MacBook owners have two months to claim up to $395 over butterfly keyboard woes
theverge.com
theverge.com
I realize that doesn't help you now, but the three times I've sent devices in to Apple for repair I've gotten them back the next business day. Maybe I'm an outlier on this, but that's my experience at the very least.
Not so much impressed how the FedEx driver would just toss the box in my front yard late in the evening. I'd find my laptop in the grass as I was going to work in the morning.
This is something I've experienced as well, at least 3 separate times with FedEx. Every single time the estimate changes to an earlier date, the package ends up arriving later than the original date.
The Friday before the Monday which they were scheduled to deliver, I got a delivery exception saying that it was unable to be delivered according to my instructions and that nobody was home. I WAS home, though I was not notified they were coming, and I can't think of a scenario which "inside or outside the gate" does not cover.
On Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday they updated to say it was 'out for delivery', each time updating in the evening to say the following day after they failed to return to my house. It was finally delivered 1 hour after I left for the airport.
Not sure why Apple uses them. Is UPS worse?
Each time I had to take it to the physical Apple store (they didn't even offer me the option of a mail-in repair, and when I asked said it wasn't an option) and each time I'd spend a good hour or two talking to the "genius" before they would have it repaired, usually about a week later.
I'm also in the category of having never replaced the keyboard and dealt with it by using external keyboard/mice. The amount of hassle and expense of getting the repair done was not conducive to my schedule. That's great that you could spare your laptop for 3+ days. Not everyone can do that.
digusting company, my wife now refuses to use apple-anything because of how badly they treated her when trying to get her keyboard fixed because it wasn't apple's fault and bufferfly keyboards were great
even with how crap their laptops were if they made them easily replaceable and fixable it wouldn't have been a big deal but instead they blame their customers
And because a $400 replacement isnt worth it.
I wonder which group I'll fall into.
https://www.keyboardsettlement.com/faq
Group 1: Multiple Topcase Replacements: $300 initially, up to $395
Group 2: Single Topcase Replacement: up to $125
Group 3: Keycap Replacements: up to $50
I’m just happy everyone’s on the same page now that those keyboards were an abysmal downgrade from prior generations.
I think I should have gotten it replaced. I just felt like I would get the same terrible keyboard, but I now realize it would have been better for a while, and that would have been good for productivity. Ah well. (I used an external keyboard but got it out less than half the time.)
This adds insult to injury.
I just put up with my R key not working right, it was my main work machine and the disruption would've been way more expensive. But Apple was lucky cuz I mostly use an external keyboard. All this until I got a new laptop (the m1 max which is phenomenal) so I've mostly forgotten it but I feel Apple got off too easily on this.
They should be punished harder for this shitty design that they didn't immediately backtrack on.
Also, as I learned from the OG Pixel microphone class action, the squeaky wheel gets the payout. I felt like I'd bugged them enough after getting two RMAs for other problems that I just bought some Bluetooth headphones and didn't complain about the mic. Missed out on a few hundred dollars even though I could prove I was affected.
Apple under Tim Cook has gone into a state where it doesnt care about the customer.
The whole no adapter thing moved the entire industry into suck a Scam-Customer state that even Trimmer companies are not offering adapters.
Apple is spoiling entire electronics industry.
I will keep typing 'i' in my keyboard, and it will instead type 'ii'
Apple - You need to send a full refund for manufacturing such as pathetic laptop.
I disagree on your other point: I think Apple absolutely did the right thing removing the charger. Everyone's got a charger at this point, and making it a nominal option during the purchase of the device would be good enough.
And in fact, I think the law should be that anything that can be charged by a Lightning/USB-* charger should be. I recently acquired a rechargeable flossing device, and an electric razor and I see no reason why these should have their own proprietary chargers.
European Government and few of the Asian government's are enforcing companies to follow a single standard. Hope this will help us move toward a universal standard
Or.. you could just swap it for an M1. :)
If there was a museum of terrible technology, Apple's butterfly keyboard would be right up there with Windows ME, the Virtualboy, Juicero, etc.
(Also removing Magsafe was clearly a dumbass decision. And at some point people will realize that current Apple laptops are once again thick enough to have K-lock slots again.)
I'm a light typer though, I think heavier handed typists suffered with it.
The old MBP had 1.5mm Key travel. They could have cut it to 1.2 or 1.3. Instead they went with 0.7 with the butterfly and later 1mm to the new scissor. Light typer generally dont "dislike" slightly more key travel. But those who cant adopt to small key travel "hate" the new keyboard.
