#done with my macbook pro trackpad | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

energylifemd · 2 years

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Gta 5 the professional

Low resolutions make the game look really blurry and thus it’s not recommended. Change resolution only as the last resort. If you want to really lower it then 1280*720 is the lowest you should go. So I recommend using the same resolution as your Monitor for the Best Gaming Experience. You can play for longer durations and also it’s less straining to your eyes. Using a high resolution for gaming is good for your eyes. Resolution: Same as your Monitor Resolution If later GTA starts support for DirectX 12 switch to it. Unless your graphic card is older than 5 years I recommend using Directx 11. Go with the highest version of DirectX 11 your graphics card supports. You can use enable this option only if you have a high-end system. This option if enabled tends to cause heating issues in some systems and laptops. I recommend you keep this setting off especially if you are using a laptop or a low-end system. Graphics settings: Ignore suggested Limits: off So without further ado lets begin: Best Graphics settings for GTA V: If you have bought the game from steam then you can also use the steam launch settings for GTA V. You can edit the graphics, advanced graphics, and Display Settings in GTA V. Must read: How to get GTA V free on epic games High Detail streaming while flying: off.These are meant for high-end systems only. For low-end systems simply disable all the advanced settings.Refresh rate: Same as monitor refresh rate.Resolution: Same as your Monitor Resolution.If there is anything you want to know, just ask - although I've only done the first couple missions so far.Īlso, sorry for the bad gameplay, I'm not used to playing with WASD and a trackpad while trying to keep the camera steady.Įdit: Title should read 'How GTA 5 runs on Retina Macbook Pro', or something like that.Įdit2: Updated video with different graphics settings and FRAPS. For those of you who are on the fence about this game and have a similar spec Macbook, I hope the video is informative for you and sets your expectations. So far, It is running better than expected, looks good enough and performs well enough as you can see. I have not messed around with the graphics settings to see how much I can push the graphics while still having it perform well enough. The game is running at 1400 x 900 on a Windows 7 Bootcamp partition from an external USB 3 HDD. There is no sound as I was wearing headphones (kids are asleep!).Įverything is on the default 'medium' setting (the lowest) apart from textures which are on 'high'. The video should be 1080p 60fps as I recorded on my iPhone. 2.6GHz Intel Core i5 / 8GB Ram / Intel Iris 5100 1536MB GFX.I am currently playing GTA 5 on my Retina Macbook Pro What does the update to macOS Catalina mean for games?Ī short selection of great, free-to-play games that are available on MacĪdditional resources: News, stores and platforms, deals, related subreddits, forumsĮverything you need to know about Apple Arcade Approved posters can arrange for more daily posts by contacting the moderators. It is also required to properly format posts. When self-promoting content, please provide as much meaningful information as possible, such as a detailed description, trailers, or screenshots. Read the FAQ, and refer users to it if applicable. The simplest is About This Mac, available by choosing About This Mac from the Apple menu in the upper-left corner of your screen. Your Mac provides several tools to help you identify it. If you are asking for advice on games or your system, post the specs of your Mac such as model name, CPU, and GPU. Before asking for help, or installing a game, please visit r/macgaming/wiki/catalina, and check both the compatibility test chart provided by our community and the list of unsupported 32-bit Mac games by Mac Gamer HQ. Please make use of the search and read the FAQ before asking questions, many have been answered already and it will save you time!Ĭan my Mac run it? The MacGameStore App, or Mac Gamer HQ's extensive list of performance results and benchmarks are good ways to check if your Mac will run a certain game.Ĭan macOS Catalina run it? Games that are 32-bit only will no longer run on macOS Catalina. The home for gaming on Mac machines! Here you will find resources, information, and a great community of gamers.

#Gta 5 the professional

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bananairish · 2 years

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Magic trackpad gestures mac

#MAGIC TRACKPAD GESTURES MAC SOFTWARE#

#MAGIC TRACKPAD GESTURES MAC MAC#

#MAGIC TRACKPAD GESTURES MAC SOFTWARE#

While software troubleshooting will cost you nothing, the hardware repair costs may vary. If your MacBook trackpad is not working, there are generally two reasons why: What to do when the trackpad on a MacBook stops working In this post, we will highlight possible reasons why the trackpad is not working and suggest solutions for each scenario. However, you may experience MacBook trackpad issues, such as when it does not click or respond.

#MAGIC TRACKPAD GESTURES MAC MAC#

You can use the Mac trackpad gestures to click, tap, swipe, slide, open Notification Center, and more. I’ve lost none of the multi-button powers of my mouse, and the added gesture-specific features of the Magic Trackpad let me do even more with it than I could with my mouse.The trackpad on a MacBook is basically an internal mouse with extended functions. My wrist is much happier now that it doesn’t have to flick a mouse across my three connected displays. The tricked-out trackpadįor my needs, I’ve found that this combination of the Magic TrackPad, BetterTouchTool, and some utilities is the perfect mouse replacement. This composite image shows the five tasks assigned to the virtual buttons on my Magic Trackpad. Help Finally, I use the top-right corner to bring up an application’s Help menu-this is done by simply mapping the nearly-universal Help shortcut (Shift-Command-/) to that tap location. This, too, is done via a Butler shortcut that’s mapped into BetterTouchTool. I used Many Tricks’ utility Butler ( ) to define this action and give it a keyboard shortcut, which I then mapped in BetterTouchTool.Ī Google search window A bottom-right tap displays a Google Web search window, so I can submit Google searches without first switching to my browser. Often-used folders A bottom-left tap brings up a hierarchical menu containing my often-used folders, so I can quickly drill down and open any of my most-used files. This (along with my existing utilities) would allow me to replicate the functionality of my multi-button mouse while gaining the gesture features of the Magic Trackpad. For me, the key feature was the ability to assign actions to newly-available gestures. It even lets you assign various actions to keyboard shortcuts. In addition to its not-yet-final support for the Magic Trackpad, BetterTouchTool works with many third-party trackpads and Apple’s Magic Mouse. The BetterTouchTool utility allows you to define your own gestures and actions. (Haven’t seen gestures before? Check out this video demonstrating them on a MacBook trackpad.)īut then I stumbled across Andreas Hegenberg’s BetterTouchTool (donation requested). Giving all that up, to simply gain gesture support on a slick-looking input device just wasn’t worth it in my book. With those buttons, and some help from various utilities, my mouse handled a variety of tasks, including drilling down into Finder folders, searching the Web, displaying a program’s menus at the mouse location, and switching between all my open windows. While gesture support seemed useful on my desktop Mac Pro, I wasn’t willing to give up on my mouse (a Razer DeathAdder) and its five customized buttons. When Apple first released the Magic Trackpad($69 ), my initial response was something of a yawn.

