There is a difference between falling off from normal wear/tear and a design defect.
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Apple Launches Repair Program for Faulty MacBook and MacBook Pro Keyboards
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There is a difference between falling off from normal wear/tear and a design defect.
Could it be the real reason behind the lack of hardware updates for the entire line of laptops? Current gen keyboards are too sensitive to mechanical particles, and replacement tech is not ready. Older keyboards are too thick for current gen chassis.
Aint disputing that. I'm just saying that 4 years is a fair amount of time for a warranty on a keyboard because even on well built keyboards, it's not shocking to find stuff falling off by the 4 year mark.
There's a reason why I prefer old school external mechanical switch keyboards. They're the only ones that don't disintegrate on me. I type in excess of 100 wpm and despite having a light touch, that's a lot of actuations.
Give it time man. Mine started to act weird all of a sudden until I used compressed air to fix it. My old model wasn’t fixable. I’m glad they gave the extended coverage. I’ll get rid of this in 4 yrs. I usually upgrade every 2 yrs.
Takes up too much height. I guess Apple is already working on a completely flat screen keyboard, using force feedback for the „click“ sensation.
Hardware keyboards will become niche products in the long run and Apple is infamous for doing away with (in their view) outdated interfaces ahead of the curve ...
Not if they are moving to a design where the keyboard is now "part" of the Mac as well.
So Apple’s strategy here is to simply keep replacing MacBook keyboards until the warranty date expires, at which point you are still out of luck, assuming you haven’t switched to another laptop out of sheer annoyance?
I used to own a 2015 MacBook Pro and replaced it with a 2017 model. I prefer the new keyboard when typing large texts.
Why would I buy them from Apple? I got all of these on Amazon. Some are Amazon Basics, some are Cable Creations, one is from Plugable. Paying more because someone cannot comparison shop is not a valid argument.
You could even just buy some USB-A to USB-C endcap style converters and reuse all of your old USB-A stuff. I got 4 or them for about $20.
I'm currently using a 2010 13" MacBook Pro and the keyboard is perfect! I don't look after it or clean it either, nor is the finish wearing off like it does on the Space Grey laptops after less than a year for some people. I don't expect a keyboard to break after 8 years let alone 4. What's silly is that keyboards are something virtually every manufacturer never had a problem with until Apple found a way to screw it up. Apple laptops used to be built like a tank, yet still be competitively thin and light. Now they're just thin and light (and fragile).
In their quest to make everything thinner at any cost, they either haven't realised/accounted-for or are deliberately ignoring the effect that thinning their devices has on their robustness, structural integrity and longevity. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that thinning something can make it weaker. I suspect the latter because we saw the same scenario with the iPhone 6s and "bendgate" in which it was reported that Apple knew from their testing that they weren't as rigid and had significant weak spots but didn't address it until the next version after it became a embarrassment for them. Now we're seeing it with the low-travel keyboards so there seems to be a pattern here.
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that's part fo the problem with the current design and why repairs are so costly.
the new MBPro is so thin, and the keyboard is so thin that it's literally spot welded to the chassis. A keyboard replacement requires the replacement of the entire surface top of the bottom portion of the laptop. This is expensive.
When you bolt / solder everything together, eventually you run into problems that repairs, become more expensive because you end up needing to replace more stuff.
I find it hard to believe that a 2010 machine is perfect, but then again it depends how you define perfect?
After 8 years you don’t expect the keyboard to have any issues? I’m using a 2011 MacBook Pro and I’m happy that it’s lasted this long to be honest,getting 7 years out of the MacBook Pro I have is more than fair I think.
This is a start, but given the people i know have had multiple failures, this better not be a multiple day turn-around to just "fix" with identical parts.
It doesn't matter how many times they're willing to replace it for free, if the machine constantly breaking interferes with your work.
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I call BS on that, and i doubt you'll ever see the real figures.
Anecdotally, among the people i personally know with these machines (5) - three have had issues. One of them had 3 failures inside a month with a 12" macbook and exchanged for a 2015 retina back when they were new.
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Have more confidence in say, a 2014-2015 pre-touchbar macbook pro surviving another 3 years than i do that a current machine will survive 3 years without needing to be returned.
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It's also 10x plus of the average industry failure rate for a new machine.
