MBP 16" Keyboard still problematic?

[flemmingdjensen]

Hi all,

Am I the only one experiencing occasionally missing chars while typing?

What I found out is that if you hit the buttons completely in the middle you will see no problems

But if you try fx letters and hit them in the corners you will actually get the click feeling but not getting output each time...

What are your experiences with this?

BR

 

[Nacho98]

my experiences are i dont go trying to intentionally hit letters in the corners to see if they won't register in unrealistic circumstances so i can make a thread on macrumors about the keyboard not working.

we already had someone do this with arrow keys.

 

[Psyclism]

my experiences are i dont go trying to intentionally hit letters in the corners to see if they won't register in unrealistic circumstances so i can make a thread on macrumors about the keyboard not working.

we already had someone do this with arrow keys.

Yep, I was the guy with the bum arrow key. And Apple replaced the laptop with a new copy, and guess what? This one doesn't have any issue at all with the arrow key. And hitting a key in the right or left third of the button is NOT an unrealistic circumstance. Maybe you're special and hit every single key exactly dead center with every keystroke, and if so, congratulations on your awesomeness, but us mortals sometimes hit the key somewhere *around* the middle and still expect the computer to register a keypress.

With that said, I too feel that I continue to miss some keystrokes with the 16" keyboard. I know I'm feeling a tactile click, but the computer doesn't register the keypress. It's more frequent on the keys that I have to reach for and hit at an angle, like the arrow keys, or anything along the perimeter. It's probably that combined with the fact that I'm a fairly light typist, making off center or off camber keypresses more likely to not register. It's not terribly common, but does happen.

 

[flemmingdjensen]

my experiences are i dont go trying to intentionally hit letters in the corners to see if they won't register in unrealistic circumstances so i can make a thread on macrumors about the keyboard not working.

we already had someone do this with arrow keys.

Well - is it not allowed to discuss the keyboard of the 16" MBP anymore?

The reason I bring this up is because I do not see the same kind of issues on my 2015 MBP 15".

Maybe I just have to adjust to this new magic keyboard and type a bit more "confident"

Overall i like the machine but currently it seems there are a few software issues:

* The sound popping
* TrueTone stranginess flickering and wake up from deepsleep where the display brightness is very high with very low contrast. Has happened a few times for me... (Can be resolved by disabling and then enablng TrueTone again)
* Stuttering while scrolling in browsers and fx VS Code and also switching tabs in fx Chrome browser. Takes sometimes +1 sec to switch between tabs. Have read somewhere that this issue seems to be happening when switching between the cpu builtin graphics and the ext 5500 graphics

I guess this will be resolved in a future Catalina update

 

[tpz]

I have this exact issue and I cannot get used to it. I have tried to get used to it after 4 weeks of 8 hr a day programming.

I also compared with a 2015 15" and it DOES NOT have this issue at all, you can hit the keys any way you want as long as they go down.

I have talked to Apple senior support and they will send my computer to Apple to take a look at it.

 

[Peter118]

Same experiences, missing some chars while typing. Thought it was me, but I'm not the only one.

 

[randomgeeza]

Happened here too... but I put it down to typing a little lighter than usual. I had to do this on the crappy Butterfly keys, because they hurt the ends of my fingers and made a terrible freaking noise! I don't think it is anything unusual... after all, nothing is perfect! And tbh, the 16" keyboard is far better than that trashy butterfly crud!

 

[Count Blah]

my experiences are i dont go trying to intentionally hit letters in the corners to see if they won't register in unrealistic circumstances so i can make a thread on macrumors about the keyboard not working.

we already had someone do this with arrow keys.

Really? You are getting in a huff, over people’s real world experiences/issues?

Are we supposed to be perfect to use Macs Properly? Did anyone say ‘intentionally’?

I’d imagine that MOST everyone is super sensitive to keyboard issues, and given Apple’s propensity to ‘Baghdad Bob’ any/all issues, ground truth is usually the only way to check things out.

I prefer holding corporations accountable, I guess not everyone is.

Good luck, OP

 

[Nhwhazup]

I think it is good to be able to discuss issues we are experiencing - especially in these forums.

I had purchased a new XS Max in the fall of 2018 and had terrible connectivity issues. Returned it and then got another one 6 weeks later with the same problems. I thought I was going nutty cause Apple folks just shook their heads with a “first time I’ve heard of that”. But MacRumors had a huge thread with others with the same problems. I ended up sitting out that year. Maybe this fall, I’ll have better luck.