#Magic trackpad gestures mac

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restaurantlong · 2 years

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Mission control mac not working

#Mission control mac not working pro

#Mission control mac not working software

#Mission control mac not working mac

On the external USB Apple keyboard everything works correct. I’ve tried activating and deactivating “Use F1, F2…” and also disabled “Show desktop/dashboard” for and while the latter two were never activated by myself. button working since double press opens the “dictation” pop-up and all F1-12 work correct wile the default functions like brightness and volume are gone.

#Mission control mac not working software

Hardware and software that used to be “it just works” -which lead me to replace my families entire eco system several years ago and contiously adding new Apple products- seem to be dropping like flies and is nowhere near anymore. Has it really been that long since the late S.J. Two days ago after connecting to my Apple TB monitor at home with and Apple USB keyboard (and BT trackpad) connected I experienced the same malfunction of the volume keys as stated above in one of our families MBA and I’m pretty sure it’s due to really unstable OSX nowadays. I’ve experienced this on two MBP and am pretty fed up with it since the battery and whatever damage it makes isn’t covered by warranty and Apple doesn’t take responsibility for faulty design. The trackpad was probably damaged by a bulging battery pushing and breaking the trackpad due to poor design. It is difficult to believe that the repair may have caused this because all the buttons do work properly, but does other things. I didnt have this problem before the repair. Notice that all the keys do work and nothing is damaged on the hardware, because when I press them they do work but in other ways. I have tried PRAM and these kind of things without any luck. Still! I can't manage to get the factory commands back. Unchecking the F1, F2 as standard keys etc. I have been into the whole keyboard options and have done almost everything like ticking off the mission control settings. Instead my volume button takes me to the dashboard with a whole new commands for these buttons. When I press them they do work correctly, but they don't do the stock commands like turning the volume up, down, brightness, next song etc.

#Mission control mac not working mac

After I turned on my Mac everything was working perfectly including my new trackpad.īut! Then I found out that my Function keys don't work properly.

#Mission control mac not working pro

It will obviously cut down on clutter, but might be harder to pick out a specific window unless you select the application and find it (you can use the keyboard shortcut Command+~ to sort through multiple windows in the same application).So yesterday I successfully changed my Macbook Pro Early 2015 trackpad.Īll the parts were put on right places and nothing left wrong. In this screenshot, we see how it looks when an application is grouped. Each application window gets its own thumbnail. In the following screenshot, we see how it looks when things aren’t grouped by application. Control Left or Right Arrow: Switch between desktops. Control Down Arrow: Leave Mission Control. “Group Windows by Application” is best shown with pictures. Here are a few you might like: Control Up Arrow: Invoke Mission Control. In order to open a new Safari window on Desktop 4, you need to turn this option off. When you switch back to Safari, the desktops will scroll back to Desktop 2. Let’s say you have Safari open on Desktop 2 and you’re on Desktop 4 using Calendar. The next option is for those who use Spaces regularly. If you ever been using your Mac and tried to switch between desktops, only to discover they’re not in the order you thought they were, this is probably why. The first option allows Mission Control to automatically rearrange Spaces based on most recent use.

#Mission control mac not working

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phoebe-does · 4 years

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I saved almost $4K on a laptop by fixing it up myself instead of buying the new MacBook Pro. My laptop screen was still under warenty from a faulty screen coating that had come off so I went in to get that fixed for free. This got me an entirely new top. At the same time I asked to get my battery replaced, I got this for free as well because I was getting something else done at the same time that was under warrenty. When replacing the battery they also replace the keyboard and trackpad for free. (Pro tip if you need a new keyboard or trackpad it will cost you $500aud but if you get your battery replaced it will cost you $250aud and they replace it for free) Then I ordered a 500gb hardrive online for $400 and replaced my 126gb hardrive and essentially got a new laptop! Fight the system y’all by diy’ing yourself a new skill set!!

