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Comment by adrianmonk | Hacker News Reader

As long as we're talking mechanical keyboards, do they all require maintenance just to keep working, or is the basic Cooler Master one I bought just a dud?

After only like 2 years, many of the keys stopped working reliably. They'd double type or fail to register. I looked into it, and this seems to be a common issue with many mechanical keyboards. I tried some of the recommended solutions (blow dust out, use contact cleaner), and it improved things, but it's still not quite right.

I do like the feel, but I don't like the maintenance or lack of longevity. I'd be willing to pay more for a mechanical keyboard that is darned near maintenance free, but I'm not sure whether such a thing actually exists.

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They shouldn’t need that kind of maintenance unless you’re using it in an unusually dirty or dusty environment, as far as I know. I have a coolermaster tenkeyless with mx blues that I got about 10 years ago as a main keyboard that has worked without issue.

I take the keycaps off once or twice a year so I can clean under/around them. I don't do any maintenance other than that, and I did the same with my pre-mechanical keyboards (it's actually much easier as the cherry keycaps are way more durable/easy for being removed and put back than e.g. butterfly mechanisms that a lot of membrane keyboards use)

I've had a Cooler Master tenkeyless for nearly 10 years and I still use it. I have had to repair a couple solder joints over time however.

I dump the hair, crumbs and fingernail bits out of my Model M every couple of years - that's about it.

That's not, AFAIK, normal.

I have a variety of mechanicals and none of them are like that (mostly cherry switches, but a Unicomp spring type also), but that also means I swap through them with some regularity so no one of them gets 100% use.

They should require essentially zero maintenance except maybe cleaning out all the dust/lint/crumbs/etc. that fall in between the keys. The actual key switches should last like... 20 years or more. What switches in your Coolermaster? I have a Coolermaster Masterkeys Pro S (Cherry MX Brown switches) and have used it for like 7+ years with no problems, all keys 100%-responsive and no double-actuations that I've ever observed.

I think they're generally reliable. I have a pair of Filco keyboards, one five years old, the other ten, and I haven't had any trouble except I did have to open the older one up and clean it recently as a couple switches had gotten gunked up.

I’ve had my New M for a couple years now, and it’s been great. No complaints. Unicomp has sorted out their QC issues, and it’s a solid board. I’d say that the lack of a removable cable is a bit of a bummer, but that’s a nit pick.

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