MBP 14" Keyboard has some rattle, keys feel less firm and more loose. Anybody else?

[The Clark]

I love my new MBP, but the keys feel like they rattle once fully depressed. Instead of getting a thump when I press a key like I did on my last two Macbook's I get a slight rattle. The space bar, enter and backspace keys are the worst for this, however most other keys feels great.

Anybody else notice any differences in keyboard performance?

 

[project_2501]

this is so sad .. why did apple have to dump the 2015 MBP classic keyboard ...

 

[synergize]

this is so sad .. why did apple have to dump the 2015 MBP classic keyboard ...

No kidding, that keyboard was made for dancing fingers, and could shred text like no other, loved it. The keyboard on the 14" is light years better than the worst keyboard ever (2018 MacBook Pro), that was worse than awful.

 

[cababah]

The butterfly design looks way better and I do like the way they feel to type on (very mechanical and satisfying) if only it had better reliability...I am not the biggest fan of how much vertical travel is on the keys in the 14/16 MBPs but it gets the job done.

I got one of these and it is my favorite keyboard to use in terms of feel and reliability:

Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad for Mac models

The Magic Numeric Keyboard features a sleek new design and a rechargeable battery that powers it for a month between charges, and pairs automatically with your Mac.

www.apple.com

 

[wilberforce]

this is so sad .. why did apple have to dump the 2015 MBP classic keyboard ...

I agree, the 14” keyboard is pretty good, but not quite as good as on the 2015 MBP that I just replaced. One of the things that I was a bit sad to see go. Still don’t know why Apple had to change it. Too thick I guess, but here we are with a thick(ish) macbook again, anyway.

 

[ASX]

Yep, experienced the same. Compared with a mechanical keyboard the mbp is a joke. Cheap rubber dome crap.
Especially the enter key has less resistance.

I used it yesterday to check the display issues discribed here in the forum. I was very glad when i used my mechanical keyboard with cherry mx red switches again.

I have Logitech MX Keys mini (rubber dome) here, for my Ipad Pro 2021 12.9". It feals way better than this cheap mbp keyboard. The writing is much more comfortable. The keys are bigger and there is a space between them.

 

[joeberger]

I love my new MBP, but the keys feel like they rattle once fully depressed. Instead of getting a thump when I press a key like I did on my last two Macbook's I get a slight rattle. The space bar, enter and backspace keys are the worst for this, however most other keys feels great.

Anybody else notice any differences in keyboard performance?

Totally agree with that. Some keys are totally fine other feels very "rattle". The worst is definitely the Backspace, Space, Return, and the shift on the right side. Most keys on the right side of the keyboard have some rattle :-(. Super annoying.

 

[Six0Four]

Yup. Mine is the same. The keys on my M1 16" are better than the 14". (Bought both because I couldn't choose a size). The 14" has about 10 keys that felt loose.

 

[ceribria]

Totally agree with that. Some keys are totally fine other feels very "rattle". The worst is definitely the Backspace, Space, Return, and the shift on the right side. Most keys on the right side of the keyboard have some rattle :-(. Super annoying.

Those larger keys are all stabilized keys. They have a metal bar integrated to distribute force evenly between the left and right sides of the keycap. The rattle you're hearing is that stabilizer. You can't really do anything short of removing the keycap and lubing the bar. I would only recommend doing that on a real mechanical keyboard and not a laptop though.

That being said I kind of know what you're talking about for the rest of the keys. The alphas seem a lot less firm than my M1 Macbook Air's. I'm on a 16" M1 so I'm thinking it's due to a small increase in flex in the center of the keyboard. The Air is very compact so it sounds less hollow too.

This is still mile's ahead of my old 16" Intel though. That one just rattled, felt mushy, and required more force per keypress.

 

[The Clark]

i went to Best Buy and one of the display models felt identical to mine, and the other felt amazing. There was no rattle, keys just felt firm and had a nice “thonk” sound. It’s too bad, I wont return mine or complain but I wish the keys were more firm and had less rattle

 

[Kafka]

I tried and returned 3 different 14" and only one had an acceptable keyboard. The first one was fine but I returned it because of the tap-to-click issue, not knowing it was widespread. The 2nd one had mushy keys and I hated it. Like pressing a sponge.
The 3rd one was a disaster: the keys on the left half of the keyboard were very soft but "ok", but when you got to around the letter H they were became lifeless, and it was worse the further you went to the right. Starting from the letter L, the keys were dead and gave no feedback whatsoever.

