail on me.
Clearly Apple has not been explicit enough on instructing MacBook Pro users on the laptop's proper usage. The only laptop feature that is supposed to be touched is the clearly named and expensive "Touch Bar". The keyboard is provided only for initial laptop set-up and maybe entering passwords that do not require the space bar. The keyboard's true purpose is it's pleasing aesthetic to be admired like a museum work of art with the sternly implied admonishment to "do not touch!". To reinforce this, Apple sells external keyboards and touchpads that are only wireless that again prevent the user from actually touching the laptop even to plug them in.
Seriously though, I would like to buy a new Macbook Pro but I am not sure that it is trustworthy yet (and I have bought four previous models that never had any issues). It appears to be designed to not be repairable or only at great cost.
Seriously though, I would like to buy a new Macbook Pro but I am not sure that it is trustworthy yet (and I have bought four previous models that never had any issues). It appears to be designed to not be repairable or only at great cost.
Don't worry - it will be both. And Apple will market it as solving problems that didn't exist.
Might as well get the best cMP you can find - or wait for trash can prices to dive as they surely will.