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I doubt there are any stats on that, but anecdotally, the latest person to buy a macbook pro amongst my peers was this year in around March 2018 and he has had to return his 15" touchbar model once already for replacement. I very much suspect "the 2017 models are more reliable" is purely due to them not having been used as much yet and people assuming that Apple have fixed it.
It doesn't matter how many times they're willing to replace it for free, if the machine constantly breaking interferes with your work.
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I call BS on that, and i doubt you'll ever see the real figures.
Anecdotally, among the people i personally know with these machines (5) - three have had issues. One of them had 3 failures inside a month with a 12" macbook and exchanged for a 2015 retina back when they were new.
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Have more confidence in say, a 2014-2015 pre-touchbar macbook pro surviving another 3 years than i do that a current machine will survive 3 years without needing to be returned.
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It's also 10x plus of the average industry failure rate for a new machine.
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I doubt there are any stats on that, but anecdotally, the latest person to buy a macbook pro amongst my peers was this year in around March 2018 and he has had to return his 15" touchbar model once already for replacement. I very much suspect "the 2017 models are more reliable" is purely due to them not having been used as much yet and people assuming that Apple have fixed it.
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Ha. I bought a Macbook about a year after they came out. I always had trouble typing with it. Autocorrect lessened some of the mistakes. I always thought that my hands did not fit the keyboard. About three months ago I actually looked at where my fingers were resting. Turns out that some of the keys were intermittently not working. I called Apple and they hemmed and hawed but eventually they took it in and replaced the keyboard. I had AC. I've had AC on the last three machines. Turns out it saved me money on all of them. Good for AC or bad for Apple QC.
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Agree with your post 100% ... and nice beverage selection
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Witness apple snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
With the advent of things like Office 365, the disastrous UI of Windows 8+ and the popularity of the iDevices, Apple was primed to be able to make inroads into the corporate landscape.
And then they put out garbage like this, and end up with results like you mention above...
They just started this program. How do we know that the keyboard repairs now, leave alone on the yet to be released new MacBooks and MacBook Pros are not going to be having the same issue? Unless we find out that with the new models they are stepping back to the scissor model.
The low-profile replacements in the current program are doomed to be the same - the structurally defective design has not gone.
... because we have to pay extra for Apple to actually "care"?
Many bought apple care bacuase of the infamous keyboard issues. Though it was voluntary it was inherently out of fear.
Apple painted themselves into a corner by making the laptop so thin - now their options are limited on a fix as there is very little space to innovate something.
I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't a 2018 MBP this year. They likely need a complete redesign which given Apple's recent productivity, is going to take while.
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I'd say there should be a time factor included as well (older it is, the more chance it will fail as continued exposure to the elements will increase failure). I bet the failure rate is likely 33% after 3 years of use.
[doublepost=1529849671][/doublepost]Do most people "hunt and peck" now? I touch type which means I don't look at the keyboard while I type. This is the proper way and most efficient way to use a keyboard. A touch screen keyboard won't work in this regard. This feels like a step backwards.
Yes, you are right, the end-cap style converters seem to work just fine for some. Although Apple was a bit too ahead of the curve in 2015, I think the market has gotten the message that USB-C is here and it's time to start moving in that direction. I expect that USB Type-A will be ubiquitous for quite some time. The turning point for me will be when we see electrical outlets for sale in Home Depot or charging outlets in a hotel with USB-C.
I repurposed a Belkin USB 3.0 hub by purchasing a USB-C to USB 3.0 Type Micro-B cable for $9 and it seems to work just fine. There are a variety of high-quality USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 hubs that use either a USB 3.0 Type-A to USB 3.0 Type Micro-B or a USB 3.0 Type Standard-B that simply need the equivalent USB-C to USB 3.0 Type Micro-B or a USB 3.0 Type Standard-B cable, which are available on Amazon or Monoprice. I don't think Apple did a good job of educating consumers about this change, instead viewing it as an opportunity to sell over-priced and underwhelming USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapters and USB-C to USB Adapters which at the prices Apple wanted just added insult to injury for most users who were taken aback by the jump in price for both the 13" and 15" MacBook Pro.
The fact is that there are easy solutions to dealing with older USB devices that came with Type-A, but that a lot of commenters on these forums would rather complain about Apple taking ports away from them which is proof the 2015-2017 MackBook and 2016-2017 MacBook Pros are crap and Apple sucks, than doing some simple research and finding a few replacement cables to suit their particular needs, which then takes away one argument against those models.
so it took them nearly 3 years to acknowledge there is a problem by design?