Apple finally acknowledges ‘sticky’ keyboard issues on MacBooks, offering free fix and refunds for past repairs

[79wjd]

3 hours ago, Suika said:

To be honest, I kind of want to disagree with the idea that Apple is treated equally to other manufacturers in the press. The way I see it is because Apple is such a household name, you see many more news publications talking about issues they're facing. I've seen Fox News break stories on Apple but not on Dell, for example.

 

But I definitely disagree with the idea that if Dell or HP were selling faulty keyboards on a majority of their products that they'd get away with it in the media, there would be massive backlash for the likes of them and a lot less forgiveness from consumers than Apple would receive.

At the end of the day, I think the general populous wouldn't give a shit either way. The difference is just the level of uproar when it breaks. 

[dave4shmups]

Now I feel like I've been screwed over by Apple. My 2016 MacBook Pro's keyboard works fine-for now. But if it breaks, then won't Apple just be replacing it with the same flawed keyboard design? If this butterfly key design, which people argue allows even a small amount of dust to render a key nonfunctional, is not inherently flawed, then I would really like to know why.  

And if I ever need to sell it, then who the heck's going to buy a laptop with a keyboard switch design that's that bad and prone to failure.

[Techicolors]

2 minutes ago, dave4shmups said:

Now I feel like I've been screwed over by Apple. My 2016 MacBook Pro's keyboard works fine-for now. But if it breaks, then won't Apple just be replacing it with the same flawed keyboard design? If this butterfly key design, which people argue allows even a small amount of dust to render a key nonfunctional, is not inherently flawed, then I would really like to know why.  

And if I ever need to sell it, then who the heck's going to buy a laptop with a keyboard switch design that's that bad and prone to failure.

they probably will use the 2017 topcase. some think Apple revised it a little 

[mr moose]

9 hours ago, RedRound2 said:

Did you actually just say that? Apple gets way more attention than literally any other tech company of the planet on the mainstream media

yes, your opinions or sensitivity to press about apple is not proof of anything.  I see just as many articles about MS and Google in the news as I do apple.  In fact more recently due to telemetry and the purchase of github MS has been in the tech news circles a lot more.  But that's just my observation.

9 hours ago, RedRound2 said:

Okay let's put it this way. How many people would be fine with consoles in PCMR group. Consoles have their advantages but most people in PCMR have just religious hatred towards them. Same here

What does that have to do with anything?  deflection maybe?

5 hours ago, Suika said:

To be honest, I kind of want to disagree with the idea that Apple is treated equally to other manufacturers in the press. The way I see it is because Apple is such a household name, you see many more news publications talking about issues they're facing. I've seen Fox News break stories on Apple but not on Dell, for example.

 

 

Mainstream media hardly talks about the nuts and bolts of tech, their stories centre around anything that sells, Plenty of articles and reports of people queuing around the block for the next iphone, occasionally they get a piece about tax evasion.  I don;t think Dell has done anything notable to even make it into tech media let alone mainstream. Maybe selling to cheaters?

[Arika]

On 6/23/2018 at 11:20 AM, iamdarkyoshi said:

So uhh

 

Rip rossmann's youtube channel

 

He said he would delete it if apple did a no BS repair on affected machines.

 

If it turns out to be true...

well true to his word.
 

 

 

[dave4shmups]

5 hours ago, Technicolors said:

they probably will use the 2017 topcase. some think Apple revised it a little 

Yeah, but is the design of the keyboard switches to blame??  If it’s true that something as small as a speck of dust can render a key unresponsive, then all of us who own 2015-present MacBooks are in trouble.

[Techicolors]

57 minutes ago, dave4shmups said:

Yeah, but is the design of the keyboard switches to blame??  If it’s true that something as small as a speck of dust can render a key unresponsive, then all of us who own 2015-present MacBooks are in trouble.

still is, tho it seems Apple has revised the design on the 2017 model

[TroubleKlef]

I don't mind the new keyboard, in fact it punishes sloppy typing which is why a lot of people don't like them.

 

I've held off buying a new MacBook Pro to replace my aging Air because of the mentioned keyboard issues. I'm happy Apple announced this as it 

 

A) Might make me buy a discounted 2017 Pro knowing any keyboard issues will be covered.

 

B) Apple realizes the keyboard does not meet the quality and reliability consumers expect from an Apple product and is probably already working on a redesigned keyboard. 6 core i7s with new keyboards is very enticing.

 

Either way, this is a consumer friendly move and we should be encouraging more companies to admit to mistakes rather than ignoring them.

[suicidalfranco]

20 minutes ago, TroubleKlef said:

Either way, this is a consumer friendly move and we should be encouraging more companies to admit to mistakes rather than ignoring them.

Sure

I mean if you count the result of three years of denial and a class action lawsuit as a consumer friendly move from a company. 

[mr moose]

51 minutes ago, TroubleKlef said:

Either way, this is a consumer friendly move and we should be encouraging more companies to admit to mistakes rather than ignoring them.

