Apple Ends Butterfly Keyboard Repair Program for MacBooks

Apple's free butterfly keyboard service program for select MacBooks models ended late last week, nearly six and a half years after it launched.

MacBook Keyboard Close
With the program now over, it is no longer guaranteed that customers with affected MacBook keyboards will be able to receive a free repair from Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider. However, exceptions could be made.

Below, we take a look back at Apple's butterfly keyboard problems that led to the program.

The Butterfly Keyboard

For much of the 2000s, MacBook keyboards had a traditional scissor switch mechanism. That changed in March 2015, when Apple released an ultra-thin 12-inch MacBook with a low-profile keyboard that used a new butterfly switch mechanism. While the keyboard fit in the 12-inch MacBook's thin enclosure, it is prone to issues, such as letters repeating unexpectedly or failing to appear when keys are pressed.

It was not until Apple updated the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pro models with its second-generation butterfly keyboard in October 2016 that customers began to complain about sticky and unresponsive keys in earnest. Apple expanded the butterfly keyboard to the MacBook Air a few years later, leading to even more complaints.

The situation came to a head in May 2018, when Apple was hit with a class action lawsuit in the U.S. alleging that the company knew the butterfly keyboard was defective. An online petition about the issues that year gained nearly 43,000 signatures.

The Program

In June 2018, Apple launched a "Keyboard Service Program" worldwide after it determined that a "small percentage" of keyboards in certain MacBook, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro models may exhibit one or more of the following behaviors:

  • Letters or characters repeat unexpectedly
  • Letters or characters do not appear
  • Key(s) feel "sticky" or do not respond in a consistent manner

Apple and Apple Authorized Service Providers had been repairing eligible MacBook keyboards, free of charge, for up to four years after the first retail sale of the affected laptop. That window is now closed, as all eligible models were discontinued more than four years ago.

ifixit butterfly keyboard macThe butterfly switch mechanism for a 2018 MacBook Pro keyboard (iFixit)

The list of all models that were eligible:

  • 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)

The Apology

In March 2019, Apple finally apologized about the keyboards.

"We are aware that a small number of users are having issues with their third-generation butterfly keyboard and for that we are sorry," an Apple spokesperson said, in a statement shared with The Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern. "The vast majority of Mac notebook customers are having a positive experience with the new keyboard."

The Fix

Starting with the 16-inch MacBook Pro in November 2019, Apple ditched the butterfly keyboard and returned to using a scissor switch mechanism. The change was extended to the MacBook Air in March 2020, and to the 13-inch MacBook Pro in May 2020, marking the end of the problematic butterfly keyboard era for the Mac. All models of MacBooks with Apple silicon chips have continued to use scissor switch keyboards.

The Settlement

In July 2022, Apple agreed to pay $50 million to settle the U.S. class action lawsuit related to the butterfly keyboard issues. Affected customers who submitted a valid claim by the March 2023 deadline received a payment of between $50 and $395.

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Top Rated Comments

sw1tcher Avatar
9 months ago

butterfly keyboards were fine. only a small percentage of users experienced problems. it was simply a loud minority that cried about it.

and no, I'm not an apple apologist. butterfly keyboards felt terrible to type on. but they worked fine, functionally, for most people.

Exactly this. If they were as bad as the internet pretended they were we’d of surely seen issues at work but there was no reports of keyboard issues in over 100 MacBooks. These would have been first gen butterfly keyboards too.

I personally never had issues and I had the first and third gen. They were my absolute favorite keyboard.

Edit: And to be clear, I’m not saying people didn’t have issues, I’m saying they’re not as bad/widespread as the internet claims.
They were widespread enough for Apple to launch a repair program for them and for Apple to abandon the butterfly switch design and move back to a scissor switch mechanism.
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
t0rqx Avatar
9 months ago
The sole reason I never bought a Macbook for almost ten years.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mactech20 Avatar
9 months ago
Worst product apple has ever released I would argue. I worked at a University in the IT dept at the time that the recall came out. Was taking in 2 laptops a month to Apple.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sw1tcher Avatar
9 months ago

The sole reason I never bought a Macbook for almost ten years.
This and Apple being stingy with how much memory they put in their machines while charging outrageous upgrade prices.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JPack Avatar
9 months ago
Make sense. Now that the program has ended, the problem must be resolved right?

Not sure why these support programs end if the product hasn't even entered obsolete status. This is a design defect.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
icanhazmac Avatar
9 months ago
My 2017 was an absolute dumpster fire, the $395 didn't make up for the pain that keyboard caused me!
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)