I honestly hate MacBook Pro M1-M3 keyboard

[bearinthetown]

It looks like a lot of people love the new keyboards that these Apple Silicon MacBook Pros brought. But not me.

I previously had a butterfly keyboard, which was super faulty, of course. But after I replaced it twice, I encountered no problems whatsoever for 5 years. But with this new keyboard in MacBook Pro M2 Pro, I very often end up with the same problem as I had with the butterfly keyboard before replacing it - I get either no input or double input occasionally. When it comes to frequency, it's much more reliable than the faulty butterfly one was, but it's still super annoying.

Some folks will say that my unit is faulty. I don't think so. It's a matter of precise typing. When I hit the center of a key and I don't type too fast, it's perfect. The problems start when I do things quickly and I press on the edges or too lightly. My butterfly keyboard would register those correctly, but with MacBook Pro's keyboard I need to be more careful how I'm typing.

I even made an experiment and pressed the right arrow cursor on the right edge 100 times. It registered 28 times, while on the butterfly keyboard it registered 100 times.

I don't expect much agreement on this topic here, just wanted to share. I'm sure most folks here type more carefully than I do, as I'm a fast multitasker. I believe that the keyboards should be meant to work correctly under very imperfect input, which is not the case here. At all.

 

[jazz1]

I don't have a MacBook, though I am waiting to see what comes next. I will say this is that this old dude really likes mechanical keyboards, and recently purchased a carry case for my Logitech mechanical keyboard (the small one). I also have Logitech's MX mouse. Every thing is a compromise I suppose when you want mobility yet yearn for more tactile keyboard.

So what is my point? I plan to take the mechanical keyboard and use it with my iPad Pro on longer trips. Yes, laptops are very, very handy for mobility/travel. I may end up with the next MacBook Air. I hope the next generation MBA has an improved keyboard.

 

[halledise]

It looks like a lot of people love the new keyboards that these Apple Silicon MacBook Pros brought. But not me.

I previously had a butterfly keyboard, which was super faulty, of course. But after I replaced it twice, I encountered no problems whatsoever for 5 years. But with this new keyboard in MacBook Pro M2 Pro, I very often end up with the same problem as I had with the butterfly keyboard before replacing it - I get either no input or double input occasionally. When it comes to frequency, it's much more reliable than the faulty butterfly one was, but it's still super annoying.

Some folks will say that my unit is faulty. I don't think so. It's a matter of precise typing. When I hit the center of a key and I don't type too fast, it's perfect. The problems start when I do things quickly and I press on the edges or too lightly. My butterfly keyboard would register those correctly, but with MacBook Pro's keyboard I need to be more careful how I'm typing.

I even made an experiment and pressed the right arrow cursor on the right edge 100 times. It registered 28 times, while on the butterfly keyboard it registered 100 times.

I don't expect much agreement on this topic here, just wanted to share. I'm sure most folks here type more carefully than I do, as I'm a fast multitasker. I believe that the keyboards should be meant to work correctly under very imperfect input, which is not the case here. At all.

no such issues here whatsoever …

 

[KaliYoni]

Has anybody come across dishonest haters of the keyboard? Just wondering...

 

[AlumaMac]

Not impressed with my M1 Pro keyboard (or trackpad). Same issue as OP, fast multitasker and lots of missed inputs.

 

[G5isAlive]

I plan to take the mechanical keyboard and use it with my iPad Pro on longer trips.

Great point... keyboard preferences are a very personal thing and no one is going to agree on the perfect keyboard. So manufacturers make compromises and we have the choice to a) accept the compromise, b) not buy the product, c) correct the problem with another keyboard, or d) complain and hope Apple is listening and while change its approach. Could happen. But even with good intentions will take years. Note the whole butterfly thing.

 

[bearinthetown]

Great point... keyboard preferences are a very personal thing and no one is going to agree on the perfect keyboard. So manufacturers make compromises and we have the choice to a) accept the compromise, b) not buy the product, c) correct the problem with another keyboard, or d) complain and hope Apple is listening and while change its approach. Could happen. But even with good intentions will take years. Note the whole butterfly thing.

The only reason it took Apple years to fix the problem with butterfly keyboards was the greed and desire to sell all of the units of a clearly broken product. Remember when Apple released a statement lying that it's just a small percentage of users experiencing it? It was a complete bullcrap.

I guess perhaps I need to be more precise with my typing habits, however it means that the keyboard doesn't do a great job on what it was supposed to do smoothly. I need to adjust to a poorly designed mechanism in order to make it work correctly.

 

[halledise]

The only reason it took Apple years to fix the problem with butterfly keyboards was the greed and desire to sell all of the units of a clearly broken product. Remember when Apple released a statement lying that it's just a small percentage of users experiencing it? It was a complete bullcrap.