2 years of denial then being dragged into a court for satisfaction is being consumer friendly? 

 

What a funny world we live in. 

[RedRound2]

13 hours ago, mr moose said:

yes, your opinions or sensitivity to press about apple is not proof of anything.  I see just as many articles about MS and Google in the news as I do apple.  In fact more recently due to telemetry and the purchase of github MS has been in the tech news circles a lot more.  But that's just my observation.

I said mainstream media for God's sake. Plus MS's github purchase is not same as Apple having a faulty product. The Surface did not get this much attention across mainstream media (MAINSTREAM not tech sites like LTT)

13 hours ago, mr moose said:

What does that have to do with anything?  deflection maybe?

umm, people here have a religious hatred towards apple even if they do things right

 

[mr moose]

1 minute ago, RedRound2 said:

I said mainstream media for God's sake. Plus MS's github purchase is not same as Apple having a faulty product. The Surface did not get this much attention across mainstream media (MAINSTREAM not tech sites like LTT)

umm, people here have a religious hatred towards apple even if they do things right

 

I think you should read this thread again. Your responses barely address what people are saying let alone evidence what you are claiming.

 

 

[kokakolia]

23 hours ago, Suika said:

To be honest, I kind of want to disagree with the idea that Apple is treated equally to other manufacturers in the press. The way I see it is because Apple is such a household name, you see many more news publications talking about issues they're facing. I've seen Fox News break stories on Apple but not on Dell, for example.

 

But I definitely disagree with the idea that if Dell or HP were selling faulty keyboards on a majority of their products that they'd get away with it in the media, there would be massive backlash for the likes of them and a lot less forgiveness from consumers than Apple would receive.

1. It is unlikely that Dell would sell faulty keyboards on the majority of their laptops. Dell uses generic parts on the majority of their computers with the exception of the really high end stuff. Generic parts are definitely more durable than over engineered complex parts with minimal testing. 

2. The brand perception of Dell is less premium than Apple. The general public would actually think negatively of Dell. So faults would kind of be expected and brushed off by the media. The stakes are just higher with Apple. 

3. Apple has no competition with Mac OS. Mac OS users have every right to be angered when the only brand of Mac OS computers sells horrible laptops. Bad PC brands just disappear without a trace or remorse. Just look at Packard Bell. 

4. People just love to hate Apple. 

 

In hindsight, Apple being scrutinized to the max is a good thing for the consumer. Apple will have to improve their products and perhaps lower their prices to convince consumers to buy Apple again. I honestly think that brands like MSI deserve more hate and criticism because their laptops are flimsy, noisy and hot. The MSI GE62 is an awful laptop. But nobody cares. 

[TroubleKlef]

6 hours ago, mr moose said:

2 years of denial then being dragged into a court for satisfaction is being consumer friendly? 

 

What a funny world we live in. 

I mean if your idea of consumer friendly is if they got to court and continue to ignore the issue and simple settle out of court with the billions they have.

 

I will welcome consumer friendly practices such as these. It is irresponsible as a consumer to deny this and sends the wrong message to all companies. Regardless of personal opinions on certain brands.

[mr moose]

4 hours ago, TroubleKlef said:

I mean if your idea of consumer friendly is if they got to court and continue to ignore the issue and simple settle out of court with the billions they have.

 

I will welcome consumer friendly practices such as these. It is irresponsible as a consumer to deny this and sends the wrong message to all companies. Regardless of personal opinions on certain brands.

My idea of consumer friendly is that companies accept and fix their shit on the first call, not the second third, 103rd or after a class action lawsuit is filed.

I will not welcome nor congratulate any company who drags their feet on product support.   It would be like giving them a participation trophy for crossing the finish line even though they toook short cuts and pushed other kids off the track on the way around.

[Suika]

5 hours ago, kokakolia said:

1. It is unlikely that Dell would sell faulty keyboards on the majority of their laptops. Dell uses generic parts on the majority of their computers with the exception of the really high end stuff. Generic parts are definitely more durable than over engineered complex parts with minimal testing. 

2. The brand perception of Dell is less premium than Apple. The general public would actually think negatively of Dell. So faults would kind of be expected and brushed off by the media. The stakes are just higher with Apple. 

3. Apple has no competition with Mac OS. Mac OS users have every right to be angered when the only brand of Mac OS computers sells horrible laptops. Bad PC brands just disappear without a trace or remorse. Just look at Packard Bell. 

4. People just love to hate Apple. 

1) I'm not saying they ever would, I'm saying that if by some unlucky coincidence they managed to get themselves in the same pickle as Apple, the media wouldn't ignore it, since other users were suggesting otherwise. Dell would still receive negative attention over it, but likely not as harsh as what Apple would receive because Dell has competitors.

2) Which is part of the reason I disagree with the idea that Apple is treated equally in the news. 

3) That brings up a point, the people who keep saying "people who are really upset should just return their devices." Then what? You've put yourself into an ecosystem and suddenly you have a laptop with a broken keyboard or no laptop? That's not a practical solution by any stretch of the imagination imo.

