Macbook Pro keys starting to wear ... Is this normal?

So my spacebar key has started to show alot of wear and tear (go figure, I use the thing pretty often).

Is this normal? It's not a major problem but it does kinda ruin the aesthetic thing that MBPs have going for them. Anyway to revert this or avoid it in the future?

The kind of wear is just the usual keyboard use, where the buttons seem to lose the matte look and have this unpleasant shine to them.

 

Yup, it happens, and it's normal wear and tear. Not much you can do about it it short of always using an external keyboard, or using a silicone keyboard cover (which makes typing awkward IMO). Only way to get pristine keys again would be replace the keyboard.

 

moshi keyboard cover.

/thread

 

I don't think I can use a keyboard cover, it seems like it would be too distracting and uncomfortable.

Anyone know how much a keyboard replacement costs? I might just deal depending on how outrageous the price is.

 

its outrageous as its the entire upper assembly. depending on model anywhere from $350-825

 

that's what I thought until I got it. It's not distracting. the Moshi one, specifically. the Marware version IS slightly thicker and makes keys hard to press. as such, I returned it. the Moshi version, by contrast, is very thin and doesn't interfere with key pressing in any meaningful way.

and it preserves your keys. for $18-$22, seems a small price to pay. but it's your computer and your keys. do as you wish, but the recommendation stands as what is likely to be your best bet.

 

This happens on pretty much any keyboard, and aside from protecting it, there's not much you can do.

Every few days, to help fight the wear, I moisten a washcloth with rubbing alcohol and wipe the keyboard down. This kills germs and removes oil and surface grime from your keys. Every time my keys look a bit wore down, I just wipe them with rubbing alcohol and they look like new again.

 

^ even after alcohol, they will get that worn down "shine". only way to prevent that is to either

a.) Wear gloves

b.) Use a keyboard protector.

I recommend the later. lol. a bit more practical.

 

Anyone remember their grandparents who would keep the plastic on their furniture and not sit on it to prevent it from getting used......same thing applies here but it's been modernized.

Personally, I buy things to use them. If the keys on my MacBook show wear (which they do), who cares. Why buy something and then put it in a plastic bubble where you can't fully enjoy it?

 

Cant you purchase replacement keys, rather then replac ethe entire keyboard, just pop out the keys and replace??
Thats if the keys on the MBP can be popped out like a standard notebook keyboard......

 

With the current chiclet boards the keyboard is one solid piece, to my knowledge.

 

You can buy each individual key, but that is also very expensive. They are generally $5 a piece for most notebooks.

 

Use the space bar less. Just-type-like-this-from-now-on.

 

No way gloves all the way.....

White formal gloves...

Top Hat...

Classy Cane hanging OH so carefully over the back of my chair...

Tux of course...

"Puttin' on the Ritz..." playing oh so softly in the background via iTunes ...

While I tell each person staring at me @ Starbucks, with a curt tip of the hat, "Good day to you sir/madam..." in a nice roarin' 20's NYC accent

Yeah....

Or punk out and go with the keyboard cover.

 

I used to put socks on my hands.
Lol.

 

At the end of the day this is going to happen with any keyboard you use. Just get used to it?!

 

lol @ putting socks on your hands.

 

Haha, that's pretty funny - there was a guy on another forum who had lost his space bar and was doing just that, +plus+ he had a faulty 's' key so it was even worse:

he-had-to-uze-hiz-z-key-for-hiz-z-key

 

who cares?

with some keyboards the letters and stuff wear off and you cannot read them.... this shouldn't be an issue with light up keyboards on Macs at least (they aren't just painted on), I dunno about the non-backlit ones...

Things wear down over time... but it should still work fine for the whole life of the laptop even under normal, or excessive use.

 

while I agree, doh...apparently he cares, hence the thread.

but he's been given all the options he has on the table. live with it or get a keyboard cover. or put socks or gloves on his hands. lol.

/thread.

 

Yeah, it's no big deal.

I think using a keyboard cover is stupid. I just didn't expect the keys to wear faster than my old dell lol.

 

I agree with the keyboard covers. To me, it's silly to cover something up and make the experience less enjoyable. Like buying cases for my iPod Touch. I used to because I was obsessed with keeping it perfect. Then I realized that the cases were scratching it.

Then I figured, what's the point in keeping it fresh if you're not enjoying it like the company intended?

