4 year warranty for MacBook/MacBook Pro keyboard issues

Commissario
Joined
16 Oct 2002
Posts
2,647
Location
In the radio shack
Oh this is interesting, I sometimes get letters appearing unexpectedly on my 2016 MacBook. I will look into this. I thought I read somewhere that the keyboard couldn't be replaced without swapping the whole bottom section but I might be thinking about something else.
 
Man of Honour
Joined
19 Oct 2002
Posts
29,508
Location
Surrey
You're correct, the whole bottom section needs to be replaced. This is good news from Apple though. I had completely ruled out a future MBP due to the high keyboard failure rate. But it might be worth considering one now.
 
Soldato
Joined
9 Mar 2003
Posts
14,056
Have they actually fixed the issue though? It's a pointless repair if it hasn't fixed the issue.

If its just going to break again in as you fall outside the warranty period then you are left with a broken Mac. That being said I think you would have a strong case for a free repair for up to 6 years under consumer legislation.
 
Caporegime
Joined
6 Dec 2005
Posts
37,553
Location
Birmingham
I've had numerous keys stick or become unresponsive on first tap on mine a few times and at the moment the space bar isn't very 'click'. But usually a good blast of air makes things better.


As b0rn2sk8 says, if they haven't actually change the keyboard mechanism then it's bit silly really, you could be back once a month getting a key replaced.
 
Soldato
Joined
25 Jun 2006
Posts
4,312
You're correct, the whole bottom section needs to be replaced. This is good news from Apple though. I had completely ruled out a future MBP due to the high keyboard failure rate. But it might be worth considering one now.

Nah we have been told to try repair the keys themselves first, so that would be attempted before the whole top casing would be replaced.
 
Man of Honour
Joined
19 Oct 2002
Posts
29,508
Location
Surrey
Nah we have been told to try repair the keys themselves first, so that would be attempted before the whole top casing would be replaced.
The keys can't be repaired. If you remove a key there is a very high chance they will break and can't be put back on. Thats why this is such problem. only 'repair' is to blow any dust out with compressed air. Out of interest who told you to try to repair them?
 
Soldato
Joined
25 Jun 2006
Posts
4,312
The keys can't be repaired. If you remove a key there is a very high chance they will break and can't be put back on. Thats why this is such problem. only 'repair' is to blow any dust out with compressed air. Out of interest who told you to try to repair them?

I work for an Apple service provider (certified technician), it was Apple themselves that told me that :) It was a notice I got when I logged onto the Apple GSX system yesterday. It even states in the above linked article they will try to fix the keys first before replacing the top casing.

The type of service will be determined after the keyboard is examined and may involve the replacement of one or more keys or the whole keyboard.
 
Man of Honour
Joined
19 Oct 2002
Posts
29,508
Location
Surrey
I work for an Apple service provider (certified technician), it was Apple themselves that told me that :) It was a notice I got when I logged onto the Apple GSX system yesterday. It even states in the above linked article they will try to fix the keys first before replacing the top casing.
Are you allowed to tell us the procedure for attempting to fix the keys first? Apart from giving it a good blow what can be done to fix individual keys? That info would be useful to know for anyone experiencing issues after the four years. If it's just a good blow then customers could save themselves a trip to an apple store.
 
Soldato
Joined
25 Jun 2006
Posts
4,312
Are you allowed to tell us the procedure for attempting to fix the keys first? Apart from giving it a good blow what can be done to fix individual keys? That info would be useful to know for anyone experiencing issues after the four years. If it's just a good blow then customers could save themselves a trip to an apple store.

Not really sure how much I can say but I can say the keys can be removed/replaced. There are 'kit's of keys that we can order to carry out the procedure.
 
Commissario
Joined
16 Oct 2002
Posts
2,647
Location
In the radio shack
A couple of weeks ago I picked up my MacBook and the R key felt squidgy, it was half stuck down and when I pressed it, it was like pushing dead flesh. I got straight on to Apple chat support and they booked it in for a repair. While I was chatting online to him, I managed to wiggle the key so it started working properly again. I still took it in though and they said they'd take it apart and see if they could see anything. I requested that they keep it and do a full, thorough check before I got it back so the guy just said they'd replace the entire top section.

Fast forward a week and I've picked it up with a new "top case with keyboard". I don't know if they've changed the design of the mechanism or not but if it happens again, I'll simply repeat the procedure.
 
Man of Honour
Joined
19 Oct 2002
Posts
29,508
Location
Surrey
A couple of weeks ago I picked up my MacBook and the R key felt squidgy, it was half stuck down and when I pressed it, it was like pushing dead flesh. I got straight on to Apple chat support and they booked it in for a repair. While I was chatting online to him, I managed to wiggle the key so it started working properly again. I still took it in though and they said they'd take it apart and see if they could see anything. I requested that they keep it and do a full, thorough check before I got it back so the guy just said they'd replace the entire top section.

Fast forward a week and I've picked it up with a new "top case with keyboard". I don't know if they've changed the design of the mechanism or not but if it happens again, I'll simply repeat the procedure.
The 2018 keyboard was redesigned to have a membrane to reduce noise (and many people think they did this to prevent dust and dirt getting inside the butterfly mechanism). From what I understand they will replace a 2016 model with the 2016 top/keyboard, the 2017 with the 2017 top/keyboard and the 2018 with the 2018 top/keyboard. I have also seen a few people complaining about failures on the 2018 keyboard. It's probably too early to tell because even the most reliable keyboard would still have a few failures. But they may not yet have found a proper fix.

I think the lesson here is to never own a 2016 to 2018 model without a warranty covering the keyboard. That's likely to be an increasing concern as they hit the used market.
 
Soldato
Joined
25 Jun 2006
Posts
4,312
The 2018 keyboard was redesigned to have a membrane to reduce noise (and many people think they did this to prevent dust and dirt getting inside the butterfly mechanism).

I think the lesson here is to never own a 2016 to 2018 model without a warranty covering the keyboard. That's likely to be an increasing concern as they hit the used market.

The membrane actually is to stop debris getting into the butterfly mech. The design overall has been improved (so they say) to improve noise.
 
Back
Top Bottom