Hello,
I am very new to this forum and I apologize if this is the wrong place to post this topic. This is the one that made the most sense to me.
I recently bought my very first mechanical keyboard after doing a lot of research. I chose the Keychron K6 65% keyboard
https://www.keychron.com/products/keychron-k6-wireless-mechanical-keyboard. I bought the version with soldered key switches (accidentally, I actually wanted hot-swappable). I used the keyboard for about a week after which I started doing the mods I planned with my roommate.
I de-soldered the key-switches with a soldering iron and de-soldering pump (my roommate and I managed to break two which I have ordered replacements for). I then lubricated all the switches. I then put the switches back in the PCB (except the two that broke) and soldered them.
I plugged my keyboard in, and wow, it is not working correctly! I will now note all bits of information on its condition and its behavior:
[CONDITION]
1. The keyboard receives power when it is plugged in.
2. It didn't do a very careful job of making sure the key switches bottomed out on the PCB
3. The lighting key in the top right corner and the tab key do not have switches. Their sockets are covered with masking tape.
4. None of the switches are bridged in the open position when tested with a multimeter
5. All the switches close when in the closed position.
[BEHAVIOR]
Note: I describe the lighting issues, but lighting is not a concern of mine. I have ordered blank keycaps.
Behavior doesn't change whether the battery is plugged into the PCB or not.
1. The escape key appears to change the lighting mode.
2. The lighting mode appears to change sporadically
3. A couple of columns do not light with the rest of the keys: 3, 4, 5, 8, and 10
4. In column 3, pressing ["S"], [X], or [Left Alt] causes all column 3 LEDs to light up. In column 4, all switches will cause the column to light up. In columns 5, 8, and 10, no keys will light.
5. (Using keyboardtester.com)
*Columns and rows listed from top left to bottom right
*All keys not listed have no behavior
[ESC], [1], [2], [5],
- cause all row 1 keys to stick.
[Q], [T], [Y], ["U"], [Home]: cause all row 2 keys to stick
[A], [G] activates (only while depressed) itself and all row 4 keys.
["S"] activates all row 3 and row 4 keys.
[D] activates all row 3 and row 4 keys, will sometimes get stuck for a bit, and then cease.
[N] sticks all row 4 keys, will start after switch is barely pressed (like literally just putting your finger on it) and then stop after some time (this baffles me because the switch only closes half way down when tested with a multimeter). This behavior repeated itself accross ten trials. ** I just tested it again, and it will activate EVEN IF YOU AREN'T TOUCHING IT! If you hover your hand over the keyboard without touching it, IT WILL ACTIVATE.
[L ALT] activates all row 5 keys.
[Space] activates all row 4 keys and [WIN] key.
[Enter], [Page Up], [WIN], [R CTRL], [<], [v], [>] work as expected.
[FN1] and [FN2] appear to be working as expected
[FN1]+[ESC] activates function row
[FN2]+[1] activates [~], [F4, [F6], [F7], [F9], [F10], and [F11].
[FN2]+[2] activates [~], [F10], [Shift], and [Page Down]
So I'm not sure what exactly is the matter. But I would be very grateful if you guys could take a crack at some of these questions:
1. Does this seem like it could be an issue with the connections or with the keyboard controller itself?
2. Is the damage possibly reversible?
3. Is it possible for a professional electrical engineer to fix my board?
4. Would it be worthwhile for me to de-solder the switches to see what is on the other side?
5. Does it matter if two sockets are missing key-switches?
Thank you guys so much! And if you think I should post on another/a different forum, please let me know!