Please, please, please stop using keyboard covers on your MacBook

Given how finicky the keyboard on the MacBook range can be, you’d be forgiven if you wanted to add another layer of protection onto them. I mean, an errant crumb from that everything bagel you’re scarfing down while rushing for a deadline could put your entire computer into the repair shop.

The thing is, those well-intentioned silicone keyboard covers could do more harm to your MacBook than the crumbs it’s supposed to protect against it.

Let’s start with the main reason, which Apple even cautions against it. See, MacBooks are built to super close tolerances, which are supposed to make it hard for foreign bodies to get between the screen and the keyboard when closed.

That means that only air can fit between the keyboard and the screen, and Apple says even a thin webcam cover can cause damage, let alone a thicker silicone keyboard cover.

Even dust on the keyboard of your MacBook can damage your screen, as my old MacBook Pro has the outline of some of the chicklet keycaps imprinted on the glass screen as they were touching when the screen was closed.

Heck, you might not even need to put anything in between the screen and the keyboard for it to break, as two class-action suits against Apple are alleging.

Oh, and if the risk of impending doom for your MacBook’s beautiful screen wasn’t enough to warn you off – you could be literally cooking your MacBook if you use a keyboard cover. Sure, this is less of an issue for an M1-powered MacBook since those run super cool, but any other MacBook owner should beware.

See, that loud cooling fan that comes on when your Intel-based MacBook is doing heavy work is pushing air around your MacBook to push away heat.

That fan doesn’t just bring in cool air from the vents on the bottom; it also pulls in from, you guessed it, the keyboard. So as soon as you cover the keyboard, things are almost guaranteed to get toasty.

Here’s my simple suggestion to all of this: Just don’t use a keyboard cover, it’s easier to not eat or drink over your MacBook. Really, it’s that easy.

Have any thoughts on this? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

Editors’ Recommendations:

• New MacBook Pro models with the M1X chip should be here soon
• How to stop your MacBook from automatically adjusting screen brightness
• Amazon has Apple’s latest MacBook Air M1 models down to their lowest prices ever
• If you refuse to use your charging case for storage, you can slap your AirPods on a MacBook screen

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Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere. His hobbies include photography, animation, and hoarding Reddit gold.