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Weird keyboard issue on new Santa Rosa Macbook

M

morphineseason

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 1, 2007
345
331
I just received one of the new Macbooks, and something I noticed was that the up arrow on the keyboard responds far to easily. I hardly even touch it as it responds (don't even need to press down on it). Needless to say, this causes for lots of unintentional spelling errors when I'm typing (when I use the right shift key, barely bumping the up arrow key causes my keyboard to go goofy).

Does this happen for anyone else? Is it normal? If not, is there an easy fix?

Thanks
 
It doesn't happen on mine, but my battery sucks and my macbook is running at like 130-150 F constantly. Is this normal!?!? ugh, so many things wrong!
 
Just an update on the keyboard issue...

I popped the key off to see if I could notice anything, and it kind of looks like the silicon/rubberish material under the key was made slightly higher than on the other arrow keys (probably just a random manufacturing defect). The applecare phone number didn't help at all though - not only did I have to wait like a half an hour to get through, but the guy just said "we'll send you a box or you can go into an apple store", he took note of my problem, then tried to sell me the applecare warranty (his sale pitch made it sound like my computer wasn't even covered right now...I had to say to him "uhhh...this does have a 1 year warranty on it if I bought it new like 3 days ago, right?")

Have any of you had a macbook keyboard replaced at an apple store? If so how long did it take them to do it? Because my guess is that that would be all I would need, and since I have to travel an hour and a half to nearest apple store I wouldn't have a lot of time for them to replace the computer and transfer my stuff over or take the whole computer apart to get to the keyboard (basically, I can't keep it there overnight).

Also, another thing I don't know if I should be concerned about, when I press down, not really hard, but with a little pressure, on any key of the keyboard, I start hearing a buzzing sound. Is the keyboard bumping into a fan or something underneath?

As for your problem portuglish, I would probably contact apple. My new macbook has been staying relatively cool (like 30-60 degrees max). If yours is over 100 constantly, then that's probably not good. Furthermore, if your having problems with your battery, that could also mean you have a faulty battery, and that could be a safety hazard not only to you, but also your computer. Definitely get it checked out, especially if the battery is getting excessively warm or anything of that nature.
 
I had my PowerBook keyboard replaced due to a similar issue. It worked fine for over a year, but all of a sudden one of the keys became very sensitive, just as you described.

It took them 10 days to complete the repair...I wasn't thrilled about that.
 
WildCowboy said:
I had my PowerBook keyboard replaced due to a similar issue. It worked fine for over a year, but all of a sudden one of the keys became very sensitive, just as you described.

It took them 10 days to complete the repair...I wasn't thrilled about that.
Click to expand...

Was that at an Apple Store, or did you send it in? I really can't afford to wait so long in either case, mainly because I'm using this laptop for school right now. I suppose I could wait until Christmas break if necessary though.
 
That was at an Apple Store...San Francisco flagship. They in turn send it out to their repair facility.
 
WildCowboy said:
That was at an Apple Store...San Francisco flagship. They in turn send it out to their repair facility.
Click to expand...

So they don't even do these replacements in store anyways? Ahhhhhhhhhhhh. Well I guess I'll need to call the store tomorrow anyways and find out how they do things. I appreciate your reply.
 
Another follow up on this...

I drove 2 hours to my closest Apple store after scheduling an appointment...to my surprise, the genius looked at it for a minute...saw my problem, and told me he'd grab me a new macbook (awesome customer service).

Being in a hurry, I tried the keyboard out a little (didn't really have anything to type), noticed that the up arrow key was working properly and everything else seemed to be working as well....or so I thought.

I get home and actually start typing stuff, and not only do I notice that this keyboard feels/sounds 20 times cheaper than the keyboard on the other macbook (extremely clicky sounding) but I now find that some of the keys take some extra effort to even register (the "A" specifically).

What's up with Apple's quality control on their Macbook keyboards? Half this keyboard sinks in slightly when I press down on it. I really don't have the time to exchange this again either, and I don't know what kind of service to expect if I send it in. I'm really disappointed here.
 
morphineseason said:
Another follow up on this...
...but I now find that some of the keys take some extra effort to even register (the "A" specifically).
Click to expand...

I'm having the same problem with the "B" key on my SR Macbook I received last Friday. I'm going to take it to a local Apple store this week. If they give me a new one, I will carefully check each key using TextEdit before I leave.
 
Cybergypsy said:
Luck of the draw, i had yellowing on my 1st MBP.......
Click to expand...

I just think it's sad that two macbooks in a row have keyboard issues of some kind. Seems like more than a "luck of the draw" to me. As expensive as these computers are, I at least expect the keyboards to respond properly - I don't think that's to much to ask.

The more I use this keyboard, the more PO'd I get. I guess I'll be calling AppleCare AGAIN. Rinse and repeat.
 
Hey yeah i had a problem with the down arrow key being unrespsonsive so i went to the apple store and got it replaced. Now my period key doesn't work that well and initially i thought i would just let it go but the more i use the key the more i get po'ed as well haha. So after my exams this week i'm going to take it in again and exchange it hopefully. I really will test all the keys out in store so i don't get another defective macbook. This is my first mac and i'm not getting a good impression on them grr.
 
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