Are mechanical keyboards really more reliable?

[1391406]

I'm sure many of you will have an opinion about this. What do you think?  I ask because I see more people experiencing problems with mechanical switches than cheap rubber dome keyboards. In fact, I almost never hear anyone complain about their cheap keyboard acting flaky. Considering mechanical switches are more intricate(and delicate), doesn't it stand to reason they're more likely to break compared to membrane based switches?

Just wondering.

[AuRinBei]

I have never had a keyboard break. The same crappy rubber dome was used by me an the rest of my family for years, and it never had any problems. I have never even seen a rubber dome keyboard that wasn't either entirely broken or working fine. I've never bought the talk about how mechanical keyboards are so much more reliable.

[rowdy]

Mechanical keyboards are more complex and thus have more points for failure.

Rubber dome keyboards degrade fairly quickly overall, and end up crap to type on after only a few months use.

Also mechanical keyboards you can swap parts out.  Most rubber dome are throw-away items.

So unless you are particular unlucky with a mechanical board, the same board should last you for many years.

[csmith1991]

I think the reason you never hear of people talking about cheap keyboards acting up isn't because they're more reliable, but because they're cheap. If it takes 2 hours to fix it, but you normally make $20/hr is it really worth your time? Mechanical keyboards on the other hand are an investment.

Rubber dome keyboards go out all the time honestly. Ever have a remote control for your TV where you have to squeeze for it to change the channel? Or perhaps you just dropped it on accident. What about a key fob for your car to unlock the doors? These are just a couple of examples where just buying a new keyboard makes sense.

Cherry MX keys are rated for 50 million clicks. This is probably measured via actuators that their entire purpose is counting this (sounds like a fun life, no?). I couldn't really imagine someone having to many issues from over using a mechanical keyboard. Much more likely is they're abusing it. Keyboards aren't meant to have drinks, hair, dust build up, etc in them. These things can, over time, wear out mechanical devices quicker than what would be normal.

So overall I think mechanical keyboards are "better". They require you to take care of them, but that should go without saying. It's not like you're buying a $150 paperweight. To be as harsh as possible... perhaps they're a bit over-engineered for what they do.

[Emospence]

I've never had any keyboard break, rubber dome or mechanical.

But... Nice stuff..

[cactux]

They are not. You wont type faster. They are just fancy stuff. They can last longer, but that depends on the whole keyboard (pcb, switches, case, etc)

[The_Beast]

There isn't exactly a community of people interested in rubber dome keyboards and therefore, no one vents that there $10 RD keyboard broke, they just replace it with another and move on.

[1391406]

I don't know. I've heard some people say certain keys just stopped clicking on their MX Blue board or some such, for example. On the other hand, I've had my car fob for about 7 years and it typically works without incident, that is unless the battery is going out. Also, like a keyboard, if you drop a remote, aren't you more than likely damaging the IC?

Anyway, before I got into mechanical keyboards, I'd been using a Microsoft Wireless Multimedia Keyboard for a number of years and it was a real trooper up until I made the switch. I'm just saying I can't think of a single rubber dome keyboard I've ever owned that became progressively less responsive to key actuation. I'm sure it happens, but I've never experienced it nor have I heard about it from anyone I know personally or otherwise.

[rowdy]

There isn't exactly a community of people interested in rubber dome keyboards and therefore, no one vents that there $10 RD keyboard broke, they just replace it with another and move on.

This, plus there is not much you can repair on one.  To replace any parts you pretty much need to buy another keyboard of the same model and strip the parts from it, but then why not just use the replacement keyboard as is.

[1391406]

There isn't exactly a community of people interested in rubber dome keyboards and therefore, no one vents that there $10 RD keyboard broke, they just replace it with another and move on.

Maybe, but everybody here was likely a rubber dome user at some point for awhile. You'd think there'd be more stories from keyboard enthusiasts about how their old cheap rubber domes were unreliable if, in fact, they are.

[rowdy]

Many if not most rubber dome keyboard users have probably never heard of mechanical keyboards.

And if they have, they probably think of Model M from way back.

[1391406]

Many if not most rubber dome keyboard users have probably never heard of mechanical keyboards.