I guess perhaps I need to be more precise with my typing habits, however it means that the keyboard doesn't do a great job on what it was supposed to do smoothly. I need to adjust to a poorly designed mechanism in order to make it work correctly.

a suggestion: you should sell it and buy a dell or an hp.
they have truly wonderful keyboards if i recall correctly 🧐

 

[bearinthetown]

a suggestion: you should sell it and buy a dell or an hp.
they have truly wonderful keyboards if i recall correctly 🧐

Yeah, I'm sure everything is perfect about "a dell" and "a hp".

 

[vanc]

Personally, I don't like laptop keyboards in general. For work, I always use an external mechanical keyboard and put my MBP 16" in clamshell mode. I feel way more productive with a 27" 4K monitor + a mechinical keyboard + a good mouse. Just for coding though.

 

[dmr727]

Is the MBP keyboard different than the one on the MBA? I like my Air's keyboard and was thinking about upgrading to a MBP, but didn't even consider that the keyboard might feel different.

 

[Apathist]

I even made an experiment and pressed the right arrow cursor on the right edge 100 times. It registered 28 times, while on the butterfly keyboard it registered 100 times.

I don't expect much agreement on this topic here, just wanted to share.

Quite possibly you won't get it, but FWIW this has been my exact experience with the M1 keyboard -- keys not registering consistently unless hit squarely, as well as occasional doubling of characters.

I was able to have the problem addressed in the Apple Store, although not without some difficulty since you need to replicate the problem at the Genius Bar, which isn't always easy given the inconsistent nature of the problem. In the event, I was given warranty service chiefly by demonstrating that the left arrow key failed to register more often than not if pressed toward the side rather than dead-on. I could never get the character doubling phenomenon to occur while actually in the store.

Apple, to its great credit, replaced the top case (and thus the keyboard) on this basis. This seemed to have largely abated the problem, but I wouldn't say entirely, and to be honest the improvement may actually be due, at least in part, to my simply trying to type more deliberately now. Unfortunately, I still sometimes get double characters and non-registering keystrokes, which I'm not convinced are resulting from my imprecise typing rather than the inherent design of the keyboard.

In this respect I miss my previous machine, a 17-inch 2011 MacBook Pro, the worn keyboard of which still functions flawlessly to this day, after some 12 years of heavy use.

 

[257Loner]

The Apple Silicon MacBook Pro keyboards are definitely shallower compared to the generous key travel found in earlier models like the Unibody and Retina MacBook Pros. I'm very disappointed with the new ones, as I described in this MacRumors topic:
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...ed-out-the-new-macbook-pro-keyboards.2379350/

 

[aries81]

no issues here.

 

[Technerd108]

I hate the shiny keys after two weeks of use. Accuracy has been fine though.

 

[smirking]

I loved the butterfly keyboard. I like the current slate of keyboards too.

I can see why you could have issues though. On the butterfly mechanism, the stabilizers were super stiff. It made them more prone to jamming, but also meant it was hard to get an empty keypress (unless it jammed).

We're back to traditional scissor stabilizers, which have a bit of play in them to reduce the likelihood of jamming, but also it means it's easier to miss a keypress.

I remember having issues like what you described when I first got my M1 Pro MBP, but very minimally. The keyboard felt spongier than I preferred when I got it, but after 2 years, I like the feel better and I can't remember the last time a keypress was missed.

Either I adjusted to the mechanics of this keyboard or it needed some breaking in.

 

[bollman]

Tbh, my biggest problem with the 14" och 16" is the stupid idea to paint the area around the keys black. It makes it a lot more difficult to distinguish the separate keys.

 

[6916494]

Tbh, my biggest problem with the 14" och 16" is the stupid idea to paint the area around the keys black. It makes it a lot more difficult to distinguish the separate keys.

I see it the same way. Unless you're a professional typist from the last century, and you sit upright, put your index finger on F and J (the two keys with the little bumps), you're prone to typos. On the old keyboard with black keys in the silver panel, ones brain had it easier to subconsciously recognize the keys without having to look down.

 

[AlmightyKang]

I sort of agree but at the end of the day it's not the worst keyboard I've used on a laptop. The worst was probably the first Intel butterfly MBA that came out. That was horrible to type on. I'm currently using an external Magic keyboard as the laptop spends most of the time docked to the studio display and that feels slightly better but not ideal. I have got used to it though and it's probably the least bad mac keyboard on the market (MX keys is horrible).

All of the keyboards on computers have been downhill since the proper keyboards they used to have on ThinkPads. The T61 was the last good keyboard I had on a laptop

Cherry do a comparable keyboard now called the Stream SX. If they ever do a wireless, Mac layout version I will use that.

 

[Antoniosmalakia]

I don't want to sound like the usual rabid Apple fans that frequent the forum that blame users for every issue they experience, but you suggest that you might be pressing keys "too lightly" or off-centre.

