Can the keyboard cover prolong MBP TB keyboard durability?

[aevan]

After a year of working great, my MacBook Pro 15" from 2016 started having issues with the space key (double typing). So I had it serviced and got a brand new keyboard, the same as the ones on 2017 models (it came with a new battery too, yey! )

Anyway, this new keyboard is good, very uniform and feels solid, also working perfectly, but - of course - I'm worried that it may develop issues again. I've never used any keyboard dust covers, but I found a cheap one on Amazon (that also ships to my country).

So, does anyone have any experience with these? Do you think it may actually help prolong the functionality of the keyboard by preventing dust from entering the keys? Do covers like this make the keyboard feel bad while typing (note that I actually love the feel of the new keyboard, it's just the reliability I have issues with)

Btw, this is the cover on Amazon.

Thanks for any advice!

 

[Samuelsan2001]

I my experience all covers trap dirt underneath themselves it could just make things worse.

 

[aevan]

I my experience all covers trap dirt underneath themselves it could just make things worse.

I see. That's the reason I asked. Thanks for the tip!

 

[Queen6]

In all honesty I don't think it's related to dust. My own 2015 rMB has been round the world and then some and used in some pretty hostile environments. The "E" key did stick, equally a little bashing and compressed air and it's fine. arguably the 2015 rMB keyboards should fair worse as they have even less travel, equally the rMB generates very little in the way of radiated heat to the keyboard.

If the issue is related to design and thermals, a cover may indeed make matters worse, only time will tell. If the replacement keyboard has the 2017 markings it's likely to be more reliable, equally it too may fail in time as some members have documented.

I'd be inclined to try and keep the temperatures down where possible. I know this sounds obscure equally; On my older 15" I used to place a USB fan to blow across the base & keyboard, mostly to attempt to stop the fans spooling up and become intrusive as always having external displays connected. It also occurs that this would also stabilise the new MBP keyboard temp.

Q-6

 

[aevan]

In all honesty I don't think it's related to dust. My own 2015 rMB has been round the world and then some and used in some pretty hostile environments. The "E" key did stick, equally a little bashing and compressed air and it's fine. arguably the 2015 rMB keyboards should fair worse as they have even less travel, equally the rMB generates very little in the way of radiated heat to the keyboard.

If the issue is related to design and thermals, a cover may indeed make matters worse, only time will tell. If the replacement keyboard has the 2017 markings it's likely to be more reliable, equally it too may fail in time as some members have documented.

I'd be inclined to try and keep the temperatures down where possible. I know this sounds obscure equally; On my older 15" I used to place a USB fan to blow across the base & keyboard, mostly to attempt to stop the fans spooling up and become intrusive as always having external displays connected. It also occurs that this would also stabilise the new MBP keyboard temp.

Q-6

Thanks for the advice!

I thought it was dust only because that's what most people mention as the culprit. But you could be right - that it's something else. The service, actually, tried to fix the issue by replacing the keys. So they removed the space bar, presumably blew any dust from beneath and placed the new key back. However, the 'double' typing remained. Only then did they replace the whole top. Also, I should mention I don't really think it's the heat, because, the issue was the same whether the keyboard was warm, hot or totally cold. I read here that some members had different types of clicking sound related to heat, but I never had any similar issue.

 

[Radon87000]

Those keyboard covers get yellow over time and make the laptop look bad. But they definitely do a good job at protection as my keyboard is pristine but that cover got yellow which ruins the look

 

[aevan]

Ok, so, after reading your helpful posts, I don't think I'll be getting one. Hope I can just keep my keyboard clean and that it stands the test of time better than the previous one

 

[haruhiko]

It has nothing to do with dust. It is a manufacturing defect that Apple does not admit. Just take it to Apple.

I think only if there are enough repairs, complaints and lawsuits, they will consider a free replacement program.

 

[aevan]

It has nothing to do with dust. It is a manufacturing defect that Apple does not admit. Just take it to Apple.

I think only if there are enough repairs, complaints and lawsuits, they will consider a free replacement program.

Thanks, but I don't think you read my post: I did take it in for service, they fixed it. It was free, it's under AppleCare. I was just trying to see if I can prevent it from happening again.

I do hope Apple does something about this issue.

 

[maflynn]

So your keyboard failed as well, bummers. Hopefully the repair fixes the issue once and fall, sounds like you have applecare so that's a good thing you have more time to cover any sort of defects.

