Apple customers who owned a MacBook with one of Apple’s faulty butterfly keyboards and we forced to have those keyboards repaired, have begun receiving their settlements. The payout comes two years after Apple paid out $50 million to settle a class action lawsuit.
While emails concerning the lawsuit were sent out in December 2022 to eligible MacBook owners, the court did not issue a payment order until June 2024, with payments set to be issued for approved claims by August 2024.
MacBook owners who had at least two topcase replacements from Apple within four years of purchase are set to receive a maximum of $395, while customers who had one topcase repair will receive up to $125. Those who had keycap replacements are eligible for up to $50.
The lawsuit covered customers in California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, and Washington, who complained that Apple knew of and concealed the fact that its 2015 and later MacBook, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro machines were equipped with “butterfly” keyboards that were prone to failure and that its repair program for the keyboard was insufficient, as the replacement keyboards could also fail.
Apple manufactured MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and MacBook models with butterfly keyboards in 2015 and 2016. Apple promoted the thinness of the keyboard and the superior key feel and stability. Not too long after the keyboards launched, customers learned that they failed easily.
Customers experienced issues with keys repeating, sticking, and otherwise failing when dust and other particulates got into the butterfly mechanism, resulting in a huge outcry from buyers.
While Apple launched a keyboard repair program in June 2018, the program only covered MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air models for four years. The lawsuit alleged that Apple’s repair program was not sufficient, as Apple would replace the butterfly keyboards with another butterfly keyboard, so some customers experienced repeated failures that are no longer covered.
Apple eventually made three generations of the butterfly keyboard, none of which proved to be less troublesome. All Mac models now available now use the more reliable scissor-switch keyboard mechanism.