Apple Launches Repair Program for Faulty MacBook and MacBook Pro Keyboards

[lec0rsaire]

I beg to disagree.

I got my maxed-out MBP TB dec 2016, and immediately had keyboard problems. I've been a journalist for 52 years, a touch typist for 57, and I am fast and accurate. On the MBP I got repeats, missed letters, you name it. After convincing myself it was not simply a case of having to adapt to a slightly different keyboard, I took it in 4 or 5 times. It was determined each time that, no humor intended, I was using it wrong. No repair, no replacement. I asked to return it but was past the deadline. It's spent most of the 18 months I've had it sitting unused, other than one- or two-month periods in which i'd try it again, desperate to avoid the conclusion I'd bought a clunker. But each time I returned to my 2014 MBA where my efficiency and speed is very significantly better--what i expect and need from a keyboard. I wanted the MBP TB when I saw the specs; I even bought the $1k LG 5K monitor with it, to take advantage of the USB-C ports. It's the only Apple purchase I've ever been disappointed with.

Don't go thinking everyone who had Apple Care like me had theirs fixed, and don't go telling others that's the case. That's simply not true. I just hope this recall fixes the problem. I hope they've been developing a superior keyboard for the 2018 models and that it's that keyboard they use to replace the upper end of my MBP.

Yes, I've made the appointment for Monday.

I hope everything works out for you. With the exception of this problem they are great machines. This time they should replace it for you especially considering you shelled out a significant amount of money. I’ve found service tends to depend on the person who ends up helping you. Some people are more accommodating than others. I myself prefer to go to certain Apple Store locations in NYC and avoid others. 5th Ave. and SoHo have been good to me while other locations not so much.

 

[smirking]

I’ve found service tends to depend on the person who ends up helping you. Some people are more accommodating than others.

I had the same experience. I had an iPhone 4s with a jammed volume button. The first time I went in, I got a guy who took it back for half an hour and "repaired it." It jammed again later that day.

I went to a different store a week later and reported the same problem. He asked me if I needed the data on the phone. I told him I had backups of everything. He walked into the back, came out, and handed me a refurbished 4s.
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do we know this to be true? source?

Yep, you're a journalist alright.

 

[lec0rsaire]

I had the same experience. I had an iPhone 4s with a jammed volume button. The first time I went in, I got a guy who took it back for half an hour and "repaired it." It jammed again later that day.

I went to a different store a week later and reported the same problem. He asked me if I needed the data on the phone. I told him I had backups of everything. He walked into the back, came out, and handed me a refurbished 4s.

I bought a 4th gen touchwheel iPod in 2004 but the iPhone 3G was my first “true” Apple product bought at the 5th Ave. flagship in 2008. Several months later I was playing music at a bar hooked up to their sound system and by accident my mute switch snapped off. I made an appointment for the next day and the Genius Bar immediately pulled out a fresh 3G after seeing determining that it had no water damage and was otherwise in perfect condition. I had never experienced this sort of service before and combined with the relibility of the phone itself compared to the Razrs I had been using that broke after a year, from that point on I’ve held Apple in the highest regard.

 

[artfossil]

I'm not sure this is true, it says "after the first retail sale of the unit" I take that to mean after the unit was first available for sale, so if you waited a year to buy them, then you only have three years left on this program. So really it doesn't extend your warranty at all. I could be wrong though.

You are wrong. It’s four years from the first retail sale to the particular customer, not four years after being generally available.

 

[PickUrPoison]

Yeah, the keyboard fails when microscopic dust particles block the mechanism. That is a major design flaw, unless its supposed to work in the cleanroom environment only.

Don’t believe everything you read on the internet.

 

[antonis]

I thought it was things getting stuck in/under the mechanism that was the problem. Not the mechanism itself?

Yes, that's the symptom though. This mechanism is too susceptible to any minimum particle that goes under it during standard usage, no matter how much you take care. If you see at my MacBook 2017 model it looks almost it was just got out of the box, and yet the enter key out of a sudden...

 

[Marekul]

Don’t believe everything you read on the internet.

I don't need to read about it, experiencing it with my MBP every day. But maybe i am just pressing the keys wrong
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Yes, that's the symptom though. This mechanism is too susceptible to any minimum particle that goes under it during standard usage, no matter how much you take care. If you see at my MacBook 2017 model it looks almost it was just got out of the box, and yet the enter key out of a sudden...

Yeah mine looks like its out of the box, 99% it just sits in very clean office environment and only used with external peripherals. Rest of the time it sits on a clean desk at home. The 2011 is a very rugged device in comparison.