That does, in fact, sound more like you've got to adjust to the new keyboard rather than it being faulty. I believe the key caps on the butterfly keyboard were slightly larger, and therefore, had a bigger surface area to hit.

I think also, that keyboards are a very precise means of input and don't work if you don't hit the keys properly, so the assertion that you think they should work if it is used imperfectly seems a bit strange.

If you don't press the brake in your car, the car won't stop. If you don't press the letter a button properly, the letter won't show up on screen.

Edit. I know that probably sounds really patronising, but I didn't write it with that intention. I just think that the newer keyboards have more travel and need to be pressed more because of that. The butterfly keys were a completely different beast, and if that's what you're coming from, it will take time to get used to the extra travel.

 

[smirking]

Cherry do a comparable keyboard now called the Stream SX. If they ever do a wireless, Mac layout version I will use that.

There's no need to wait for anything. There are plenty of really good low profile mechanical switched Bluetooth keyboards out there that can lay on top of your laptop keyboard.

I have a relatively thin and flat one that's made for use with tablets and laptops. I also have a full sized 68 keyboard that I mounted to a plexiglass plate so it'll lay cleanly on top of my MBP. That one's full sized and is hot swappable so I've outfitted it with Glorious Panda switches for a beautiful typing experience.

 

[Technerd108]

I don't want to sound like the usual rabid Apple fans that frequent the forum that blame users for every issue they experience, but you suggest that you might be pressing keys "too lightly" or off-centre.

That does, in fact, sound more like you've got to adjust to the new keyboard rather than it being faulty. I believe the key caps on the butterfly keyboard were slightly larger, and therefore, had a bigger surface area to hit.

I think also, that keyboards are a very precise means of input and don't work if you don't hit the keys properly, so the assertion that you think they should work if it is used imperfectly seems a bit strange.

If you don't press the brake in your car, the car won't stop. If you don't press the letter a button properly, the letter won't show up on screen.

I have used a lot of laptops over the years and I have never heard anything about a key not showing up if you don't hit it properly. That is just crazy talk. The keyboard is bad if that is the case. Period.

I have not had too many issues with accuracy although an odd key happens on any keyboard I use every so often. It is when it becomes frequent that it is a problem.

Still have my M2 MacBook air and I really like that keyboard the best I have used even on the new MBP as I had a 16" before that. But the damn shinny keys. So annoying. There is no excuse Apple!!

 

[AlmightyKang]

There's no need to wait for anything. There are plenty of really good low profile mechanical switched Bluetooth keyboards out there that can lay on top of your laptop keyboard.

I have a relatively thin and flat one that's made for use with tablets and laptops. I also have a full sized 68 keyboard that I mounted to a plexiglass plate so it'll lay cleanly on top of my MBP. That one's full sized and is hot swappable so I've outfitted it with Glorious Panda switches for a beautiful typing experience.

I've tried a few. I don't like them. I've had mechanical keyboards before, including the low profile ones.

The Cherry SX is much lower actuation force with positive feedback and less travel. I spend my entire day hammering a keyboard all day and they cause the least fatigue. Actually if I'm having to use Windows, I get fatigued way later. Text editing and keyboard entry is superior on that platform (don't shoot me please).

 

[Tuck_]

I agree - not a huge fan. The keys feel shallower than my 2014 retina MacBook which makes them less pleasant to type on.

 

[4743913]

It looks like a lot of people love the new keyboards that these Apple Silicon MacBook Pros brought. But not me.

I previously had a butterfly keyboard, which was super faulty, of course. But after I replaced it twice, I encountered no problems whatsoever for 5 years. But with this new keyboard in MacBook Pro M2 Pro, I very often end up with the same problem as I had with the butterfly keyboard before replacing it - I get either no input or double input occasionally. When it comes to frequency, it's much more reliable than the faulty butterfly one was, but it's still super annoying.

Some folks will say that my unit is faulty. I don't think so. It's a matter of precise typing. When I hit the center of a key and I don't type too fast, it's perfect. The problems start when I do things quickly and I press on the edges or too lightly. My butterfly keyboard would register those correctly, but with MacBook Pro's keyboard I need to be more careful how I'm typing.

I even made an experiment and pressed the right arrow cursor on the right edge 100 times. It registered 28 times, while on the butterfly keyboard it registered 100 times.

I don't expect much agreement on this topic here, just wanted to share. I'm sure most folks here type more carefully than I do, as I'm a fast multitasker. I believe that the keyboards should be meant to work correctly under very imperfect input, which is not the case here. At all.

are you eating your sandwiches over your keyboard? Ive been using macs since 2010 (including 2017 butterfly) and I have never had a faulty keyboard as I don't eat around my mac. I would wager that food/drink is the #1 culprit.