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pshufd

macrumors G3
Oct 24, 2013
9,963
14,445
New Hampshire
I never had a problem on my 12" MacBook but these MacBook Pro keys seem to get shiny real fast. Reminds me of old ThinkPad keyboards. But the lettering should never fade - this is supposed to be built to a better standard than my friends 2006 Pontiac.

*The buttons in that Pontiac wore through to the translucent layer in like a year

This is an HP-67 calculator made by Hewlett-Packard around 1978. It still works as a programmable calculator 40 years later. As you can see, all of the key etchings are still visible. HP used to have a very strong reputation for quality products.

IMG_0016.jpg
 

smirking

macrumors 68040
Aug 31, 2003
3,757
3,732
Silicon Valley
I've used model M IBM keyboards from the 80s that are still fully intact (and fully functional, for that matter).
I've got several Model M's. All of them look fantastic. A few have other issues, but cosmetically you can't tell the difference between the injured ones and the healthy ones.

Model M's use a different kind of plastic though and those keycaps don't need to be translucent. It'd be awesome if Apple used shine resistant doubleshot PBT plastic for their keycaps, but they might not be translucent enough and might be too thick.

I've had many keyboards lose their legends, but few started wearing off as quickly as it did on my previous 2016 MBP and none of them were part of something quite so expensive. The interesting thing is that it didn't happen in the expected pattern. A few letters wore down within months and the rest were fine after two years. On my current 2018, everything's fine after 6 months. Maybe it's a quality control issue.

I think it is more than reasonable to expect the key labels to still be present and in perfect condition after less than 2-3 years of ownership.

I like they current gen of Apple keyboard, but the quality of the keycaps are just appalling. I'm one of those oddballs who buys nicer keycaps to replace the stock keycaps on my external keyboards just for a nicer typing experience. I can't do that on a MBP. Even without the problem of the lettering wearing off, they just feel cheap. I suppose that's the price of thinness.
 
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hzc71

macrumors newbie
Sep 12, 2008
27
1
Be sure to report back and let others know how they handled it in the store. I haven't yet had chance to go and get mine sorted.

UPDATE: I went to the Apple store today with my 3 month old MacBook Pro. The guy at the Genius Bar replaced my Command key in a matter of minutes, no cost. They seem to keep extra keys on hand so it should not be a problem.
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This is an HP-67 calculator made by Hewlett-Packard around 1978. It still works as a programmable calculator 40 years later. As you can see, all of the key etchings are still visible. HP used to have a very strong reputation for quality products.

Ha ha. I love those HP calculators. Good memories!
 
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FlyingDutch

macrumors 65816
Aug 21, 2019
1,319
1,206
Eindhoven (NL)
This is an HP-67 calculator made by Hewlett-Packard around 1978. It still works as a programmable calculator 40 years later. As you can see, all of the key etchings are still visible. HP used to have a very strong reputation for quality products.

IMG_0016.jpg
wow... I owned it ... a life ago
 

tonito80

macrumors newbie
Mar 18, 2020
2
0
MacBook Pro 2018 here. Purchased late October 2019 (5 months of light use).

This is what mine looks like. Seems like a common issue, especially with the Command key. Very annoying, considering that this is a very new, >$3000 machine. I've had many, even cheap-ass laptops in my past for years and years and never experienced chipping. Will bring to the store once they reopen due to the COVID-19 and see if they'll replace it. Though I expect it to chip off again.
IMG_2481.jpg
 

smirking

macrumors 68040
Aug 31, 2003
3,757
3,732
Silicon Valley
This is what mine looks like. Seems like a common issue, especially with the Command key.

That's interesting that it seems to affect the command key disproportionately. I had a 2016 MBP and also had the finish chip off of the CMD key like that. It chipped off a few other keys too. The chip on the CMD key appeared almost right away in my first couple months of owning it.

I've had a 2018 MBP for a year now. No chips. I haven't done anything different.
 

BigMcGuire

Cancelled
Jan 10, 2012
9,832
14,027
That's interesting that it seems to affect the command key disproportionately. I had a 2016 MBP and also had the finish chip off of the CMD key like that. It chipped off a few other keys too. The chip on the CMD key appeared almost right away in my first couple months of owning it.

I've had a 2018 MBP for a year now. No chips. I haven't done anything different.

MY wife's 2017 MBP's A key is doing this. But she is a HEAVY user of her keyboard (PhD student - year 2.5 of 5) and uses her laptop every day for hours and hours and hours.
 

Jordy15675

macrumors newbie
Feb 16, 2017
3
6
United Kingdom
A quick visit to the Apple Store (UK, Reading's Oracle Branch) I have a brand new key, free of charge. The technician (who was lovely) said if any more keys start to flake, bring it in and they replace them free of charge. Proof attached.
 

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dhruveonmars

macrumors 6502
Nov 10, 2011
278
78
UK
Working with quite a bit of sunlight behind me, and noticed that the replacement keys from Apple aren't actually black, and have a pinkish/purpleish hue to it. Under normal circumstances, they look fine, which is probably why I haven't noticed it before.
Is this normal? Or could it simply be because the buttons are newer than the rest?
 

tonito80

macrumors newbie
Mar 18, 2020
2
0
Update: note that there is a keyboard replacement program for most MacBook Pros. Check out Apple’s support website. On top of the chipping, some keys started to fee smushy. I brought it in, and they replaced the entire keyboard. Although, I learned that it’s not a different design. So all the keyboard problems are not guaranteed to be fixed permanently.
 

rlarsen_eu

macrumors member
Nov 2, 2016
67
41
Denmark
There you go
I have exactly the same peeling off pattern on my Command key - and only on that key - pretty annoying.

My MacBook Pro is a 15" 2018 model

I'll wait for my new 16" MacBook Pro to arrive on Dec. 21. 2020, before I contact Apple to get the key replaced - I can't live without my MacBook Pro, while someone try to replace the key - or as I sadly foresee that I probably need a new keyboard, because the "support" here in Denmark is not performed by Apple them self, and the knowledge and know-how is not the best - and they are very slow too.
 

cheddar-caveman

macrumors 6502
Oct 25, 2012
369
65
This is an HP-67 calculator made by Hewlett-Packard around 1978. It still works as a programmable calculator 40 years later. As you can see, all of the key etchings are still visible. HP used to have a very strong reputation for quality products.

IMG_0016.jpg
Ha!! I've got one of these (for Sale if anybody's interested) and yes, still perfect after 40 years whereas my 2018 MBP has keys starting to peel off!
 

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