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Eeden

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 7, 2008
45
8
I cannot tell you how frustrated I am.

I bought my mpb 15 in august 2018. I waited for the new model because I was afraid for the keyboard problem.
After 2 months of use, a few keys stopped working. But sometimes the problem disappeared until finally 10 keys stop working at all.
I went to apple and they did an immediate top case replacement.

I told apple that I was feeling less confident in my mac and would like to see if it was possible the extend the warranty with AppleCare. They said it is not possible anymore and that I should claim each time the keyboard fails!

Now 1 month after the replacement, the first 2 keys are stuck. I cannot tell you how careful I have been with cleaning the mac and keeping all kinds of dust etc away.

I cannot believe that a 3000 euro laptop has this problem after a few months of careful use. I don't want to bring my mpb in every few months.

I see myself forced to repair it once more and then sell it.
 

Eeden

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 7, 2008
45
8
That would be my recommendation especially seeing so many people dealing with multiple repairs.

Bummers though on dealing with this, I know that sucks.

Any suggestions on a alternative laptop?

btw don't you think there is a case to be made against Apple for returning the laptop for a full refund or replace it with a future mpb. It is just a faulty product imo.
 

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,682
43,740
Any suggestions on a alternative laptop?

btw don't you think there is a case to be made against Apple for returning the laptop for a full refund or replace it with a future mpb. It is just a faulty product imo.
It depends on whether you want to stay with the apple ecosystem or not.

Maybe find a 2015 MBP used somewhere to tied you over and then take your time to determine your next steps, i.e., not rush a decision to stay or leave the apple ecosystem.

For me, I opted for a Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Extreme, that's basically the counterpart of the MBP. They have frequent sales, and right now in the US, they're selling the base X1E for 1,388 where as Apple's base MBP is 2,400. That X1E comes with 8GB of ram, 256GB SSD, a GTX 1050-TI GPU (much better then Apple's Radeon 555X). Unlike Apple many manufacturers have replaceable components, like storage, ram and battery.

With regard to the Lenovo, one major reason why for that myself is because of the industry leading keyboard. I did not want to face another butterfly keyboard, and so i'm extremely happy with that. I chose the high model due to my needs, but thanks to a sale in January I purchased a 32GB/1TB model with a 3 year warranty for 2286, a similarly equipped MBP would have run me 4,300.
 

JamesTheMac

Cancelled
Mar 10, 2019
61
65
I hear you. I’m on my second keyboard. And like you treat it with the utmost care. Never have I felt so insecure about the reliability of a laptop though.

You give the impression you paid in euros. In which case EU consumer law gives you the protection beyond the 12 month warranty. (I think that’s the reason Apple have stopped selling Apple Care in the UK, because it essentially something that is not needed. They now only sell Apple Care +, which they could argue is an insurance policy against accidental damage, rather than just being a hardware warranty, (which we are entitled to by law for 6 years or ‘a reasonable time’) Apple have already set a precedent for what they consider a ‘reasonable time’ by offering a 4 year warranty on the 1st and 2nd gen keyboards, so it would be reasonable to expect the 3rd gen, which are not officially covered by the scheme (yet!), be at least as long.

Still doesn’t get over the fact we have paid a lot of money for a flaky machine, but should help put your mind at rest that we shouldn’t have big bills for the next few years. It is still a huge inconvenience though. Mine had to be sent away for a week to get a new top case/battery replacement, to replace one frigging key! Are they now doing this as a walk in while you wait?

As for jumping ship... I tried that approach with a Microsoft Surface. I bought a top of the range i7, and after a month it developed a hardware fault, randomly switching off, if you picked it up with one hand. It got sent back to Microsoft in perfect cosmetic condition, with all the original boxes, and accessories. A week later Microsoft sent me a replacement. When it arrived it was in an tatty box, with a Jiffy bag containing the accessories taped to the side of it, and the Surface itself was clearly secondhand, not in the protective seal, and had scratches on it.