Okay, but in all your years of using a rubber dome board(assuming it was years), did you ever have one flake out on you?

[1391406]

Honestly, even if rubber domes could be proven to be more reliable, who cares? Mechanical keyboards offer a far superior typing experience, in my opinion. I mean, I'm sure there are probably some cars that cost a fortune and aren't as reliable as a Honda, but offer a superior driving experience.

[tbc]

did you just compare a car fob to a keyboard?

[rowdy]

Many if not most rubber dome keyboard users have probably never heard of mechanical keyboards.

Okay, but in all your years of using a rubber dome board(assuming it was years), did you ever have one flake out on you?

In terms of wearing out - yes, all the time.  Some were horrible to start with and got worse.  A few had the legends wear off.  Most just got stiffer until you had to pound the keys - that wouldn't happen with a mechanical board.

[1391406]

Many if not most rubber dome keyboard users have probably never heard of mechanical keyboards.

Okay, but in all your years of using a rubber dome board(assuming it was years), did you ever have one flake out on you?

In terms of wearing out - yes, all the time.

All the time? Really? Weird. In my experience, the people I know who upgraded their keyboard did so because they liked the look and features of the keyboard they were upgrading to. Now, I've definitely seen legends wear off, but as far as performance, very rarely did I ever hear anyone complain about actuation, but that's me. 99% of the time, when they were banging on their keyboard, it's because their computer was acting nutty.

[1391406]

[FoxWolf1]

Usually, I can get a few years at most out of a membrane keyboard before groups of keys stop registering. Letters may or may not wear off before this-- non-mechanicals, like mechanicals, can be good or bad in this regard. I'm not sure if I've ever managed to make one live long enough for stiffening domes to really matter.

I reserve a special hatred for scissor switches. With those, by the time the matrix starts going, I'll have already lost multiple keys to physical failure of the switch mechanism. Sometimes I've managed to not only break the little clips on the backs of the keycaps AND the plastic scissor mechanism itself, but have even managed to make the little dome underneath come off. By the time the electronics start to fail, it's practically a mercy killing.

[dorkvader]

I would agree that there are possibly more points of failure in a mechanical keyboard than a typical rubber dome. That said, there are some very simple mechanical keyboards. Reed switch and some hall effect keyboards are engineered for (extreme) reliability and can possibly operate even underwater (sometimes by design). A cheap rubberdome may have a simpler construction, but there's only so long that rubber sheet will last unttil a switch fails, whereas the spring and slider (only moving parts in a hall effect switch) are rated for 30 billion actuations and will quite likely achieve that number, though they will likely feel terrible as the switch housing will wear the slider. Still, it'll keep working.... (this is only true for "vintage" microswitch / honeywell hall effect switches. the modern ones are of a different construction)

That said, I think that your biggest concern is likely to be some sort of damage rather than an electrical or mechanical failure of the component.

[Emospence]

The Logitech rubber done I pounded on for years and years is still working flawlessly. My parents are still using it.

[Oobly]

Rubber domes do get faults, just like mechanical keys. Poor fella in this thread has had 2 rubber domes start failing: http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=15565.0

A Zboard and an MS Sidewinder X6.

Big advantages of mechanical boards, however, are that you can just replace the faulty switch and carry on and the feeling of the switches. Can improve typing speed and accuracy, too, depending on which switches you use and typing habits.

I doubt most rubber dome switches can get close to 50 million presses without failing, but mechanical switches usually fail for other reasons than simple wear from overuse. A lot of rubber domes can handle more abuse than a mechanical without failing (at least in terms of spills and particles, etc.).

[Polymer]

Anyone that says they've never had a normal rubber dome keyboard fail hasn't dealt w/ computers nearly enough...

They do fail...and you can wear them out....The reason no one really pays attention is because they're dirt cheap...and it doesn't matter if it fails..you won't fix it..you'll toss it and buy a new one..

Mechanical keyboards are probably, as a whole, more reliable...but they can fail..in fact, the parts I think are more likely to have issues are the PCB more so than the actual switches..the advantage of mechanical keyboards is all the customization..the fact that you can take it apart.  Heck, if one dies on you now, you can just harvest the switches, case and keycaps if you wanted to...You can't/wont' be doing that with a rubber dome keyboard. 

