Pain in fingers from new MBP keyboard?

If doing any activity with any particular device causes you pain, you should stop using the device involved AND do not ignore it and go see your doctor as well. 'Going to the doctor' is not intended as a solution -- it is just common sense advice from folks here who are other Users like you, Not Apple employees, who have broad general experience, and want you to NOT ignore body pain and DO take care of yourself, including getting a professional evaluation for anything that causes you pain.

In the meantime, get a USB keyboard or a Bluetooth keyboard that has a better "feel" and suits you better, and place it at an ergonomic height so your wrists are in a Neutral position when typing. The frequent breaks to snap and move around (and stop tying for a few minutes). Get a Fitbit or an App that can remind you to move.

Try firing up dictation and see if it can work for some of what you need to do.

The feedback link has already been posted above.

If you initiate a class action suit, all it does is enrich the lawyers involved, and the Big Companies involved will respond by putting a warning sticker on the offending device.

If you use a computer for nine hours a day, using a lightweight, battery operated computer whose keyboard is fixed in place relative to its display screen is nonsense. That is an extremely poor decision on your part.

Here is an even more extreme case: Apple sells iPhones as well, and they have a keyboard displayed on the screen. Using that to type nine hours a day is difficult for anyone to justify -- it would obviously do you damage. But they still sell it, and a word processor, and you could use it for that purpose.

For typing nine hours a day, I recommend a desktop computer, placed is a workspace optimized for proper typing height that leaves your wrists in a neutral position and your arms and shoulders in a natural comfortable position. That is NOT a MacBook of any description, unless you compromise the display position, in which case we can move our discussion over to any of several "eyestrain from using MacBook" threads.

Get a desktop computer. Or get a full sized additional keyboard that can be placed in a position optimized for your good health. I do not speak for Apple, but in my opinion, the butterfly keyboard is not suitable for all day typing.

It's not about making the MacBook lightweight, for travel or the ability to run on batteries. None of that has any influence on the keyboard's ability to absorb the force used to press down the keys, which is what's causing the pain issues in fingers for a lot of people. And to be clear, it has nothing to do with ergonomics! Also, yes, of course, the keyboard should be capable of being used for extended periods of time - a minimum a normal work day 9 hours for five days weekly. We're talking about the MacBook Pro not the entry-level Air of regular MacBook. The Pro is made for work, not for short periods of private web browsing or chatting with your friend on Facebook!

The mina issue is Apples's insane desire to profit optimize everything they do to such as degree that it ruins the integrity and functionality of their products! This is new to Apple and something Tim C is an expert in, as well as I. I make a living of profit optimizing products through manufacturing, product design, and supply chain. What Apple has been doing recently with their latest products including the MacBook Pro is a disgrace to the Apple brand and an insult to its users. If they continue like this, the only thing that will be left is a "rotten apple" so sour that nobody wishes it anymore and those that still do, end up hurting themselves by "eating" it!

The new butterfly keyboard has been profit optimized to such as degree that there is ZERO force absorbing left in the keys resulting in 100% of the energy being reflected directly back into your fingers and that is what cause the pains in fingers and joints for many users! Apple should be ashamed that they now focus more on their own profit than their user experience and product design! So sad!

That said, I'm now trying a soft silicone keyboard protector in the hope that the layer of added silicone will absorb just a fraction of the force and therefore reduce the amount of energy being reflected back into fingers and joints. I should receive the silicon keyboard overlay tomorrow and will update here to what degree it provides force absorption.

I have the same problem though I think it is due to the Force trackpad, not the keyboard. I have been a MacBook Pro user for the last 10 years and this is the first time I'm experiencing this problem. I get debilitating joint pain in my upper phalanges. Started using a wireless mouse which gets rid of the problem. But it practically means that I can't use my MacBook Pro without an external mouse. :-(

The Force trackpad is certainly an interesting piece of technology but Apple should test it more for usability and ergonomics issues.

It could be a coincidence, but as a long term Apple laptop power typist who up until recently never had issues with repetitive strain, I am experiencing many of the symptoms outlined in this thread since purchasing my new TouchBar MacBook Pro laptop. To be fully up front about it, I was totally fine during the first five-six weeks typing on my new MacBook Pro, and really loved the keyboard in terms of performance and efficiency.

I suspect that the problems I am now having now with “tingling”, slightly numb fingers and sensations of tendon/muscle weakness in my forearms are directly attributable to using the new low profile, high force, no “give” keyboard on my new MacBook Pro. The symptoms came on gradually, but I wonder if the cumulative amount of additional tension and “force reverberation” traveling through my fingers up into my arms is direct result of using this new keyboard over the past month or two?

I have now switched back to an older style “low force, high “give” keyboard plugged into my MacBook Pro. While this new (old) keyboard seems paradoxically to involve more finger muscle force to push the keys, it will be interesting to see over the next few weeks if my condition improves by limiting the degree of keystroke by keystroke “pounding” through my upper extremities.

It would be great if some ergonomic/occupational health expert could design a comparative study (new apple laptop keyboard vs. old school “clunky key” keyboard) that measures the impact forces on the fingers/hands/arms.

