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MBP Keyboard is a total FAIL
- Thread starter CaptRB
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This would be my hope as well - I love my laptop, and have yet to notice these sorts of issues, though it is early in my ownership time... I guess we'll see how it turns out
I get that. There's definitely seems to be a higher incidence but I think it's irresponsible for the OP to imply that the issue will most likely be inevitable just because of a couple of anecdotes. Personally, I owned a 2010 mbp (known for CPU issues) and I lucked out. Same thing for mom's 2011 mbp.
It may or may not happen. I actually bought AppleCare+ just in case so I understand the possibility. It's something to be cautious about and be aware of but nothing to fret about. If it happens to my machine, I will get it fixed.
I was strongly considering a Dell XPS but I heard about screen issues so I opted out for Apple's customer service over getting a Dell.
I misspoke. I was thinking about the replacement programs.
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He provided information that was communicated and given this and other people's posts, I think what the OP stated was fair and not irresponsible. What you do with that information is your decision.
The problem with sending a machine in for repair is that many of us will be without a computer and that could be quite disruptive. What would be even more frustrating is to get it repaired, then having it fail again and again, and each time needing to send it in for apple to fix it. Regardless of the extended warranty that's not something I want to deal with when we're talking about how Apple positions the MBP as a premium product and is priced as such.
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Fair enough. Then what other brands are considered reliable overall? I have had mixed experiences with Lenovo and Dell in the past. I was strongly considering a Windows machine before settling on a MBP but was unsure on the customer support quality.
Apple does have the best customer support in the computer industry. I may not like how they handled some things, and I'm disappointed in the new keyboard, but I'll not take anything away from their industry leading support.
Personally, I've had good luck with Dell, though I know some folks ran into issues with them from time to time. I also have had a Surface Pro and a Surface Book and both have been rock solid, but with Consumer Reports negative report on them, MS needs to fix some things it seems.
I'm VERY happy with the way Apple finally helped me reach a resolution.
This morning I got a surprise...a follow-up call from yet another Apple rep. Once again NO EFFORT was made to hide the keyboard issue. I simply asked, "What's Apple going to do about this for previous buyers?" His answer, "Whew. It's not really clear yet. I don't know why these weren't field tested better."
I joked that he must be dealing with this day & night and his answer to that was "You have no idea!"
That's 4 Apple reps openly admitting to the issue and the folks at the stores absolutely knew. The sales rep at the store said he's probably going to return his 13" touchBar.
Outside of a sign on the moon, I can't imagine any more evidence is required. This is a big defect that is widespread and getting worse. It's such a shame because I absolutely loved the new MPB and the keyboard was a home-run once I adapted to it. I came to LA for screenwriting work and TYPE on these things. My photography is now secondary. Any kind of keyboard issue is beyond insanity for me.
So here I am..back with two machines again. I know I can trust the Air and 5K iMac. Life goes on.
R
This morning I got a surprise...a follow-up call from yet another Apple rep. Once again NO EFFORT was made to hide the keyboard issue. I simply asked, "What's Apple going to do about this for previous buyers?" His answer, "Whew. It's not really clear yet. I don't know why these weren't field tested better."
I joked that he must be dealing with this day & night and his answer to that was "You have no idea!"
That's 4 Apple reps openly admitting to the issue and the folks at the stores absolutely knew. The sales rep at the store said he's probably going to return his 13" touchBar.
Outside of a sign on the moon, I can't imagine any more evidence is required. This is a big defect that is widespread and getting worse. It's such a shame because I absolutely loved the new MPB and the keyboard was a home-run once I adapted to it. I came to LA for screenwriting work and TYPE on these things. My photography is now secondary. Any kind of keyboard issue is beyond insanity for me.
So here I am..back with two machines again. I know I can trust the Air and 5K iMac. Life goes on.
R
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return it
if people just put up with this crap and don't report it/ demand repair or replacement apple won't know how bad the problem is.
Agreed, only when Apple is getting impacted financially will they start taking notice.
People defending this keyboard are clearly in denial. I would return a laptop if still within the return window and not purchase one until this mess is sorted out.
at the very least they need the issues to be reported. if they aren't reported there is no problem.
as to my whole take on it.... i'm surprised it has taken this long to be acknowledged as a thing. my friend who went through 3x retina macbooks inside of a few months never spilled anything on it, ate food over it, etc. he loved the machine but it was used every day for work and spending three days in the first couple of months doing time machine restores onto new hardware just got old fast.
there is a definite design or manufacturing flaw there, how many will be affected no one knows, we just know that the failure rate is way above normal levels. if you have one and it is working, more power to you. just be aware of the issue and watch out for it.
definitely disappointed to hear it is still happening though, this has been a thing for about two years already.
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No question, I need to replace my aging 2012 machine, but what rubs me the wrong way is the high cost of the laptop, Apple's market is that of a premium product yet for almost 3k, I risk the prospect of a keyboard failure. Its not something I'm willing to put up with.
Knowing Apple, they properly glued the keyboard onto the touchbar or something, so the keyboard is all or nothing replacement part for $999.
I returned more than a couple of faulty units before giving up on the 2016 and 2017 keyboards, and my experience was that the staff dealing with the returns weren't interested in my description of the fault and simply scrolled down to 'buyer's remorse' as the reason for the return.
So it might be the case that Apple aren't getting a true picture of why units are being returned.
I would also like point out the following to those saying that keyboard issues only affect a small number of unlucky people: statistically it should not be possible for an individual to receive one faulty unit after another if the proportion of faulty units in a given batch of machines is small.
Every unit I had exhibited some sort of fault with the keys: uneven feel between keys (some flat, others with more travel); high-pitched squeaking on some keys; repeating keys, etc.
