Is there a solution to O-rings that slide down and get the switch stuck?

[KHAANNN]

Hi Everyone,

I'm using a WASD V2 with thick blue o-rings, (red switches, beautiful feeling)

The issue first happened to my space key, I thought it was balancer related, the o-ring most probably got back into place after I forced(more like tried) a couple of clicks

Now I verified the issue when the M key got stuck in a similar way, it was easy to fix since it was an M key, I removed and moved the o-ring up manually, I'm not sure whether pushing the key down in that case is a good idea, however it worked once for the space key

Is there a solution to this issue, does it happen frequently with o-rings? (Is there anyone else out there haunted by this issue?
(I'm guessing low-height o-rings might stay in place better)

[KHAANNN]

I emulated the issue on a switch, it happens during bottoming out, I don't think it's from sliding, when you push an o-ring into the switch, it can get stuck in the switch from the left/right sides, the top/bottom doesn't let the o-ring in, that's probably why the issue fixes itself on it's own after playing with the key a bit

Lesson: Avoid o-rings if possible, they cause unnecessary paranoia, also the travel reduction prevents non-perfect switches from pronouncing a perfect click (Some switches are better than the others)

I just tested a Cherry MX Blue switch extensively with/without thick/slim o-rings, it definitely sounds/feels better without an o-ring, there is an additional bottoming out sound, yet it's better than having a half-click sound

I got both my keyboards with 0.4mm reduction, in this sense a 0.2mm reduction could have been better (or worse, a thick o-ring is less likely to get in the switch, since it's thick, but since it's thick, you are pushing it more inside, so both thick and slim o-rings can experience this issue)

It's likely to happen more on light switches, as the o-ring absorbs the additional key-force, I didn't experience this issue on my keyboard with green switches yet

(On the pro-side, they obviously make a red-switched keyboard really silent, so silent that you might start noticing clicky balance bars, hence the paranoia, it also helps clicky switches only pronounce click sounds rather than click+bottom-out, but it might be logical to go all in with clicky switches and experience the click+bottom-out altogether)

[spiceBar]

I have never had this problem. Never.

I'm not saying your issue is not real, but I'm wondering why it happens to you.

I also have the WASD blue O-rings, and I use them in at least two keyboards.

Since we have the same rings and the same switches (I actually use browns, but the top of the switch is exactly the same), why doesn't it happen to me?

The only explanation that comes to me right now is that you bottom out so hard that you force a part of the O-ring into the switch's opening. I can't see another reason.

This would make sense, as I bottom out rather lightly. With browns, you can feel where the switch actuates, which allows you to stop pressing the key before you bottom out, or almost.

Am I correct? Would you say that you bottom out rather hard on your reds?

There is however one simple solution for you.

Use landing pads. You will not be able to jam them into the switch.

Specifically, you need the "firm" landing pads (the gray ones) from EliteKeyboards:
  http://www.elitekeyboards.com/products.php?sub=access,slpads&pid=sl120_cf

[Art of Payce]

Have you thought of trying smaller inner diameter O-rings? Maybe the squeeze on the stems isn't tight enough. Some people are used to having really tight O-rings, though I'm not sure if there's such a thing as too tight (just short of not being able to put them on the stems, I mean).

Interesting conclusion. I definitely like the idea of O-rings with Reds more than any other switch (though I want to try them with clicky switches; I don't like the clack after a click). Short travel distance and no clack means a click-less feel closer to scissor-switch laptops with low profiles, which I get along with quite well.

[KHAANNN]

I definitely bottom out pretty hard, even when the o-ring isn't stuck in, you can feel that friction as a really small delay/tendency to get stuck in the keys, maybe like 20ms's, It's especially more apparent in the red keys, since they are linear and you can't mistake it with the tactile feeling. It's pretty much like a bottom-out tactile effect.
Before I noticed what the issue was, I thought that the red switch springs simply didn't have enough strength to push the spacebar up occasionally, it turned out to be the o-rings instead.

I'm glad you're not experiencing the issue, then it's less likely to be a common/recurring issue

The landing pads are a good idea, thanks, however they seem to be moving freely, I'm sure I would get them stuck in no time too (I'm afraid they might move up and down inside the keycap)

I thought about slim and squeezy o-rings too, yet my ebay researches were fruitless, couldn't find such an o-ring variety (I'm sure the size exists, yet it might not be easily available for me)
I also wonder how thick the WASD o-rings are, I ordered 2 types of other 1.5mm o-rings from ebay to test them out, one red one clear, the most sold ones, out of curiosity, It's unclear how thick the WASD o-rings are, as they only advertise the travel reduction and not the o-ring thickness (the blue ones are definitely <2mm, more like 1.5mm, and the red ones are >1mm, like 1.1mm etc, but it's just me speculating with a ruler, so the o-rings I ordered are likely like the blue ones I already own)

