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I previously used a MacBook Pro 2016, and I had problems with the b where the key produced a bb about one third of the time I hit the key. After getting it repaired, several months later, the same problem started with the N key.

I now own a MacBook Pro 2017, and I have the same problem with the M key, but maybe with an occurrence of only one in forty, which makes it much harder to demonstrate.

It's always the same zone on the keyboard, I was wondering if anyone else was experiencing the same problem and what they did to fix it?

DryLabRebel
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Nidupb
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    I had this once and a NVRAM reset cleared it completely for me: (a restart using <cmnd - option - p - r > wait for 3 sets of startup chimes.) – Solar Mike Jul 31 '17 at 06:33
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    When I type using the 'n' key on the macbook pro 2016 15" with touch bar keyboard, it prints twice, sometimes it does not print, even the caps lock key misses the press the first time and needs to be pressed twice. The feeling on the keyboard keys is not uniform. Apple care had no clue about these problems. They asked me to dump the machine with them for at least 2 weeks and then they would do a hit and trial, if nothing works then they would replace the top. So much harassment for a $4500 machine, Apple is no more the same brand you could trust. They do not want to understand customer anymore – Varun Agarwal Aug 09 '17 at 20:18
  • @VarunAgarwal Ha! I have the same problem with the letter nn – FooBar Feb 21 '18 at 18:35
  • I've got the same with he "b" key, and apple wants $1015 to replace the keyboard... – Jthorpe Feb 24 '18 at 22:46
  • More discussion here: https://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View/402016/Keyboard+%27B%27+key+double+hit+problem – vaughan Mar 03 '18 at 13:08
  • A year ago I had same problems with the key "b" on my MacBook Pro 15 inch 2016. Apple replaced a new 661-06377 Top Case for me. I am using compressed air to keep keyboard clean in the past year. But a few days ago I had the same problem with "b" again and this time Apple replaced a 661-07954 Top Case for me and costs me 63828 JPY (~594 USD). – Tong Apr 20 '18 at 08:26
  • I also have this issue, and it seems software can address it: try Unshaky – xhg Jun 21 '18 at 12:24
  • I have 2017 macbook pro and have same issue with the "g" key. It happens when the key is pressed down hard sometimes. – Chase T. Sep 13 '18 at 05:38
  • found this app that solved this problem: https://github.com/Aahung/Unshaky Hope this helps – DrDev Nov 13 '18 at 09:24
  • I have this problem with keys on every row of my new 2018 MacBook Air. What does Unshaky do? Is it different from disabling System Prefs / Keyboard / Key Repeat? Because that didn't work here (and strangely, it didn't stop press-hold of spacebar from typing multiple space chars). – 2540625 May 12 '19 at 21:44
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    For me, what fixed it is removing software by Wacom, for my Wacom tablet. If you have such software on your computer, try to remove it! Solution found here ---> https://www.reddit.com/r/MacOS/comments/df4oqq/double_typing_text_on_catalina/ – Georgios Balasis Dec 19 '19 at 15:04
  • @geobalas - Great reddit post. This appears to be a key component to the problem for anyone who's problem started after installing Catalina. Not my favourite MacOS to date to be honest. – DryLabRebel Feb 07 '20 at 23:58

4 Answers4

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Finally, if anyone had or has the same issue, Apple is replacing the keyboard free of charge / refunding the past repair : https://www.apple.com/support/keyboard-service-program-for-macbook-and-macbook-pro/

UPDATE. There is a small program, called Unshaky written on Swift. It fixed this issue for me. It lets you configure a timeout for each key to suppress duplicate keypresses. For instance, if the 'e' key is giving you trouble, you can configure the timeout for a longer duration and adjust for the best results. There is also a statistics panel that shows how many times a key was suppressed by the software, as well as a detailed breakdown for each key.

jmort253
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Nidupb
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I have the same problem. I gradually started noticing double key presses for few keys showing up in the text I typed. The offending keys are: i, t and e.

How to reproduce

  • I went to Keyboard > Key Repeat > Off.
  • When I press down the i and then slide my finger from the left edge to the right edge of the key, it triggers more keypresses.
  • If I key my finger still and press down with more pressure, it sometimes triggers more keypresses.

Pressure seems to be important. If I rub lightly it doesn't happen as much.

I wonder what is causing it. I hope its dust. I will clean my keyboard tonight. But seeing as they all occur in the same row, maybe its something to do with the circuitry - I have to research more about how the keyboard works.

Sprayed my laptop keyboard with a lot of pressurized air. Did not help at all. the T and I keys are still consistently causing issues.

vaughan
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    I also have this issue, and tried to address it using software: try Unshaky, in case you want to try it. – xhg Jun 21 '18 at 12:37
  • Disabling Key Repeat had no effect on this issue for my 2018 MacBook Air. I still get duplicate letters, and strangely I can still press and hold the spacebar for multiple spaces. – 2540625 May 12 '19 at 21:35
  • Disabling Key Repeat didn't solve it for 2018 MacBook Pro (15") either. It's lettter t for me. Interestingly the repeated t doesn't always appear immediately after the first t.. e.g. it'll result in thte when typing the. – jbaums Oct 29 '19 at 23:21
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    (seems to be solved by unshaky with 40ms delay on t) – jbaums Oct 29 '19 at 23:32
  • Unshaky is a good application, it resolves issue to a great extent. 60ms worked for me. – Omar Tariq Dec 29 '19 at 09:05
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The current range of MacBook Pros seem to be suffering from this problem with the keyboard. To the point where they have released this technical note about how to attempt a fix.

But a recent article has brought this to the forefront of the tech-news, and as a result Apple may be forced to take more action on this obvious design flaw. It has reached the point where there is even a song now.

I also had a problem with the L key on a new laptop at work. Spare a thought for those of us who live in a country that has no Apple stores. From here in Thailand, any repair that requires a return means a three-week (at least) trip to Singapore. It's still under repair, and we are still waiting for it to come back.

Scott Earle
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A seemingly workable way is to Enable Slow keys under the Accessibility setting of Keyboard. For me, a slight adjusting above Short can mostly resolve the problem.

Di Liu
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