Bendy Magic Keyboard w/ Pad

[monokakata]

In late August I bought the Magic Keyboard with numeric keypad to replace the regular USB keyboard. I liked it.

I'm a writer and book designer and the keyboard gets hours of use, every day.

About a week I noticed that it was sliding around on my desk. So out came the metal straightedge -- yes, it was bending down in the center and, not surprisingly, a bit to the left of center. The corner pads weren't catching, thus the sliding.

So today I called Apple Support and wasted 20 minutes with two different reps at two different levels, both of whom insisted that I had damaged the keyboard. But they'd sent me a new one for $99!

I put the keyboard over my knee and bent it back. Now it's normal, but I know it's going to happen again, and I know that Apple will do nothing about it. And sooner or later the unbending trick will stop working. I figure it's a design issue but I suppose it could be a poorly-manufactured one.

Anybody else with the same problem?

I'm inclined to write Tim Cook (sure, his office. . . I know). This really isn't acceptable. I can't be the only one who uses the keyboard for, you know, typing.

 

[Thecoastalpath]

Exactly the same experience here. I don’t the keyboard is designed to type on. It’s just designed to be thin.

 

[monokakata]

I'm sure you're right about "designed to be thin" rather than for actual constant use. After I bent mine back into shape, I took some of that "athletic tape" and put a large rectangle of it just below the center of the QWERTY portion. The tape is close to the same thickness as the small pads Apple uses.

We'll see how it works, but work or not work . . . it's just ridiculous that we have to think of home remedies for a design flaw. I did write to the Tim Cook email address but have had no response. I was hopeful, but nope.

 

[Tmelon]

Same issue here. I was beginning to think that the keyboard tray on my desk was bent.

 

[ZapNZs]

Several keyboards have been returned due to this - our display unit also has some minor curvature (not enough to hinder usage tho). I initially thought it was intentional, but some of the returned units have had a whole lot more bendy on them than would make any functional sense given the bendy interfered with normal usage.

 

[T Coma]

When I saw "w/pad" I was thinking trackpad. While my 6 year old mac keyboard shows no signs of bending, my newer trackpad is bent now, and it's hard to say from what. I've had tap-to-click activated since new. Too much click and drag? But it is designer-chic thin and they look pretty in those Swedish-style furniture ads. But yeah, I hear you on the "form over function" issue. My visual experience with Apple hardware wouldn't be ruined with a couple extra mm of practical reinforcements here and there.

 

[Frankfurt]

Same here. Took about 6 weeks to develop. KB is bent and the edges on both sides curving up. So far still functioning, but this is a total joke.

 

[Tmelon]

It’s easily bent back into shape, but this is still a ridiculous issue. There was an article on here last week about an update to the magic keyboard line. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s this same keyboard with some reinforcement in the middle to prevent bending.

 

[Tmelon]

What? Bendy? That is ... well I have to take a step back and think if I should buy the Magic Keyboard now. It looks so goood but bendy... not acceptable.

After bending it back into shape once I haven't had the issue again. It's definitely a stupid issue, but I still highly recommend this keyboard. The feel is great and I hadn't realized how much I had missed having the number pad on the side as well as the forward delete key.

 

[ZapNZs]

What? Bendy? That is ... well I have to take a step back and think if I should buy the Magic Keyboard now. It looks so goood but bendy... not acceptable.

After bending it back into shape once I haven't had the issue again. It's definitely a stupid issue, but I still highly recommend this keyboard. The feel is great and I hadn't realized how much I had missed having the number pad on the side as well as the forward delete key.

I agree it is a nice keyboard. It might be worth holding off for a little while. This product now has a 2-3 week shipment delay in multiple countries, and that suggests Apple might be fixing the design flaw or manufacturing fault(s) that led to the issue. They got a lot of things right with this keyboard...but they do need to fix the bendy. It's priced as high as many nice mechanical keyboards (Das Keyboards using MX mechanical switches are not priced much differently...), so this is something that a product in this price range absolutely should not have, IMO.

 

[Al Seper]

I have one of these "Dollar Store" keyboards with the builtin numeric keypad. It was bent from new(bought on line from Apple). It pivots around the middle in use. I was tolerating it until I read about the bent iPad Pros. Went to the authorized Apple repair center in town but the Mac guy was on holidays until after Christmas. Will return in the new year. My iMac is still under warantee. Has anybody heard from Apple on this problem? Will keep you posted.

 

[monokakata]

I assume you read the entire thread. I suggest doing what I did, which is to put the kb over your thigh (while sitting) and gently bend it back.

You might get satisfaction at an authorized repair center (they might do the same thing) but based on my experience, Apple's not going to do a thing for you. They told me it was my fault, which was ridiculous.

 

[fhall1]

I bought the space gray KB with numeric pad.....to head off any bending I bought these and put one at top and bottom of the keyboard on the underside....been fine for over a year. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014SAPVJC/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[monokakata]

I bought the space gray KB with numeric pad.....to head off any bending I bought these and put one at top and bottom of the keyboard on the underside....been fine for over a year. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014SAPVJC/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I've used athletic tape, but these look better-suited to the job. I'll order some . . . thanks!

 

[fhall1]

You're welcome - it was tough to find black "feet" as thin as the ones Apple uses on the four corners. I think these at 0.8mm are still slightly thicker than Apple's but not enough to notice in practice. I think if you could find some that are 0.7 mm, they'd match perfectly. But I got sick of searching - and a tenth of a millimeter isn't that big a difference.