#phoebe-does babble

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thedailystudy · 5 years

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17/11/19 • minimalist studyblr challenge day 2 of week 1 // my study essentials - under 5 items.

my laptop (macbook pro mid-2012, i lol when people call their macbooks from 2015 old. it’s really really heavy and doesn’t have a great battery life, but i really don’t want to get rid of this bc i managed to get photoshop and lightroom for free way back when. recently adobe has really cracked down on that shit so i don’t think i’d be able to do it again and ya girl cannot pay a monthly subscription fee for that)

water bottle (32oz hydroflask with some stickers! all i ever drink is water and the occasional alcoholic beverage so i am never not without my water bottle. my friend once told me if he’s looking for me he’ll just look for the bright yellow water bottle lol)

planner (passion planner that i won in a giveaway, super happy to have the smol size back and in my favorite color blue too! writing all my to do’s down and tracking what i have done is really helpful for managing my workload and my anxiety, bc if i don’t then i just feel frazzled)

mouse (i lowkey think i’m getting carpal tunnel or arthritis or something like that and i’m gonna make a doctor’s appointment to get it checked out tmrw. honestly i’ve gone to my doctor before but i have a tendency to underrepresent the pain/problems i feel and just say it’s ok bc i don’t want to be a bother... anyway i think a mouse is a lil easier on ye olde handes instead of my laptop trackpad)

and earphones (not pictured bc were in my ears at the time of this photo. i took this a couple days ago in the library and i had a killer headache so i was probably listening to a binaural beats playlist on spotify, that stuff really does help with relieving headaches)

#studyblr #studyspo #student #ucla #optomstudies #studyspiration #fliqlo #minimalist series #tds

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kim · 4 years

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Got my Magic Trackpad yesterday! Haven't used a trackpad day‐to‐day since my MacBook died, and it's good to be back. Finally in the Force Touch era!

It's odd that the Home and app‐switching gestures are tied to the multitasking gestures setting in Settings → Home Screen & Dock → Multitasking, rather than being in General → Trackpad. I had them turned off because I don't normally use it via touch, so at first, the iPad was not responding to those gestures on the trackpad either.

On multitasking gesture as well, the offical one is three‐fingers‐up‐and‐hold. On a few occasions, I didn't hold long enough, and went Home instead. However, I've found that a five‐finger closing pinch — similar to the Launchpad gesture in Mac OS X, just with an extra finger — seemed to also work, and work more reliably because there isn't the element of timing. Not sure if that's an undocumented feature, or if it's the Magic Trackpad or iPadOS misinterpreting my input.

Another reminder of my dislike for apps rolling their own custom UI controls: they don't get the new cursor benefits for free. So YouTube, Excel et al don't currently have any of the magnetism and cursor shape‐shifting properties. Even in the Saved Stories and History sections of Apple News, where the swipe to unsave/like gestures can't be done via the trackpad.

Curiously, the native iOS video player, eg what you get from a plain <video> element in Safari, lets you pinch to switch to fullscreen, but not the other way. The controls in that interface also do not have any magnetism. (YouTube's app, however, does recognise pinch on the trackpad for both entering and exiting fullscreen.)

(Also: four major iOS versions later, and the Exposé Mission Control and Launchpad keys on the Mac Magic Keyboard still do not trigger the App Switcher or go Home.)

(And: does anybody know if the iPad Pro Magic Keyboard somehow manages to squeeze in the hardware for Force Touch, or if it's a conventional diving board?)

#Diary #iPad #Magic Trackpad 2 #iPadOS

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jordanlikestech-blog · 4 years

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iPad Pro 2018 (11in) Review

The iPad Pro at first glance is an upgrade in every way. So, is it a solid replacement for your daily driver laptop? The answer is, it depends.

Any person can use any device they want as their daily driver. It really just depends on what you’re using your tech for. The 2018 iPad Pro brings a lot to the table as far as capability, and more than meets requirements for just entertainment purposes. This doesn’t really answer the question though.

With the introduction of iPadOS, a gap is bridged in the world of mobile device to PC capabilities. Being able to use my iPad to enter the desktop version of a website is really just the start of long list of improvements in Apple’s new iPad software. External hard drives, multiple displays, improved multitasking, the list goes on. With iPadOS, your basket is definitely full. File sharing, conversions and overall work convenience seems to be the name of the game in the companies latest updates.

We’re working with 4GB RAM, 120hz refresh rate and a 29.37 watt-hour battery, these are some of the hard specs on the device. Beating that in a tablet is hard to do, and chances are, unless you spent more than $1,000 on your laptop, you’re still not beating it. Plus, it comes in an LTE enabled version. Meaning no connecting to hotspots, no searching for unsecured public wifi, just getting work done when it needs to be done. Or play. Which by the way is incredibly attainable with all day battery. Not to mention, the portability of a device such as this for as powerful as it is untouched by any other device, including Apple’s lineup of MacBooks.

Now as far as the cons… Let’s just say there aren’t many, but it varies from person to person as to what they were expecting to buy. Limited mouse support, loosely fitting type cover keyboards without trackpads, and impossible lap placement. These are the issues you will encounter if you buy and iPad Pro with the intent of replacing your laptop. Now, as far as value goes, I think keep a few things in mind. At the time this was written, what you’re looking at is $799 for the 11in version that is WiFi only enabled, and if you’re looking for LTE enabled, tac on another few bucks to bring it to $949. Aside from the pricy accessories you will need to complete a mobile workhorse, such as your Folio Keyboard, and maybe a mouse, this to me is a reasonable price considering a few things. The first being that this is Apple we’re talking about. Their products sell themselves, and within reason, at any price that they want to. Second, this is the iPad reinvented. New OS which yes is available on all iPads, though you can utilize is most with this model. The performance of this device than what your average consumer needs typically, and I don’t think it can be beat for the price. So value, depending on your needs, could be a pro, or a con.

Though the iPad is years ahead of its time at this point, Apple has made it clear that it sells tablets, laptops, desktops, and phones. Not one size fits all, generic devices. For me, that is perfectly fine for the time being.

