RutSum

The MacBook Keyboard-Trackpad and Weird Audio Output Problem Saga – Part 1

This is going to be a long post, so I would like to timestamp events.

1st Week Of September, 2008 : I had bought a new MacBook, and was very excited about it. Was using for hours at stretch. Noticed a really strange problem. After some time of usage, mouse started lagging, CPU usage went up, heat sinks went crazy, everything became jerky. I thought it was an overheating problem and disregarded it.

The problem came back again and again. While during some of my sessions it would refuse to go away, it wouldn’t appear in others at all no matter how long I used the machine for. This made me suspicious that the problem was due to some factor that wasn’t an integrated part of the system, because there had to be something that was different in the sessions in which the problem did not appear. I posted the problem on MacRumors Forums and the official Apple discussion forums, but didn’t get any satisfactory solutions or explanatory answers.

4th October, 2008 : While playing around with the machine, I accidentally discovered the source of the problem. I was right, the problem appeared whenever something was plugged into the audio output port. It could be anything – headphones, earphones, speakers, I tried it with all of them. Whenever anything was plugged into the audio output port, the CPU usage for the process ‘kernel_task’ increased drastically and went up to about 45-50% which in effect caused the lagging of the mouse and all other problems. As soon as the device was removed from the audio output jack, everything went back to normal. I tested the problem under several different conditions, with several related and unrelated applications, and I could reproduce the problem successfully whenever something was plugged into the port. I confirmed this problem on the Apple Discussion Forums, several other people had the same problem, and somebody on the forums said that the cause of the problem was the accidental triggering of ‘digital audio’ by a 3.5 mm jack inserted into the port, which opened up multiple threads to the kernel and caused high CPU usage (don’t really know what it means, but I think this is what he said). Bottom line, I was happy in a way that I finally knew what the problem was, but because of the complicated nature of the problem, it was going to be hard getting help for it.

29th December, 2008 : My MacBook’s keyboard starts malfunctioning after some regular cleaning (using a damp cloth and a bit of soap). I did the cleaning when the MacBook was powered down. The next time I started it, I heard a repeated sound of a key being pressed on boot, except for the fact that I obviously hadn’t kept any keys pressed. Did another reboot, waited for some time to let the machine cool down, used a hair drier to get any remaining moisture out, but nothing worked. Ultimately the keyboard failed completely and I went to sleep, giving up.

30th December, 2008 : I boot up my MacBook again in the morning and find that the problem though is not solved, but is not bad as it was the previous night. Now, pressing 1 key in turn types 3 – for example pressing ‘d’ typed out ‘dc3′ and pressing ‘g’ typed out ‘gb5′. Now I was convinced that definitely the keyboard was fried. Thankfully, the trackpad is working fine.

31st December, 2008 : While everyone else is celebrating the arrival of a new year, I am sitting in a Blueline bus trying to get my MacBook repaired. I took it to the AASP (Apple Authorised Service Provider) nearest to my residence which was U. C. Infosystems in Naraina (New Delhi). I dealt with a person named Vivek Sharma over there, who took a look at my machine and said that I needed to deposit the MacBook over there for a thorough checking. I told him that it was really difficult for me to survive without my MacBook but he still insisted that I leave it over there for a full check up. I reluctantly agreed and also tried to explain to him the weird audio output problem that I was facing. Though he didn’t seem to get exactly what I was aiming at (I didn’t give him a demonstration of the problem, I just tried to explain it to him verbally) but he said that he would get it checked and wrote down ‘audio output mouse lagging high cpu usage problem’ on the receipt that he gave to me (apart from the non functional keyboard of course). He said the all keyboard problems are usually solved by completely replacing the top case – the part which consists of the keyboard, the trackpad and the palm rest area. I was happy because that would mean I would get a brand new white palm rest, which wouldn’t be an eye sore (the palm rest area in white MacBooks are known to turn yellow or get discolored). An executive called Anu told me that the job would take around a week and she would call me up and tell me when the machine would be ready to collect. I am so shaken to have to give up my MacBook that I go and get myself a USB Keyboard, for a just-in-case scenario.

6th January, 2009 : I called up U. C. Infosystems to ask them if my machine was ready. They said that they had replaced the top case and the keyboard is now working fine. I asked if they had fixed the audio output issue. By the voice, I guess it was the same executive, Anu. She said that she didn’t know about the audio output problem and would call me back after 5 minutes after checking it up with the engineers.

Half an hour goes by. I call them up again. Its Anu again. She tells me that the engineers are still busy and she will now call me in 5 minutes after checking up.

10 minutes later I get a call from the technician Vivek Sharma, who tells me that they have checked the MacBook thoroughly and completely and have fixed the audio output problem. He said that I can come and pick up the machine. I leave immediately from my home. This is trip number 2 to U. C. Infosystems.

I go there and check the keyboard and trackpad. Its working fine. I sign the required papers and go home. I’m really tired when I reach home, so I go to sleep.

7th January, 2009 : I turn on the machine, use it for a couple of hours, and boom. In the middle of my work, I am writing a sentence, typing, and suddenly my keyboard stops working. So does the trackpad. This time I am doing nothing related to cleaning where moisture could creep in. I am just typing normally. And keyboard and trackpad are no more.

I am devastated by this, and feel really frustrated over the incompetence of the technicians to fix a problem completely. I decide to complaint to Apple, but I was unable to find email support for MacBooks. Thats right, Apple has NO email support for MacBooks, not in India, not anywhere in the world. So your only options for support are calling up the call center people on the CC number or taking your product to an AASP. Again feeling let down by Apple, I call up the Apple CC and tell them the situation.

(…to be continued)

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