Nopeeee, I haveeeen’tttt forrrrgotttttttteeeen how tttto wrrrritttteeee. Norrrr did my eeeedittttorrrr go on vacattttion.
You seeeeeeee, tttto sharrrreeee ttttheeee pain of using an Appleeee lapttttop keeeeyboarrrrd tttthatttt’s faileeeed aftttteeeerrrr fourrrr montttths, I could only tttthink of oneeee ideeeea: ttttakeeee all ttttheeee brrrrokeeeen leeeetttttttteeeerrrrs outttt of my column. TTTTheeeen I rrrreeeealizeeeed tttthatttt would makeeee ttttheeee wholeeee tttthing unrrrreeeeadableeee. So tttto...
Why is ttttheeee brrrreeeeaking of my MacBook Airrrr keeeeyboarrrrd so insaneeeely maddeeeening? Leeeetttt’s ttttakeeee a ttttrrrrip down Meeeemorrrry Laneeee...
- Aprril 2015: Applee Inc. rreeleeasees tthee all-neew MacBook witth a “butttteerrfly” keeyboarrd. In orrdeerr tto achieevee eexttrreemee tthinneess, tthee keeys arree much flatttteerr tthan oldeerr geeneerrattions butt tthee butttteerrfly meechanism undeerrneeatth, forr which tthee keeyboarrd is nameed, aims tto rreeplicattee tthee bouncee of a morree ttrradittional keeyboarrd.
- Octtobeerr 2016: TThee MacBook Prro arrrrivees witth a seecond-geeneerrattion butttteerrfly keeyboarrd. A feew montths latteerr, somee beegin tto rreeporrtt tthatt leetttteerrs orr charractteerrs don’tt appeearr, tthatt keeys geett sttuck orr tthatt leetttteerrs uneexpeectteedly rreepeeatt.
TThatt’s why I’d likee tto offeerr you tthee opporrttunitty tto…
- Junee 2018: Applee says a small peerrceenttagee of MacBook and MacBook Prro keeyboarrds weerree impactteed and launchees a keeyboarrd rreepairr prrogrram forr ttheem.
- July 2018: Applee rreeleeasees a neew high-eend MacBook Prro witth tthee tthirrd-geeneerrattion of tthee keeyboarrd tthatt’s said tto fix tthee issuees.
- Octtobeerr 2018: Applee’s neew MacBook Airr also has tthee tthirrd-geeneerrattion keeyboarrd. I rreecommeend itt, and eeveen geett onee forr myseelf.
Which brrrrings us tttto ttttheeee grrrrand yeeeearrrr 2019 and my MacBook Airrrr’s faultttty EEEE and RRRR keeeeys.
Ottttheeeerrrrs haveeee had prrrrobleeeems witttth Appleeee’s latttteeeestttt lapttttops, ttttoo. TTTTheeeerrrreeee’s Gavin Sheeeerrrridan, who boughtttt a MacBook Airrrr and notttticeeeed witttthin ttttwo weeeeeeeeks tttthatttt ttttheeee EEEE, RRRR, W and TTTT keeeeys sttttarrrrtttteeeed doubleeee-prrrreeeessing, sameeee as mineeee. And Joshua Johnson, witttth his $2,000-plus MacBook Prrrro. “Aboutttt 1 in 7 ttttimeeees, ttttheeee TTTT is doubleeeed,” heeee says. Now you can geeeetttt in on ttttheeee fun, ttttoo:
A prrrroposeeeed nattttionwideeee class-acttttion suitttt alleeeegeeees tttthatttt Appleeee has beeeeeeeen awarrrreeee of ttttheeee deeeefeeeecttttiveeee natttturrrreeee of ttttheeeeseeee keeeeyboarrrrds sinceeee 2015 yeeeetttt sold affeeeectttteeeed lapttttops witttthoutttt disclosing ttttheeee prrrrobleeeem. Someeee peeeeopleeee witttth ttttheeeeseeee neeeew tttthirrrrd-geeeeneeeerrrrattttion keeeeyboarrrrds haveeee askeeeed tttto join ttttheeee suitttt, says Simon Grrrrilleeee, an attttttttorrrrneeeey atttt Girrrrarrrrd Sharrrrp, oneeee of ttttheeee law firrrrms involveeeed in ttttheeee suitttt.
