Apple is facing a class action lawsuit for faulty keyboards on the MacBooks. According to a report by Appleinsider, the filing notes that “thousands” of MacBook and MacBook Pro owners have experienced some type of failure with the company’s butterfly keyboards. The suit claims that the design of the keyboard is such as small amounts of dust or debris can enter the keyboard and impede normal switch behaviour. The report also notes that in extreme cases, the key fails, forcing users to take their laptop for servicing.
The complaint targets MacBooks manufactured from 2015, and MacBook Pros made from 2016. Both the laptops feature the company’s butterfly keyboard mechanism. The suit also cites numerous complaints users posted online, including Apple's own Community Support forums. The suit also cites numerous complaints that users posted online, including those on Apple's own Community Support forums.
The report also notes that Apple has indirectly acknowledged the problem as well. The support documents detail a method of cleaning the keyboard with a can of compressed air. However, it adds that the users who have experienced serious issues with the keyboard say that the technique rarely works. The suit seeks damages, legal fees and also demands that Apple publicly disclose the keyboard design flaw and pay to remedy or replace the defective units. The latter demand includes reimbursement for the purchase of replacement laptops.
This isn’t the first time that Apple is facing a class action lawsuits. Shortly after the company admitted to deliberately slowing down its iPhones, it was hit with eight lawsuits that represented millions of iPhones owners worldwide. The lawsuits demanded unspecified damages along with reimbursement from Apple. Some of the complains seek court orders to ban Apple from throttling iPhone performance or to send notifications before doing any such thing in the future.