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A bit ago I accidentally bought a Keychron keyboard that didn't have QMK support, but then found that someone had ported it anyway, and I was able to flash it a
by jchw 2mo ago
A bit ago I accidentally bought a Keychron keyboard that didn't have QMK support, but then found that someone had ported it anyway, and I was able to flash it and fix some problems I had (the main one being that it seems like the default firmware only scans a single row of keys while asleep, possibly to save energy, but I want any keypress to wake the computer.) Maybe it's not perfect, but the community around open source keyboard firmware is great, it's a good example of how open source is beneficial for end users, especially power users.
And, in an era where vendor software and firmware for all kinds of devices is constantly having vulnerabilities, it is possible the liability of doing custom shit will eventually outweigh whatever benefits hardware companies seem to think it has, versus just having industry standards and free software instead. But, maybe that is wishful thinking.
My only complaint with Keychron is that of 5 or so keyboards I've owned from them I wound up having to resolder 3 different hotswap sockets on 2 different keyboards right out of the box. That is... Not a fantastic failure rate. OTOH, they are otherwise an unambiguously great value, with materials and build quality that feels pretty impressive for the cost, QC issues notwithstanding.
- martinjc 2mo agoI bought a K4 Nordic version, only to learn none of their software supports it. So i can't reconfigure the firmware. The keyboard has swapped Super/Alt (Windows/Alt) on the windows layout which is so annoying. I hate spending money on hardware so i'm living with it, but i curse the engineer that burned the prom every day.
- benoau 2mo agoThat sucks, the main reason I like KeyChron is the little switch on the side of mine that toggles between Mac and Windows! I wouldn't buy another keyboard without this feature TBH.
- martinjc 2mo agoYeah on the mac it works fine. The keyboard just shipped with the Left Alt and Left Windows key in the correct positions, but they are mapped opposite in the firmware. Imagine how maddening it was in the beginning.
- benoau 2mo agoAre you sure you don't have a tiny switch on the side? The manual indicates it should have one - https://www.keychron.com/pages/k4-user-manual https://www.keychron.com/pages/k4-user-manual
- martinjc 2mo agoI do, but when on the windows mode the keys mentioned are in the wrong positions. -- Edit and if i switch to the macOS mode. The right alt-gr key is not mapped correctly.
- Barbing 2mo agoOn macOS: I use my Keychron C3 in Windows mode because the macOS mode ain't right with the bottom left corner keys. Maybe placement of Control/Option/Command aren't similar enough to the MacBook Pro keyboard for me. Been meaning to figure this out and fix it... swapping physical keycaps or remapping in software or replacing the keyboard...
- wlesieutre 2mo agoIf you're not aware, you can remap modifier keys in System Settings on macOS. It doesn't have individual settings for left/right versions of a modifier key, so keep it in whichever mode has the modifiers on left/right paired with each other correctly, and then swap their functions to the right ones. https://i.imgur.com/FXkmZRV.png https://i.imgur.com/FXkmZRV.png Settings are per keyboard so fixing your external keyboard won't mix up any other keyboards you use (particularly for laptops).
- ThrowawayR2 2mo ago> "the little switch on the side of mine that toggles between Mac and Windows" The physical slide switch on the Keychrons is a net negative for power users who use a KVM between Windows/Mac/Linux because it would wear out quickly and isn't replaceable. It's more sensible to have switching between layouts by keypress combination.
- svelle 2mo agoHave been using one of their keyboards for two years switching between windows and macos and that key was not the one that wore out first. Plus on most keyboards you could configure the layout switch with qmk anyways.
- bigfishrunning 2mo agoAt least on the keychrons i've got, you can absolutely configure layout changes via key combination, and that slide switch is just an input like every button is an input. I've got 2 that both run QMK firmware, so maybe the non-QMK ones can't do that, but at least some can.
- asabla 2mo agoI had a similar issue with mine. But was able to reset it with Fn + z + j for a couple of seconds.
- RicoElectrico 2mo agoWell, seems to be popular on these kinda keyboards. At least my NuPhy has it.
- BrandoElFollito 2mo agoWhy not reconfiguring it with something like AutoHotkey at the OS level ?
- zakisaad 2mo ago> I hate spending money on hardware so i'm living with it This is an odd take to me, as personally I'd be more willing to spend money on well designed and made hardware, than most software.
