Apple agreed to a $50 million settlement for MacBook owners who experienced problems with the butterfly keyboards on models released between 2015 and 2019 In 2022. By December 2022, notifications about the class action lawsuit were sent to the affected MacBook users. In June 2024, a court mandated that Apple complete the settlement payments by August 2024. As a result, Apple has started distributing funds to customers who were impacted by the problematic butterfly keyboard design.
The Butterfly keyboard was introduced in 2015 with the 12-inch MacBook and later included in the 2016 MacBook Pro and 2018 MacBook Air. However, many customers reported significant problems with the keyboard, sparking concerns about its durability and reliability. Despite several redesigns by Apple, the butterfly mechanism continued to be problematic. Thousands of users experienced issues such as sticky keys, repeated keystrokes and complete keyboard failure. It often happens due to dust, crumbs or other debris getting lodged in the keyboard.
Apple decided to move away from its problematic Butterfly keyboard design and switched to a more reliable “scissors-switch” design by late 2019. Then, in mid-2020, Apple introduced the new Magic Keyboard, which was designed to be more durable for daily use.
In June 2018, Apple introduced a Repair Program to address issues with the Butterfly keyboard. This program covered MacBook, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro models released from early 2015 through 2019. But the program only replaced faulty Butterfly keyboards with other Butterfly keyboards, which didn’t solve the problem completely.
Back in May 2018, a class-action lawsuit was filed against Apple, claiming that the Butterfly keyboard design was flawed and not fit for use. In 2022, Apple agreed to settle the lawsuit but did not admit to any of the claims made in the case.
Now, in 2024, customers are finally receiving their payouts. According to the settlement website, MacBook owners are eligible for payments of $300 to $395, who had two or more top-case replacements from Apple within four years of purchase. Those who had only one replacement could receive up to $125, while those who only had keycap replacements might get up to $50.
It’s important to note that only Apple customers only in New Jersey, Illinois, California, Michigan, Florida, Washington and New York who needed repairs or replacements were eligible for these payouts.
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