 

I dont like Keyboard covers either.
TBH, if my work Dell laptop gets really bad, I tend to replace the entire keyboard - an easy task on a Dell.
Cant do that on a MBP, but it still wont stop me using it!

 

all of you guys need to simply stop using terrible keyboard covers. don't assume that the crap keyboard covers you guys have used in the past speak for all keyboard covers. don't knock the Moshi until you've tried it.

I'm one of the straightest shooters on this forum and if the Moshi sucked, I would have said so. quite the opposite. I know none of you have tried it because it's not sold in Apple stores (though it is available through their online store and places like Amazon) and you're all clearly averse to the concept due to some bad experiences. that's too bad, but dumping on all keyboard covers without actually having all the necessary information does a disservice to everyone here.

Moshi ClearGuard CS Keyboard Protector for Apple Keyboard - Apple Store (U.S.)

it delivers. to the great disappointment of some of you, it seems. anyone who needs one can buy this with confidence. and if you don't like it, send it back.

avoid the Marware cover, as it makes pressing keys harder due to its thickness.

 

Seriously, you've preached your sermon about the squishy keyboard cover, now move on. People are entitled to base their opinions on their personal experiences, even if that means excluding other products which haven't been tried. Perception is reality.

You're simply another voice yelling to be heard over the rest of the Internet "straight shooters", and honestly the tone of your comments in this post (and others I've previously seen) make me want to turn your volume right down. Sorry, just my opinion, nothing more.

 

I have... and I cannot stand it. I haven't found one I can stand yet and since they are basically unneeded, theres no way I can put up with how much worse it makes the keyboard.

 

Well I use the iSkin Protouch FX for my 15" MBP. It lays very nicely on the keys with a rubber feel and the key presses are very smooth. I actually prefer it to typing on the actual keys. I don't use it just to protect the keys from getting shiny over time, I use it to protect from spills and no matter how much you try to avoid it, it CAN happen. But again, to each his own. Some like them , some don't.

 

My last MBP, a 2008 model with the silver keys, never exhibited this problem, or at least never gave the appearance of it. The keyboard was virtually shine free. My 2009 MBP started exhibiting shiny keys within HOURS of purchase.

 

Sorry, I don't believe this for a second. A week or two of HARD usage sure......but hours? Not a chance unless you had greasy fingers, in which case you could simply wipe the keys clean.

I use my Mac all day at work and then all evening at home. I didn't see any noticeable shine on the keys until well into a couple months of use.

 

yeah, my spacebar is the only one that shows some shiny to it, and it took months.

 

New to Macbooks. I have a question about Silicon covers. I understand Macbooks have their air intakes at the gaps in the keyboard. Does the silicone protective cover affect this?

 

It can yes.

 

Thanks. A bit worried about restricting air flow to the system.

 

I've noticed no temperature increases .

I wouldn't worry about it. And I'd recommend the Moshi brand keyboard cover. The others that I've tried (Marware...and one other) are a bit thick and make it harder to press keys. This is unacceptable. The Moshi is thin enough to not notice when typing...and you'll be glad it's there. I saw them down to $15 at Amazon.

 

On MBP 13", the speakers is right under the keyboard, so you'll muffle the sound and makes it sound like a mono speaker when you use silicon.

I currently use this keyboard skin on my MBP.
Innovative Film Keyboard Skin/Cover MacBook Seires on eBay.ca (item 360254947228 end time 17-Dec-10 00:08:04 EST)

it takes a little effort to apply, but once you apply it, it's hardly noticeable.

 

can't agree more , unless characters starts disappearing , i will not think about protecting my keyboard

 

The same thing happened to me with my iPod Touch. The silicon case basically scratched the back of it, and it sure turned out to be less of a protector than I thought. I keep using it, though, because it makes the iPod easier to grip.

I agree, though, I'd rather use a quality product the way it was intended to than worry about some keyboard wear. Almost any keyboard will shine with wear after a while of normal use. I used a cover on my old Vaio for a while, but it was terrible and the typing experience was so degraded that for me it wasn't worth it, so I stopped using it after a few months. I haven't used one since then on any laptop I've owned, though I use an external keyboad/monitor combination when I'm at home.

If you want a pristine keyboard, though, the only thing you can do is use a cover, type with gloves on, use an external keyboard, have hands that are magically never greasy, or buy a new keyboard.