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Has anyone had any keyboard issues with the MacBook Air 2018?
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Yeah, I got the new Air 2 weeks ago, and I'm already having the keyboard problems that were supposedly fixed by the new keyboard update. E, I O keys are either not registering or double typing. it's both annoying and so frustrating that I paid so much for a computer whose keyboard doesn't work because of a speck of dust after 2 weeks.
Better take back right away and demand replacement not repair or just do return. Sounds like bought under extended holiday return timeframe
In my honest opinion this issue doesn't have anything to do with dust but a design flaw. I believe a keyboard can't operate in normal conditions with such a small travel.
I believe apple knows the butterfly keyboard is just a big fail but they have to stick with it for a few generations to make everyone think that they don't make such mistakes design wise.
Some people will like this type of keyboard others don't but the problem is that apple shouldn't have done a keyboard that may fail because is such a essential part of any computer.
I was about to purchase the MBA 2018 last week but I just can't cope with the idea of having my fingers crossed.
Some people complain about how dim it is the screen but for me the real issue was the keyboard.
I've had mine for a little over two weeks with no issues. I travel with it and use it daily.
My old Mac is 10 years old and this is the last thing I’m concerned about. Was planning to get this air but I’m going to hold off for yet one more year.
It seems Gen 3 has made it more unlikely that your keys become stuck, but are now more prone to double entry or missed entry. All speculation of course, just going by comments and video's - rarely see difficult to click keys that I have seen on previous generations and it always seems to be about keys pressing twice or skipping.
If the keyboard has failed after two weeks it would suggest you've just got a faulty keyboard which could happen with any of their machines?
The issue has been so prevalent since 2016 that it is hard to say for sure if it is actually a manufacturing defect for the OP, or the known issues that can spontaneously occur due to the design defect.
My wife has a 2016 MBP and has had zero issues with the keyboard. As for me, I've had a 2018 Air for a few weeks now and have not experienced one single issue with the keyboard. And I don't expect to. I keep a $3 can of compressed air on my desk, and when I sit down to work every morning, I hit the keyboard with a blast of compressed air and get on with my day. Probably unnecessary, but good peace of mind. Just take care of your computer equipment and you'll be fine.
The inherent design flaw seemed to be caused by dust ingress (although there was also mention of some batches of the metals for the switches not being up to scratch), but for the most part the problem seemed to develop over time as people exposed their machines to different environments and day to day debris. As opposed to the majority being faulty within a couple of weeks of use
The debris issue seems to be one thing - if you look at this fix:
it fix (using double sided tape) seems to indicate that there is more than one point of failure for the keyboards, not just an issue of dust getting caught.
To add to this theory, if it was merely dust related, Apple's fix described here https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT205662 would be recommended and applied to anyone with keyboard issues - there would be no top keyboard replacement necessary. However, we continually see people's keyboard being replaced and I doubt this is because some dust cannot be removed or that some dust has killed the whole mechanism.
Sheesh for such an expensive product you would think the keyboard would be the least of your worries. This is the only issue that's really stopping me from pulling the trigger on any of Apple's current laptops.
I was going to replace my aging Air, but the keyboard issues were not the only problem . The camera is now reported to be below expectations (face time is important to me), and the price is just way too high. YMMV, but for me no sale.
Four problems: keyboard, camera, screen, price. Just to many problems for a premium machine.
Four problems: keyboard, camera, screen, price. Just to many problems for a premium machine.
I've had mine for a couple weeks now at work. I haven't had an issue yet, and I use it all day every day.
Compared to the 2017 model I had before, this new Air is amazing. I love everything about it, including the keyboard, screen, and FaceTime camera. I wouldn't say the camera is any better than my old one, but I didn't really expect it to be despite the marketing claims — I also don't really care.
Compared to the 2017 model I had before, this new Air is amazing. I love everything about it, including the keyboard, screen, and FaceTime camera. I wouldn't say the camera is any better than my old one, but I didn't really expect it to be despite the marketing claims — I also don't really care.
4 important ones.
I noticed the camera as well at store. Very grainy or noisy. How can even claim hd quality.
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This makes me wonder if some of the issues have to do with people getting used to the new shallower keyboard travel. I am not a very good typist, so I make a lot of mistakes on the older traditional keyboard. Unless I was really paying attention, it might be hard for me to tell which errors were mechanical failures and which errors were my typing errors.
To be clear, there is no doubt in my mind that Apple has had major issues with their laptop keyboards of late. So, I am not questioning the sincerity of people's concerns or problems......just wondering if adapting to the new keyboard design and travel is contributing to the number of reported problems.
This is probably wishful thinking on my part because, eventually, I want to replace my 2014 MBA with a newer MBA.....so, I am kind of hoping the keyboard is fixed/improved.
Maybe Apple will start selling cans of compressed air in Space Gray?
Nope it’s definitely a defect of the keyboard - it’s something known as keyboard chatter and there are non-butterfly keyboards which suffer from it too due to bad design (eg Aero 15X).
This is why they replace the keyboard, they don’t tell you to get used to it - they will try fix it with compressed air perhaps but this defect isn’t always based on debris or dust - the mechanism itself is flawed and just dies and required a replacement.
Could be that heat destroys it? Who knows. But it isn’t the first keyboard to have this issue and it’s a shame Apple sells these at a premium.
I suspect you are right. It’s too bad that Apple has adopted this defective design.
