Apple finally fixes some MacBook keyboard issues

We're sure Apple had a fix in the works long before we got around to posting a poll about it, but if the response to Saturday's informal questionnaire was any indication, this update is long overdue. Apple just posted a new software update for MacBooks and MacBook Pros running Leopard, which solves the problem with the keyboard freezing up sporadically for a minute or so, which had at least two Engadget editors' keyboards in fits. Apple still hasn't addressed the issue with dropping the first character when typing into a text box on certain MacBook Pros, but this is certainly a good move -- though would it have really killed Apple to be a bit more talkative about the whole process?

[Thanks, Turgemanster]

[Flashpoint @ Dec 18th 2007 8:59PM]

I added a USB Wifi adapter to my G3 ibook because STUPID APPLE stopped carrying airport cards for it (their own product).

Everything worked fine and then all the sudden the monitor starts freezing up and the Hard Disk starts ceasing whenever I move the laptop.

I will NEVER EVER buy an apple Mac product EVER. I tried to give this one a chance because it came with my job but if I'd spent money on it, I'd feel quite the fool right now.

HP from now on...HP all the way.

[nate @ Dec 18th 2007 9:04PM]

iBook G3 came out in what, 2001? I hope your also using a 6 year old HP.

[Austin @ Dec 18th 2007 9:15PM]

As a HP customer who watched helplessly as my power supply, monitor, and both optical drives failed and HP did everything in their power not to spend a quarter on someone who has already purchased the product in question, I laugh at your statement heartily. tell tech support hello for me.

[Joe @ Dec 18th 2007 9:19PM]

@ Flashpoint...

"I tried to give this one a chance because it came with my job but if I'd spent money on it, I'd feel quite the fool right now."

Oh, don't kid yourself. You were a fool long before all this.

[nerdtalker @ Dec 18th 2007 9:20PM]

Well, admittedly HP isn't much better, but it is rather amazing that a vertically-integrated company wouldn't bother seeing whether supported hardware even works, at all, and make it hard to obtain in the first place.

That's the thing though. I've noticed with apple that you're kind of expected to always have the latest and greatest, if you want things to "just work." Granted, try firing up vista on something old, but, but still... Basic stuff should just work... Vote me down, whatever.

[tnkgrl @ Dec 18th 2007 10:50PM]

@Flashpoint, there are plenty of original AirPort cards floating around - not necessarily new and not necessarily cheap... Not to mention there are plenty of ways to hack old Lucent Orinoco PCMCIA cards to work in an original AirPort slot!

[Brad @ Dec 18th 2007 9:03PM]

"though would it have really killed Apple to be a bit more talkative about the whole process?"

Of course it would have. Openly admitting that your products have bugs, freeze, or are otherwise imperfect, when your entire marketing campaign focuses around NOT having those features? You're actually SURPRISED they didn't announce "Hey, we screwed up, but here's a fix!"? Sure, it would have been more responsible, and probably would have led you to trust the company more, but it wouldn't have fit with the "flawless" image they're trying to push, so it, like all the other Apple problems, gets hushed up as quick as possible so you can go back to focusing on how perfect the product is.

[enric @ Dec 18th 2007 9:11PM]

If they would be honest then the I'm a Mac guy would be with tourette

[JV @ Dec 18th 2007 11:53PM]

Exactly. It's just sad it took engadget's article to brings it to everyone's attention so they could do something about it.

[brandon_r87 @ Dec 18th 2007 9:17PM]

y kybard wooooooooooooooorks fne

Just kidding, don't actually own a Mac.

[tcardone05 @ Dec 18th 2007 9:25PM]

Apple? Problem? *GASP*

[BigPana @ Dec 18th 2007 9:28PM]

That's kinda freaking ridiculous, what would cause a problem like that.

[BigPana @ Dec 18th 2007 9:29PM]

?

Damn it. I wish there where an edit button.

[Ravidrath @ Dec 20th 2007 8:48PM]

It was loading multiple instances of the keyboard driver at the same time, for some reason, and they were butting heads. While they were competing for dominance, you'd lose functionality, and it'd resolve once one of them won.

[stalkythefish @ Dec 18th 2007 9:29PM]

Dropping the first letter on MacBook Pros? My MacBook does that all the time.
I've never had the keyboard lock up though.

[crystalsinger @ Dec 19th 2007 12:03AM]

Same here

[jrodliebs @ Dec 19th 2007 8:12AM]

Me too!! and here I thought it was me all along...

[Emberline @ Dec 18th 2007 9:30PM]

Isn't it "MacBooks Pro?" Kind of like attorneys general or Whoppers junior?

