I cant believe some people are OK with the keys smudging oil on screen. Unacceptable!

[Bobby Corwen]

I am surprised to find out that a lot of us have MBPs that have keys touching the screen when the screen is closed. I can't believe this. I would think this is highly unacceptable and unallowable.

When I close the lid, even if I have just cleaned it, and then re-open it, surely it will then have small little perfectly symmetrical smudges on the screen from the keyboard and whatever micro oils it may have from the human excretion elements (finger oils) and then I have flaws on my screen.

Then I supposedly have to clean this again.

At first I thought it was obviously a flawed 17" DOA machine I got (it was a BTO after all I thought) and then I called to arrange to get it exchanged.

After I made a passing comment on one of the threads here, I realized a lot of others also kind of "live with this"

What??

I am wondering how many people out there actually are ok with this and why you dont think its ridiculous. One poster even said his 09, 10, and 2011 all have had this happen. How is this not insane to some of you?

The keyboard is made to touch oils. The screen is meant to touch the keyboard with oils on purpose? This cant be right. How common is this?

 

[AppleScruff1]

You're closing it wrong.

 

[Jiten]

This has been an issue with all the notebooks/laptops I've owned so far, both Mac and PC. I just buy a nice soft microfiber cloth to put in between the keyboard and screen.

 

[Bobby Corwen]

You're closing it wrong.

I know right???

Well for real though, I called Apple and I simply told them they keys smudge and they said that's not normal and unacceptable and they themselves offered to replace it on those grounds alone.

If so many of you/us are living with this annoyance (or might be expected to) it should be an outrage.

 

[brentsg]

You're just going to get into a cycle of swapping. Every "slim" notebook that I've owned has done this.. Apple or otherwise.

It seems to me that the larger 15/17's do it a bit more, possibly due to flex.

 

[bigjobby]

I only get the keyboard imprints if I piled a load of books or sat on my closed MBP. Since the discovery of the markings, I've changed my habits and been living an imprint-free display lifestyle ever since.

 

[brentsg]

I only get the keyboard imprints if I piled a load of books or sat on my closed MBP. Since the discovery of the markings, I've changed my habits and been living an imprint-free display lifestyle ever since.

I do think it has a lot to do with how it's stored and carried. The tolerances are just close enough that if the chassis flexes just a bit the keys contact the screen. Mine doesn't do it if it's just opened and closed carefully on my desk. But in actual usage, such as a trip or something.. it's an issue.

I've always used a Radtech cloth over the keyboard and then it doubles as a cleaning cloth when I interact with knuckle draggers that have to touch my screen when pointing something out.

 

[Bobby Corwen]

You're just going to get into a cycle of swapping. Every "slim" notebook that I've owned has done this.. Apple or otherwise.

It seems to me that the larger 10/17's do it a bit more, possibly due to flex.

Yes most assuredly. I had the 13" too and it only seemed to barely do it once and I thought maybe it was a coincidence. But now with the 17 it happens absolutely 100% every time with big blocky squares all the way around the keys. And especially in the middle where it flexes the most. And my lid closes tighter on the left than the right.

What if the replacement is the same? I would be quietly outraged to the max.

 

[vincenz]

If you don't put anything on top of the mbp when you close it, the keyboard should not be touching the screen. OP, I'd get it replaced. It would annoy the hell out of me too.

 

[Bobby Corwen]

It's like

FORGET sandy bridge

FORGET hard drives

FORGET RAM

FORGET new ports

Get that dang screen to shut properly. Get the engineers on it ASAP! how can this be like this??!

 

[Blipp]

I know right???

Well for real though, I called Apple and I simply told them they keys smudge and they said that's not normal and unacceptable and they themselves offered to replace it on those grounds alone.

If so many of you/us are living with this annoyance (or might be expected to) it should be an outrage.

Outrage? Really? I agree that if my personal MBP had this issue I would probably be annoyed and I'd take it in but it HARDLY renders the machine "DOA". If it bothers you enough you can return it but it in no way diminishes the usability of the machine.

I will say, however that the problem seems to only appear (from my experience) on glossy-screen MBPs whereas the anti-glare screens seem set back a little deeper. My personal machine is AG and is fine but my work laptop is glossy and the marks can be seen ONLY from extreme angles, they are not at all visible when looking at the screen from any usable position.

