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You press a key on your MacBook and nothing happens. You press another key and he enters that letter twice. A third touch gives the impression that it sticks. You are not alone, as this is a common problem with a particular type of Apple keyboard. If you have friends who bought a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro in the past two years, they might not be able to understand your issues. And while it doesn’t grab the headlines as much these days – Apple has largely fixed the issue and moved on – many of us haven’t gotten over it yet.
What’s wrong with Apple’s butterfly keyboard?
No keyboard is perfect, but Apple’s butterfly keyboards are particularly I amperfect. Apple began producing these keyboards in 2015 with the revamped “MacBook,” which the company touted for its slimness and portability. Part of that thinness came from the new keyboards, which were designed with a “butterfly” mechanism that significantly reduced keyboard travel. That meant a smaller form factor, but a typing experience that wasn’t for everyone (personally, I’ve always liked typing mine, but it’s a polarizing topic).
Still, you can get used to anything. If the only problem with these keyboards was their lack of travel, the story would likely end here. But the new butterfly design was fundamentally flawed and allowed dust and dirt to seep under the switches, causing a frustrating “sticky” feeling, in addition to causing typing errors. Some keys you type and nothing happens; others, you type double letters. You can imagine how boring it can be.
With subsequent butterfly keyboards, Apple do try to put a bandage on the problem by adding a membrane over the switches, in order to keep debris out. While the new design helped, it couldn’t stop the inevitable, as iFixit discovered during their tests. These keyboards are unintentionally designed to fail.
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How do I know if I have a butterfly keyboard?
Connoisseurs can instantly recognize a butterfly keyboard, but it’s also easy to ignore it. There are different types of butterfly keyboards, and it’s not like Apple’s updated MacBook keyboard, dubbed the “magic keyboard,” has a ton of keys. You wouldn’t be blamed for not being able to tell which version you have.
The best way is to check your laptop model. To do this, click on Apple in the upper right corner of your screen, then choose “About this Mac.” If your MacBook model name matches any of the following, you have a butterfly keyboard:
- MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2015)
- MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2016)
- MacBook (Retina, 12 inch, 2017)
- MacBook Air (Retina, 13 inch, 2018)
- MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2019)
- MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016, two Thunderbolt 3 ports)
- MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017, two Thunderbolt 3 ports)
- MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, two Thunderbolt 3 ports)
- MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016, four Thunderbolt 3 ports)
- MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017, four Thunderbolt 3 ports)
- MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2016)
- MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2017)
- MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2018, four Thunderbolt 3 ports)
- MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2018)
- MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, four Thunderbolt 3 ports)
- MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2019)
How do I repair my keyboard?
Before going any further, the first thing you should do is remember when your laptop was purchased from Apple. Was it less than four years ago? So congratulations: your keyboard can be repaired free.
About the butterfly keyboard repair program
Due to the many complaints from victims of the butterfly keyboard (and an imminent trial claiming that Apple knowingly sold faulty keyboards), Apple implemented a repair program; As long as your MacBook, MacBook Air, or MacBook Pro with a butterfly keyboard was purchased less than four years ago, Apple will cover the cost of the repair.
While this is certainly good news – and a course of action you should definitely follow if you have the chance – all is not rosy. After all, you still get the same faulty keyboard, so there’s no guarantee it won’t crash on you down the road.
It’s really the same keyboard, by the way. If your computer didn’t ship with the slightly better membrane keyboard, you won’t get one in your repair. And while the program lasts longer than Apple’s three-year AppleCare + coverage, once you’re outside that four-year window, you have to pay all costs associated with repairing your keyboard.
What if I am not eligible for butterfly keyboard repair program?
For the rest of us whose butterfly keyboards are over four years old, we have a plethora of “do it yourself” options. You could go get your keyboard replaced, but it can be an expensive affair. Rossman Repair Group, for example, quote this repair at 350 $, and warns you not to ask them to “fix that lemon”. Instead, you might want to consider some workarounds that the Apple community has tried to fix these keys.
A popular option is the condensed air trick: Gremove a can of condensed air, then hold your MacBook at a 75˚ angle (this is Apple’s very specific advice, Moreover). So spray the condensed air from left to right all over the keyboard, or just on the keys that give you trouble. Rotate the computer to its right and repeat, then rotate it once more to its left and repeat.
YesWhere can open the keys yourself, but it is an extremely risky maneuver, because keys need to be removed both carefully and specifically based on their unique latch designs, and you may risk breaking the keys or the components underneath. If you try to remove the space bar the same way you remove the “G” key, for example, you might end up breaking it.
How to keep a keyboard of letters by pressing twice
If you’re not comfortable with the hardware route, you might want to try a software hack instead. Our own Pranay Parab was able to stop his space bar from the dreaded double tap by setting a text replacement to change a double space to a single space.
There are also downloads to help you. To consider unshakeable, for example: Tthe program analyzes your typing and blocks a repeated keystroke if it happens too quickly, which shouldn’t affect the times you hear a key press twice.
Of course, do your best to keep the debris away from your laptop. Clean as much dust as possible from your work environment, don’t eat near your keyboard, and most importantly, try to drive those thoughts away and just give up and buy a computer with a keyboard that’s not doomed.
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