To wrap it all up, you absolutely can replace your laptop with an iPad Pro, you just need to be expecting the right things. If you’re looking for great portability, above average performance for daily tasks and entertainment, and flawless software within its bounds, then look no further. On the other hand, if you’re looking for a program intensive, Final Cut Pro handling, color accurate beast…maybe try again in a few years. The iPad Pro for now is a day to day productivity and entertainment pro, and I think that for now, that’s all I can ask for it to be for such a reasonable price.

~If you took the time to read my review on the iPad Pro and liked what you read, please give me a follow to see more content like this in the near future! Thank you so much!~

#tech #technology #apple #tech blog #review #ipad #pro #techtalk #blog #techreview #techie

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russian-movies-and-ronaldo-blog · 4 years

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Clean MacBook Pro Keyboard

Clean MacBook Pro Keyboard If only one key is exchanged, people (especially those who don't concern it) prefer to have the entire book exchanged. With these devices, Apple is also targeting real “pro” users, ie users who have really high demands on performance, function and quality. Apple has been using a new keyboard in its MacBook Pro models since 2015, and user reports of defective keys have increased since the switch. The 2017 model of the MacBook Pro also uses the new butterfly mechanism, but has been slightly adapted. If you are dependent on a device, it is imperative to secure yourself beforehand in the form of maintenance contracts and replacement devices. That goes without saying in the IT world. So I've never had any problems and use the keyboard for several hours a day, four days a week. I also don't know anyone who has this problem dust cleaning mud reviews a > I hate. What I meant by the impending additional costs are cases in which you bought a used Macbook with a butterfly keyboard.

Now we come to the fans of the MacBook.

Exactly from a tech journalist who gets such products cheaper and usually writes very good reports, I actually expect that he will buy such a thing and test it extensively.

I was able to sell my old MB (15 ", 6 years old) on Ricardo for 600.-, for this reason alone I will remain loyal to Apple.

In addition, individual keys can sometimes not be repaired at all - the entire keyboard including trackpad and housing must be replaced.

However, you have to be very careful here, because the fan is a complex component with filigree blades.

First the two clips at the top have to be released, then in the second step the button at the bottom can be carefully removed from the hook. First one side, then the second. You already have the button cap in your hand. Reports on the Internet describe that the butterfly keyboards of the MacBooks cannot be repaired and the entire keyboard has to be replaced. In practice, I can't really get used to the "hard" attack. Despite long typing attempts, the strange typing feel does not go away and I lack the smooth precision of the conventional keyboard. Indeed, they offer that. He also came the first two times, but if he can't solve the problem, the on-site service unfortunately doesn't do much. The most important problem is not even mentioned. It locks the Mac keyboard and rejects all inputs (apart from the quit command) so that when you swipe you can press as many keys as necessary and clean the keyboard. Once you're done, exit the app. Simple.

#how to clean the keyboard of a Macbook Pro.

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2toesdown-blog · 4 years

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How to clean your MacBook or MacBook Pro keyboard

How to clean your MacBook or MacBook Pro keyboard Not a brittle theory, but done several times! Employees can buy the old model for 120 at the end of the 3-year guarantee and then do what we want with it. 3 times you can guess what most employees choose. Apple confirmed to Joanna Stern from the Wall Street Journal that the third generation of the butterfly keyboard is also affected by the problems. However, according to the company spokesman, there are only a small number of user complaints for which Apple apologizes. But had problems with other keys that were blocked by small crumbs. Air pressure helped. The Slimbook should be interesting for you - a variant was developed in cooperation with the KDE project. At least the shift key seems to be broken, if not there is probably a "PICNIC". If you don't have the problem yourself, you are quickly ready to "trivialize" it, that's my experience. In addition, individual keys can sometimes no longer be repaired - the entire keyboard, including trackpad and housing, must be replaced. I myself and many other users did not get them running at the time so that "cleaning" was not necessary in ever shorter cycles. It was just a hardware component whose reliability nobody would bet on, so it is quite comparable to the current MacBook keyboards. My 2016 keyboard had to be replaced twice - the last time for the 2017 model.

I still have a Late 2013 and actually wanted to buy a 2018, but since I am working on the notebook keyboard, this is a no-go for me.

With a microfiber cloth and glass cleaner you should be very careful with the keyboards.

A technical error occurred while trying to complete your entry.

Apple has been using a new keyboard in its MacBook Pro models since 2015, and user reports of defective keys have increased since the switch.

Apple initially advised users to remove the dust with compressed air, which can work in some cases.

We are already working on it and will be back as soon as possible dust cleaning mud reviews be there for you. Please check back later. It locks the Mac keyboard and rejects all inputs (apart from the quit command) so that when you swipe you can press as many keys as necessary and clean the keyboard. Once you're done, exit the app. Simple. Therefore, it should become a habit for users to close the laptop when it is not in use. Nice outside, but ugly inside?

#how to clean the keyboard of a Macbook Pro.

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dailytechnologynews · 5 years

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MacBook Pro Keyboard Failures: Why Apples dust excuse is bullshit! [Teardown + Explanations]

Original source: https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/bjtyaw/macbook_pro_keyboard_failures_why_apples_dust/

Today we will be tearing down a MacBook Pro keyboard to try and figure out some possible causes for all the failures that these keyboards get. Settle down, because this will be a bit of a long post. Hopefully you'll at least learn something from this.

My Background:

I've worked as an Apple Authorized Service Provider (AASP) Technician for the last 3 years.

Before that, I use to work as a 3rd party Technician at an Apple-focused repair shop.

