Touchy subject: Users are complaining about malfunctioning keys on the 12-inch MacBook

By Jon Martindale January 24, 2017

Image used with permission by copyright holder

A number of users of 12-inch MacBooks have been reporting to Apple that they have had problems with keys sticking. Users claim that the keys do not actuate properly, and lack any sort of tactile feedback, and there also appears to be no auditory click designating their actuation.

MacBooks have, like many laptops, low-travel-distance keys. This helps save on weight and size in a computing form factor that is aimed at being lightweight and portable. However, in this instance that appears to be causing some problems, as dirt and debris getting under those keys is proving hard to remove and possibly causing some issues with keys no longer functioning.

Recommended Videos

The keys in question don’t appear to be any specific keys, with some users reporting problems with particular letters, while others have found the larger shift and space bar keys to be the culprits.

Some users have reported finding success in cleaning out their keyboards, using compressed air or some sort of scraping tool to clear things out. However that doesn’t fix the issue for everyone.

Some of those people returned their laptops to Apple for repair, and some users are already on their second repair job after receiving a replacement MacBook. 9to5Mac reports one user who is already on their third MacBook, having seen this problem several times.

“First the delete key. On my next machine the right shift key,” claims one user on the Apple Support thread. “On my third machine I checked all the keys very carefully before I left the store and they all worked. Always one edge or one corner that failed. Now the left shift key failed three days ago, and today the right arrow key stuck at the bottom left corner.”

It should be noted that this problem with 12-inch MacBooks has been ongoing since the end of 2015, so it seems to effect multiple generations of the notebooks. The latest complaint is from January 24, 2017, so whatever the issue with MacBook keyboards is, it’s ongoing.

Apple’s official support guide suggests users use compressed air to clean out the keys, though that obviously doesn’t work for everyone.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Computing Coordinator

Jon Martindale is the Evergreen Coordinator for Computing, overseeing a team of writers addressing all the latest how to…

Computing

Why you should buy a MacBook Pro instead of a MacBook Air

There are plenty of reasons to buy a MacBook Air instead of a MacBook Pro. If you want a MacBook on a budget, you don't necessarily need the goodies that come with upgrading to the MacBook Pro.

That being said, I'm going to argue for spending a little more. In my experience, the MacBook Pro offers several distinct advantages that help justify a higher price, especially with the introduction of the more affordable MacBook Pro 14 with the base M3. If you can stretch your budget a bit, here's why I think you should buy a MacBook Pro instead of a MacBook Air.
Setting the stage: pricing

News

Here’s more confirmation that 2024 will be a slow year for Macs

There's some extra reason to believe that Apple could already be working on the M4 chip, but it may not be coming for a while. New research from Canalys, a market analytics firm, shows that the next entry in the Apple Silicon family could come in the first part of 2025 to target offerings from Intel, Qualcomm, and AMD.

Lining up with previous reporting from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Canalys is estimating that Apple could launch the M4 chip in the first quarter of 2025. It's a vague time frame, but it makes a lot of sense. Gurman previously said that Apple already has the M4 MacBook Pro in "formal development." Although this timing lines up with previous Apple Silicon chip refresh cycles, it would leave 2024 looking fairly light in terms of new Mac releases. Apple usually has some kind of October or November release focused on new Macs, but without new chips to launch, that might not happen this year.

Computing

Which color MacBook should you buy? Here’s how to pick

Apple’s MacBook laptops come in a range of colors, and selecting which is right for you can be a tricky business. Sure, it’s perhaps not as important as deciding which chip to pick or how much memory you should buy, but it’s still a vital part of the equation. After all, you’re going to see that color every time you reach for your MacBook. You don’t want it to be something that fills you with regret.

But how should you pick a MacBook color? And what do the colors even look like in the first place? We’ve got the answers to those questions in this guide. We’d also advise you to go to an Apple Store to take a look at the MacBook colors in person, as some can be hard to appreciate just by browsing Apple’s website.