It is a minor annoyance at best and though I understand your desire to have a perfect machine (and you have every right to) this issue hardly qualifies as "outrageous".

 

[kfscoll]

I've never had this issue with any notebook computer I've owned, Apple or otherwise. I gotta wonder about your hygiene if your hands are so greasy that they're funking up the keyboard to the point where the goo is transferring to the screen. Try laying off the fried chicken and buying some Ivory soap.

 

[Krafty]

My 17" 2010 MBP currently does this but I don't mind it because I have bigger things to worry about. It doesn't hinder performance or display (and if it does, and simple wipe takes care of it), so I'm not complaining.

 

[brentsg]

My 12" PowerBook did/does this.

 

[johnnj]

Humans are disgusting with all the oil they ooze, gasses they emit, and dead skin they flake off. Something needs to be done about them.

My last laptop had that, but it never really bothered me. I always have a microfiber lens cloth on me, so when it got excessively greased I'd just wipe it off. I could't really see it when the screen when it was on, anyway.

My new one with the antiglare gets no finger grease, though.

If it bothers you then exchange it. But keep in mind what the other guy said about getting into a cycle of exchanges. I had some problems with earlier uMBP machine and the one I ended up with in 3/09 had a couple of cosmetic problems but not the more serious issues that the last one did. I could have exchanged that one but I felt that at that point enough was enough.

 

[GoCubsGo]

I believe this has been the case since the PowerBook series. At least now the screens are glassy gloss and easily wiped. Before, on my powerbook, you needed to ensure you had something that separated the keyboard from the screen or it would scuff the screen.

 

[mr.steevo]

Try washing your hands after eating.

 

[inket]

I gotta wonder about your hygiene if your hands are so greasy that they're funking up the keyboard to the point where the goo is transferring to the screen. Try laying off the fried chicken and buying some Ivory soap.

This.

 

[Krafty]

Fried Chicken > Soap.

 

[eawmp1]

The extra 1 mm they would need to add between the keyboard and the screen would alter the MBP aesthetic.

 

[nwcs]

You know, sertraline is good at helping with OCD... I have had a 17" MBP for 4 years now. I don't like smudges on the screen but I also notice that when the screen is on I don't see them. So I stopped worrying about it. Same with wearing glasses. When you first start wearing them any smudge or speck is an abomination. After a while you realize you've gone 2 months without cleaning them and they're filthy.

 

[andiwm2003]

It's like

FORGET sandy bridge

FORGET hard drives

FORGET RAM

FORGET new ports

Get that dang screen to shut properly. Get the engineers on it ASAP! how can this be like this??!

i don't mind the keyboard prints on the screen. not a relevant issue at all. one swipe and they are gone and with the screen on you can't see them anyway. it would be a waste of time and money to design a extra rigid perfectly aligned screen. it's a work tool and tools get dirty when used.

 

[golgo1313]

first, i don't work for owc, so this is not a commercial ad. but i purchased a thin leather square from them exactly for this purpose. i use a silicone key guard, and i find that it pops off and smudges my screen when transporting. this leather thing is suade on the keyboard side, and highly polished on the screen side. the good thing is that since it's leather, it's practically indestructable. i've read about plastic ones that can double as a mouse pad, but it comes in a tube, so it takes forever to get it not to curl.

i should add that i've got a anti-reflective, HR screen, so oil deposit is a serious issue. glossy people can easily get a wet cloth and wipe it down, but mine, no.

my $0.02

 

[Bobby Corwen]

Wait wait wait so you're telling me an estimated THIRTY THREE PERCENT of MPB users suffer from this??? This is bigger than antenna-gate in my opinion.

Everyone is saying don't move it this, put a cover in between that; carry around a cloth like a freakin maid...

yeah right. Im telling you this is not satisfactory at all.

Fried Chicken > Soap.

THANK you.

Look, I'm not saying I'm a dirty person but COME ON. I am only human. Even if one washes their hands, after awhile, one or two days, your skin WILL leave something. Thats just human nature. I do wash my hands by the way.

Obviously a majority are NOT experiencing this issue so its not the norm.

Even the rep on the phone told me only SOME suffer from this problem, not all.

 

[ZombieZakk]

You're closing it wrong.

priceless thank you!