Because of this experience, I stand in an interesting position where I use to see all the shit Apple pulls in order to make 3rd party and DIY repair difficult, and now I sit in a position where I can see exactly how Apple deals with these issues and get a more-representative ideas of how the machine fails, how many fail, and exactly what the most common failures are.

History:

Apple originally released the Butterfly-style keyboard back in 2015 with the release of the 12" Macbook. Afterwards in 2016, this keyboard design was expanded to all Macbook Pros. The butterfly keyboard is different from a conventional rubber-dome keyboard that was used for 20+ years before that. It uses a metal dome that buckles under enough stress and makes contact between 2 metal terminals, and the keycap itself is held up with a butterfly-style henge rather than a traditional scissor hinge. Both are pictured further down.

This entire experiment began with a thought: How could something as simple as dust kill the keyboard switch?

My old 3rd party tech instincts say that this should not be possible, since there are billions of smartphones that use metal-dome style buttons that do not experience failures like this.

Apples official stance is that dust manages to somehow enter the keyboard and cause the issues. This can cause things like:

Keyboard keys feel sticky, crunchy, or are physically jammed.

Keyboard does not input even though you pressed the key.

Keyboard inputs the same character 2+ times even though you only pressed the button once. https://www.apple.com/support/keyboard-service-program-for-macbook-and-macbook-pro/

Their official documentation also states that you can "fix" the issue by using compressed air to blow out the keys. https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT205662

When it comes to failures, there's 3 schools of thought about how the switches fail:

"Dust" Theory. This generally takes apples words at face value and don't go deep into it.

"Heat" Theory. This assumes that Dust Theory is bullshit and assumes that overheating causes the material to expand and warp enough to render the buttons inoperable (2018 TouchBar models in particular).

"Shit Design" Theory. This assumes and accepts that it's just awful design.

You may have also seen articles like https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/macbook-pro-keyboard-failure-rate-double-older-models/ that say that keyboard failure is in the low 10% range, but these should not be accepted at all since they do not take into account a number of things that critically invalidate these statistics as a whole:

They come directly from apple, which is a huge conflict of interest considering they have to sell these machines to make money.

They do not take into account the number of repairs that were turned down due to the cost of the repair itself, which is around 500USD before the keyboard replacement program came into effect.

They do not take into account the number of people that don't want to go to apple or cannot go to apple due to time constraints, especially since most countries do not offer over-the-phone mail-in repairs on Macs.

They do not take into account the number of people who just avoid apple stores and AASP in general and instead go to local 3rd party repair stores.

The keyboard program was introduced June 22, 2018, meaning that anyone before that date who does not have warranty was forced to pay 500USD for the replacement part, and most likely falls into the above. Notice how conveniently these statistics don't include numbers for 2018?

From my experience as an Apple Technician, here are the most commonly reported problems at my store, in order of most to least common:

No-input, particularly from all vowel keys, most commonly used consonants, spacebar, enter, and shift.

Multi-input, particularly from all vowel keys, most commonly used consonants, spacebar, enter, and shift.

Sticky/Crunchy/Stuck keys.

As for demographic, the most common folks we see with these issues are:

Writers or any kind (blog, scripts, office workers, etc).

Students of all kinds.

Programmers.

With that said, here are a few things that were floating around in my head:

The first red flag about the dust hypothesis should be the failure types. Only 1/3 are related to physical objects actually preventing the keys from working. The other 2/3 are related to electricity, specifically whether the circuit in the switch itself is "closed" or "open". Open circuit means that the positive and negative terminals are not connected, which is the equivalent of a keyboard button that is not pressed. Closed circuit is the opposite.

Second red flag is that human dust and household dust is classified as non-conductive. By itself, it does not have enough conductivity to meaningfully carry electricity, so the multi-input style failure should not be possible at all. The No-input failure can somewhat be explained with dust, since it can at as an insulator between 2 metal terminals, but keep reading and you'll see why this isn't the case.

Third red flag should be specifically which keys fail. Spacebar, enter, shift, vowels, and the most common consonants are the most commonly pressed buttons whenever anyone types on their keyboard. Coincidentally, these buttons are the ones that are reported to fail the most.

Finally, the last red flag is the demographic. All of these are people who type a lot on the machines. While this one is highly anecdotal, most of my customers fall within this demographic.

Enough rambling, on with the teardown!

https://i.imgur.com/5MRswJ6.jpg

In front of me, I have what's referred to as a Top Case assembly. Its essentially the metal frame, battery, keyboard and trackpad, all shipped and prepared as one piece for Apple techs to swap out. This particular one came from a 2017 model MacBook Pro 13", which rocks the 2nd generation of the Butterfly keyboard. This specific top case came from a machine that was "liquid damaged by my drunk roommate" so I have no issues tearing it apart for the greater good.

https://i.imgur.com/dnwTzDO.jpg

After removing the keycaps, here's what the keys actually look like underneath. Theres a few main parts here:

The silver metal dome. Thats what actually teams the machine that a key is pressed. It makes contact between metal pads when it is pressed.

Clear Plastic Housing around metal done. Its there to make sure the dome doesn't go anywhere and keeps it safe.

Butterfly Mechanism. This is the white part all around the perimeter of the clear plastic body.

