Macbook Pro 2016 arrow keys not always clicking

Yeah, it will work great for the first couple of months after they replace the top case. Then it won't. I'm on my 3rd keyboard now, and I'm sure keys will start to die in the coming months like they did with the first two.

Very similar issue here. I've had my 13" MBP for almost a year. Not long after I got it, the space bar stopped registering unless I pressed it in the correct spot. A slight blast of keyboard cleaner seemed to fix it.

Now my left shift key is the same way. It is very intermittent when I press it. Most of the time it will refuse to register, especially if pressed on the edge. No blast of air has helped it.

It is very annoying. Please own up to this apple.

Same here, 3 month old MBP 2017.

The down arrow only works when you press hard. The 'D' works only if you press in the middle.

These two keys feel and sound different.

The 'fix' I read online is to lift the key a bit with your nail and it seems to work for a while, so maybe something gets out of place.

I'm on a small island and getting the custom computer took 6 weeks.. I'll talk to the shop to see what the options are, but it seems like 2011 again with Apple not acknowledging there is a problem, then eventually being forced to acknowledge that a 'limited number of users' are experiencing the problem and then eventually fix it after dragging their feet 2 years.

Hi,

Interesting enough, I just returned my new MBP back to the store tonight for the same problem ... and a few other issues.

Specifically the "right" side of my down arrow randomly would not work. You could hear and feel the click, but no movement. The easiest way to demonstrate this I found was cycling up and down emails.

The other 2 problems I encountered were:

1) time machine crashed my system after ~5m. All of the sudden, screen would go black and the system would restart.

2) TB3 direct connection between two 2016 MBP's would not exceed 60 to 70MB/s for migrations. In fact, they would fail before ever completing.

I think the other 2 issues are probably software related but the keyboard not working 100% of the time, is a design issue that is going to take a recall more than likely to fix.

Cheers!

I just got a new macbook pro 13" a couple of days ago, and it has exactly the same issue. I also used a few in the apple store and they seem the same as mine. Finally, there is another thread on a well known mac forum 3rd party site with lots of people commenting on this also. I think it's just people who tend to use the keyboard with a very light amount of pressure who are noticing this. I've also noticed that the down arrow seems the worst affected, and is usually fine when hit in the very middle of the key.

I was considering returning it, but based on all this evidence it seems like a design flaw. As my MB is otherwise perfect, I don't really want to roll the dice on getting a replacement at the moment in case the new one has some other issue that is more serious than this arrow key thing.

Link to the other thread / site:

http://forums.macrumors.com/threads/13-inch-macbook-pro-with-touchbar-keyboard-u p-arrow-key-broken.2018878/#post-24005739

I had the same issue (mbp 15 tb) and was provided with a replacement which took awhile. I experienced the issue when I started coding a week after I received it, which ended up slowing me down considerably.

The new replacement is working much better (at the moment).

However, I still believe (and I'm probably wrong hahaha) this is a design flaw when the keys are this small with the new butterfly mechanism, because no other key on this keyboard fails to register when hearing/feeling a click. I can still replicate the issue with the arrow keys on the new one if I'm SUPER gentle (feeling/hearing a click with no change to the cursor). These new keyboards feel amazing, aside from the arrow keys remaining a possible issue for many users.

What I'm hoping is that the severity varies across units is an issue at the start, regardless of how many times we've pressed the arrow keys.

I'm also wondering if somehow it gets worse the more often we close our lids and depending on the amount of pressure applied when it's closed during travel and whatnot. I realize that sounds absurd, but I can't think of anything else within the normal operation of the mbp that would apply any pressure on keys aside from how hard/softly/often we press the keys.

If it starts acting up again then I'll know that the responsiveness of the new butterfly mechanism diminishes with time due to normal use of the mbp, which would be highly unfortunate.

Since I'm outside the 14-day window, and repairs (according to someone at Apple that issued me a CRU) on this newest generation apparently don't begin until the end of December (around this time) anyway, so it appears I'll need a contingency plan (time machine often and an older backup mbp) if it becomes an issue so it doesn't slow me down in my work.

If it does happen again, and if they send me a replacement (CRU) instead of repairing it, I will probably sell the replacement and save myself the grief and time. My configuration isn't standard (CTO) so entire replacements will likely have to be delivered from Shanghai instead of a stockpile somewhere in the states, which will take a lot longer. sigh.

I'll make an update in about a month or sooner depending on whether or not I experience diminished responsiveness with the arrow keys.

After my first real day of work on this macbook I've experienced the exact same issue. The left side of the down key is almost completely numb.

Do you have new insights to share?

Tomorrow I'm going to visit an Apple store and see if they have any of these machines on display and I'm going to test the cursor keys on every one of them. This way I can be certain if it's a problem (big or small) with all of them or just some of them.

Luckily I'm still in my 14 day trial period. I have been burned by Apple once before with my previous Macbook (Enormous screen ghosting and a haze of dead pixels, and the thing just costs too much to have these flaws in them.

I've experienced the exact same issue. The left side of the down key is almost completely numb (the center it's ok).

I'm having the same issue with my 3 days old MacBook Pro 13 Non TouchBar. I noticed it on the second day as I started coding and doing excel tasks, its very frustrating and slowing my work. The right side of arrow down and left side of arrow up intermittently not working. I'm planning to return it but as I found this thread and in other mac forums, it seems this is really a Bad Apple design flaw.

I'll add my experiences to the list here: my down key began in the same state that all of your did (only responds to a center press), but it's gotten progressively worse. Now I can fully depress the down key, to the point that it clicks, and no input registers. I have to then push it harder to get it to register. Trying to scroll down a list is now almost impossible with the keyboard.

I'm taking it in to my local apple store for replacement/repair in a few days, but I'm not optimistic that the replacement will be any better. This is a design flaw that either wasn't discovered in testing, or apple felt that this keyboard was acceptable. I'm not sure which is worse.

I've been a Mac user exclusively for more than 10 years, but this will be my last one unless the keyboards improve. Typing on this machine is unacceptably bad.

Someone tried this? MacBook 12"spacebar problem

I have the same issue, specially with up arrow key. Have you tried other MacBooks at Apple Store? Thank you.