All three 14" had the tap-to-click issue btw.
I gave up and took a 16" which happens to be flawless.

 

[synergize]

What is tap to click?

 

[Kafka]

What is tap to click?

Tap-to-click issues on B9 and 10 (and now Monterey release)

Hi all, First experience with Monterey has been with B9 but B10 has same issue - has anyone had issues with tap-to-click? I have a M1 MBA, and very frequently TTC doesn't register my first click. Normal clicks seem to work fine. Tried turning on and off. Anyone experiencing this?

forums.macrumors.com

 

[The Clark]

I tried and returned 3 different 14" and only one had an acceptable keyboard. The first one was fine but I returned it because of the tap-to-click issue, not knowing it was widespread. The 2nd one had mushy keys and I hated it. Like pressing a sponge.
The 3rd one was a disaster: the keys on the left half of the keyboard were very soft but "ok", but when you got to around the letter H they were became lifeless, and it was worse the further you went to the right. Starting from the letter L, the keys were dead and gave no feedback whatsoever.

All three 14" had the tap-to-click issue btw.
I gave up and took a 16" which happens to be flawless.

Sounds like a nightmare. I noticed the 16" in store always have better keyboards.

Very annoying.

 

[rumonmh]

Totally agree with that. Some keys are totally fine other feels very "rattle". The worst is definitely the Backspace, Space, Return, and the shift on the right side. Most keys on the right side of the keyboard have some rattle :-(. Super annoying.

same here, my enter makes a creaking noise just by touching not pressing. It annoys me so i usually press it in the center region to even the sound out.

 

[The Clark]

same here, my enter makes a creaking noise just by touching not pressing. It annoys me so i usually press it in the center region to even the sound out.

Ugh I noticed this on mine too. Makes me wonder if we're just very sensitive or if its actually a design flaw. Nobody else seems to notice these things.

 

[DeepSix]

This is still an issue even on the new M4 models.The outer keys like shift, return, delete, tab are the worst.

Press on the inside of those keys a few times, then press a few times in the middle of the keys and then a few times on the outside part of the keys.

Notice how it feels different each time you change position? And you can hear that it sounds different from each position when it bottoms out. Ive used lots of keyboards in my life and I've never had this issue on any other keyboard. This is from Apple caring more about aesthetics than function. Poor cheap quality keyboards.

 

[The Clark]

This is still an issue even on the new M4 models.The outer keys like shift, return, delete, tab are the worst.

Press on the inside of those keys a few times, then press a few times in the middle of the keys and then a few times on the outside part of the keys.

Notice how it feels different each time you change position? And you can hear that it sounds different from each position when it bottoms out. Ive used lots of keyboards in my life and I've never had this issue on any other keyboard. This is from Apple caring more about aesthetics than function. Poor cheap quality keyboards.

That is so annoying. I moved over to a Macbook Air and the keyboard is much more consistent.

 

[DeepSix]

That is so annoying. I moved over to a Macbook Air and the keyboard is much more consistent.

I think it depends on whether or not you get a good unit. I have an M3 air and the keyboard on it rattles way more than on the M4 Pro. Not only that but the keys on it are way more slippery. The pro feels much tighter in comparison.

The issue on the outer keys is found on every single Mac laptop. Just feels so cheap

 

[The Clark]

I think it depends on whether or not you get a good unit. I have an M3 air and the keyboard on it rattles way more than on the M4 Pro. Not only that but the keys on it are way more slippery. The pro feels much tighter in comparison.

The issue on the outer keys is found on every single Mac laptop. Just feels so cheap

I have an M3 as well and the keys are much tighter for me. It's very disappointing that there's so much variance.

 

[DeepSix]

I have an M3 as well and the keys are much tighter for me. It's very disappointing that there's so much variance.

You still have the outer keys inconsistent key feel problem I'm sure. I've yet to see a MacBook that doesn't have this issue.

No laptop from any other manufacturer has a problem with this.

 

[The Clark]

You still have the outer keys inconsistent key feel problem I'm sure. I've yet to see a MacBook that doesn't have this issue.

No laptop from any other manufacturer has a problem with this.

Yes and no, they do feel inconsistent yet it's not nearly as bad as it was on both of my MBPs.

 

[DeepSix]

Yes and no, they do feel inconsistent yet it's not nearly as bad as it was on both of my MBPs.

Oh you have the Air. I would have thought Pro's are less sceptical of this. They feel inconsistent because depending where you press on the key you'll get a different feel when it bottoms out. Most noticeable on tab, both shifts, return, delete.