The MacBook Pro is optimized to be a lightweight, portable notebook computer that runs on batteries. It was never intended for all day typing.

Do not continue to work through pain in you hands, wrists, or arms.

Every current Mac can accept a different USB keyboard (possibly requiring an adapter) that has more travel in the keys, can be placed differently for better wrist angle, and can accommodate different typing heights and different typing positions.

Every current Mac can be used with dictation, if you can provide an environment free of background noise.

I agree. I would mark your post as helpful but it is not responsive from my iPhone 7 Plus. The only solution for those of us who type for a living is to switch back to just about any other keyboard.

Electrical conduction through a trackpad made of glass is not a possible cause. EMI/RFI interference issue, even at very high levels, are not known to cause the symptoms you describe.

What is the serious medical condition you are suggesting I might have that I cannot put my fingers on a trackpad for more than a few minutes before feeling pain.

I come from medically-oriented family, but I am not doctor, and am not licensed for any practice of medicine.

If you are having pain in your fingers you need a Medical Expert (preferably a Hand Specialist) to tell you that everything in your hand and wrist is OK, and you are not doing damage to yourself through the repetitive motions involved in using a Trackpad.

Possible causes include Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (in your wrist) and similar issues with nerves in your fingers. For example, numbness in the Index AND second finger (and sometimes the adjacent side of the ring finger) may be correlated to nerve damage.

Totally agree with your response.

its the travel, its too short and too hard on landing.

I switched to aftermarket keyboards and the problem went away. I cameback to apple keyboard and the problem is back. I don't need to see a dr. I know the problem is not me health.

My only dispute is with the claims that 'electricity transmitted through a know excellent insulator' are the cause.

I do not dispute that Users are having physiological effects from using these trackpads. It could be that for some users, the mashing of their fingers against the solid glass surface could be to blame. When the cause or the mechanism is unknown, the advice to 'consult your physician' is still good advice.

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My wife though she might be getting arthritis in one of her fingers, since one of the joints continued to be painful. She went to see a hand specialist, who sent her for an X-ray. The doctor who interprets the X-rays came out to the waiting area.

"Who are you seeing for this issue?", he asked. It was clear he was NOT going to give use the films or his diagnosis if the answer was an Internal Medicine Doc.

"A Hand and Plastic surgeon", we answered.

"OK, fine, here are your pictures."

When we got back to the hand surgeon, he looked at the films and explained. "The problem showing here is so rare, only a Hand or Plastic surgeon could properly interpret this X-ray. A General Medicine Doc would miss the subtlety, and it would continue to get worse -- so bad your finger would have to be amputated. We can save this finger if we act soon."

Readers, please -- if you are having hand pain -- stop using the computer in ways that cause you pain and see your Doctor to rule out unusual issues you may not have considered. DO NOT wait for Apple to come forward with a solution -- you may have lost the use of your hands by then.

After I started using the new keyboard on the MacBook Pro 2017, my finger joints are in pain!! I'm 100% sure that the new butterfly keyboard is causing the pains I'm experiencing in my fingers. And to all, the folks here saying "go to the doctor" "read about ergonomic" please stop, its totally irrelevant answers to the cause of the finger pain issue. The new butterfly KEYBOARD is in my case the root cause of my finger pains issues, and I would strongly recommend anybody that experience the same pains in their finger joints, as I, to stop using the new butterfly keyboard as you might very well end up with permanently damaged to your joints and fingers. Worst case you won't be able to perform your work if that includes writing on a keyboard! 😟 That new butterfly keyboard is HORRIBLY BAD, period! Apple should get rid of it immediately before they end up with a Class Action Law Suit from that of people potentially getting chronic and permanent damages to their fingers and joints preventing them from performing their work due to the use of that new butterfly keyboard!

I got the new keyboard and it hurts my fingers as well. I have seen a doctor and am going to get a more ergonomic keyboard and mouse but wish Apple would do better testing on their keyboards before releasing. The keyboard is also very loud as you type - but that does not matter when compared to the pain it causes in my hands.

I have the same problem, and do not know how to reduce the pain other than using the computer less, or switching to an external mouse / keyboard. Personally, I used a 2008 model Macbook with no discomfort or pain whatsoever until I replaced it with the new Touch Bar model late last year. At first there was no pain, but it gradually increased despite there being no change to how I used the machine. I now have a dull pain in my fingertips on both hands when typing or using the trackpad, especially the index and middle fingers. Recently I have found that using a mouse helps, so I believe it's a combination of the new keyboard, new force trackpad, and possibly even new iPhone home button.

My theory is that the cause of the pain stems from these new pieces of hardware no longer offering a real physical response anymore. Although it feels to be a tacit interaction, the strain of interacting with surfaces that have no 'give' gradually builds up and causes strain over time. Unsure what to do, but hope Apple is looking at improving the comfort of the current butterfly keyboard.

We are users like you. We can not make modifications. If something is causing you discomfort then stop using it. Get a professional opinion as to the source of your discomfort. I know if something was causing me pain or discomfort I would stop using that thing.

What I would suggest you do is find something to put under the laptop like a binder or something to angle the laptop and give a more comfortable typing experience.