 

[flemmingdjensen]

I have this exact issue and I cannot get used to it. I have tried to get used to it after 4 weeks of 8 hr a day programming.

I also compared with a 2015 15" and it DOES NOT have this issue at all, you can hit the keys any way you want as long as they go down.

I have talked to Apple senior support and they will send my computer to Apple to take a look at it.

Sounds interesting that Apple will have a look at it ?

I am also a fulltime developer so I guess we are kind of sensitive on the keyboard subject

If you get any news please tell us...

BR

 

[AustinIllini]

Honestly, it sounds like a bunch of people just getting used to the behavior or the keyboard.

Doesn't seem like anything wrong.

 

[CloudsNeverDie]

Yeah I had this issue too. Too many missed keystrokes despite getting the acclaimed tactile feedback. One of the many reasons I returned the laptop in early Jan.

 

[pneves1975]

Well I am very interested in following this thread. I only played with some 16 machines a little bit, but the Butterfly keyboard urged me to touch type and I have a much more light touch on the keyboard. I found no issues, but I am by no means an example

That being said I managed to get my hands on a 2015 15 with no dGPU and I am in love. Trying to sell my 2018 (with 2019 keyboard) now.

RIP dGPU ?

 

[flemmingdjensen]

Honestly, it sounds like a bunch of people just getting used to the behavior or the keyboard.

Doesn't seem like anything wrong.

Well - I didn't have to "get used" to my MBP 2015 15"

 

[Dominus Mortem]

When I first got my 16" MBP I was coming from a 2018 15" MBP. I had both for half a day. What I noticed was that I had to actually press a microsecond longer on the 16" opposed to the 15", but I had to press harder and for a shorter period of time on the 15." Makes sense to me, there's more travel on the 16" so logically you need to press longer.

When going from the 15" to the 16" I'd have to take a few minutes getting used to pressing down further (not harder), and that sometimes my lack of being accustomed to that keyboard had my fingertips sometimes catching the edges of keys, but I never mis-typed per se.

When I'd go from the 16" to the 15" I'd not hit the keyboard quite hard enough sometimes, and it felt, slipperier almost, like my fingers were sliding around a bit too much. In both cases it was a matter of five to ten minutes before I could be typing normally again.

If I type on the corner of a key on the 16", and I'm talking about the very corner, to the point of almost missing it, I can make it not register the keystroke. I honestly can't imagine that happening in real life. If I type a bit off the mark, I never type THAT far off the mark. I suspect this is one of those things like the old hinged trackpad where you could find dead spots if you went looking, but there weren't any where you'd normally be pressing.

 

[ascender]

The new keyboard took a bit of getting used-to and I was making errors at the start, but got used to it within a week or so. I think that's normal when you move to any sort of new keyboard.

If you think its faulty, then speak with Apple and get it replaced? Apple aren't perfect, there will still be faulty laptops.

I don't know if the thread title is great though as it suggests there's an inherent fault affecting all keyboards which doesn't appear to be the case.

 

[tpz]

Sounds interesting that Apple will have a look at it ?

I am also a fulltime developer so I guess we are kind of sensitive on the keyboard subject

If you get any news please tell us...

BR

They have found the issue and are replacing the top case. Haven't gotten it back yet.

 

[AustinIllini]

Well - I didn't have to "get used" to my MBP 2015 15"

the 2015 keyboard wasn't a paradigm shift

 

[tdbrown75]

With that said, I too feel that I continue to miss some keystrokes with the 16" keyboard. I know I'm feeling a tactile click, but the computer doesn't register the keypress. It's more frequent on the keys that I have to reach for and hit at an angle, like the arrow keys, or anything along the perimeter. It's probably that combined with the fact that I'm a fairly light typist, making off center or off camber keypresses more likely to not register. It's not terribly common, but does happen.

This happens to me sometimes when using the down arrow key. I have a tendency to press just the edge when sitting on my couch working, due to the angle of the keyboard on my lap.

I'm still adjusting to the differences in key placement, keyboard recess, and extended key travel as compared to my last machine.

The scissor mechanism is a little less precise than the butterfly, at least as far as key edges go, but it's 1000% better in every other way than the keyboard I had in my 2019 15" model.

Tim