4) Very true, but people also love to worship them. Goes both ways for a lot of companies.

[Drak3]

11 hours ago, TroubleKlef said:

in fact it punishes sloppy typing

No, it doesn't.

 

11 hours ago, TroubleKlef said:

which is why a lot of people don't like them.

People don't like them due to the lack of travel and mediocre tactile feedback, relative to laptop keyboards around the $1,000 mark.

 

11 hours ago, TroubleKlef said:

Either way, this is a consumer friendly move and we should be encouraging more companies to admit to mistakes rather than ignoring them.

Apple ignored this for two years. Every single inherent flaw in every device they've peddled the past decade was ignored or deflected. They only acknowledge the issue when litigation is involved.

 

Apple is the only large tech company that ignores the issue until they no longer can.

[mr moose]

6 hours ago, kokakolia said:

 I honestly think that brands like MSI deserve more hate and criticism because their laptops are flimsy, noisy and hot. The MSI GE62 is an awful laptop. But nobody cares. 

Here in lies the problem with a lot of the arguments in this thread,  why do you think one product deserves more hate than another?  One product is cheaper and as a result seems flimsy, hot and loud to you, while the other product is more expensive yet it's fault makes it unusable.    So next time dell, MSI, HP or whoever have a class action lawsuit against them we can look at the fallout and hate and I bet you it is the same.

 

 

[kokakolia]

46 minutes ago, mr moose said:

Here in lies the problem with a lot of the arguments in this thread,  why do you think one product deserves more hate than another?  One product is cheaper and as a result seems flimsy, hot and loud to you, while the other product is more expensive yet it's fault makes it unusable.    So next time dell, MSI, HP or whoever have a class action lawsuit against them we can look at the fallout and hate and I bet you it is the same.

 

 

Nope it is not the same. If Apple released the GE62 there would be much outrage. When MSI releases the GE62 it sucks, people know that it sucks, few people buy it. You’re an idiot if you buy an MSI GE62. Nobody cares about the GE62. So no lawsuit is in the works. But you’re a victim if you buy a bad Apple product. Because people care more about Apple products than they would like to admit

[Dabombinable]

1 minute ago, kokakolia said:

Nope it is not the same. If Apple released the GE62 there would be much outrage. When MSI releases the GE62 it sucks, people know that it sucks, few people buy it. You’re an idiot if you buy an MSI GE62. But you’re a victim if you buy a bad Apple product. 

So you're a victim if you buy anything that Apple is currently making? (not the older+long lived stuff).

[Maticks]

I still have my old 2015 MacBook Pro. Work offered me an upgrade. Thank God I didn't take it. I tried this keyboard it's like typing on a piece of ham. Not enough travel on the keys it feels squishy. 

[mr moose]

7 minutes ago, kokakolia said:

Nope it is not the same. If Apple released the GE62 there would be much outrage.

Says who?  that's just victim mentality.  People get outraged when any company releases a product that doesn't work and  they ignore it.
 It's not exclusive to apple.

7 minutes ago, kokakolia said:

 

When MSI releases the GE62 it sucks, people know that it sucks, few people buy it. You’re an idiot if you buy an MSI GE62. Nobody cares about the GE62. So no lawsuit is in the works.

There is a difference between a product that in your opinion sucks for the cost and a broken product that doesn't work.  You are trying to compare
to different conditions using opinion as the metric.

 

7 minutes ago, kokakolia said:

 But you’re a victim if you buy a bad Apple product. Because people care more about Apple products than they would like to admit

No, you are a victim if you buy a product from any company that will not support it.  Only a few people are trying make this isolated to apple and playing the victim.

 

Again, there is no more media attention on apple for this then there has been for MS and github/telemtry or Intel and it's CEO.  There has not been any more hatred either.

[dave4shmups]

What type of keyboard switches are in the Apple Magic Keyboard 2?  Unless Apple can find a way to somehow strengthen the current butterfly switches, I don't think it would be a bad idea for them to use the same switches that they use in that keyboard.

[suicidalfranco]

31 minutes ago, dave4shmups said:

What type of keyboard switches are in the Apple Magic Keyboard 2?  Unless Apple can find a way to somehow strengthen the current butterfly switches, I don't think it would be a bad idea for them to use the same switches that they use in that keyboard.

sooo... traditional scissor switch? like everyone else?

 

[dave4shmups]

Well if Apple’s using some better 2017 version of the butterfly switch in their MacBooks, as some people are claiming, and they’re replacing broken MacBook keyboards with it, then they have an obligation to let consumers know-it would go a long way towards restoring confidence in their MacBook products, and all it would take is a video on Apple’s website, and on YouTube.  

 

As things stand now, for those of us who own a MacBook, we have absolutely no proof that Apple’s doing anything other then replacing broken keyboards with bad keyboards that have their flawed butterfly switches in them.

 

Well, I guess if I ever do sell my MacBook Pro, maybe I can hock it a lemonade stand where neighborhood kids are selling drinks.  Thanks a lot Apple.