I included both larger and smaller sized keys just for demonstration purposes.

https://i.imgur.com/VoRDuhG.mp4

Butterfly Mechanism in action. This is actually a genius idea, since it eliminates individual moving parts in favour of a single Large one. Youtube creator Veritasium made a video talking about how flexible moving pieces have a lot more advantages over multi-piece hinges (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97t7Xj_iBv0).

https://i.imgur.com/8zsuDFg.mp4

Metal dome in action. This is what happens to the dome and butterfly mechanism when the key is pressed.

https://i.imgur.com/SROBJRq.jpg

Here's an example of something that can cause the "Sticky, Crunchy, or Stuck Keys" problem. Having crumbs, or sticky liquids, or other gunk will cause your keys to feel weird, or to stop working. These are genuinely caused by crap getting stuck between the mechanism. Enough of these can definitely jam a key. The 3rd generation keyboards help negate this problem by adding a rubber piece around the perimeter of the butterfly mechanism in order to reduce ingress of larger bits into the mechanism.

https://i.imgur.com/fauw47h.mp4

Example of how a key can get jammed. That single large piece prevents the mechanism and switch from pressing down al the way.

https://i.imgur.com/SogaaLg.mp4

Upon further inspection, we run into another blockade in the Dust theory, a see-through plastic barrier that encloses the entire switch.

The purpose of this barrier is both ingress-protection and to make sure the metal dome stays in its proper place, as you'll see later.

https://i.imgur.com/N2YxJhs.mp4

There is also this black tape-like material covering the top portion. After peeling it off, I discovered that this is where there is a little lip that overhangs the plastic housing. Most likely this is so that the domes can be replaced by the companies that refurbish all the old parts/devices apple sends to them.

https://i.imgur.com/1KDJK2n.mp4

It wasn't very hard to peel it off, but the plastic film was adhered to the plastic frame. Again, a huge dead-end forest theory since it physically cannot get in through this area.

https://i.imgur.com/GqsUHrz.jpg

A close-up of the film and the metal dome itself.

https://i.imgur.com/6zVVFuY.mp4

After examining the dome, I discovered that it is not at all soldered down into place, but rather it is free-floating within the plastic housing. Whether it makes a connection or not depends on how well its legs are contacting those gold pads in the corners.

https://i.imgur.com/LAM75Lz.jpg

Top side of the dome itself. The 4 outer legs are what make contact with the gold pads that are used to carry electrical signals. The dome itself appears to be Steel. It is also incredibly light, it's no wonder the film has to keep it down.

https://i.imgur.com/ZBi4jau.jpg

Bottom side. That brown part is not corrosion, that's just laser-cutting left-overs from when the dome is manufactured. I checked, all the metal dome have these marks.

https://i.imgur.com/JmWD4DD.jpg

Close-up of the plastic body around the metal dome. Here we see 6 gold pads. All 6 of those are for carrying electrical signals. There is also a large hole close to the oval-shaped gold pad. This is a ventilation hole.

Now, I know what you're thinking. Ventilation hole? Aha! That's where the dust gets in!

Hold your horses, we are far from done.

https://i.imgur.com/o70lCgg.jpg

The plastic body takes a bit of effort to remove, thanks to the fact that it uses 4 plastic legs that are riveted to the underside of the board.

https://i.imgur.com/tqLXY1c.jpg

Once removed, we see that the entire plastic body is surrounded by an adhesive film with no obvious gaps in its seal. This is another dead-end for the dust-ingress theory, since the entire plastic body is sealed around the perimeter. For the sake of thoroughness, I tested the conductivity of all the gold pads; the 4 outer pads along with the oval-shaped one in the middle are all connected and act as a single end of the terminal, while the round central pad is a second terminal. Once these 2 are bridged by a conductive object, like a metal dome, they will register as a keypress.

https://i.imgur.com/EHIkSsn.mp4

Just to give you an idea, You can see my trying to fit my sharpest set of tweezers under the plastic body. At most it budged a bit to the side, but that's because adhesive is fairly flexible. It takes a fair bit of pressure to puncture that plastic film on top.

https://i.imgur.com/WDD2C8b.jpg

Out of curiosity, I also tore apart the thinner small keys to see what the mechanism looked like. It's the same thing, just a smaller version.

https://i.imgur.com/tkg6RMH.jpg

I attempted to test the "Heat Failure" theory with my heat-gun set to 300C and pointed directly at the metal dome. This was a beyond-extreme-case test to see if the key would warp and possibly make contact.

Since MacBooks have god-awful cooling and will heat up to very hot temperatures in order to ensure that the machine stays as quiet as possible (which is a questionable method overall, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=947op8yKJRY talks about it more), some people suspected that the expansion and contraction of material can cause these keys to stop working.

After leaving it under heat for 2 minutes, it did not move a millimetre. This theory is very unlikely since there are keys that fail that do not sit in the same area as the Processor cooler (which can reach 70-100C pretty easily on these models).

At this point, I finished tearing up the entire top-side of the keyboard, so I turned my attention to the underside.

https://i.imgur.com/IZsaOvE.jpg

The keyboard is covered by a large, layered film material. Based on its thickness, it is likely meant to serve several purposes:

As a heat insulator for the keyboard area.

As an insulator for electrical signals between the Motherboard and the metal frame/keyboard itself.

As a barrier to prevent dust and crumbs from interfering with operation.

https://i.imgur.com/iEdRuZs.jpg

After removing it, I found a small surprise. The keyboard itself sits on one giant PCB (Printed Circuit Board) and even has a fair bit of componentry on it! Quick google search showed that the 4 large chips on the right are for controlling the LED backlight, the pair of smaller chips in the middle are some sort of micro controllers (probably for the keyboard itself), and the components on the left are a mystery; I suspect they're the fan control/PWM (pulse width modulation) circuit for the fan, since the fan connects directly into the keyboard on all new models

https://i.imgur.com/6Pm0Uqd.jpg

Whats this? A dust filter? In my friendly christian teardown? Dust filter indeed. This is one of the finest filters I've seen in years! (pun intended).