 

[AnthonyHarris]

Yes, that's the symptom though. This mechanism is too susceptible to any minimum particle that goes under it during standard usage, no matter how much you take care. If you see at my MacBook 2017 model it looks almost it was just got out of the box, and yet the enter key out of a sudden...

I have had my MacBook Pro 13 inch TB since 7th March 2018. I guess it hasn't been long enough for the problem to present itself. The repair services on offer are at least a little bit of a relief, though if the keys on mine fail once and there is a new improved machine, I'm going to be pushing to get one of those, not palmed off on the same potentially faulty design I have now.

 

[ionutc]

I had the multiple registering issue on my 2016 15'', first the f key, and then the b key. The problem with the f key went away after i tried to remove any dust around the key with a piece of paper and multiple pressing the key after. I mean it went away imediately and thet was it. With the b key it took longer and i noticed it registered multiple times when i pressed the key on the left side, close to the v, for about 5% of the time. I noticed that when i used canned air sometimes it was better and sometimes worse and i suspect there was that piece of dust moving inside or something. None of the keys was sticky or acting weird when pressed and no different noise while used. After a month or so the b key registered twice about 2% of the time and now seems to be ok. Those 2 and 5% i got just by testing the key a few times a day, but it would have been very hard to notice under regular use, as a few words in 100 you might just get over as a simple mistake. Maybe a lot more people have at least this multiple registering key thing and didn't notice before.

My guess is that these new keyboards are very sensitive and may develop issues with anything like dust, manufacture defects and so on. I have experienced these issues after about a year after purchase. I also popped the b key to check under it and i didn't see anything wrong (yet) and it also looked preety clean under the cap. For me this repair program is somewhat reassuring as i plan to use this machine for a few years.

I don't know what to say about the numbers some of you posted, but what if the program is also meant for the next models which may get the same keyboard?

 

[Martius]

Three of my collegues have the 15" inch 2016 / 2017 MBP and two of them have problems with the keyboard. Today the "third" collegue came to my office and told me he has problems with the tab key, so that's 3 of 3. I don't really think that this issue is affecting just small amount of users. For example from all the people I know that have the previous generation MBP (20-30 people), only one had problems with display staining.

Just my to cents about the statistics... not making any conclusions.

 

[sracer]

Same Old, Same Old, as ever with Apple. Thing with monopolies is once your locked in your done, having no option but to accept the their terms, seemingly with little accountability...

Time for Apple to grow up, Apple needs to decide which side of the fence it sits, it's time to play the game or "fold" and go see what colour best complements Latte Mochachino with caramel, pretty toy's or usable tools...

Q-6

I think you may have missed that Apple has already decided which side of the fence it sits. It is clear and has been clear for quite some time. Most customers have already decided as well. The "lock in" you refer to is a self-imposed lock-in by the customer themselves. Everyone has the choice to accept Apple's terms or not.

But if one believes Apple's marketing, then of course they will draw the conclusion that there is no digital life outside of Apple. THAT is the purpose of marketing...convince people that their products are indispensable.

The fact that after YEARS of this exact same cycle (some must be sick of me posting my canonical list of how Apple deals with issues) there are still many people who fall lock-step into that cycle of deny, defend, distract. There will always be those people... and as long as there are, Apple can continue to do what it does.

TL;DR: Apple won't change. The customer needs to decide if THEY themselves will.

 

[newellj]

I'm not sure this is true, it says "after the first retail sale of the unit" I take that to mean after the unit was first available for sale, so if you waited a year to buy them, then you only have three years left on this program. So really it doesn't extend your warranty at all. I could be wrong though.

Was wondering this as well - in fact, that's how I took it at first, but the more I read into it, looks like the first sale of the unit to the first owner (so if someone buys it second hand, not extended - but if bought new, starts from there).

But yeah still not completely sure about that. haha.

I think it's clearly the date on which the end user/retail purchaser bought the laptop.

I think it would still apply that way to refurbs purchased directly from Apple, but I don't think that's clear from Apple's materials.

It would -not- apply that way to purchases of open-box machines from Best Buy (for example) if the computer had ever been logged into Apple's servers.

 

[project_2501]

I think you may have missed that Apple has already decided which side of the fence it sits. It is clear and has been clear for quite some time. Most customers have already decided as well. The "lock in" you refer to is a self-imposed lock-in by the customer themselves. Everyone has the choice to accept Apple's terms or not.

But if one believes Apple's marketing, then of course they will draw the conclusion that there is no digital life outside of Apple. THAT is the purpose of marketing...convince people that their products are indispensable.

