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Thinking about buying a rMB on sale today, but...

emilioestevez

emilioestevez

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Original poster
Aug 25, 2015
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I've read an awful lot of threads on this forum about keyboard keys failing / falling off.

Is there an inherent keyboard problem with these 1st gen rMBs? Are the keyboards inevitably going to fall apart?

My old MBP is physically (not performance wise, and especially not battery wise) holding up like a champ after five years.

I love its design and the single USB port doesn't bother me, but the keyboard problems that I've read about are making me hesitant to pull the trigger.

There are some pretty decent rMB deals to be had today online.
 
emilioestevez said:
I've read an awful lot of threads on this forum about keyboard keys failing / falling off.

Is there an inherent keyboard problem with these 1st gen rMBs? Are the keyboards inevitably going to fall apart?

My old MBP is physically (not performance wise, and especially not battery wise) holding up like a champ after five years.

I love its design and the single USB port doesn't bother me, but the keyboard problems that I've read about are making me hesitant to pull the trigger.

There are some pretty decent rMB deals to be had today online.
Click to expand...

Feel free to make your purchase with confidence. I've had my RMB since May, 7 months of flawless physical and computational performance.

Like any product in any discussion forum, 90% of the posts about "quality" are from those unfortunate few who have a defective model, it's not representative of the overall ownership population as happy people don't seek out a public forum to say how happy they are. Consumer Electronics as an industry has a 4% defect rate, you're reading posts from those 4%'ers.

BJ
 
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We have two rMBs, and love them so far. I haven't seen any of the quality issues mentioned, but I did buy Applecare. So, if I have a problem in the next 3yrs, I know it's covered. I do this for all my Macs, and I wind up using it about 2/3 of the time.
 
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No issues with mine.

The issue is people are quick to complain but the same cannot be said for complimenting the device.
 
I have a small issue with the period key on mine that it's had since I bought it. Plan to take it to Apple to get it fixed, but haven't done it yet. Aside from that, the keyboard is in the same shape it has been since I bought it. Not breaking down by any means.

That being said, I really thought I liked the new style keyboard, until I went back to using my rMBP at work. Now I'd have to say I really prefer the old style keys — which I have always really, really loved since they came out.

But quality-wise, the MacBook is the same great quality of every other Mac computer.
 
I was craving this laptop for a while. I got a surface pro last year and it definitely didn't suit my needs. I ended up selling it and getting a good return and I pulled a trigger today on a Rmb. I'm typing this on it and I love it. I was hesitant since an update could be soon, but since I really need something to write on and do basic things while I travel I'm pretty content. So far so good! Also my first macbook since a 2008 Macbook Pro.
 
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We have 2 rMB with no problems

You can buy AppleCare anytime in the 1st year if you want piece of mind nearing the end of the std warranty
 
Same here. If there is a problem in the next year I will buy the warranty. I'm not expecting any, but that is why I buy apple products. Buy with confidence. Great little computer!!
 
I would buy AppleCare. I have to say Apple quality is not that great. In the last two months, I had to have my iPhone replaced 3 times (under AppleCare+). In the last two years, I had to replace my Apple wireless keyboard 3 times (no AppleCare). And my previous MBA went to service so often (on the other hand, my iPads seems very solid. Perhaps that's why Apple doesn't sell so many iPads. They simply last too long).

It's not that other companies do better. My wife had even more problems with her HP computer. And her Microsoft keyboard breaks just as quickly as my Apple wireless keyboard. Still, I'm a little disappointed with Apple quality. What compensates is that service is great when something breaks.
 
I have bought a 2008 17" MacBook Pro, 2008 iMac, 2010 13" MacBook Pro, 2013 13" MacBook Air and a 2015 rMB. Never had a problem with any of them...well the graphics card on the 17" but that was a part issue. I had piece of mind that if I had any issues I could bring it to the Apple Store and it would be resolved...with AppleCare or not. I don't think the same could be said for a 2 year old Windows computer. Where would you bring it? Best Buy? Would they even support it 2 years later. Anyway, that's why I buy Apple.
 
There are three groups of owners of any tech product. The total population of owners, the subset that is active online, then subset of the online subset that has a particular problem and posts about it. Its easy to to draw incorrect conclusions as to the quality of a product by forgetting which subset you are experiencing. It's not that problems aren't real, though some are just owner preference, it just can seem overblown because of sample size.
 
no issue with the keyboard, but after 6 months of usage, I am still not use to the keyboard.

I will go so far to say this is the worst keyboard I've ever had.
 
If there was really a keyboard problem then there would have already been a front page faux outrage keyboard-gate.
 
kingofwale said:
no issue with the keyboard, but after 6 months of usage, I am still not use to the keyboard.

I will go so far to say this is the worst keyboard I've ever had.
Click to expand...

That's not an Apple to Apple Comparison (Did you see what I did there?) Anyways you can't compare a 12 inch laptop keyboard to a 17 inch laptop keyboard or 15 inch laptop keyboard. What 12 inch laptop keyboard is better then this one? That has the same profile in thinness?
 
emilioestevez said:
I've read an awful lot of threads on this forum about keyboard keys failing / falling off.

Is there an inherent keyboard problem with these 1st gen rMBs? Are the keyboards inevitably going to fall apart?

My old MBP is physically (not performance wise, and especially not battery wise) holding up like a champ after five years.

I love its design and the single USB port doesn't bother me, but the keyboard problems that I've read about are making me hesitant to pull the trigger.

There are some pretty decent rMB deals to be had today online.
Click to expand...
People experiencing problems on forums like this usually are a very vocal minority.

Btw the complaints about the MacBook keyboard are definitely existent, and the risk with 1st generation products is always present.
I would suggest AppleCare, just to be safe.
 
I'd say go for it, I've had mine for 6 months and I've had no issues. :)

This is my first post by the way, I had fun reading a lot of the comments here. I decided to finally join...
 
xmichaelp said:
If there was really a keyboard problem then there would have already been a front page faux outrage keyboard-gate.
Click to expand...
Not necessarily, it took a while for the dGPU issues on the MBPs to make it to the font page, and longer for apple to set up a repair program. Likewise the coating flaking off on some MBPs

I think only time will tell about the keyboard, as its too soon, as the computer hasn't been out that long
 
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maflynn said:
Not necessarily, it took a while for the dGPU issues on the MBPs to make it to the font page, and longer for apple to set up a repair program. Likewise the coating flaking off on some MBPs

I think only time will tell about the keyboard, as its too soon, as the computer hasn't been out that long
Click to expand...
wrong. GPU issue took a while to show off, while keyboards seem to break after a few months of usage.
I don't know if it is a widespread issue, but surely it is less subtle than the dGPU failure that in most of the cases took 3 years to reveal itself.
 
gilbeys said:
I'd say go for it, I've had mine for 6 months and I've had no issues. :).
Click to expand...
That's great to hear and welcome aboard :)

The MB is a nice computer and as long as you do your homework to ensure its a good fit, you'll not be disappointed.
 
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