After looking at it, it turns out that this dust filter is used for the breathing hole that was pictured in the Switch teardown further up the post.

Another dead-end for the Dust Theory, since the breather hole itself is covered by a very fine mesh.

https://i.imgur.com/hycxJcR.jpg

Here's the tip of a 0.5mm ballot pen for size reference. Most dust and all hairs will not be able to fit between this mesh, which only further solidifies the dismissal of the Dust Theory.

https://i.imgur.com/rVfLEkF.jpg

This is the closest shot of the mesh that I can get. This is with 10x Macro lens + iPhone camera at full zoom. Pen marks for size reference.

https://i.imgur.com/hjIboNB.mp4

Here's a short clip of the alignment of the dust filter with the breather hole along with visible movement from the underside of the metal dome and butterfly mechanism.

https://i.imgur.com/4rtoCUP.jpg

After looking closer at the protective keyboard insulator bit, I noticed that the entire mesh portion is surrounded by an adhesive-material, with absolutely 0 gaps around the hole. This basically puts a dead-end to the last possible entry point for dust, since this entire breather hole is not only sealed by adhesives on both top and bottom, but also a clear film on top side and an extremely fine mesh on the bottom of the switch.

At this point, there should be little reason to believe that dust can get in there, since every possible vector of attack is throughly sealed and/or protected.

Contrary to popular belief, Apple actually took a lot of effort sealing these switches from the elements.

https://i.imgur.com/9pmrI0A.jpg

I found some household dust and threw it on the mesh. As you can see, the mesh is not having trouble stopping these tiny bits.

https://i.imgur.com/j32hfyl.mp4

And finally, here is a demonstration of what happens when the key is assembled and pressed under the most extreme of dusty conditions. I threw literally an entire pile of dust on that breather hole.

Since these switches are pretty much sealed from all angles other than this breather hole, this is where all the air can freely move in the switch. Once assembled, the design of the switch actually very closely resembles that of a conventional speaker, which deals with air pressure inside its sealed chamber by allowing the air to freely enter and exit its port hole. Once the key is pressed, there is a higher air pressure created between the PCB and metal dome. Since this pressure needs to go somewhere to prevent rupturing the plastic film, all of it immediately gets pushed out of this single vent. Any dust that has accumulated on this opening will immediately be ejected from the mesh filter. Bear in mind that the laptop would technically be upside-down if you viewed it from this angle. In reality, the dust would actually fall to the underside of the Logic board, which sits in very close proximity to this breather hole.

Excuse the shit quality, I had to heavily compress and alter the vids quality to make it fit into an upload able GIF.

https://i.imgur.com/i6a1KWK.jpg

See that rivet? There are close to 70 of these holding the keyboard into place, along with a battery that's glued in on-top of the bottom portion. You want DIY repairs? Good luck with that. This is why Apple ships these as a "Top Case Assembly" rather than "Keyboard".At this point, there is no evidence left at all that dust is the cause of failures for this switch, especially not for the Double-Input issue since that entirely relies on how long and how many electrical signals are detected by the keyboard controller. There is absolutely no reason why dust or humidity can cause this, especially with no easy entry points and the general lack of electrical conductivity of both dust and water.

The No-Input issue can still somewhat be explained by a few other theories (Humidity, or oxidation of the underside of the dome), but both these theories still have a lot of holes (breather hole pushes humidity out when key is pressed, gold contacts do not oxidize on their own, corroded material will get slightly worn off when one and pads make repeated contact with dome, the amount of dust and water needed to cause these situations is fairly high, etc).

Why is this teardown so important***?***

It proves that Apple themselves have no idea how to deal with the issue and that dust was either just an excuse to satisfy their customer bases demand for an answer, or their engineers are genuinely nowhere near as smart as everyone thinks they are. I'm not sure which of these two is worse. Considering they've had 4 years to deal with it, i'm leaning more towards the latter.

The way Apple is handling this problem is actually far from good. People think that its nice of them to have a repair program for the issue, but this is actually just a shitty half-assed bandaid fix for the problem. As it stands, the current situation is as follows:

All 12" MacBooks + 2018 Air + all 2016-2018 Pro models will eventually develop keyboard issues, its a matter of time.

All 2016/2017 pros (and 12" 2015-2017) have the extended keyboard warranty program. This program covers these units for 4 years from original purchase date, meaning that 2016 models coverage ends around 2020/2021, depending on exact purchase date, and 2017 models coverage ends around 2021/2022. 2015 12" Macbook coverage is ending between this year and next year, so 2015 12" owners be prepared!

2018 models are not covered by this program! Currently, they rely entirely on their warranty or consumer protection laws, meaning that if you didn't purchase AppleCare or live on a country where Consumer Protection laws suck, you'll only get support for 1 year out of the box.

For any of the above, once your warranty or keyboard program coverage ends, it's $500 USD per failure to replace the entire top case. There is no "cheaper" aftermarket solution, the keyboards themselves are a nightmare to replace and the aftermarket parts are even more likely to fail. Replacing the part will not permanently fix the issue either since Apple only replaces it with identical parts, meaning they're bound to fail again. On top of that, all machines will be classified as vintage 5 years after their original release date. Once that happens, spare parts from apple go bye bye for good and you'll be left only with the cheaper aftermarket parts that are usually more prone to failure, or be stuck buying used parts which are also failure-prone.

Ownership beyond 3-4 years fo these models is pretty much a gamble at best, and ownership for 2018 models without AppleCare is even more of a gamble since there's no repair program support for them and there is 0 guarantee that these models will be added to that keyboard replacement program at all.

