Keychron (K2) users?

Bes · 17 Jul 2020 at 16:44

Hi there

I LOVE the look of these things, but I am concerned about the height and wrist strain.

Does anyone have one of these as a daily driver? (For work/coding)
How is it with a wrist rest? Would you say it is comfortable for all-day use? Is the wrist rest annoying?

Thanks

catalyst · 17 Jul 2020 at 20:33

Yeah, I have been using one across my Mac and Windows systems for a few weeks now. The height is definitely noticeable/a bit weird but for some reason it doesn't result in any strain even though I don't use a wrist wrest and my previous keyboard was the Magic Keyboard which is the polar opposite in terms of profile and key travel.

Something to be aware of - I have a UK ISO model with Mac Keycaps and it has an issue where the Plus-Minus/Section Sign key and the Tilde/Back Tick key are swapped. It is an acknowledged issue on the Keychron website and they have a firmware update to resolve it for the US model but not for the UK ISO model.

I emailed Keychron themselves and the retailer to confirm the issue and ultimately I 'fixed' it by creating a custom keyboard bundle (as opposed to using Karabiner 24/7) but tbh the fact that a keyboard manufacturer can't even get the fundamental functionality of their product correct means I wouldn't buy it again. I would probably go with a Varmilo if I could do it over.

Bes · 17 Jul 2020 at 21:04

Thanks for this.
I have looked at a Varmilo but they don’t look as good and finding stock is a pain (OCUK don’t know when they will get more

)

Big advantage of the Varmilo is that it is not as high I suppose.

As I understand it you’ve fixed the glitch with the keys so presumably if I did get one you would be able to share your secrets on how to fix the issue?

catalyst · 17 Jul 2020 at 21:22

Oh yeah no problem! It is a minor issue at the end of the day but as an engineer, automated testing is an integral part of my job so it just riles me a bit to see it be done badly haha

I used Ukelele on Mac and Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator on Windows to create keyboard layouts with the fix. Both apps are a little fiddly so I would be happy to share the executable bundles if you get the keyboard, just message me and I'll send them over.

Cheers

Bes · 18 Jul 2020 at 11:12

Awesome thanks!

there must be a few other K2 users on here?! Any more thoughts appreciated

niko · 21 Jul 2020 at 21:48

I've got the iso version. The Bluetooth can be a pain connecting to windows on boot but solid when connected. Since the new firmware update on wake from sleep it sometimes does the 3rd letter in capitals. Otherwise a great keyboard. Wish they would sort the Bluetooth issue, but they are crap at returning emails so I haven't received much help from them.