Replacing a 9-year-old Macbook

[ajmicek]

Ok, so imagine you have an old Macbook. Like a 5,1 Macbook. A 9-year-old Macbook, 3,404 days-old Macbook, a Macbook that is bent, on its third battery, third charger, second superdrive, third hard drive. One with a broken iSight, partially working trackpad, and a screen that works but whose LED backlights have partially failed so it has a giant dark spot on the right side.

Imagine a Macbook this old... with a perfectly functional keyboard.

When can I replace this ancient thing with a new Macbook that has a keyboard that's this reliable?

You're going to tell me to buy a 2015, aren't you...

 

[0007776]

I’ve had problems with keyboards on older Mac laptops, so that’s great that you got lucky to be able to do all that damage without breaking the keyboard. You can go out today and buy a new one, and you’ve got just as good of a chance of that keyboard lasting 9 years as you had when you purchased your current MacBook.

 

[EugW]

Just a note that machine runs Sierra fine with 8 GB RAM and SSD. It even runs High Sierra OK with 4 GB and SSD. Check my sig.

 

[ajmicek]

Good point, folks. And I suppose if the new MacBooks introduced this year have the same keyboard design, I'll just stock up on a whole lot of compressed air and a protractor.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP wrote:
"You're going to tell me to buy a 2015, aren't you..."

Yup.
Because that's just what I would tell you.

Your post makes an interesting comparison between Apple's design objectives "then" vs. "now".

Your old MacBook keyboard is still working after years of use and hard knocks.
Yet often the NEW (2016/17) keyboards are failing almost "right-out-of-the-box".

Apple really dropped the ball here (or perhaps they've deliberately "tossed it away").
They clearly KNOW how to build a good keyboard (as the earlier up-to-2015 design shows).
But -- they've sacrificed "designed-in durability" to "thin-ness uber alles".
And they've made things worse with a design so complicated that the keyboard can't be replaced "as a repair part" -- the entire top case assembly must be changed out instead.

Apple should realize that a "computer" is something more than an "tablet" -- with parts that need to be designed for both durability and replacement.

 

[warburg]

I just got my 2017 MacBook Pro yesterday, and I'm generally pleased with it. I read many vague remarks about the keyboard and it is driving me crazy with its click clacking. But that isn't the general complaint, is it? What is wrong with the keyboard for most people?

 

[EugW]

I just got my 2017 MacBook Pro yesterday, and I'm generally pleased with it. I read many vague remarks about the keyboard and it is driving me crazy with its click clacking. But that isn't the general complaint, is it? What is wrong with the keyboard for most people?

For most people? For most people the current MacBook Pro keyboard works fine, although some have noticed it is a louder keyboard.

However, for some people there have been sticky keys.

FWIW, for the slightly different but based on the same tech MacBook non-Pro 2017 keyboard, I haven't had any issues with sticky keys, but I'm just one person.

 

[warburg]

Well, of course, I meant most people who have had trouble with the 2017 MacBook Pro keyboard.

 

[jerryk]

Well, of course, I meant most people who have had trouble with the 2017 MacBook Pro keyboard.

There are lot of threads on this, but the issues as much the fix as the problem.

The way the keyboard is put together it is not easy to pop off keys and check or clean out under them. You can try blowing air around them to dislodge something or really pushing down on the key to grind it out. But, if that does not work you are looking at a top case (metal frame into which the keyboard fits, keyboard, trackpad, battery) replacement.

While under warranty this just costs you time. However when the warranty expires you are looking a potential $500+ fix. See this thread for a discussion on this, https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/my-mbp-keyboard-experience-513-repair.2110993/

My 2 cents is get AppleCare (or AppleCare+).

 

[Project Alice]

This post is great lol. I use a Mid 2009 MacBook 5,2 with high sierra as my main laptop. In its black 2008 case keyboard works great. As does the entire machine.
I have had keyboard issues with 2 Macs in my lifetime, my white iBook G3, been through two keyboards in that thing. I just got a PowerBook G3 pismo yesterday and random buttons on it's keyboard doesn't work.

If I were you I would get a MacBook Pro, the new MacBook seems to have too many issues for my liking.. It's also basically a tablet with a keyboard and desktop OS and no touch screen. Not really an upgrade. I'll keep my 2009.

 

[Fishrrman]

warburg:

I suggest you pay CLOSE ATTENTION to what jerryk wrote in reply 9 above.
In fact, print it out and keep it somewhere safe.

Enjoy the new MBP, but be aware of the "keyboard issues" that others are having.
If YOU have any problems, take it to a brick-n-mortar Apple Store and get the problem resolved as soon as you can.

I never got AppleCare before, but I _WOULD_ get it for a 2017 MBP.
Otherwise, if you start having keyboard issues after the 1-year warranty runs out, it's going to cost you.

 

[EugW]

warburg:

I suggest you pay CLOSE ATTENTION to what jerryk wrote in reply 9 above.
In fact, print it out and keep it somewhere safe.

Enjoy the new MBP, but be aware of the "keyboard issues" that others are having.
If YOU have any problems, take it to a brick-n-mortar Apple Store and get the problem resolved as soon as you can.

I never got AppleCare before, but I _WOULD_ get it for a 2017 MBP.
Otherwise, if you start having keyboard issues after the 1-year warranty runs out, it's going to cost you.

These days I just get the 1 year extended warranty from my credit card.

 

[ajmicek]

Maybe I'm thinking about this wrong. Perhaps the better approach would be to buy Macbooks and sell them before the warranty period is up (and keyboard repairs become prohibitively expensive), rather than buying one and trying to get it to last so long. Seems like a lot of hassle, though.

 

[EugW]

Maybe I'm thinking about this wrong. Perhaps the better approach would be to buy Macbooks and sell them before the warranty period is up (and keyboard repairs become prohibitively expensive), rather than buying one and trying to get it to last so long. Seems like a lot of hassle, though.

This can work, especially if you can write off part of the cost. However, I find selling used equipment really annoying.