I still think it is the wrong trade off.
It's obvious: they thought they could get away with it. The settlement is for $50m. If they saved $50m on keyboards then it was worth it for them.
My experience was a 2017 model developing keyboard issues after ~2.5 years, The repair took a less than 48 hours from drop off to return and it appeared the device went from MN to Texas and back in that time. Additionally since the repair required an entirely new laptop I got a fresh case and battery with zero cycles.
No apple care, no repair fee. It's hard to imagine a scenario where these repairs didn't obliterate the profit from an entire generation of macbooks.
Apple makes a shitty keyboard and it's the best thing to ever happen to Fedex?
Ax ante, the expected value of shipping the butterfly keyboards was probably positive, even if there was some chance they would be called out and lose money in the long run.
I'm also willing to assume that "cheaping out" was not part of the original design vision, and that it became a judgement call later in the development process.
What's important is that, in the long run, these incidents don't really hurt the company as long as they don't happen too often, even if this particular incident lost them more than they gained.
Jony believed the butterfly keyboard was his crowning achievement & legacy, and was willing to fight to the death to preserve it. Loss of the butterfly keyboard was actually the definitive factor in Jony Ive's departure.
Haha haven't seen many references to this recently. Not gonna lie, was cool, way ahead of it's time but yeah, not the best overall experience.
Her MacBook pro wouldn't turn on. It was less than a year old and she paid for AppleCare+ so she was told it would be covered under warranty.
She got a call to pick it up and when she arrived she was told there was internal water damage and she had to pay $450. Also that the screen was scratched and they would replace it when the part came in. Her screen was not scratched when she dropped it off.
But she noticed her stickers were gone and the shell was all scratched on the top and bottom.
She asked someone if this was even her laptop and they checked and ensured her it was and the shell had to be replaced and that's why her stickers were gone but the shell wasn't new as it was all scratched.
Then she asked why the background would have changed and they told her they had to reset everything and she lost all of her files.
She was devastated as they said they would call and discuss options if it came to that.
They said they could undo the repair and she could take it somewhere else but if Apple can't recover the files then no one else would be able to recover them.
This doesn’t even remotely match any experience I’ve had with Apple or Apple devices in almost 25 years of use.
I’d check back with your “friend” and make sure she was telling you the whole truth.
PS: the serial number of her laptop is printed on the bottom of the case - which should address this very, very strange story implying the Apple staff slipped her a dodgy beat-up old laptop. The number should match her invoice and the box (but I guess your friend doesn’t have an invoice or a box, or probably any other way of identifying her laptop other than ‘stickers’)
Ok in that case your story must be 100% true and no at all made-up for cheap HN upvotes. Thanks for the clarification.
PS: get back to us when you’ve checked the “switched” laptop serial numbers against the “friend” invoice, box and other ways to verify the identity of the device.
I'm being downvoted and called a liar.
This is such a pathetic line.
The story is so full of inconsistencies and the poster is backtracking fast on the clear initial implication that the laptop was somehow switched for an inferior replacement - but you're downvoting people for being "Apple fanboys" when they call it out.
Why is it so hard to believe? The machines aren't modular or repairable, everything is soldered on the main board. The T2 security prevents cloning of the SSD.
[0]: https://www.apple.com/support/products/mac/
[1]: https://support.apple.com/mac/repair (selected other damage - macbook pro - 14in 2021)
Instead the ribbon connecting the screen failed. I took it to a reputable repair shop, who told me based on their experience the failure rate on these for other display-related reasons was high enough that in their opinion I'd be throwing good money after bad. So I told them to just use mine for parts or recycle it. (It was old enough by then that the latest OS X no longer supported it, thus defeating its purpose for software development. In return I decided to simply no longer support Mac versions of software I write.)
This was about 4 years ago. Keyboard started going bad again this last year, cmd key falling off, ‘O’ key always has multiple inputs for a single keystroke.
I've never had a single issue like this on any of my Thinkpads running Linux.
They're built solid and take a lot of abuse.
For what it's worth, the very first butterfly keyboard MacBook is the only one that's fallen off of being supported by the latest macOS, and that only happened in October. So at least you got a good 6 years out of it, I guess?