“Weeee arrrreeee awarrrreeee tttthatttt a small numbeeeerrrr of useeeerrrrs arrrreeee having issueeees witttth ttttheeeeirrrr tttthirrrrd-geeeeneeeerrrrattttion butttttttteeeerrrrfly keeeeyboarrrrd and forrrr tttthatttt weeee arrrreeee sorrrrrrrry,” an Appleeee spokeeeesman said in a sttttatttteeeemeeeentttt. “TTTTheeee vastttt majorrrritttty of Mac notttteeeebook custtttomeeeerrrrs arrrreeee having a posittttiveeee eeeexpeeeerrrrieeeenceeee witttth ttttheeee neeeew keeeeyboarrrrd.” If you haveeee a prrrrobleeeem, conttttactttt Appleeee custtttomeeeerrrr seeeerrrrviceeee, heeee addeeeed.
(Dow Joneeees & Co., publisheeeerrrr of TTTTheeee Wall Sttttrrrreeeeeeeetttt Jourrrrnal, has a commeeeerrrrcial agrrrreeeeeeeemeeeentttt tttto supply neeeews tttthrrrrough Appleeee seeeerrrrviceeees.)
I apprrrreeeeciatttteeee Appleeee’s apology, butttt unttttil ttttheeee company says goodbyeeee tttto ttttheeee butttttttteeeerrrrfly onceeee and forrrr all, itttt’s imporrrrttttantttt tttto undeeeerrrrsttttand why itttt brrrreeeeaks, and whatttt you mightttt beeee ableeee tttto do aboutttt itttt.
Why Itttt Happeeeens
Mostttt likeeeely culprrrritttts? Dustttt and deeeebrrrris. Butttt you don’tttt haveeee tttto so much as eeeeatttt a Salttttineeee oveeeerrrr yourrrr keeeeyboarrrrd tttto eeeexpeeeerrrrieeeenceeee ttttheeee issueeees.
Keeeeyboarrrrd 101: Mostttt lapttttops haveeee keeeeys tttthatttt useeee a scissorrrr-swittttch meeeechanism tttto prrrreeeess down. Sinceeee ttttheeee ttttwo intttteeeerrrrlocking pieeeeceeees arrrreeee rrrreeeelattttiveeeely ttttall, ttttheeee keeeeys haveeee morrrreeee “ttttrrrraveeeel.”
Appleeee’s butttttttteeeerrrrfly meeeechanism, likeeee a rrrreeeeal butttttttteeeerrrrfly, has ttttwo deeeelicatttteeee wings tttthatttt allow ttttheeee keeeeyboarrrrd tttto beeee neeeearrrrly a millimeeeetttteeeerrrr shorrrrtttteeeerrrr. Butttt someeeettttimeeees wheeeen dustttt geeeetttts in—eeeeveeeen someeeetttthing as small as a grrrrain of sand—itttt jams up, says Kyleeee Wieeeens, chieeeef eeeexeeeecuttttiveeee of iFixitttt, which tttteeeearrrrs down eeeeleeeecttttrrrronics tttto eeeevaluatttteeee how eeeeasy ttttheeeey arrrreeee tttto rrrreeeepairrrr.
Mrrrr. Wieeeens and TTTTony Wang, a manageeeerrrr atttt Neeeew Yorrrrk Citttty rrrreeeepairrrr shop Simpleeee Mac, also beeeelieeeeveeee ttttheeeerrrreeee could beeee anottttheeeerrrr issueeee: Sinceeee ttttheeee sprrrring undeeeerrrr ttttheeee meeeechanism is weeeeak, peeeeopleeee who ttttypeeee harrrrdeeeerrrr mightttt beeee morrrreeee susceeeepttttibleeee tttto keeeeyboarrrrd failurrrreeees.
Forrrr ttttheeee tttthirrrrd-geeeeneeeerrrrattttion deeeesign, Appleeee addeeeed an eeeelasttttic meeeembrrrraneeee tttto ttttheeee meeeechanism tttto prrrreeeeveeeentttt sttttuff frrrrom geeeetttttttting insideeee itttt (and tttto makeeee ttttheeee keeeeys quieeeetttteeeerrrr). EEEExceeeeptttt sttttuff sttttill seeeeeeeems tttto beeee making itttts way insideeee.