The fact that after YEARS of this exact same cycle (some must be sick of me posting my canonical list of how Apple deals with issues) there are still many people who fall lock-step into that cycle of deny, defend, distract. There will always be those people... and as long as there are, Apple can continue to do what it does.

TL;DR: Apple won't change. The customer needs to decide if THEY themselves will.

pressure on companies and bad PR does work.

Apple also watch these forums - they know what people are upset about. How do I know this? I had a despite with them and as part of that I asked for all the personal data they had on me, under the data protection law, and they gave it to me .. my tweets and my posts here.
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This is not a repair program; this is a replacement program.

A repair program implies the problem is fixed. This is not a fix! Apple simply replaces the faulty keyboard with another keyboard with the same faulty design. The problem will simply continue to occur until the laptop is retired.

 

[sracer]

pressure on companies and bad PR does work.

Apple also watch these forums - they know what people are upset about. How do I know this? I had a despite with them and as part of that I asked for all the personal data they had on me, under the data protection law, and they gave it to me .. my tweets and my posts here.

Pressure and bad PR are only momentarily effective and not always effective. It causes companies to react to the particular issue at hand. It does nothing for the corporation's business philosophy. And what if the pressure isn't high enough? The customer is stuck with a defective product.

Why would anyone want to pay a premium for products from a company that has to be dragged kicking and screaming to "do the right thing"?

No one has said that Apple isn't aware of what people are upset about. They absolutely know. Their actions are IN SPITE of what people are upset about. That's what makes Apple's approach to dealing with these types of issues more egregious. They know, and they don't care. Why should they care? Is this affecting their bottom line? No. So spending more resources to address issues that aren't affecting their profits is a foolish expenditure.

 

[seek3r]

Good, my SO's macbook has a sticky keyboard, so now she can get it fixed. Also, maybe this will push Apple to do better QA on the next gen keyboards

 

[bluecoast]

I think you may have missed that Apple has already decided which side of the fence it sits. It is clear and has been clear for quite some time. Most customers have already decided as well. The "lock in" you refer to is a self-imposed lock-in by the customer themselves. Everyone has the choice to accept Apple's terms or not.

But if one believes Apple's marketing, then of course they will draw the conclusion that there is no digital life outside of Apple. THAT is the purpose of marketing...convince people that their products are indispensable.

The fact that after YEARS of this exact same cycle (some must be sick of me posting my canonical list of how Apple deals with issues) there are still many people who fall lock-step into that cycle of deny, defend, distract. There will always be those people... and as long as there are, Apple can continue to do what it does.

TL;DR: Apple won't change. The customer needs to decide if THEY themselves will.

I’ve got to the point where I would definitely switch from Apple IF their competitors showed good taste and quality in their software and hardware AND an adherence to privacy.

Sadly this combination seems all too rare in tech and it’s only Apple that is exhibiting it.

Perhaps that’s why our criticisms of them are so ferocious when they get things wrong. Who else have we got to turn to?

 

[00sterb33k]

I brought in my late 2016 retina MBP with touch bar for repair of a sticky arrow key. Sad to know that they will now replace the keyboard with another one with the same faulty design. This means that if the keys break after 4 years I will be more or less forced to buy a replacement computer much earlier than I had anticipated for such an expensive machine.

For now I am happy that with the keyboard and battery that are both part of the top case that is being replaced, I am now also getting a new logic board, RAM and hard drive because the repair apparently didn’t go as planned

 

[macjunk(ie)]

I brought in my late 2016 retina MBP with touch bar for repair of a sticky arrow key. Sad to know that they will now replace the keyboard with another one with the same faulty design. This means that if the keys break after 4 years I will be more or less forced to buy a replacement computer much earlier than I had anticipated for such an expensive machine.

For now I am happy that with the keyboard and battery that are both part of the top case that is being replaced, I am now also getting a new logic board, RAM and hard drive because the repair apparently didn’t go as planned

I wonder how many repairs don't go as "planned". What should have never been an issue or maybe a simple 1 minute key replacement, results in replacing the entire top case with the battery and glue it all back together - possibly in multiple attempts. And Apple thinks they are doing everything they can for the environment.

Apple needs to do more set an example for the rest like it does on so many political issues.

 

[bluecoast]

I wonder how many repairs don't go as "planned". What should have never been an issue or maybe a simple 1 minute key replacement, results in replacing the entire top case with the battery and glue it all back together - possibly in multiple attempts. And Apple thinks they are doing everything they can for the environment.

