New black Mac keyboard keys dissolving from finger oils

Question

New black Mac keyboard keys dissolving from finger oils

I bought a $7k Studio/Monitor combo in late August. My keyboard is falling apart, well dissolving. I have had MAC keyboards for years and am looking at my other 8-year old iMac keyboard right now and there has never been a problem with the keys eating away from finger oils like this one. Does anyone know what if there are issues with the black keyboards? I want to take this back and replace it. It should be under warranty. Much appreciated.

Joe

Mac Studio, macOS 26.1

Posted on Jan 7, 2026 2:25 PM

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Answer 1

den.thed

Level 10

91,414 points

Jan 7, 2026 4:14 PM in response to joefromhuntington beach

They may or may not do a warranty exchange if it was improperly cleaned.

see > How to clean your Apple products - Apple Support

To check your warranty coverage and contact Apple Support.

go to > https://getsupport.apple.com/

If covered, take the keyboard to your local Apple Store.

see > Find Locations

FWIW I had the same problem with the lettering on the earlier white Apple keyboards and switched to using Logitech keyboards a long time ago.

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Answer 2

Carol B.

Level 6

17,933 points

Jan 7, 2026 3:14 PM in response to joefromhuntington beach

I've had similar problems with every keyboard I've used over the years, wearing the letters right off the keys of often used letters. All were black keyboards. I learned the hard way to simply buy a keyboard skin, available for less than $10 at Amazon and other 3rd party sellers.

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