Good luck with your laptop, I know you like the feel of the keyboard, and I think a cover will detract from that. I've never been a fan of such things and I don't think they really serve a purpose - at least for general usage. For very specific situations, sure, but not for general usage imo.

 

[Queen6]

Thanks for the advice!

I thought it was dust only because that's what most people mention as the culprit. But you could be right - that it's something else. The service, actually, tried to fix the issue by replacing the keys. So they removed the space bar, presumably blew any dust from beneath and placed the new key back. However, the 'double' typing remained. Only then did they replace the whole top. Also, I should mention I don't really think it's the heat, because, the issue was the same whether the keyboard was warm, hot or totally cold. I read here that some members had different types of clicking sound related to heat, but I never had any similar issue.

Call it a working theory, once the keyboard has been exposed to elevated temperature for a fair duration the damage is done. Seems to be more prevalent with the 15" and those that work the hardware.

It's not dust as logically what can invade the mechanism can be removed, equally a far less damaging statement than admitting to an outright design flaw. Apple has always been extremely good at triage and remains to be.

Q-6

 

[aevan]

So your keyboard failed as well, bummers. Hopefully the repair fixes the issue once and fall, sounds like you have applecare so that's a good thing you have more time to cover any sort of defects.

Good luck with your laptop, I know you like the feel of the keyboard, and I think a cover will detract from that. I've never been a fan of such things and I don't think they really serve a purpose - at least for general usage. For very specific situations, sure, but not for general usage imo.

Thanks for the kind words. True, I do love the keyboard, but reliability is, of course, more important. I do hope this one lasts longer, and if not, I still have around 2 years of AppleCare

As for your advice, yes, I already decided not to use covers like that. And as Queen6 said, the faults probably aren’t even related to dust.

 

[Sterkenburg]

I've been giving some thought to this issue as well, having just gone through the 2016-->2017 keyboard replacement, and my considerations are the following:

- With all the keyboard covers I tried, even the thinnest ones, the typing experience is objectively worse
- The silicon material covers are made of is a worse dust & dirt magnet than the keyboard itself
- There is very little clearance between the keys and the screen, and Apple recommends not to put anything in-between
- I also suspect (although this is only an empirical consideration) that dirt might not be the main cause of key failures: if that were the case, cleaning the keyboard would fix things, but it doesn't, so...

Btw, based on my 2016 MBP experience, my personal theory about permanent keyboard damage is similar to Queen6's, i.e. that it might be related to heat permanently warping (for lack of a better term) the butterfly mechanism.

All in all, although I'm afraid there is a chance my keyboard will have issues again, I don't think a cover would solve the problem, so I decided against using one as well.

 

[maflynn]

I do love the keyboard, but reliability is, of course, more important.

The good news is that that I've heard positive things about the repair, so hopefully its just that - postive and you don't have any future issues.

 

[aevan]

The good news is that that I've heard positive things about the repair, so hopefully its just that - postive and you don't have any future issues.

Hey, thanks for the supportive post

Btw, positive things about replacements? Meaning, like, people who got their keyboards fixed had good experiences later? This keyboard does feel good, more consistent than the previous one.
[doublepost=1517085071][/doublepost]

- With all the keyboard covers I tried, even the thinnest ones, the typing experience is objectively worse

Yup, it seems not worth it, in my opinion. Thanks.

 

[maflynn]

Btw, positive things about replacements? Meaning, like, people who got their keyboards fixed had good experiences later? This keyboard does feel good, more consistent than the previous one.

That and it seems the repeat occurances seem to be decreasing. I understand its mostly observational, but hey it can't hurt to be positive

 

[Ahmahzahn]

Hey, I just came to look for a thread like this. My b key was sticking (2017 15" rMBP touchbar) and I figured it had some sort of debris trapped under it (finger nail seemed to be a common cause in my MacBook Air). I took it in and they said that they would need to replace the top portion as mentioned. Anecdotally, I have bbeen (see, there it goes) converting video files day and night for about a week now, which seem that it may have lead to warping as mentioned previously. I'll report back about whether the fix is long lasting or not. I'm unsure whether or not I'll continue the file conversion...