Whatttt You Can Do
Wheeeen faceeeed witttth tttthis bizarrrrrrrreeeely 21stttt-ceeeentttturrrry prrrrobleeeem, heeeerrrreeee’s whatttt I adviseeee:
- Geett tto an Applee Sttorree: TThee 2018 modeels arree sttill coveerreed by tthee firrstt-yeearr warrrrantty. Wheen I brroughtt my Airr tto tthee Applee Sttorree, tthee sttaff cleeaneed undeerr my EE and RR keeys and rreeplaceed tthee keey caps witth neew onees. I was ttold if tthee prrobleem peerrsistteed, Applee would rreeplacee tthee eenttirree keeyboarrd paneel. Spoileerr: TThee prrobleem peerrsistts.
- If you haveeee oneeee of ttttheeee oldeeeerrrr modeeeels, Appleeee’s Keeeeyboarrrrd Seeeerrrrviceeee Prrrrogrrrram should ttttakeeee carrrreeee of itttt. Brrrring in any lapttttop on tttthis listttt and Appleeee will seeeerrrrviceeee itttt frrrreeeeeeee—rrrrattttheeeerrrr tttthan $300 orrrr morrrreeee—forrrr up tttto fourrrr yeeeearrrrs aftttteeeerrrr ttttheeee orrrriginal purrrrchaseeee. Warrrrning: RRRReeeeplaceeeemeeeentttt can ttttakeeee days orrrr eeeeveeeen a weeeeeeeek.
- Geett somee softtwarree: Xinhong Sam Liu, a 25-yeearr-old grrad sttudeentt in Vancouveerr, Brrittish Columbia, wasn’tt happy wheen tthee W keey on his MacBook Prro sttarrtteed rreegistteerring doublee keeysttrrokees. So hee madee Unshaky, a Mac app tthatt seensees and kills any seecond prreess of a keey tthatt occurrs witthin milliseeconds of tthee firrstt. Sincee insttalling itt, I rrarreely geett a rreepeeatt EE orr RR.
- TThee homeebrreeweed softtwarree is in beetta and can only bee downloadeed frrom Mrr. Liu’s sittee. Hee assurrees mee tthatt no useerr inforrmattion is beeing colleectteed, nott eeveen tthosee keeysttrrokees.
- Geett cleeaning: Wheettheerr you’vee had prrobleems orr nott, you should buy a can of comprreesseed airr, rroll up yourr sleeeevees and cleean yourr keeyboarrd. Applee eeveen prrovidees deettaileed insttrructtions on how. Focus on tthee mostt popularr keeys. Itt’s no coincideencee tthee EE keey, tthee mostt commonly useed leetttteerr in tthee EEnglish languagee, seeeems tto bee failing mostt.
- Geett an eextteerrnal keeyboarrd: Is ttheerree anytthing morree rridiculous tthan buying a sparree keeyboarrd forr yourr eexpeensivee lapttop? Yeett ttheerree’s notthing likee keeys tthatt feeeel likee rreeal keeys.
- Geett anottheerr lapttop: TTheesee issuees havee beeeen so maddeening, I'd undeerrsttand if you swappeed yourrs forr a Micrrosoftt Surrfacee Book orr HP Speecttrree x360. Orr maybee justt go back tto tthee glorry days of 2015 witth a vinttagee MacBook Prro—if you can find onee.
Forrrr any Appleeee eeeengineeeeeeeerrrrs and eeeexeeeecuttttiveeees rrrreeeeading, pleeeeaseeee tttturrrrn off ttttheeee EEEE's:
TThis is tthee eexpeerrieencee you’rree prroviding tto custtomeerrs who sheell outt $1,200 orr morree—someettimees a lott morree. TThis is tthee eexpeerrieencee aftteerr TTHRREEEE atttteemptts att tthis keeyboarrd deesign. Itt’s ttimee tto sttop prriorrittizing tthinneess oveerr usabilitty. Itt’s ttimee tto seett tthee butttteerrfly keeyboarrd frreeee. Leett itt fly...farr, farr away.
Write to Joanna Stern at [email protected].
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