Totally unacceptable for a machine I had paid top £ for a few weeks earlier. I kicked off with Amazon, who had earlier refused to swap it over, and reminded them that as I purchased from them, that my legal contract was with them, not Microsoft. They agreed to give me a full refund.

So obviously, seeing how poorly Microsoft treat their customers, I won’t be going down that route again. At least with Apple, you can take it into a shop, and not get fobbed off with a tatty refurb!

And don’t get me started on how frustrating Windows 10 daily updates are.

The grass might look greener, but there was a reason I switched to Macs, when Vista was released. Not much has changed!

The keyboards are not ideal. But remember this is a forum so you will get a strong bias as to people having had problems. Hopefully your run of bad luck on the keyboards would have run it’s course, and you’ll have one that works until there is a more robust design, that has been proven.

James
 

lambertjohn

macrumors 68000
Jun 17, 2012
1,654
1,720
Do you keep a can of compressed air handy and periodically spray the keyboard down to keep it clean underneath the keys? I've been doing that for years, even before the latest keyboard debacle, and I've never had a keyboard problem. Go to your nearby tech store and pick up a can of compressed air and keep it nearby and use it once or twice a week. It definitely makes a difference.
 

buran-energia

macrumors 6502
Oct 9, 2017
298
115
Do you keep a can of compressed air handy and periodically spray the keyboard down to keep it clean underneath the keys? I've been doing that for years, even before the latest keyboard debacle, and I've never had a keyboard problem. Go to your nearby tech store and pick up a can of compressed air and keep it nearby and use it once or twice a week. It definitely makes a difference.

I don't think it's always the dust that's the problem. Especially since even 2018 with membranes have keyboard issues. There's some design flaw.
 

Fishrrman

macrumors Penryn
Feb 20, 2009
29,194
13,252
Have Apple replace the keyboard.
If the keyboard fails a third time, they may offer you a replacement MBP.

Observation:
Apparently the "keyboard condoms" on the 2018-design butterfly keyboard DO NOT correct the problem of failing keys...
 
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seeforyourself

macrumors 6502
Dec 1, 2014
400
234
Welcome to the lemon party! You will unfortunately notice that the replacement keyboard wont last as long as when it was purchased new - shows that the repair facility can't get it right during repair.

I am going to be on my fifth repair, but I think they will replace my laptop with a new one when I bring it in next. My U key is sticking on my macbook pro now, though id rather wait till the rumored 2019 redesign as oppose to the 2018 that obviously still has the same keyboard/issue. It's bad when the genius bar even tells you to buy a dust can AND how unreliable they are.

Maybe you should try to get it repaired again and if it breaks again (most likely will) and then demand a new one when the 19's come out?

You're right - it is ridiculous that you can't add applecare after the 60 days. Im sure 99% people who purchased this laptop would get apple care when they found out that the keyboards are a design flaw AND that they practically tear apart the whole laptop to fix it... You get a new battery and top case (and in some cases display) and that is only warrantied for 3 months after repair? It's a sick joke that im so grateful that I got the applecare+
 
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SDColorado

macrumors 601
Nov 6, 2011
4,360
4,324
Highlands Ranch, CO
I don't think it's always the dust that's the problem. Especially since even 2018 with membranes have keyboard issues. There's some design flaw.

I don't think dust is the issue either. I wonder if the 2018's are actually more prone to issues than previous years, not less and if the membrane is contributing to those problems. Is the reason these keyboards are riveted in 6 ways to Sunday a result of them being prone to warping due to heat? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 

pshufd

macrumors G4
Oct 24, 2013
10,136
14,565
New Hampshire
If I had a 2016, 2017 or 2018, I would encase the keyboard and just bring along my Corsair Mechanical Keyboard with me. Yes, it weighs almost as much as the laptop but I love typing on it. Fortunately I have the 2014 and 2015 models.
 
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