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Comment by OsrsNeedsf2P | Hacker News Reader

I really wanted to like Keychron, but after spending 200$ on one of their high end keyboards, certain keys weren't detecting presses less than a month later. I couldn't end up fixing it so I tossed it out. Felt like a waste

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Same. I ended up resoldering nearly all of the contact points (i.e. not the hot swap contact points but where those connect to the main board) because I liked the keyboard and firmware so much but it was such a stupid problem (way too little solder from the factory) for such an otherwise good and high end keyboard.

I like building my own keyboards. I get to choose the keycaps, switches, PCB, foams, cases. If some component fails or does not feel right, and can replace it. Building won't be cheaper, but there is an enormous quality gap between mass produced stuff and custom keyboards. My switches (Gateron) cost more than than a mid-range keyboard. If you don't want to go full DIY but want custom quality, check out Mode Designs for example.

I am deep into custom keyboards but I only buy ones with hot swappable switches. Some keys like AWSDEHJKL etc are bound to fail sooner than others.

The mechanical keyboard hobby takes patience; just look at firmware customization: testing litterally requires keystrokes.

I'm on a Mac keyboard bent for the very reason, actually,

Mouse firmware sounds very cool, though. If you could access a layer by holding down a central button, that could open up neat possibilities.

And all of us have owned multiple keyboards that have lasted for years of daily heavy use without a single key failing. Even the $30 membranes you could buy at $local_retailer didn't fail in a month.

As the poster is saying "certain keys weren't detecting presses less than a month later" it's almost certainly a manufacturing defect, rather than a wear-out issue.

Keychron say their mechanical switches last '50 million clicks' so to wear out after a month you'd have to be pressing the key 19 times a second, 24 hours a day.

> I couldn't end up fixing it so I tossed it out.

Was the warranty support not able to repair or replace it? I haven't ran into the need to contact them yet so I am curious about how good or bad they are...

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