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Krishh1997

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 16, 2018
2
0
Is there anyone with a MacBook Pro 2016 that has not had or has minimal problems after 2 years since its launch?

I ask this since some people see these MBPs with shorter lifespan.

Thanks
 

vaugha

macrumors 6502a
Nov 3, 2011
611
206
This is a good question, and I am glad you asked. I am also interested in knowing this also.
 

kgapp

macrumors regular
Jan 6, 2004
107
7
Chicago, IL
Is there anyone with a MacBook Pro 2016 that has not had or has minimal problems after 2 years since its launch?

I ask this since some people see these MBPs with shorter lifespan.

Thanks

I have a 2016 that was bought at launch. I have had no problems. I have never been particularly satisfied with the battery life but otherwise everything with the machine has been fine. A couple of keys on the right side of the keyboard have worried me a few times in the past but they are all still working properly and I have the original keyboard.
 

lJoSquaredl

macrumors 6502a
Mar 26, 2012
522
227
Is there anyone with a MacBook Pro 2016 that has not had or has minimal problems after 2 years since its launch?

I ask this since some people see these MBPs with shorter lifespan.

Thanks

Still have my 2016 model, bout to upgrade again, but much like all my MBPs (I've owned 4 now) I'm selling it in perfect working condition:) I just want a full upgrade since I edit video, but I've never had issues with my MBPs including the new keyboard.
 

ThisBougieLife

Suspended
Jan 21, 2016
3,259
10,662
Northern California
Yes, I have one. I'm used to the keyboard, I still don't love it or the giant trackpad, but I've never had any keys fail or any other problems. Never had to send it in for repairs.

My 2012 MBP worked fine for three years until the logic board fried. Before that, it had no problems. My MBA that I got in 2010 (my first laptop) had the trackpad fail twice in one year.

So I guess technically this is the most problem-free Mac I've ever owned. I'm going to upgrade to the 2018 Vega model, though I'm worried about BridgeOS crashes and other issues. If it has any of those problems, I will send it back and continue to use my trusty 2016 model. We will see. :)
 

matram

macrumors 6502a
Sep 18, 2011
781
416
Sweden
Bought my maxed out 15” at launch. Topcase exchanged due to faulty key but still the best MBP I have owned.

Normally I get a new one after two years. I believe I will hang on to this one for a year or two more
 

deadworlds

macrumors 65816
Jun 15, 2007
1,027
758
Citrus Heights,CA
I have had my 2016 15" MBP with 1TB and Radeon Pro 460 since launch. I actually enjoy the feel of the keyboard and I am still on the original keyboard. Some of the keys have occasionally gotten stuck but I have managed to fix them with some pressing, tapping, or wiggling of the keys. This has happened maybe about 4 times since I've owned it. I am a software developer and often times work in Windows using 3D modeling programs such as 3Ds Max and Unreal engine, etc.

I also have done some long sessions of gaming like OverWatch and Destiny 2. It has handled both games extremely well, better than I expected actually, being able to play over watch on high settings as well as Destiny 2. Keep in mind that I don't play these games at the screens native resolution otherwise it would perform badly.

The battery life under macOS is acceptable to me as long as I'm not working in a game engine. If I'm coding away in XCode and running the iOS emulator then I get maybe about 4-5 hrs of battery life, depending on what project I'm working on. After two years of use the battery is at about 94% health, which I think is pretty good. The one big draw back about the battery/power adapter is that under full load the battery will drain rather than charge. Makes me kind of sad.

I have both enjoyed and hated the new larger trackpad. There have been moments where I have appreciated having the room to drag a file from one side of the screen to the other without running out of room on the trackpad. On the other hand I have had incidents of the trackpad registering my palm/thumb as a touch while typing and thus moving the cursor to another position. This can be quite annoying but I have been able to adjust my typing habits to minimize the phenomenon.

I have had one issue with the speakers and this happened rather recently. I woke up my mac from sleep (macOS) and it immediately started playing this loud and fast popping sound form the right speaker. I quickly shut off the computer and booted back up. I then checked the speakers while playing some music in iTunes, sure enough the right speaker is now audibly quieter than the left. I plan on getting this repaired with apple care but just haven't found the time for it yet.

Overall I am pleased with the performance of this laptop, the new vega MBPs do look appealing but I am happy with my purchase so far especially coming from a 2008 Unibody 15" MBP. Maybe in a year or 2 I will think about upgrading.
 
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leovilma

macrumors member
Feb 22, 2017
35
14
I've encountered some minor problems and can list these. I think its important to mention that my 15" pro has been used at home on desk so it hasn't seen no abuse whatsoever.

The dust/dirt under keys. Ive got few keys being unresponsive on normal typing situations, I had to use force to make them register and in that aspect it has been really annoying. Thankfully this issue has cleared up by itself until now as after some use the keys start to work normally again. I'd say I've been troubled by this for total of 2-3 weeks out of 2 year use. Unfortunately I can easily see this become a problem (especially if you use the laptop on the go often) where I have to turn to service center for a fix so I wouldn't recommend buying 2016/17 pro.

Touchbar has on some occasions become stuck, for example you adjust brightness and it doesn't automatically close the slider nor lets you close it manually. Restart has fixed this for me and its really a minor inconvenience that has happened rarely.

Just recently out of nowhere the fan has started to make noise that sounds similar to bikes spoke card. This will need to get serviced when I have time to deal with it.

All in all I'd say its a pretty good computer aside from the keyboard issue and in my opinion anyone looking to buy one should just get new 2018 model or wait a bit until those become available second hand instead of buying used 2016/17, at this price point its not worth the headache.

Edit: the noise I thought to be caused by the fan might instead be coming from speakers. I'll have to look further into that.
 
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Eerriikkoo

macrumors member
Feb 6, 2017
77
35
I have a 2.7 ghz radeon 460. The screen has been replaced twice because of the popping sound issue and the topcase has also been replaced twice because of stuck keys. This has been done in the last week so my battery cycle is down to zero again. This is nice but I don’t think it is a very reliable machine. I love working on it but O am worried that problems will reoccur especially with the keyboard.
 
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