Apple is forcing me to replace my otherwise functional device. I'll have to look into putting linux on it, because I won't be able to sign into my apple id on it.
https://support.apple.com/13-inch-macbook-pro-display-backli...
Of course mine wasn't covered despite showing the same symptoms.
My 2018 15-inch MacBook Pro is constantly overheating. The heat significantly degrades the battery, resulting a battery warning at the one-year mark; and the screen was also burned yellowish/pinkish after a few months’ use.
I was lucky to have that Apple Care, I went to Apple Store, they replace the whole body — everything except the board because they don’t take off the screen / battery at the store.
So no, I don’t have a receipt for keyboard replacement, even if the keyboard get stuck once a while, that is not the worst issue for me. It is just the tip of the iceberg. But for that, I won’t get compensated for whatsoever.
Last spring, I replaced it with a M1-Pro MacBook Pro and never looked back.
Other large companies - not so much, until the authorities get involved.
For instance, I had a bad experience with a telco in my U.S. state some years ago. As soon as I called the state regulator about being strung along over a bait and switch, the telco bent over backwards to clear up the issue.
There was also the time I took an airline to small claims court after repeated customer service calls and a demand notice failed to get their attention; the airline's chief counsel called me up at work after they received the notice from the court. They still failed to resolve the problem and also didn't show up for the hearing, so it was a summary judgement in my favor with damages multiplied x3.
Tip if you do escalate to a court or regulator: Keep copies of everything including postage receipts with tracking info and records of phone calls (screenshots of call logs, notes about each call, etc.)
https://charlieegan3.com/posts/2019-11-02-refunding-another-...
But I assume this process only applies if I bought the laptop directly from Apple? Since I bought it from John Lewis, I'd have to make a claim through John Lewis, right?
I have the exact same problem with my Late 2017 15" MacBook Pro. It's been repaired 3 times already.
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/contents/enacte...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4rI4-q4uYQ
But you will have to do it every month if you don't use a cover.
I'm on my third keyboard already, so this is a godsend.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4rI4-q4uYQ
But you will have to do it every month if you don't use a cover.
I have to assume there isn't a special case for that time I happened to be in the US, booked a Genius bar appointment, and the Genius promptly ruined the spacebar on my keyboard, and just straight up lied to my face about it. By far the most bizarre interaction I have ever had with another human face to face.
Even when frontline employees say “my manager will say the same thing” I’ve found that they often won’t and will easily resolve the issue.
Companies that do this simply don’t want to resolve your problem.
During 2020 I had a repair take a few weeks... It was free, but this settlement will provide some small amount of compensation for that hassle.
And of course, I recycled the laptop for a gift card at exactly the 4 year mark to buy an M1 Air - I could've sold it privately but it was defective so I had to accept Apple's valuation. Another spot where I lost money, probably more than the $300 will cover.
I know Apple is moving to their own silicon, but out of curiosity last week I punched in my Mac Pro (cheesegrater) for a trade-in on the Studio. It was ... insulting.
12 core Xeon, 192GB memory, 8TB SSD, W5700X 16GB... I thought maybe a few thousand. Nope. $1,050.
What's insulting about this? Apple is today selling this same config for $12,799.
I don't even have a proble with the low key travel on touchbar acs, just how easily they break.
EDIT: My mistake, this is about claiming copensation, not about the replaceent progra.
"I should definitely have switched to any other vendor", I write from my MacBook Air.
Only after 3 years did a key finally break and stay broken.
I feel like I got off easy compared to most people.
Kind of funny, I'm still on my most recent replacement/repaired unit, and it's still working great since my AppleCare Protection Plan expired (knock on wood). But I guess it's only a matter of time until I'll have to buy a new one.
If not for Casey Johnston and Joanna Stern, who clearly have some journalistic integrity and went against the giant, we would still not have acknowledged the problem.
Unheard of in my country.
Is it Apple or the law-firm that built the site?
Is this kind of thing common with class-action lawsuits in USA?
This would have been a good opportunity to use a .us TLD, to better indicate the scope, considering in this particular case they mentioned "The Settlement Class includes all persons and entities in the United States".
The newer macbooks aren't perfect (I really wish they had USB ports), but they're a lot better than that one.
As a EU citizen, I stopped buying Apple's hardware after this keyboard fiasco. Almost immediately after buying affected MBP, I sent it for repairs and got keyboard and case replaced with the same garbage. They had no idea how to handle it in other fashion than stating that everything works as intended (bit still replaced it).