Although it is rare, many consumers buying the latest MacBook and the MacBook Pro with butterfly keyboard complained that their keys stopped working without any specific reason. After a lot of vocal criticism from known sources and from the users, Apple has taken a big step towards the solution. The Cupertino tech giant will be offering free repair of the MacBook and MacBook Pro keyboard for four years starting from the date of purchase. Not only this, but Apple will also be refunding any amount which the customers might have spent on getting their keyboard repaired in this time period.
The Outline started criticising Apple for its new keyboard in October last year. It slowly became known that the new butterfly style keys which showed up on the latest models of the MacBook and the MacBook Pro were faulty since once they let in dust and debris inside, there was no way for it to get out. This led to the keys going out of service. What made the issue worse was the non-availability of a fix which the users could do themselves at home.
Fortunately, Apple has decided that it would cover all the costs of the repair, and the users will only have to walk into an Apple store or to an authorised service centre to get their keyboard fixed. It is also noteworthy that Apple is facing no less than three lawsuits for the faulty design.
In an official statement Apple said “Today we launched a keyboard service program for our customers that covers a small percentage of keyboards in certain MacBook and MacBook Pro models which may exhibit one or more of the following behaviors: letters or characters that repeat unexpectedly or don’t appear when pressed or keys that feel “sticky” or aren’t responding in a consistent manner.”
They further added, “Apple or an Apple Authorised Service Provider will examine the customer’s device to verify eligibility and then perform the service free of charge. Service may involve the replacement of one or more keys or the whole keyboard."
A total of nine models starting from the 2015 Retina MacBook to the MacBook Pro 2016 will be eligible for the free keyboard repair. Also, this is not the first time that Apple is admitting to the faulty design. The experts are speculating that the faults are surfacing because the tech giant is prioritising design over performance.
A similar case was seen when Apple admitted to slowing down older iPhones in order to save battery life. In that case, Apple provided users with a discounted battery replacement plan. Another incident happened when iPhone 4 users complained about no signals on their phones, to which Apple provided a solution by handing free “bumper” cases to the users. However, it can also be said that it is better to have some reassurance from the company instead of having no support at all.