- spike021 2mo agomy issue with the one i have (k2, iirc) is that if i use it wirelessly and the battery dies, it becomes a brick until its been fully recharged. it won't even work as a wired keyboard until then. so ever since then i only use it wired.
- esseph 2mo agoWeird, my K1SE or K8Pros aren't like that.
- spike021 2mo agoHere's one reddit thread about it: https://www.reddit.com/r/Keychron/comments/j28yzg/k2_v2_doesnt_work_while_charging/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Keychron/comments/j28yzg/k2_v2_does... seems like there's a workaround but obviously far from ideal. edit: actually this may be the one I remember seeing at the time: https://www.reddit.com/r/Keychron/s/Dewr2dbVNX https://www.reddit.com/r/Keychron/s/Dewr2dbVNX
- danudey 2mo agoMy only complaint is that the backlight behavior has like a dozen different settings, none of which are "off". There's "on", "flicker", "blink when you hit the key", "ripple out when you hit the key", "move in waves regardless of input", etc., but there's no "don't be light" option.
- NormenKD 2mo agoIt's fn+light-key on my keychron. Might work on yours.
- jffry 2mo agoFn+Tab is the backlight toggle on my V5 Max (and it's specifically called out in the user manual https://www.keychron.com/pages/keychron-v5-max-user-manual https://www.keychron.com/pages/keychron-v5-max-user-manual)
- d_tr 2mo agoI got a c3 pro a few weeks ago and you definitely can turn the lighting off. Don't remember whether it was through cycling or some other combo but you can. Did you look at the manual?
- stingraycharles 2mo agoIt’s interesting and slightly off-topic, but I’ve been a Keychron user for years (currently have their latest Q6 Ultra 8K), and I’m wondering whether I should be using QMK? I’ve never really dug into it before, but I’m afraid I’ll be losing functionality.
- stasomatic 2mo agoI think that Keychron is a meme brand surfing on the long tail of custom drops. I have a couple of them a Q1 Pro something, a K* whatever. They are just decent keyboards, a middle of the road. The constant accidental invocation of flashing lights is annoying and then you have to cycle through the presets. Not unique enough for geeks. Their marketing is good. My Moonlander is gathering dust, can't find time to put it up on Ebay. Bought it 3 years ago, used for a week. QWERTY is hard to quit. I like the EPOMAKER Magicforce Smart2 68-Key layout [0] . No QMK, but I get by with Karabiner, etc. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0836T2Y17 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0836T2Y17
- CobaltFire 2mo agoYou sound like me. Same gripe about my Keychron, same Moonlander gathering dust that I keep meaning to do something with...
- hack1312 2mo agoI mentioned it to the person you’re replying to but if you’re in the USA and considering. in offloading the Moonlander I’m interested. My email is available in my profile.
- techpression 2mo agoAgree, not much special about them, and I truly hate their keycap profile which I find to be way too tall. They’re not bad keyboards, and regularly on sales in the 40-60% range for many of their boards, it’s just that they’re not great either, middle of the road so to say.
- Namidairo 2mo ago> I like the EPOMAKER Magicforce Smart2 68-Key layout [0] . No QMK, but I get by with Karabiner, etc. Many Epomaker boards are just licensed to be sold under their brand name, most of them fairly transparently. (Ie. Epomaker x Aula, Leobog etc.) Quite a few of their configuration software packages end up looking quite horrible as a result, as I don't believe they have a unified software package for all the brands they sell. Many Windows Forms looking programs that look like a time machine back to the era of Windows XP. Unfortunately they've also been caught up in quite a few scandals over the years: QMK license violations Customer support/Quality control issues Attempts to dodge customs by deliberately under-declaring the value of their packages... Got into a legal fight when another company also licensed an identical board design and beat them to market (The other company aren't angels either) Platform banned from Reddit for astroturfing Which kind of just results in Epomaker in being a hard discourage.
- ghtbircshotbe 2mo agoI only bought one keyboard from keychron and it was flaky from day one. It's the simplest keyboard they sold - wired, non hot swap. I don't know how to diagnose and fix the problem or I might try. In the end it wasn't worth $50, and you can get other Chinese mechanical keyboards for half the price with seemingly better quality control. Really can't recommend keychron
- brookst 2mo agoI like their products, but I recently discovered that two separate keyboards that I bought a couple of years ago are not actually hot swap despite claiming to be. On the bright side, both demonstrated very strong solder joints when pulled on fairly aggressively.