[RabRhee]

In industrial situations where keyboards are used 24 hours a day, rubber domes can get very crappy very quickly. With one system we had, where one area of the keyboard was constantly in use, about half the rubber membranes on keyboards would crack or split in a 6-12 months, leaving that small area hard to use or just not working at all. When they redesigned the room they put in buckling spring IBMs that lasted well until everyone pinched them for home. All the proper industrial systems would have mech keyboards, it was only when a project manager tried to supply the hardware cheap would membranes show up.

In dusty or grimy areas, non-sealed switch mechanical keyboards would probably fare as bad or worse than rubber domes, but those situations had mechanical keyboards that were sealed to a protective level, not membranes. For general heavy control room use mechanicals lasted much longer than membranes. Spills and other damage were just factors that happened, usually with 100% keyboard replacement regardless of type.

Our industrial situations would generally prefer mechanical operations over electrical, and standard electrical over electronic. Pretty much how cars used to be, before everything was controlled by black boxes that few can or bother to fix. Maybe the old methods would fail more often, but they were less likely to fail for undiagnoseable reasons, and generally easier and cheaper to straighten up when they did fail, and without the need to call on experts quite so much.

[czarek]

The only keyboard failures I ever had were due to some spills or dirt accumulating between membranes, those were in very old Amigas or some classic laptops. I never had any of my personal keyboards fail, be it RD (in a laptop) or mechanical, although I've seen a lot of wear in both RD and mechanical. When I was using laptops as a primary computers keycap labels faded out very quickly on iBook or keys becoming very light to touch (PowerBook, Macbook Pro and HHKB Pro 2).
With mechanicals I've only seen wear to Filco with stock ABS keys. They look horrible after few months use. There is some wear noticeable on a black unicomp case near the palm rest, and I can't notice any wear on any of the keyboards I have, no matter how much use they had. The keyboards I have used the most so far are Unicomp Spacesaver (used over a year non stop, no wear at all, very slight shine on few keys), HHKB (no physical wear, but few keys became lighter and lost their tactility) and for last couple of months Filco metallic blue with PBT keys and this one is like a Panzer tank

[mapple]

I don't know. I've heard some people say certain keys just stopped clicking on their MX Blue board or some such, for example. On the other hand, I've had my car fob for about 7 years and it typically works without incident, that is unless the battery is going out. Also, like a keyboard, if you drop a remote, aren't you more than likely damaging the IC?

Anyway, before I got into mechanical keyboards, I'd been using a Microsoft Wireless Multimedia Keyboard for a number of years and it was a real trooper up until I made the switch. I'm just saying I can't think of a single rubber dome keyboard I've ever owned that became progressively less responsive to key actuation. I'm sure it happens, but I've never experienced it nor have I heard about it from anyone I know personally or otherwise.

i do find that a lot especially with logitech k350 wave something..... 3 went to "unsubscribe" mode after few months

[1391406]

"

Anyone that says they've never had a normal rubber dome keyboard fail hasn't dealt w/ computers nearly enough...

How long is enough, though? I've been using computers since the early TRS-80 / Commodore 64 days.

[1391406]

In industrial situations where keyboards are used 24 hours a day, rubber domes can get very crappy very quickly. With one system we had, where one area of the keyboard was constantly in use, about half the rubber membranes on keyboards would crack or split in a 6-12 months, leaving that small area hard to use or just not working at all. When they redesigned the room they put in buckling spring IBMs that lasted well until everyone pinched them for home. All the proper industrial systems would have mech keyboards, it was only when a project manager tried to supply the hardware cheap would membranes show up.

Although I can see Model M's outlasting most of us, aren't they just spring over membrane?

[RabRhee]

In industrial situations where keyboards are used 24 hours a day, rubber domes can get very crappy very quickly. With one system we had, where one area of the keyboard was constantly in use, about half the rubber membranes on keyboards would crack or split in a 6-12 months, leaving that small area hard to use or just not working at all. When they redesigned the room they put in buckling spring IBMs that lasted well until everyone pinched them for home. All the proper industrial systems would have mech keyboards, it was only when a project manager tried to supply the hardware cheap would membranes show up.

