iPadPro 2018 ‘Smart’ keyboard, 3rd generation, keys wearing off.

My iPadPro 2018’s 3rd generation ‘smart’ keyboard, after 4 months of use, I have my letter ‘A’ almost completely worn off, with some signs of other letters on the left side showing minor wear. The right side shows no wear at all. My keyboard has a 1 year warranty, and Apple Warranty that is displayed to customers says it will cover manufacture defects, to include materials, which is obviously what is wrong with my keyboard. Apple either designed or manufactured a keyboard to have keys wear off quickly, or manufactured my specific-personal keyboard poorly.

Apple has their own warranty information, that they do not share with the public. And that warranty says the warranty for the keyboard will not cover wearing off of keys, and the company told me that wearing off of keys is expected and is purely cosmetic, and they will not honor the published manufacture’s warranty. An Apple store manager at Dadeland Mall, Miami, Florida, who said he will not honor the warranty, told me that he has a degree in biochemistry, and that hands are acidic, causing the wear, and wearing is expected. Well, what about my right hand, and no signs of wearing on the right side of the keyboard? So I am just using my keyboard wrong, by using my fingers, and not wearing gloves?

This reminds me when Apple had a problem with their iPhone 6, which lost signal if people held it a particular way, and Apple’s response was, ‘people are holding the phone incorrectly’. Eventually, after large scale public complaints, it was announced that Apple would never do anything to hurt the experience of their products, and as such will provide free rubber bumpers to stop that problem from occurring.

iPad Pro, iOS 12

Posted on May 11, 2019 7:24 AM

Similar questions

17 replies

May 12, 2019 4:16 PM in response to Kiris1

I also never said the keyboard itself is NOT durable. There'a a huge difference between something not working and something cosmetic. I'm sure the Apple Smart Folio will type for years to come. Will the painted letters on fabric covered keys still look as new as the day it was unboxed? Likely not. But that has nothing to do with the durability OR usability of the keyboard. If the keys broke, making it impossible to type on them, that would be a manufacturing defect. I still maintain that painted letters on fabric covered keys, which begin to wear with use, does not qualify as a manufacturing defect, nor does it render the keyboard useless for its intended purposed.

You are focusing on nothing more than a cosmetic issue. OK, I get that the letter A on your keyboard has largely worn away. Can you not type the letter A if you type on that key? Of course you can. Your keyboard works just as well as the day you bought it. Do you just not get the difference?

Either way, it simply doesn't matter and isn't worth debating. Apple has been very gracious to you in offering to replace the keyboard with a new one. They most likely would not have done so had the keyboard been older than a year since date of purchase. Whether they will again, if your replacement does the same is questionable.

Best wishes to you and I hope you enjoy your new keyboard.

Kiris1 Author

Level 1

8 points

May 13, 2019 3:22 AM in response to lobsterghost1

The person did state that the writing on the fabric keyboards wears off, like you and I both agreed will happen, as it is manufactured to do so by design. But it was also said that the keyboard is NOT durable. The person said that I probably won’t even get 5 years out of it, as their iPadPro 1st generation keyboard wore not only the print off, but wore thru the keys down to wiring.

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

iPadPro 2018 ‘Smart’ keyboard, 3rd generation, keys wearing off.