[Daniel @ Dec 18th 2007 9:39PM]

i think it should be, if it isn't already. just like the others you mentioned, plus brothers-in-law, etc.

[Alex Padilla @ Dec 18th 2007 9:43PM]

What about that extremely odd window flicker? I can't fathom how an application window can shift pixels like that...

[Glen @ Dec 18th 2007 9:56PM]

Alex - thats just the drugs you're taking... everything is perfect in the Apple world! LOL!

[Alex Padilla @ Dec 18th 2007 11:48PM]

lol, aint that the truth

[HunterXI @ Dec 18th 2007 11:03PM]

Fucking FINALLY. This problem made Deep Sleep utterly useless to me when I really wanted it. TOOK YOU, Apple.

[cmmndr312 @ Dec 18th 2007 11:24PM]

On my mcbook the " " key still doesn't work ll the time, even with the updte. pple still needs to fix some things.

[frozo @ Dec 19th 2007 12:14AM]

I doubt a software update will fix your problem. Take it in for repair cause its a hardware issue.

[peternj @ Dec 19th 2007 12:13AM]

Apple is amazing. Why should we know anything? We are not worthy. How dare this site post an article like this. Apple is Jobs and I'm so happy Apple cuts corners so he can have more money while we get rubbish.

And clearly this problem never existed... just a lie that Apple decided to fix because they even fix lies.

[frozo @ Dec 19th 2007 12:19AM]

@ Engadget:

What more do you want?? Apple posted an update via the Software Update system and the explanation of what it fixes is right there in plain English, just like all updates before that. What's the problem?

I appreciate your reporting on the update, but your slant baffles me.

[Matt @ Dec 19th 2007 12:31AM]

Apple to acknowledge it made a mistake before taking weeks to finally fix it?

[frozo @ Dec 19th 2007 12:37AM]

Now Matt, I know you're not that stupid...

The fix and explanation of the fix IS THE ADMISSION.

From Apple:
"This update addresses a responsiveness issue on MacBook and MacBook Pro notebook computers. Some MacBook and MacBook Pro systems may occasionally experience a temporary suspension of keyboard input which can last a minute or longer. The Mac OS X 10.5.1 update is required before installing the MacBook, MacBook Pro Software Update 1.1."

[nikster @ Dec 19th 2007 3:00AM]

I have got to agree. If Apple went out and said "we know some keyboards are faulty and we are working on a fix" what would end up coming to your local 6 o'clock news would be "Apple's keyboards don't work". So they can't really say that unless it affects everyone and they are doing a full recall.

Now, if they would fix the intermittent Airport issue...

[frozo @ Dec 19th 2007 3:06AM]

Nikster, exactly. I don't know what else people are expecting... a press conference? lol

[SlappyFrogg @ Dec 19th 2007 12:47AM]

oh my god oh my god oh my god, a piece of hardware had a defect, oh my god oh my god...let's see, I sent a Mac Cube back for a bad hard drive, a Gateway back from a bad daughtercard, HP laptop for a bad motherboard, and my most recent Dell shipped w/o the 2nd SATA cable. Call the support line and quit your whining wankers.

[Brad @ Dec 19th 2007 1:32AM]

Actually, this wasn't a hardware problem. This wasn't someone forgetting to plug in one cable on one in a million computers. This (potentially) had an effect on every single MacBook and MacBookPro running 10.5.x - get your facts straight and THEN bitch about how you buy cheap computers.

[Terry @ Jan 14th 2008 6:08PM]

Mine is completely locked up - it does not come back aft4er a minute or so. If I boot into Vista (on a bootcamp partition), the keyboard runs fine. It is a SOFTWARE problem with Leopard - not a hardware problem. If it was hardware, Vista would experience the same issue. I am unable to install the o/s update beause it requires me to TYPE my admin password in and I have no keyboard. Anyone have a clue?

[Kanos @ Dec 19th 2007 12:55AM]

They need to fix the even bigger issue where fans won't go over 2000 rpm anymore on the newer Mac Book Pro's I am getting tired of my computer sitting at 85 degrees C when encoding video and burning anything underneath it :(

[thetinguy @ Dec 19th 2007 3:15AM]

smcFanControl lets you control the fans.

[mistersquared @ Dec 19th 2007 1:12AM]

i have the first letter drop problem and I'm just using a MacBook (not pro) with Leopard... kinda irritating

[thetinguy @ Dec 19th 2007 3:17AM]

I have sleep issues. Sometimes when I open the lid on my MBP Santa Rosa it won't wake up for two or three minutes. Then when it wakes up, the mouse is all jumpy.