Although I can see Model M's outlasting most of us, aren't they just spring over membrane?

Aye, I would think they lasted better either because they were just better built generally, or that they were more resistant to more violent hands. One problem with the membranes that were bust is that 15-20 ops across 5 shifts meant that some were heavy handed, or wore heavy gloves while operating, and could just beat hell out of them. Perhaps the buckling spring reduced that pressure some.

[Computer-Lab in Basement]

People never complain about their rubber domes because it's only $5 to replace them...

[abdulmuhsee]

I popped a keycap off an old keyboard that the family and myself used from age 9-15; standard rubber dome, and it's still working flawlessly.

I think people become somewhat delusional, myself included, in an attempt to justify the exorbitant prices they pay for keyboards.  "Yeah, I spent $100+ dollars for a $10 item, but it'll last me forever!"  The fact of the matter is, pretty much every major company recognized that mechanical switches weren't that much better or more reliable than rubber domes to justify the cost.  Even ALPS Electric eventually switched over to rubber domes in their twilight years of making keyboards.  It was an advancement in keyboard and manufacturing technology.

The bottom line is that a rubber dome will likely last you just as long or almost as long as your mechanical keyboard.  It's still ok to be in love with mechanical switches, but it's silly to justify it on the grounds of durability.

[1391406]

People never complain about their rubber domes because it's only $5 to replace them...

It's true they're cheap, but extraneous to the respondents here, I've never personally had to replace one (or known anyone personally who did) due to the membrane $h!tting the bed.

[Computer-Lab in Basement]

Another reason nobody complains about their rubber domes: they are built for the brainless consumers of this world who couldn't give a **** what they're typing on so long as it makes them letters appear on that screen in front of them.

If everyone was as educated on keyboards as the people in this community, I bet they would start complaining...

[1391406]

Another reason nobody complains about their rubber domes: they are built for the brainless consumers of this world who couldn't give a **** what they're typing on so long as it makes them letters appear on that screen in front of them.

If everyone was as educated on keyboards as the people in this community, I bet they would start complaining...

A lot of people mistake style for substance. Look at that silly Bluetooth Laser Projected Keyboard, for instance. It's garbage, but the big selling point is you can turn practically anything into a typing surface. I mean, who wants to type on a plank of wood or concrete, but a lot of people see it as a selling point. Also, a lot of people associate new with evolution and old with ... old.

[Danule]

ive been working in IT for a while and there is a difference between crappy rubber domes and good ones.  Ive seen very cheap keyboards go bad after a year of heavy typing it really depends on the quality of the parts.  I find that all my mechanical keyboards have lasted longer and taken more of a beating than any standard rubber dome.

[microsoft windows]

OVERALL, I'D SAY THAT GOOD RUBBER DOME KEYBOARDS ARE MORE RELIABLE DUE TO FEWER MOVING PARTS.

[divito]

For general consumer purchases, the majority of people utilizing keyboards (including many members of this forum), don't use it in such a way that would normally create adverse effects to the keyboard's reliability and life. In certain industrial/workplace settings, membrane keyboards are problematic, just as mechanical keyboards are troublesome in other areas.

To be fair, I believe that regardless of rubber dome or mechanical, someone mashing their keyboard is going to lower the life of it, whereas someone that cares for their purchase will have it for a long time.

[Tony]

My Compaq MX 11800 keyboard is still working well after 25 years.

[Thimplum]

It depends on the board. There are plenty of 25 year old model m's that still work perfectly.

[Hellmark]

I guess it really depends on how much stress you put them through. Some people type a lot more.

