As always seems to be the case with Apple products on Woot, by the time you add the SquareTrade warranty (which is nowhere near as good as an Apple warranty, and requires shipping your computer elsewhere for who-knows-how-long instead of just taking it into an Apple store), you’re only saving $50 over an official refurb from Apple (Refurbished Mac - MacBook Air - Apple). And with that iffy butterfly keyboard, boy oh boy, do you want an Apple warranty!
Thank you for posting that comment!
So I’ve had my eye on this specific product since Black Friday, but for the concerns about warranty etc. (as posted above), I haven’t had been able to convince myself to buy it.
What’s the likelihood that we’ll hit Black Friday prices for this exact model again? Maybe then I’ll feel more comfortable with the purchase? (Or even December 2nd prices)
When Apple sells it to Woot! With no warranty they are completely divorcing themselves from any liability whatever and whenever. Extended coverage for a known defect? - Nope, nada. I year from Woot! Is not too bad but the savings here are limited and the speed and quality of the repairs, if needed, are unknown. Personally, I bought a MacBook with a 1 year Woot! Warranty and at 15 months the keyboard went wonky. Apple covers it own products for that problem even past the original warranty but wouldn’t touch the Woot! MacBook.
Sorry guys, no Apple warranty, no interest. Apple has offered a free lifetime warranty on these butterfly keyboards. But with your deal, that will not be honored. Unless you are giving these away for free, only a fool would buy an Apple product without an Apple warranty, especially the special coverage for the keyboard.
I have the 15" version of these. The keyboard is just plain awful to work with and has been replaced twice already due to complete failure of various keys. It does have the lifetime warranty on the keyboard, so I’ll just have to keep taking it in a few times a year for replacement. Very annoying. If you don’t use an external keyboard 90% of the time this may be a good deal. But for a 13" screen that’s not likely the primary use case.
I’ll be excited if they figure out how to get the revamped keyboard from new models to fit in this one.
I bought this item as a Garage Sale item, which sold out later that day (Monday). I’m curious how Woot suddenly has more. That said, now I’m a little nervous about this keyboard issue. I did find something about keyboard replacement through Apple. Looks like they cover it four years after “original retail sale date.” So, maybe there’s hope. Or maybe I have wishful thinking. Either way, I’ll stick with what I have for now. image|231x500
iFixit has parts for this Macbook Air if something is broken & you’re not afraid to fix it yourself.
Below is a list of MacBooks with Butterfly Keyboards that Apple is extending the coverage on the keyboards. I would trust that Apple would have you covered. The program covers eligible MacBook, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro models for 4 years after the first retail sale of the unit.
This MacBook Air’s keyboard would be covered until 2022.
The Squaretrade warranty unless it’s adding accidental coverage is not worth it, since you already get 1 year warranty from Woot.
I’ve had one 12" MacBook (Butterfly keyboard) and now I’m on a 15" MacBook Pro (Butterfly keyboard), neither of my computers have had any issues. I have seen issues on these keyboards, but I have not personally had any.
For work I use a 13" MacBook Air 2018, and I am a pig on that thing, also have had no issues.
YMMV
Eligible Models
To identify your computer’s model and to see if it is eligible for this program, choose Apple () menu > About This Mac. Eligible models are listed below.
- MacBook (Retina, 12-Âinch, Early 2015)
- MacBook (Retina, 12Â-inch, Early 2016)
- MacBook (Retina, 12-Âinch, 2017)
- MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2018)
- MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2019)
- MacBook Pro (13Â-inch, 2016, Two Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
- MacBook Pro (13-Âinch, 2017, Two Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
- MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports)
- MacBook Pro (13-Âinch, 2016, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
- MacBook Pro (13-Âinch, 2017, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
- MacBook Pro (15-Âinch, 2016)
- MacBook Pro (15-Âinch, 2017)
- MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2018, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
- MacBook Pro (15-Âinch, 2018)
- MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
- MacBook Pro (15-Âinch, 2019)
I read all of these comments about not being able to get AppleCare and complaining about the butterfly keyboard.
It doesn’t matter if you purchase a MacBook from Apple, Woot, Amazon or Best Buy. When the warranty is up Apple won’t care where you bought it if they decide to replace the keyboard for free (as @tjrchka has said).
If you are worried so much about this keyboard why they hell would you buy it with or without AppleCare? If I’m buying a premium laptop I sure expect it to last over 3 years. So if you would only buy this laptop with AppleCare then maybe this isn’t the laptop for you unless you.
Defective keyboard, about to be abandoned by Apple after ripping off customers for almost 4 years with this now-infamous, epically-failure-prone POS. But you go right ahead and plunk down your hard-earned money and, when the warranty expires, Apple will only be too happy to charge you $700 for a keyboard repair (or use DTTService for a $195 keyboard swap). Unfortunately, you’ll still end up with another butterfly-mechanism keyboard so you’ll be back for more.
Better to find the (still available new) 2017 model new for $750 on Amazon. Search for it. That one has the good keyboard and an upgradable SSD.