k70 Key chatter again

My third K70 has developed key chatter. Yes 3rd! Thats three of these god forsaken keyboards since October. And the only reason the three have lasted this long is becasue I don't have time to continually RMA my keyboard, otherwise I would have went through half a dozen by Christmas. Never in my life have I had so much trouble with a piece of computer equipment and I have been using computers professionally for 20 years clocking up to 80 hours per week with my hands on a keyboard over that time.

So I know that RMA is my only option ...again. I also know that in 6 weeks it will be my only option again....and again, and again, right up until the warranty has expired then I will have to buy a new keyboard after having having spent £115 for a years worth of frustration and hassle. The £8 replacement I am using right now feels like crap, but it works perfectly. It has never once chattered or failed to respond to a key press.

My problem is that I don't buy the official explanation of switch failure... Why not? Well, my experience of using these k70's while they were failing suggests the problem is software, or if its hardware, its something other than switch failure. My current keyboard now has 23 keys that chatter, and three that often don't respond on the first press. Now thats a pretty epic failure rate. Also, it started on the tab key, but now the tab key works fine. The problems seemed to be spreading across the keyboard from left to right. Started with tab, 1 and e, then moved on to r, t, u, o, then enter and right shift. Interestingly the minute the top row 1 key started acting up, the number pad 1 key starting acting in exactly the same way. But I could plug it right now and find that certain keys that weren't working are, and new ones have developed problems. None of this seems to fit with switch failure.

Some people blame it on the cherry reds... but I have read plenty of reports of people experiencing the same on browns and blues.

Some people say its the anti-bounce software that all keyboards use... don't know enough about this, but I imagine everyone would experience chatter if that was the case.

Some people have told me it's my typing style:mad:...but thats plain nonesense. Why was my typing style ok for the first 6 weeks then? Also, I have been typing a long time and on hundreds of different devices and if that were the problem, then the k70 would be the only keyboard I have ever used that required you to learn a special typing style in order to use it effectively.

Some people have said its dirt, dust, food, ash, dandruff, or whatever. Ok, I do a little bit of everything around my keyboard as I spend so long at it, but really - its never been a problem in the past except for liquid spills, and I didn't want a keyboard that I would have to use in a biohazard suit in a sealed room for it to last. Surely it can't be such a delicate little flower can it, with its heavy weight and industrial looks? Anyway, I meticulously and carefully clean it regularily with no effect on the problem.

Now I am going to have to go back to mushy keyboard hell just so I can do my job properly:(:. And now I have experienced the silky feel of cherry reds its going to be very hard to go back to the jarring feeling of rubber dome, but its looking likely I'm going to have to becasue this keyboard has seriously tainted my view of mechanical switches.

So off to rma again but ultimately I expect it to be a pointless exercise and have a feeling I will be using a different keyboard from now on.

Well, I think it's quite widely known that key chatter is a failure that has to do with the mechanical switches...

Now, do you have the K70 RGB version or the non-RGB one? Because if you have the non-RGB one then the software doesn't count at all since the K70 non-RGB doesn't have any software to being with.

If thats the case then cherry switchs aren't exactly fit for purpose. 23 switch failures on this keyboard alone, not to mention the dozen or so on the last the one, and the one before that.

About 10 years ago I had a keyboard that wouldn't accept 3 keys at one... other than that I have never had a keyboard that is unable to input keystrokes correctly... until now that is.

Yes its non RGB. But when I say software - I mean clashing with something else on the computer, or poor anti bounce algorithim, or whatever... not a software program. Perhaps I should have used a different word... maybe driver?

Every keyboard has firmware and it is filtering key bounces. Some manufacturers code good firmware to filter and the others not. Bad firmware overlook key bounces easily.　

And cherry mx switch has 5ms debounce. So if your chatter is <5ms that'll be faulty switch.

You can diagnosis keys by using this software with several threshold.

http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/switch_hitter.html

Every keyboard has firmware and it is filtering key bounces. Some manufacturers code good firmware to filter and the others not. Bad firmware overlook key bounces easily.　

 

And cherry mx switch has 5ms debounce. So if your chatter is <5ms that'll be faulty switch.

 

You can diagnosis keys by using this software with several threshold.

http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/switch_hitter.html

Well according to that software (providing I understand it right) the switches are all in 100% working order. no matter how hard I tried I could not get it to chatter in the tests. Fastest actuation was 12ms and even that was a rare thing - most were 80ms or more.

If thats the case then cherry switchs aren't exactly fit for purpose. 23 switch failures on this keyboard alone, not to mention the dozen or so on the last the one, and the one before that.

 

About 10 years ago I had a keyboard that wouldn't accept 3 keys at one... other than that I have never had a keyboard that is unable to input keystrokes correctly... until now that is.

 

Yes its non RGB. But when I say software - I mean clashing with something else on the computer, or poor anti bounce algorithim, or whatever... not a software program. Perhaps I should have used a different word... maybe driver?

some keys dont fail at Cherry, they fail after Cherry sends them to COrsair or whoever.

some keys dont fail at Cherry, they fail after Cherry sends them to COrsair or whoever.

i think exactly this.

corsair has all the perfect parts to create the ultimate keyboard, (cherry switches, new PCB mounted RGB LEDs, beautiful brushed aluminum case, etc...) but manufacturing process and software development really screwed up the final product.

key chatter is what ultimately made me refund the keyboard.

I'm on my second k70 and I have found the solution!

You have to condition the keys! I remember this from the 80s i **** you not.

Find a key that chatters. Take you finger and hit down on it real hard about 30 times. Test again and you'll find it no longer chatters. And continues to no longer chatter. God I knew it! There's nothing wrong with these keyboards you just have to break them in.

Hooked up the old keyboard and this also fixed that one, every single key.

Don't do this when your mad, your stronger than you think, lol

:)