I don't know whether it's me wanting things I don't have, but I'm really fancying click-clack blue switches right now, after always using o-rings up until now
I guess I can always remove the o-rings on my green switches, but I try to avoid modifications as much as possible, as balanced keys are pretty hard to re-perfect and I already tampered with the keyboard integrity too much

(My current issue is not hearing a nice click sound from the space bar, enter keys etc from non-perfect angles, it seems the o-rings might be making the issue worse, I'm not even sure whether it's a real issue, but can't stop obsessing)
(Once again, for reference, o-rings are great if you're not overly paranoid)

[spiceBar]

I definitely bottom out pretty hard, even when the o-ring isn't stuck in, you can feel that friction as a really small delay/tendency to get stuck in the keys, maybe like 20ms's, It's especially more apparent in the red keys, since they are linear and you can't mistake it with the tactile feeling. It's pretty much like a bottom-out tactile effect.
Before I noticed what the issue was, I thought that the red switch springs simply didn't have enough strength to push the spacebar up occasionally, it turned out to be the o-rings instead.

I'm glad you're not experiencing the issue, then it's less likely to be a common/recurring issue

The landing pads are a good idea, thanks, however they seem to be moving freely, I'm sure I would get them stuck in no time too (I'm afraid they might move up and down inside the keycap)

I thought about slim and squeezy o-rings too, yet my ebay researches were fruitless, couldn't find such an o-ring variety (I'm sure the size exists, yet it might not be easily available for me)
I also wonder how thick the WASD o-rings are, I ordered 2 types of other 1.5mm o-rings from ebay to test them out, one red one clear, the most sold ones, out of curiosity, It's unclear how thick the WASD o-rings are, as they only advertise the travel reduction and not the o-ring thickness (the blue ones are definitely <2mm, more like 1.5mm, and the red ones are >1mm, like 1.1mm etc, but it's just me speculating with a ruler, so the o-rings I ordered are likely like the blue ones I already own)

I don't know whether it's me wanting things I don't have, but I'm really fancying click-clack blue switches right now, after always using o-rings up until now
I guess I can always remove the o-rings on my green switches, but I try to avoid modifications as much as possible, as balanced keys are pretty hard to re-perfect and I already tampered with the keyboard integrity too much

(My current issue is not hearing a nice click sound from the space bar, enter keys etc from non-perfect angles, it seems the o-rings might be making the issue worse, I'm not even sure whether it's a real issue, but can't stop obsessing)
(Once again, for reference, o-rings are great if you're not overly paranoid)

The gray landing pads are 1.5mm thick, but they are easily compressible. It gives them better shock absorption properties than O-rings.

They move freely on the keycaps stems. They are designed to do so. This guarantees that they cannot block a key, which is exactly what you are looking for.

I don't know why you are pounding so hard on your keyboards... Maybe you have used lousy rubber domes / membranes keyboards that needed a lot of force to register the keys... But anyway you do realize that it is completely useless with mechanical keyboards, right? And I fear this is ultimately going to turn into health problems: tendinitis, RSI,...

[KHAANNN]

I ended up removing the o-rings from my new keyboard, turned out well, the sound is very consistent now, much like a type-writer (not that I ever used one)

I also noticed that, if the activation force is 80cn, the o-rings made that almost 120cn for me, they do absorb the click, which increases the bottoming out force for me, with o-rings removed, the keyboard is much more lighter, also the micro-stuck feeling is gone

I also used my WASD blue o-ringed red switched keyboard while I was removing the o-rings, and noticed that the o-rings are perfect for that keyboard and that keyboard is perfect for me, since it creates a silent and well balanced bottoming out experience (feels like 60cn) - I think o-rings are perfect for silent switches, yet for clicky switches, they come with many issues (at least for me, they blocked the activation animation and also created paranoia as they feel like they get stuck)

Anyway I'm pretty happy with my current setup now, yet bottoming out became very, very loud

As for why I bottom out, I can't imagine not bottoming out, it's impossible to pull out after activation, I would need to dedicate additional resources just not to bottom out

(I also mainly type with 2 fingers, around 60wpm, that might explain why I bottom out, I could write less frantically with 10 fingers and achieve a higher wpm, yet I enjoy using 2 main fingers + thumb/pinky for modifiers etc. bottoming out is inevitable)

(As additional information, I left the blue o-ring at F6, put a red o-ring at F7 and removed the o-ring from the F8, I can confidently say that the blue o-ring is unnecessary risk, especially for click-action switches, just get the red ones, they prevent the bottoming out sound and are less likely to get the switch stuck [the switches also gets stuck sometimes, when you click repeatedly a lot, it stops clicking but it activates, this doesn't happen without o-rings, less likely to happen with slim o-rings] )

[Oobly]

Trampoline mod: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=50632.0

Nowadays I use these balls from IMSTO (), but you can use anything soft that fits in the tube and allows some space to deform, according to how you want them to feel. If you're using clicky switches you need thinner / smaller pieces as the stem pole is longer than on linear and tactile switches.

[radish]

i tried 40a orings... i found i like the soft pads much more.