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Loose M1 Air keyboard?

H

helloapple1

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 20, 2020
501
337
I have a M1 Air and have always felt the keyboard feels “loose” when typing on it. The keys don’t feel solid when I press down. I’ve had the MacBook for a few months now and still haven’t gotten used to it. It’s hard to explain. As a test when I lightly tap on the keys they make a sound.

Is anyone experiencing this with their M1 Air keyboard?
 
Hi helloapple1,

I've used both the original "butterfly" keyboards on MBPs from 2017, as well as the updated "butterfly" keyboards from 2019 MBPs. And now the newest "scissor" keyboard on the M1 MBP. The latest "scissor" keyboard, in my experience, definitely has a farther travel than the older "butterfly" keyboards, or at least, it feels this way. This may make the scissor keyboard feel more "loose" when typing on it, since the key moves down farther than the older keyboards.

But I grew up with old (antediluvian) typewriter keyboards and early Apple 2 keyboards; now these had truly remarkable key travel and so felt completely different than modern laptop keyboards. And, personally, I rather like the increased travel on the new scissor keyboard over the lesser travel of the older butterfly keyboards --- just my personal taste at work here, however.

I hope you get used to typing on the scissor keys of the new keyboards.

Regards,
Solouki
 
Thanks for your reply Solouki.

I’ve had my MacBook Air for a few months now and to this day still make mistakes when I’m typing which was why I was thinking my keyboard was defective. I make FAR fewer mistakes on other keyboards.
 
Bump: Is anyone else experiencing this issue or want to chime in?

Thanks in advance.
 
Mine doesn't feel loose. In fact, I find it very comfortable to type on compared to the previous 'butterfly keyboard'.
 
helloapple1 said:
I have a M1 Air and have always felt the keyboard feels “loose” when typing on it. The keys don’t feel solid when I press down. I’ve had the MacBook for a few months now and still haven’t gotten used to it. It’s hard to explain. As a test when I lightly tap on the keys they make a sound.

Is anyone experiencing this with their M1 Air keyboard?
Click to expand...
yes some of the keys on the left side of my mba keyboard is "loose", i.e. if I gently swipe a finger across them they are not silent like the majority of the keys that sit firmly on their scissor mechanism. but if I press them down they have normal resistance and work fine, so nothing I worry about. on my old worn out mba 2013 keyboard, all keys became similarly loose, and "mushy"...
 
I own my MBA M1 for 8 weeks now and I also can not really get used to the keyboard. For me the keys also feel some kind of loose and I make more mistakes than on my other devices. I think one reason is the pressure point of the keys and the other ist the form of the keys. On my business device, a surface book 2, the keys are plane and stiff, what feels more comfortable to me.
 
Definitely a matter of perception and preference. I feel my M1 MBA keyboard is tight and crisp and wouldn't have characterized it as loose, but it all depends on your experience with the devices you used before.
 
MBA M1 keyboard was revelation for me after moving from Surface Type Cover.
Type Cover had a great typing experience but the flex was terrible.

After 1 month of use M1 MBA I moved to M1 MBP - and in line with what I previously wrote, MBP has slightly tighter keys than MBA (at least in the devices I used), along with more tight (and bigger) trackpad. In any case I can sense it, and I like it even more.

But in any case - M1 MBA has better keyboard than 95% of laptops on the market, and better trackpad than 100% of laptops on the market.

Each laptop manufacturer should try Mac before placing their own product on the market.
 
helloapple1 said:
I have a M1 Air and have always felt the keyboard feels “loose” when typing on it. The keys don’t feel solid when I press down. I’ve had the MacBook for a few months now and still haven’t gotten used to it. It’s hard to explain. As a test when I lightly tap on the keys they make a sound.

Is anyone experiencing this with their M1 Air keyboard?
Click to expand...
No such issues, but the best thing I can suggest is take it to an Apple Store and do a direct comparison with one of the floor models.
 
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helloapple1 said:
Good idea. I have a good feeling mine has a QC issue
Click to expand...
If it was only one key that feels loose or makes noise, i would say it is a quality issue. But if all keys feel the same, then it is just the way this keyboard is. I had to return my first MBA M1 due to screen issues but the keyboard felt the same.
 
helloapple1 said:
I have a M1 Air and have always felt the keyboard feels “loose” when typing on it. The keys don’t feel solid when I press down. I’ve had the MacBook for a few months now and still haven’t gotten used to it. It’s hard to explain. As a test when I lightly tap on the keys they make a sound.

Is anyone experiencing this with their M1 Air keyboard?
Click to expand...
Go into a store that sells your computer and try theirs; I suggest Apple so you can show and employee and get it fixed.
 
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My friend just got a brand new M1 MacBook Air (same color as mine) and I’ve just spent time comparing my keyboard to theirs.

My suspicions and feelings about my keyboard feeling loose and different is right. Not only does my friends keyboard feel tight and solid, it also sounds different when I type on it. My friends M1 Air is a pleasure to type on in fact.

So now I guess the journey of contacting Apple about this issue begins. I hope I get somewhere with a replacement.
 
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Hi,
I was about to add a new thread about this but then saw there was this one already.

As many on here I have a feeling my keyboard is rather loose. It definitely feels more loose than my work thinkpad.

This video should explain what I experience:
youtube.com

MacBook Air M1 keyboard - wobbly/loose keys

youtube.com youtube.com

Basically all fields feel a bit loose I.e. if you touch them lightly without pressing them, they have a bit of movement.
some of them more than others, like the right hand side shift key and the return/enter key.

maybe the only keys with no/minimal move are the arrow keys.

the top line (function keys) are probably the wobbliest, with a particular noise as you can hear in the video.

I visited a store which and a few MacBook airs and couldn’t test this as well as I wanted, given the noise in the place makes it hard to hear it. Definitely I could hear the particular noise with the top tier, at least some of the keys.
Based on that comparison I felt the keyboard was comparable to the one in the store, though not sure if all of them are the same (if better ones exist?).

I only have 2 days to initiate a return…
 
I hope I'm not too late in responding here, but I wanted to add that I also experienced "loose" feeling keys on my Macbook Air, M1 2020. I have the silver version and it was backordered by a month when I ordered it December 2020, received late January 2021. I have tested out the keyboards of 3 friends with the same laptop and went to the Apple store twice asking them about it. Even the model in the store had notably tighter, more secure keys. I sent mine in for repair and the keyboard is MUCH better. Keys don't wiggle or make that awful sound that was like clicking two thin pieces of plastic together. I felt gaslit in the store, but I'm glad I sent it in for repair. I think it's pretty obvious whatever batch my laptop was in was just not manufactured in the same way or otherwise had a QC issue. Highly recommend getting a keyboard replacement!
 
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helgea said:
yes some of the keys on the left side of my mba keyboard is "loose", i.e. if I gently swipe a finger across them they are not silent like the majority of the keys that sit firmly on their scissor mechanism. but if I press them down they have normal resistance and work fine, so nothing I worry about. on my old worn out mba 2013 keyboard, all keys became similarly loose, and "mushy"...
Click to expand...
I just received my MBA m1 this week and I noticed the same issue, some keys on the left side of the keyboard are more loose than the one's on the right side. I can still exchange my MBA for a new one but I have to wait.

Did your keyboard get any better after using it?
 
my M1 MBA keyboard has a bit more travel and feels a bit more "squishy" in comparison to my 16" M1 MBP, but i actually prefer it this way and the MBP kb is almost too "rigid / stiff" for me.

i actually also prefer the trackpad on my MBA, as the MBP one has a more "hollow" feel to it.
 
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