As for what the actual cause is, honestly I don't know. My suspicion is that the metal dome experiences metal fatigue and slowly begin to lose connection, or that that little U-shaped cutout in the centre of the dome weakens and starts to easily bounce when pressed, making contact 2+ times. I honestly cannot test this at home, my equipment is woefully inadequate to go that deep.

Macbook owners, please beware. Always have AppleCare, even if paying extra to cover a flaw that should be properly dealt with is morally questionable and a shitty thing to do. Right now is not a good time to be a Macbook owner or buyer, and please consider whether or not you wish to financially support a company that pulls stunts like these.

This law firm is setting up a class action if anybody wants to join: https://www.research.net/r/MacKeyboard

#hardware #Computer #Technology #Tech #News

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maireficco · 3 years

Text

my macbook’s trackpad is done for....... time for a macbook pro!

#bro im devastated #was always gonna buy a new one soon anyway but i wanted to save up just a liiiiiil more

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aionflows · 3 years

Text

IPad Pro Desktop MX Keys, Magic Trackpad, Satechi, & Zugu

My experience using the Apple’s refreshed iPad Pro 2020 as my all-in-one, personal laptop for home, business, and graphic design.

So it’s been four whole months since I ditched my MacBook and went exclusively to iPad Pro. The idea of becoming a digital design nomad was inspiring to me. Luckily, I had key accessories that made the iPad Pro experience a seamless transition. I had mainly used my iPad Pro for digital painting, clerical tasks, and, of course, entertainment purposes. All the while, the bulk of my graphic designs were done on my MacBook Pro. I first purchased my MacBook because I was expecting to craft design heavy, weighted files requiring snappy performance. I had the original iPad Pro 2015, so I topped off my MacBook in 2017 with i7 and doubled my ram to 16gb. It also made a perfect desktop when docked to a monitor. In the past couple of years, I found myself switching devices frequently working at my desk. As the iPadOS matured, I began leaving my MacBook at home so often that when the iPad Pro 2020 was released I was thrilled at its potential to replace it. I do full time graphic design today, and I have successfully been doing all of my work including webflow designing on my iPad Pro now. It’s performance allows me to take build designs on the go and with the addition of accessories such as the MX Keys, Satechi Stand, or the Magic Mouse 2, it makes for a cogent all in one experience.

During my initial MacBook days, I relied heavily on Adobe’s Photoshop and Illustrator. Plus I dabbled with 3D programs like Blender and Cinema 4D. I habitually docked my MacBook for a desktop experience every time I was home. The Basues Hub helped consolidate much of the extra dongles (video of the hub here). This led me to to eventually purchase the Magic Mouse 2 and the MX Keys by Logitech. The keyboard could keep 3 simultaneously bluetooth connections from 3 different computers paired at once! I felt it was so nifty! So for a good amount of time, I powered through a brand identity using the MX Keys to switch my keyboard’s input from my mac over to my ipad and back again. It came in handy for when I needed to quickly browse the safari, type notes off on the side, or to keep a chat thread open on my iPad. It was the perfect companion device, but you felt it could be so much more. I was accustomed to that setup for sometime. What was lacking in my original iPad Pro 2015 was real performance. It’d crash too often when I tried taking, for example, a stylescape in a brand identity project from prototype to its final feature.

When the 2020 Ipad was released, it had a staggering 6gb of ram, and I felt this was a more prime time ready iPad Pro. Clerical work such as responding to emails, checking the news, drafting, or editing was already extremely pleasant on the ipad. At the start, the 2020 iPad Pro was capable of opening large Affinity Photo and Designer projects that I had religiously only worked on the MacBook with. They weren’t crashing! This was spectacular I thought! It was then I sold my MacBook, cleaned out space at my home desk and bought two more additions to finish my ipad desktop: The Satechi stand and the sturdy Zugu case (the Apple Pencil is a given! Do you really have an iPad Pro without the pencil?). I paired the Magic Trackpad 2 and MX keys tot he IPad Pro. The MX keys gave me a full mechanical keyboard experience with backlit keys and the numerical pad. I was set.

Today, graphic design is so much fun on my iPad Pro. I’m excited everyday to jump on it and use it! There are incredible apps that respectively give it its professional title. Affinity Photo and Affinity Designer are my go to for everything creative! I create brand guides, stylescapes, logos with Designer, an Adobe Illustrator alternative. I rely heavily on Procreate, Concepts, and Affinity Photo for all things illustrative and expressive such as concept art or storyboarding, for example. I own my learning and make notes my own with GoodNotes. Finally, I am an avid user of LumaFusion editing video for my YouTube channel and Anchor.FM for my podcast uploads. All these apps combine for an epic mobile, high performance hub for my graphic design work and I can’t wait to learn 3D design with uMake or Shapr3D!

It’s a near identical setup much like having Apple’s newest magic keyboard for the iPad Pro. My satechi stand holds my ipad up and I lift it and encase it into my Zugu case when I’m ready to travel. I find the Zugu case to be a much better case for protection, mobility, durability, and, most importantly, the various sturdy viewing angles great for drawing. I invested a lot into my iPad Pro and I aim to create great things from it. I do plan on readopting a desktop Mac sooner or later, but not until I have made the most value out from my ipad. I will likely opt for a Mac mini since I have the dynamic MX Keys and the Magic Trackpad 2. As a tech enthusiast though, I will likely wait to the next fully refreshed lineup of Mac Mini’s before I make another move. I love working on my Ipad. It has been my successful go to for all things persona, business, and design!

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