Apple needs to do more set an example for the rest like it does on so many political issues.

Is Al Gore still a board member? You’d hope that he had much more influence re how Apple build their products.

I think within 10 years, how products are built now will be seen as wasteful, as you say.

Let’s have a culture where products are easy to fix - and new sales are because something demonstrably better has arrived.

 

[groove-agent]

I'd thank the online petition (who I can't name or it will be deleted) which I believe got the ball rolling on this awareness.

here's a HUGE THANK YOU to macrumors (and of course the very first guys who started this petition and that guy who made a music video on youtube singing that his keyboard won't work as he is pressing the button). yes, i obviously could have learned about this replacement program at another site yet as soon as i saw this pop up on the homepage, i made an appt. that very same evening at the genius bar at 5th ave nyc (they are open 24 hours every day) and got my early 2016 macbook approved. i had a serious issue the whole year and the pricing they offered me to repair it was $635. now i am getting it replaced for free.

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I'd say that beaucracy has certainly crept into Apple, and they are no longer as nimble as they used to be.

I forget where I read it, but I came across some blogs that people were complaing about the slowness in interacting with Apple over some work projects. I'm a bit hesitant to say it, only because I cannot back it up. So for now, I'm not making a statement of fact, but rather opinion that being so large and successful has casued them int incur a level of beaucracy that is slowing them down.

From what I've seen, it's not bureaucracy, it's a lack of proper internal organization.

 

[radiologyman]

Got my MacBook keyboard replaced for free, they also replaced screen as it had prints from keys. Now my MacBook looks brand new!

 

[537635]

I'd thank the online petition (who I can't name or it will be deleted) which I believe got the ball rolling on this awareness.

I agree. I understand the ban for online petitions in general, but those, related to "macs"? This is still Macrumors, right?

 

[antonis]

I have had my MacBook Pro 13 inch TB since 7th March 2018. I guess it hasn't been long enough for the problem to present itself. The repair services on offer are at least a little bit of a relief, though if the keys on mine fail once and there is a new improved machine, I'm going to be pushing to get one of those, not palmed off on the same potentially faulty design I have now.

Indeed, the worst part of the story is that there is no "good" and "bad" butterfly design. So, even when replaced by a new one, the keyboard will still be susceptible to the same failure.

 

[Fun.gus]

Hi all,

So I’ve been experiencing the “sticky keys” issue on my MBP 2017 13”. My particularly troublesome keys were the volume up button and the “esc” key. When attempting to ‘unstick’ them by tapping on them they often get jammed up in weird angles. Has anyone else experienced this?

I ask because when I closed my lid the other day I heard a key click back into place. I didn’t think much of it but when I opened it up again my lcd had been damaged right above my “esc” key. Now I know my lcd touches my keyboard because if I don’t wipe down my keyboard after a long day of typing I can see marks on the screen. There’s also not a single mark on my key, any pitting on the aluminium casing or puncturing of the glass. There is however, a “point of impact”.

I’m in the process of getting it sorted by Apple through a premium reseller. The online tech support and in store tech were both helpful and believed that the keyboard was/could be the issue. It is getting sent off site for inspection and diagnostics now before being repaired. There is a chance that the off site tech could get back to me and say it’s accidental damage and not covered by warranty because of a visible point of impact, even though the in store tech said he believes it should be covered by my warranty.

I would be great/reassuring to find out from anyone who has had this sticky key issue if you’ve noticed any damage to your glass or lcd above your keys? I’m aware that getting a small object or earphone jack stuck above your hinge is going to cause a similarly looking more severe crack but perhaps keys stuck protruding at an angle may also be a threat?
[doublepost=1530460177][/doublepost]Chatting to a helpful and great member of the Apple support staff this is what he had to say;

“...Oh okay, so the keys are causing damage to your display as well. You’re totally right about the repair extension program for the keyboard as well. There’s not a known problem with the keyboard affecting the display, however it is likely because the keys are stuck and not decompressing. They may be dislodged and raised so they make contact with the display. What we’ll need to do is have a technician take a look at the Mac with you...”

If the offsite technician calls me out for ‘mishandling’ my mac which is far from the truth, do I have a leg to stand on to support my case?

 

[Bacillus]

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I am not sure what you want to convey here, so I advise you to buy a cheap externeal BT keyboard and send the bill to Cupertino. To achieve a solution on the longer term, I’m afraid we have to collect money for them to buy external 3rd party stuff if an own solution is beyond their reach or vision.
Anyway, I am amazed by the pathetic sort of cumbersome idiots running the show there