I've killed quite a few keyboards in my time. When I was using rubber domes on my desktops, I would go through about a keyboard a year. I have a mechanical with alps that I have from my 386 that still works. the Keyboard that was with my AT&T 75mhz Pentium died years ago (rubber dome). The gateway keyboard that came with my 450mhz PII died years ago, as did the logitech and memorex keyboards I had afterwards. After that last one died (~'02), I picked up an NMB at a yard sale for a buck and still have it. About a year later, I got another machine and got a model M for it, which lasted me until '09 when the spacebar's spring retainer clip broke. Replaced that with another model M and it lasted me until recently, when it appears someone spilled something on it. Right now at work I am on a rubber dome Dell L100, and I've been using it for about 5 months (and who knows how long it was in service before I came across it), and I'm starting to experience some glitchiness (I have Yakuake mapped to F12, and usually have a browser window open with some utilities, and I was hitting F12 and F11 was activating as well yesterday)

On my laptops, my Thinkpad 380XD is still going strong from '98, but the Sony Vaio, Fujitsu Lifepad, Lenovo Ideapad, and HP Probook 4530s I've bought in the meanwhile have all had key issues. The Probook is a year and a half old, and needs a replacement keyboard because of some flakey keys. The S10e I had for 2 years, and replaced the keyboard after a year, and was going out again after another year when I retired it. the Lifebook I had for about 2 years when I had keys died. The Sony I had for a year or so when it gave up the ghost (it was a lemon from the start).

Both of of those model M's are technically salvagable, I just haven't had the time (full time job as a Linux SysAdmin, plus full time student trying to finish my degree, plus trying to balance a family in all that). It seems like the only projects I've been able to have time for the last few years has been something that helps make things easier for school or work.

For me, since I am a Linux user who spends a LOT of time in the commandline, plus have tons of school papers I have to write (~100 pages worth, this month),

[Binge]

Many if not most rubber dome keyboard users have probably never heard of mechanical keyboards.

Okay, but in all your years of using a rubber dome board(assuming it was years), did you ever have one flake out on you?

Yes.  Saitek made some serious pieces of ****.  Dell and HP RD keyboards have crapped out often, and at work we have Dell keyboards which are often replaced before anyone really *****es.

[1391406]

Hellmark, you must be a gentle typist.

[Melvang]

In my experience unless you either

1.  Get very bad luck with the hardware
2.  Spill or drop something on it
3.  Or some other extenuating circum stance

I fail to see how a rubber dome can outlast a mechanical keyboard.

And no buckling springs are not just mech over rubber.  It is either a capacitive membrane or a capacitive PCB from the very early models.  There is no cup to my knowledge.

Just during the 4 years I was gaming in the Navy (only state side half the time) I had 6 rd boards fail.

My uncle who manages 8 servers out of his house has a rd board fail on him every 6 months.  He is getting a Unicomp for Christmas complete with the "Geekhack.org" function keys.

[1391406]

It depends on the board. There are plenty of 25 year old model m's that still work perfectly.

Yep, and Model M's are basically membrane based switches. But then, I don't think the spring actuates the membrane with the same force as someone hammering down on a plunger that's in direct contact with the rubber dome.

[1391406]

In my experience unless you either

1.  Get very bad luck with the hardware
2.  Spill or drop something on it
3.  Or some other extenuating circum stance

I fail to see how a rubber dome can outlast a mechanical keyboard.

Because mechanical switches can be a little finicky, depending on the switch. There are a lot more parts to a mechanical switch than simply a plunger striking a rubber dome which contacts a key matrix.

And no buckling springs are not just mech over rubber.  It is either a capacitive membrane or a capacitive PCB from the very early models.  There is no cup to my knowledge.

I thought Model F's were the only capacitive switch in the IBM line. I didn't think Model M's were capacitive, membrane or otherwise.

[PhineasRex]

I am just getting into mechanical keyboards and prior to that I used the same Microsoft Comfort keyboard for almost a decade. It still works just fine. The keyboard I had prior to that died to a spilled smoothie after a half decade of use.

Of course, this is all just anecdotal, nobody can answer this thread's question without doing some tests or pointing to a study. Constantly repeating potential problems with either keyboard type isn't going to convince anyone or provide insight.

[1391406]

Of course, this is all just anecdotal, nobody can answer this thread's question without doing some tests or pointing to a study. Constantly repeating potential problems with either keyboard type isn't going to convince anyone or provide insight.

Probably, but I'm still interested in hearing what people think. It offers insight to the extent that someone may provide a perspective that others hadn't considered.

