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Keyboard issue. Again.

Naimfan

Naimfan

Suspended
Original poster
Jan 15, 2003
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Well, apparently the keyboard replacement did not resolve the problem. My 2016 15" keyboard is once again repeating the "b" and "n" keys. And the "c" key does not always register. This 8 days after I picked it up from the Apple store, where the keyboard was replaced at the depot in Texas.

Should I simply ask to pay a couple of hundred dollars to move to a 2017? Or ask them to swap mine for a 2015? (Configuration is 2.6/1 TB/460.)

I'm becoming . . . perturbed.
 
Is this the second or third time you have attempted to have this issue addressed? If it is the third time, I think it is perfectly reasonable to kindly ask Apple to swap your unit for a 2017 version of the same level tier (for no charge), and, provided you are speaking to someone with the authority to give the gohead, I think they will.

I'm pretty surprised that they are (and don't understand why they are) still servicing many of the 2016 units with 2016 design keyboards and aren't just swapping them to the 2017 design.
 
ZapNZs said:
Is this the second or third time you have attempted to have this issue addressed? If it is the third time, I think it is perfectly reasonable to kindly ask Apple to swap your unit for a 2017 version of the same level tier (for no charge), and, provided you are speaking to someone with the authority to give the gohead, I think they will.

I'm pretty surprised that they are (and don't understand why they are) still servicing many of the 2016 units with 2016 design keyboards and aren't just swapping them to the 2017 design.
Click to expand...

This will be my third trip to Apple. The first time they cleaned under the affected keys; that appeared to work for a couple of days. Second trip resulted in a keyboard replacement via a trip to the depot service center in Texas. The Apple person said they were using 2017 top cases/mechanisms, though obviously I'm in no position to tell one from the other. The replaced keyboard does feel better - like it has more travel - but the keys repeating or not registering is, needless to say, not acceptable.

I'll see if they're willing to replace with a 2017, but I'd just as soon have this one work properly. And it's a moderately unusual configuration - I don't know how many 2.6/1 TB/460 space gray computers they sold (though I'd prefer to go back to the aluminum).

Ah well! First world problems. Apple usually does do service very well - just frustrating to have the same issue repeat itself.
 
It's very annoying to have this issue. I just thought I'd mention that getting a 2017 model will not necessarily solve the issue.

I have a 2017 model (15”/512Gb/560), and my F key repeats or doesn’t register at all. The left shift key also fails to register at times.

It’s not a matter of debris/dust etc., as I literally clean the keyboard as well as all other surfaces after each use. It also doesn’t relate to temperature. The issue appears whether the notebook is hot or has just been powered on after several hours in 21C ambient temperature.

I think it’s been like this for a while and I just hadn’t realised because auto-correct hides it well. If I didn’t use Ommwriter, which doesn’t use auto-correct, I might have been oblivious to the issue for much longer.
 
funkysmurf said:
It's very annoying to have this issue. I just thought I'd mention that getting a 2017 model will not necessarily solve the issue.

I have a 2017 model (15”/512Gb/560), and my F key repeats or doesn’t register at all. The left shift key also fails to register at times.

It’s not a matter of debris/dust etc., as I literally clean the keyboard as well as all other surfaces after each use. It also doesn’t relate to temperature. The issue appears whether the notebook is hot or has just been powered on after several hours in 21C ambient temperature.

I think it’s been like this for a while and I just hadn’t realised because auto-correct hides it well. If I didn’t use Ommwriter, which doesn’t use auto-correct, I might have been oblivious to the issue for much longer.
Click to expand...

Thanks - I was afraid of that. I've read anecdotal reports that the mechanism is slightly different in the 2017 versions, but nothing official from Apple. If there is any such documentation, I'd be pleased to see it.

I don't use autocorrect - as I like to say, I'm better than it is, and think it promotes laziness and, hence, lesser writing.

Thank you for the heads-up - I might just ask for a 2015 with AM 370 and 1 TB as replacement. Won't be as fast or quiet (one thing I appreciate about the 2016/2017 models), but at least I'll be able to work.
 
Update:

Back to depot for another top case replacement. Failed keyboard testing.

If it happens again, machine will be replaced (though how that could help, I have no idea).
 
Naimfan said:
This will be my third trip to Apple. The first time they cleaned under the affected keys; that appeared to work for a couple of days. Second trip resulted in a keyboard replacement via a trip to the depot service center in Texas. The Apple person said they were using 2017 top cases/mechanisms, though obviously I'm in no position to tell one from the other. The replaced keyboard does feel better - like it has more travel - but the keys repeating or not registering is, needless to say, not acceptable.
Click to expand...

Having read several reports of a replacement or even multiple replacements also having a faulty keyboard, I've wondered whether a high fault rate has come in certain batches bound for particular regional markets. In any case, the unusual noise, not scattered anecdotes, about bad KBs is what makes me most hesitant to 'upgrade' to a new MBP. More than hoping for such advances as quad-core 13" or 32 GB of RAM, I'd like to see a change to a stabler KB structure; however, seems unlikely Apple would reverse its butterfly approach so soon, even less likely they'd add a couple nanometers of thickness to accommodate a better keyboard.
 
Tensakun said:
Having read several reports of a replacement or even multiple replacements also having a faulty keyboard, I've wondered whether a high fault rate has come in certain batches bound for particular regional markets. In any case, the unusual noise, not scattered anecdotes, about bad KBs is what makes me most hesitant to 'upgrade' to a new MBP. More than hoping for such advances as quad-core 13" or 32 GB of RAM, I'd like to see a change to a stabler KB structure; however, seems unlikely Apple would reverse its butterfly approach so soon, even less likely they'd add a couple nanometers of thickness to accommodate a better keyboard.
Click to expand...

I doubt it would take a new mechanism to fix this problem, and I also don't think it's nearly as widespread as the internet might make it seem. However, I guess Apple will look into the failure rate and update the mechanism, maybe to a third generation buttefly keyboard which will solve the problem. Apart from that, I'm still convinced that this is one of the best keyboards ever produced - I just love to type on it.
 
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Repair complete and on its way back. I should receive it tomorrow.

Will update as to whether it corrected the problem.
 
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Sad reality.. the 2016 & 2017 keyboards. Went through many & all exhibited actual issue or the origins of it. Too much time spent...

My ‘new’ refurbished 2015 13” runs great. Types great.
 
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