All of this is not what one would expect from the keyboard on a cheap laptop, never mind a premium one.
What are the thoughts that this issue affects the
To add to this.. I was able to use the EXACT same tests used by Repair Depot (they left them running on a repaired machine) and replicated the issue within an hour.
I will return my 2017 unit now and test the next one. I will not tolerate this high pitched annoying sound while typing on a 3800€ machine. This keyboard is inconsistent.
I will try out at most four units, then I will give up on this MacBook Pro. What will I do then? I have no clue. I hope that this keyboard stuff blows up in Apples face big time. They are not able to build a reliable keyboard for this amount of money, that is insane.
I will try out at most four units, then I will give up on this MacBook Pro. What will I do then? I have no clue. I hope that this keyboard stuff blows up in Apples face big time. They are not able to build a reliable keyboard for this amount of money, that is insane.
In the same boat. I used part of my credit today to buy the family a 2017 iMac 27" that I can also use for photo/video editing. I would love a little MB 12" but I am not sure I trust the keyboard. I have a question on the MB forum asking for feedback. I am also looking to see if a 2015 13" MBP pops up on refurb. I know I like that machine .. and keyboard. Now that I have more 'juice' at home (where my 15" was living anyway) I can go a little less power for on the go.. already have an IPP 10.5 but need something with MacOS.
I've once had to exchange a pretty pricey TV six times in order to get a unit that functions as advertised, so I'm by no means oblivious to the fact that a) faults exist in any and if not all, at least most pieces of consumer electronics, and b) that sometimes there's just a hefty amount of bad luck involved on the part of the consumer.
That being said, I'm still not invalidating bad experiences by those that have had them, but at the same time I'm not ready to just roll over and start lamenting buying something that, at least for the time being, works exactly as advertised.
As I and a couple of others have said, time will tell. In the meantime I hope everyone has their situation resolved to their satisfaction. Good thing there are options.
That being said, I'm still not invalidating bad experiences by those that have had them, but at the same time I'm not ready to just roll over and start lamenting buying something that, at least for the time being, works exactly as advertised.
As I and a couple of others have said, time will tell. In the meantime I hope everyone has their situation resolved to their satisfaction. Good thing there are options.
Next week I was going to trade in my 2013 13" and get a 2017 13" nTB for my last year of college but this keyboard thing is concerning. I want the brighter screen, better battery life, lighter, slimmer build, CPU upgrade, but not at the cost of losing the keyboard.
I wouldn't hesitate. Unfortunately, the device was purchased in February and the keys started locking up in July. It's still under warranty so I'll see what the local Apple Store says.
My machine was also bought in February. I'm a pushy guy. They refunded me in full so I could trade up for the iMac. No way can I have a machine that is not reliable by design.
R
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Nobody is telling you to do that
If it works, great. But the failure rate on these things is beyond a joke for a premium product.
It doesn't matter how good the warranty is, people are trying to use them for work and the cost in lost productivity is just unacceptable. My friend was working as an indepdendent IT consultant and lost 3 days of paid work due to screwing around taking his Retina Macbook back to apple for replacement inside of 2 months. One of the replacements lasted mere days (well inside a of a week before it broke again).
If yours works, keep using it. But if you don't already have one, seriously consider other options or be aware that you may need to run the gauntlet with repairs and replacements until Apple fix the problem.
Many people are reporting multiple replacements, and the replacements having the same exact problem. This is either a major production problem or a design flaw that needs to be rectified before investing in one of these machines is not a significant (much worse than previous models) risk.
And as to the suggestion that apple could give you a free bluetooth keyboard or whatever... what a joke. People buy these things to do work whilst away from a desk. Repeated failures in the built in keyboard make the device unfit for purpose.
Again, if yours is currently working, good for you. Good luck with it continuing to function as expected. Plenty of them are not. This generation of machines are the first Apple laptops that I have hesitated to recommend to friends and family. And not because of the ports or the different feeling keyboard. Purely because of reliability and price.
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Whilst I agree with you in principle the bottom line is AC is not professional grade warranty/repair service.
As a professional if your MAC is a critical piece of equipment you should be making the right provision of cover for when crap happens be it a back-up laptop or rental or same day replacement, on site repair etc etc some other OEM's and/or companies provide this level of support
I agree Apple are making this critical assessment of reliability harder but you need to provision correctly as a professional in the fist instance and not rely on normal consumer cover.
EG: We all do this for are vehicle we use for commuting as would a van driver for breakdowns etc and I bet any Pro photographer does not turn up with just one Nikon etc
I note with Apple it's harder if you rely on MacOS as with HP or Dell etc you can easily swap brands if you are experience problems, but yet again you should of provisioned for this being a professional and not left yourself vulnerable
However this should not distract from the fact there seems to be a problem with these KB's
I find it odd than many seem to waiver reliability of hardware in an almost blind faith that Apple will do the right thing, history already shows us it's not always the case.
There are far too many believers who hope they (like a few good luck stories) will walk in to a store with a 5 year old MAC and walk out with a brand new one.
AC is not a replacement for sub standard hardware even with one of the best normal consumer customer support systems
Those in the EU should fare the best when there is design flaw regardless of origin of purchase Others may not, even if they have paid an overhead for AC
It remains to be seen how widespread this issue is and like the OP who was once a doubter based on personal experience and that of friends who managed 1000's of MAC's just wait until it happens to you. You then will be glad that others had been complaining for sometime before you
Touch wood our 2 rMB 2015 KB's are still ok and we are fortunate to have several laptops should we have problems
That's a really weird way to type, why are you swiping 2 keys at the same time and rubbing your finger across the keys? Maybe you have caused this noise to occur over time in your unique way of typing.