 

[SteveJUAE]

That and it seems the repeat occurances seem to be decreasing. I understand its mostly observational, but hey it can't hurt to be positive

I thought there was nothing different with the 2017 KB design so one can only presume a change in quality control or assembly or something else in the thermal department possibly

 

[537635]

After three keyboard replacements I can say this:

The original keyboard I used without cover and I do quite some video editing so the computer gets warm often. Problem started after a few months.
1st replacement: I used the keyboard cover, the keyboard also failed after a few months.
2nd replacement: Broken on arrival. Went back immediately. Probably didn't even survive the testing procedure at the service. They apparently didn't bother to check the keyboard.
3rd replacement: This time the 2017 keyboard model. They said that the warranty for replaced parts is 1 year. So my idea is to not use any keyboard covers and see if it fails again. For now it's OK.

 

[maflynn]

I thought there was nothing different with the 2017 KB design so one can only presume a change in quality control or assembly or something else in the thermal department possibly

I've heard people claim that apple has made minor changes, and other people swear up and down the aisle that there has been no changes. I don't have a dog in that fight, so I'm not really anxious to revive that argument. Its my opinion that we see less complaining about the 17 keyboard failing then the 16, so I think apple did do something. As for the OP's situation, it seems there is a fix to the keyboard, so its not just a top case replacement but also an adjusted keyboard which will hopefully provide years of usage from the keyboard.

 

[aevan]

I've heard people claim that apple has made minor changes, and other people swear up and down the aisle that there has been no changes. I don't have a dog in that fight, so I'm not really anxious to revive that argument. Its my opinion that we see less complaining about the 17 keyboard failing then the 16, so I think apple did do something. As for the OP's situation, it seems there is a fix to the keyboard, so its not just a top case replacement but also an adjusted keyboard which will hopefully provide years of usage from the keyboard.

Some people here claim that the keyboard feels very different, some say even drastically so, but I don't feel a big difference, if any. It *does* feel a bit different, but I don't think I would notice it if I wasn't paying attention. Certainly not the night and day difference some people claim - at least in my opinion.

The guys at the authorised service, when they first just replaced a few keys, said that Apple sent them keys with a changed switch, something like that (actually, they said there was a fault at he manufacturing process that Apple rectified - but that could be just their interpretation or hearsay, they do not report directly to Tim Cook or anything )

What I'm hoping is that they did some tweaks in the manufacturing process, different materials or change in the tools, etc. In fact, if the rumors that 2018. models are going to be the same are true, I find it unlikely they keep this issue around for three years. I mean, they just gave me a $600 or more replacement for one key - that's not good business for them either Now, if they did solve the issue, I'm also guessing the solution is already present on replacement parts and new machines (since they will be using the same process for new ones). This part is exactly 2 months old today (I know based on battery age) so I'm hoping it's improved. I will report if there are any new issues with it.

Anyway, thanks for all the advice everyone.

 

[537635]

I've heard people claim that apple has made minor changes, and other people swear up and down the aisle that there has been no changes. I don't have a dog in that fight, so I'm not really anxious to revive that argument. Its my opinion that we see less complaining about the 17 keyboard failing then the 16, so I think apple did do something. As for the OP's situation, it seems there is a fix to the keyboard, so its not just a top case replacement but also an adjusted keyboard which will hopefully provide years of usage from the keyboard.

A while ago I went to a store and compared side by side 13'' 2016 and 2017. There was a distinct difference when typing. 2017 felt more... muted. Softer maybe. Not really day and night, but noticable.

 

[aevan]

A while ago I went to a store and compared side by side 13'' 2016 and 2017. There was a distinct difference when typing. 2017 felt more... muted. Softer maybe. Not really day and night, but noticable.

Yes, that's my experience too. It feels a bit 'less clicky'. But the difference is very subtle.

 

[SteveJUAE]

I've heard people claim that apple has made minor changes, and other people swear up and down the aisle that there has been no changes. I don't have a dog in that fight, so I'm not really anxious to revive that argument. Its my opinion that we see less complaining about the 17 keyboard failing then the 16, so I think apple did do something. As for the OP's situation, it seems there is a fix to the keyboard, so its not just a top case replacement but also an adjusted keyboard which will hopefully provide years of usage from the keyboard.

Agreed and keeping with you positive note let's hope it holds true

 

[Sterkenburg]

Yes, that's my experience too. It feels a bit 'less clicky'. But the difference is very subtle.

They do feel a little quieter and the tactile response seems to be a bit more consistent across the board. But yes, it's only noticeable if you have tried both versions.