For years, MacBook owners endured a frustrating ordeal: keyboards that stuck, keys that repeated, and overall typing misery. The culprit? Apple‘s ill-fated butterfly keyboard, a design choice that promised sleekness but delivered a world of trouble. Now, a chapter in this saga is closing.

Checks are hitting mailboxes across the country as Apple makes good on a $50 million settlement reached in 2022 (PDF version) with disgruntled MacBook users. The lawsuit alleged that the butterfly keyboards were prone to failure, causing significant inconvenience and financial burden to owners.

Those who filed claims during a specific period last year are eligible for payouts ranging from $50 to $395, depending on the severity of their keyboard woes. This marks the end of a legal battle that has dragged on for years, offering some measure of relief to those who suffered through sticky keys and endless repair visits.

The butterfly keyboard, introduced in 2015, was a bold design choice that prioritized thinness over functionality. With its incredibly low key travel, the keyboard promised a futuristic typing experience. However, the allure of sleekness was quickly overshadowed by a litany of problems. Dust, crumbs, and even tiny bits of hair could wreak havoc on the delicate mechanism, leading to keys that stuck, refused to register, or repeated endlessly.

Frustrated users took to social media, forums, and Apple Stores to share their tales of woe. Countless hours were wasted on repairs, and many MacBook owners resorted to buying external keyboards to get any work done.

Apple eventually acknowledged the issue and introduced revised versions of the butterfly keyboard with improvements aimed at addressing the problems. But it wasn’t until 2019 that the company completely abandoned the design, opting for a more traditional scissor-switch mechanism in its MacBook Pro models.

While the checks are a welcome development for those affected by the keyboard debacle, they cannot erase the frustration and inconvenience experienced by countless MacBook owners. The butterfly keyboard saga serves as a cautionary tale about the potential pitfalls of prioritizing aesthetics over functionality. And for those who have finally received their compensation, it’s a bittersweet ending to a chapter they would rather forget.