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How are your keys holding up?

whiteonline

whiteonline

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 19, 2011
635
464
California, USA
After a couple months of ownership of the new MacBook, a few of my keys are showing wear. Won't be long before they start showing more obviously.
Are you experiencing the same?
 
What do you mean by wear? Are the keycaps getting a bit faded and losing their crisp white-on-black contrast, or are they actually starting to physically wear down and start getting stuck or uneven in terms of height? It's not a great sign in any case.. I think I will be ordering an Apple Care extended warranty for this machine, have honestly never needed one for the last few Macs I've owned because they've lasted beyond 4 years without a hitch. This one however, feels like it might be smart to be covered just in case...
 
Wow, seems way too short a time for that to start happening.. My 5 year old MBP still has pristine keys, every single one. But to be fair, I don't use it that regularly anymore. Sometimes it gets a fair bit of daily use, other times it sits there doing nothing, and when I used it a lot it was often with an external keyboard..

Next time you're in an Apple Store, I'd show it to someone there and ask them what the deal is. The machine hasn't even existed for that long, so there's no way they could think you were lying and owned it longer than you say. It should be possible to get keycaps replaced as a repair under warranty, and you'd think they'd do it for you without putting up a fight because I doubt they want their latest baby to start getting a bad rep.
 
I don't really type that fast or ever really bothered to.

I see my rMB as more of a occasional computer and I don't use it everyday.
 
tbirdparis said:
Wow, seems way too short a time for that to start happening.. My 5 year old MBP still has pristine keys, every single one. But to be fair, I don't use it that regularly anymore. Sometimes it gets a fair bit of daily use, other times it sits there doing nothing, and when I used it a lot it was often with an external keyboard..

Next time you're in an Apple Store, I'd show it to someone there and ask them what the deal is. The machine hasn't even existed for that long, so there's no way they could think you were lying and owned it longer than you say. It should be possible to get keycaps replaced as a repair under warranty, and you'd think they'd do it for you without putting up a fight because I doubt they want their latest baby to start getting a bad rep.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I'll see what they say.
Interestingly, I received a survey email from apple regarding my purchase of the new MacBook. I noted the keyboard wear...

Maybe it's my guitar playing fingertips that aren't helping...
 
Lol, I would have thought guitar-calloused fingers would be even more worn down and less abrasive on a keyboard than otherwise... You don't spend hours typing after bleaching blood off your clothes or dissolving bodies in acid with no gloves on? Cos I probably wouldn't suggest doing that.
 
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Actually today I just noticed in certain light, some of my keys are starting to look a little shiny from a day of typing. But I'm betting it's finger grease (gross) because I had work to do and didn't get a chance to wash my hands after eating. Pretty sure when I get home, shut down the machine and give it a good wipe down with my trusty fine-fibre cloth and that special cleaning spray (not sure if it's called iKlear but it's whatever they sell in Apple Stores now), it should be back to normal. Maybe that's what's happening at your end?
 
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tbirdparis said:
Actually today I just noticed in certain light, some of my keys are starting to look a little shiny from a day of typing. But I'm betting it's finger grease (gross) because I had work to do and didn't get a chance to wash my hands after eating. Pretty sure when I get home, shut down the machine and give it a good wipe down with my trusty fine-fibre cloth and that special cleaning spray (not sure if it's called iKlear but it's whatever they sell in Apple Stores now), it should be back to normal. Maybe that's what's happening at your end?
Click to expand...
I do the very same thing, only I use a non-ammonia eyeglass cleaner which works great on the keyboard as well as the screen.
 
I have also noticed premature wear on my keys. At first I thought that my shiny keys were due to finger grease, but after trying to clean them, it became clear that the keys were worn. This is the only issue I have with this machine.
 
Newtons Apple said:
Would you consider yourself a heavy user? I would not think that you should be seeing this kind of wear unless you were working on it constantly. My Thinkpads used to get shiny areas on the keys and space bar.
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For me, it is the oils from my fingers that leave shiny marks on the keys. The shiny marks wipe away with non-ammonia eye wear cleaner.
 
BoneHead001 said:
For me, it is the oils from my fingers that leave shiny marks on the keys. The shiny marks wipe away with non-ammonia eye wear cleaner.
Click to expand...

I though so too on my Thinkpad but even after cleaning you could see where my fingers actually polished the key caps and spacebar. My Macbook Air does not show this, yet as it is used much less.
 
Moshi Clearguard feels better than bare keyboard. Bought it because I read books the way I used to on the iPad and wanted to protect the keyboard while eating breakfast/lunch. Great purchase.
 
Thanks for all the replies. My keys are starting to show wear...but I have to look for it at an angle. I usually clean the keyboard with a slightly damp microfiber cloth (water only), dry up any leftover moisture, and leave it open for a while before putting away.

I purchased the Moshi Clearguard and it feels surprisingly good! I think because of the minimal key travel, there is not much of a difference with it on/off.

This machine is just a holdover until the more powerful cpu/gpu options arrive in the future, so trying to preserve the value as much as possible.

Again, thanks. Hopefully I didn't give anyone a keycap complex. :)
 
My keys are also slightly shiny, this is the first time I am not using a moshi keyboard protector. I used keyboard protectors for the MBA 11, MBA 13, and also my white macbook. I have gotten used to not having a keyboard protector.
 
I've had my new MacBook for about two weeks and the T and left side of the space bar are already losing their matte finish.

But the thing is - this has been my experience with every single Apple portable ever. They key finish basically starts wearing immediately, and sooner than later most of your keys will be on the shiny side.

Unfortunate, but it's the way it is.
 
JtheLemur said:
I've had my new MacBook for about two weeks and the T and left side of the space bar are already losing their matte finish.

But the thing is - this has been my experience with every single Apple portable ever. They key finish basically starts wearing immediately, and sooner than later most of your keys will be on the shiny side.

Unfortunate, but it's the way it is.
Click to expand...
No keyboard wear with a keyboard protector. They are cheap and save wear and tear on your keyboard’s appearance.
 
I have been surprised by how shiny the keys have become. I have owned several rMBP with the older style keyboard and have never had this issue. These keys are definitely wearing much faster than the "traditional" style keys.
 
My iPhone slid across my MacBooks keyboard and actually too the paint off the corners of some keys. Light leaks through those chips. Anyone else experience their keys chipped at their corners?
 
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