[jessy @ Dec 19th 2007 7:26AM]

did they remove the "apple" key? because, that seems like the biggest problem with the keyboard, whenever i see that key looking up at me reminding me this is a toy computer im using i feel like a fool.

no matter, how good a mac might be for graphics and anything else, it still feels like a walmart pre-skool "kiddie komp" because of that damned apple key.

[FK @ Dec 19th 2007 7:56AM]

Wow, you gots issues my friend.

[mikeguru @ Dec 19th 2007 9:14AM]

I love the way some people can't WAIT to go into hysterics because their computer has some weird problem. And then they want to condemn an entire model line as defective. RUBBISH. I've owned 2 MacBook Pros in the past year, and have set up NUMEROUS others for clients, and NOT ONE has exhibited the problems described here. Does that make me somehow especially lucky? I don't think so. If you have "issues", I can empathize. That doesn't mean there's some latent defect in every MacBook or whatever product (fill in the blank). It makes more sense to find out the REAL cause of the problem before condemning an entire product line or company. Apple released a software "patch". Is this unusual or unprecedented? Of course not. They work very hard to address customer problems, especially if it's something that might affect an entire product line. Do mass-produced products have occasional defective units. ABSOLUTELY. Leopard has been out for a very short time. There will be other "issues" as well. Apple will release "updates" to address them. You can bet that OS-X 10.5.2 is just around the corner . . . . One more thing - engadget (and the people that post here) are NOTORIOUS for sensationalizing EVERYTHING. Time for a REALITY CHECK people . . . .

[AV Geek @ Dec 19th 2007 1:32PM]

Apple has some minor problems and all the PC sheep come out to bash a system they would love if Bill Gates had built it

[ZeroCorpse @ Dec 20th 2007 1:06AM]

I think the point here is that Apple fixed the issue pretty quickly. Say what you will about glitches that pop up in Leopard from time to time, but you can't say that Apple doesn't repair their f-ups in record time.

If this were Sony, we'd still be in the round where Sony blames the user. If this were Dell, we may never get a fix. If this were Nintendo, we'd get a quiet, free fix that never mentions what it's fixing. If this were Alienware, we'd be charged for the fix. If this were HP/Compaq we'd be insulted by an obnoxious Indian or Pakistani operator after being forced to listen to them read a script that instructs us to turn the computer off and then back on after 20 seconds.

Apple, though, lets people rant in the discussion forum for a couple weeks, then issues the fix in software update, acknowledging that the issue existed, but assuring us that it doesn't anymore if we just click "Install" and walk away from the computer for a minute.

I stick with Apple because ultimately, they always sort their sh*t out.

[jlep @ Dec 20th 2007 4:47AM]

Yay, my keyboard doesn't freeze up anymore!!!!

[Jim @ Dec 20th 2007 1:29PM]

The character drop feature is part of Apple's efforts to help reduce global warming. Fewer characters require less energy. Besides, yu cn undrstn despit th dropd lettes, right?

[Andrew @ Dec 21st 2007 2:47PM]

The first character dropping is a power saving feature of all laptops, if it was possible to always get that first character on wakeup of the keyboard then I'm sure they would have had that already.

Unless you have a more specific bug or complaint, ie the first key is always dropped, even when plugged into the power supply, then forget about it, it's saving a small amount of battery this way.

If you had emailed them a bug report they most likely would respond, 'we are aware, thank you.'

Try discussions.apple.com if you have a strange problem such as the numlocks getting light for no reason and the keyboard failing to work. Or call/take it to apple.

[surfnux @ Dec 30th 2007 4:29AM]

What about the issue of weird behavior of the capslock and numlock keys that out of nowhere got lighted up, and if you disable them, you can't type anything until next reboot? Is this a known issue as well?

[Lesabrowning @ Dec 26th 2007 11:28PM]

Oh please tell me how to fix the issue with the num lock and caps lock lighting up. If I undo them I can't type properly. It just started last night.

[Terry @ Jan 14th 2008 6:13PM]

Just a few thousand posts about the problem on the Apple forum - hardly anyone, right? My keyboard doesn't lock up for a minute or so - it is COMPLETELY unresponsive in Leopard. Mouse works fine. Vista running in a bootcamp partition has keyboard support. Strange how Windows runs on the Mac but Leopard doesn't run on the Mac. I am unable to install the update that might fix the problem because I can't enter the admin password that will allow me to install the update. Perfect Catch-22. Any suggestions Mister Guru?