[Melvang]

In my experience unless you either

1.  Get very bad luck with the hardware
2.  Spill or drop something on it
3.  Or some other extenuating circum stance

I fail to see how a rubber dome can outlast a mechanical keyboard.

Because mechanical switches can be a little finicky, depending on the switch. There are a lot more parts to a mechanical switch than simply a plunger striking a rubber dome which contacts a key matrix.

It may be more complex than a RD switch but in the grand scheme of things it is still a very simple mechanism.  I slider with an electrical contact connected to it that is spring loaded.

And no buckling springs are not just mech over rubber.  It is either a capacitive membrane or a capacitive PCB from the very early models.  There is no cup to my knowledge.

I thought Model F's were the only capacitive switch in the IBM line. I didn't think Model M's were capacitive, membrane or otherwise.

Well that was the impression I got from the wcass at Keycon when I asked him if it would be possible to use it as a stand alone momentary switch.  He told me that it wouldn't work due to the capacitive membrane/PCB portion of the entire mechanism.  Plus after reading the wikipedia.org page on them I would love to find an older one with the capacitive PCB to restore.  Not saying that you are wrong just that this was my impression.

[1391406]

In my experience unless you either

1.  Get very bad luck with the hardware
2.  Spill or drop something on it
3.  Or some other extenuating circum stance

I fail to see how a rubber dome can outlast a mechanical keyboard.

Because mechanical switches can be a little finicky, depending on the switch. There are a lot more parts to a mechanical switch than simply a plunger striking a rubber dome which contacts a key matrix.

It may be more complex than a RD switch but in the grand scheme of things it is still a very simple mechanism.  I slider with an electrical contact connected to it that is spring loaded.

Yeah, but I mean, compare your standard membrane based switch to a disassembled complicated white Alps, for instance. See which one is easier to reassemble.

[morpheus]

Rubber domes used to hurt my hands/wrist after long gaming sessions in the past. I don't game anymore, so I can't say for certain whether mech boards would make that much of a difference. But I think it's very likely I would have had a much more enjoyable session, rather than having all those WIN-key accidents in addition to illuminated keys. In that sense, I would rate it more reliable than rubber domes/membrane.

As far as quality is concerned, I've been impressed with the amount of abuse that I put on my HPE 87 and it's ability to feel almost the same as the day I bought it. I'm not that heavy handed, but I do bottom out, and with rubber dome boards, I've had numerous keys just go dead on me. Time will tell if my Cherry boards will indeed live up to their own test results.

[Melvang]

In my experience unless you either

1.  Get very bad luck with the hardware
2.  Spill or drop something on it
3.  Or some other extenuating circum stance

I fail to see how a rubber dome can outlast a mechanical keyboard.

Because mechanical switches can be a little finicky, depending on the switch. There are a lot more parts to a mechanical switch than simply a plunger striking a rubber dome which contacts a key matrix.

It may be more complex than a RD switch but in the grand scheme of things it is still a very simple mechanism.  I slider with an electrical contact connected to it that is spring loaded.

Yeah, but I mean, compare your standard membrane based switch to a disassembled complicated white Alps, for instance. See which one is easier to reassemble.

While this may be true you also have to factor in the materials used and the nature of the actual operation of the switch.  In the MX switch (using this because it is the only one I have actually dissassembled myself so far)  the only wear is between the plastic slider and housing and the electrical contact along with the spring compressing.  Now the plastic that is used is a fairly long wearing plastic (may even have self lubricating properties just not sure exactly which plastic is used here) so the weak point in this equation is actually the electrical contact.  While this metal on metal contact happens with every keystroke the actual pressure on the contacts is kept minimal to help with the longevity of the switch.  The only other failure point here is the spring which yes they do wear out over time and have a chance for breakage it is a very cheap part and I can't see why it would be more than a minimum charge to have any electrical repair shop fix it and the spring itself would be very cheap or free.

Now in a rubber dome you have the electrical contact and the rubber cup.  While this is a much simpler and cheaper design it is actually more prone to failure than the MX switch just due to how the rubber cup reacts to being actuated over months of use thousands of time while the entire time being degraded by crap in the air and possibly though to a lesser extent due to UV light.