Apple has officially ended its free repair program for MacBook models equipped with the infamous “butterfly” keyboard, reports AppleInsider.
The repair program was available for owners of MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and MacBook models with butterfly keyboards sold between 2015 and 2020. Since the program has ended, owners of affected MacBooks that haven’t had their MacBook repaired are now officially out of luck.
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.