What's the worst keyboard you've ever bought? Warnings for keyboard buyers.

[ideus]

Please report your bad experiences with keyboard, or keyboard parts and accessories. It may help on warning other keyboard buyers about common defects or limitations in the hardware, controllers, software or reliability of particular keyboard models. Please try to be specific, and provide details on serial part numbers, models, year of release or iteration, to allow others get your feedback for potential buys.

All comments are welcome in any form; but, if you want to collaborate making the list simpler to navigate provide:

Brand
Model
Serial
Problem description

[getf]

I mentioned this one in another thread - but It could use as a word of warning to others


Royal Glam Wrist Hardwood Wrist rest - https://www.massdrop.com/buy/hardwood-wrist-rests

Pros: is a wooden wrist rest

Cons: Gave me splinters in my wrist due to the roughness of the sanding
the included rubber feet did not hold the wrist rest steady on my desktop (not enough friction - caused wrist rest to slide about )

Dell At101W - http://deskthority.net/wiki/Dell_AT101
Models with Alps SKCM Black Switches

A lot of people try this board because it is a very cheap entry level board to experience ALPS type switches.
However I have never found a at101w with black sliders that feels pleasant to type on.  Every one I have had or used had very mushy and sloppy feeling switches.  Thanks to Matias and KBP there are some other great entry level alps boards available nowadays. 

[daerid]

Ducky 1087 xm (the one w/ black alps).

Holy crap what a piece of s**t.

[CPTBadAss]

Ducky 1087 xm (the one w/ black alps).

Holy crap what a piece of s**t.

HA I was going to say that too. Worst keyboard I've ever owned. The Alps clones that were in that, the black and green ones, were absolute garbage.

[absyrd]

Wasn't it like $35 on sale? And people still so mad. It truly must've been the worst. Hah.

[CPTBadAss]

Wasn't it like $35 on sale? And people still so mad. It truly must've been the worst. Hah.

I picked it up for $30 and I regret it dearly. There was no good qualities about that board at all. Horrible quality case, a cheap and easily bent plate, a stupid keyboard cover instead of a case top, awfully printed and thin pad-printed caps, and a flimsy PCB. It even smelled horrible.

[absyrd]

Wasn't it like $35 on sale? And people still so mad. It truly must've been the worst. Hah.

I picked it up for $30 and I regret it dearly. There was no good qualities about that board at all. Horrible quality case, a cheap and easily bent plate, a stupid keyboard cover instead of a case top, awfully printed and thin pad-printed caps, and a flimsy PCB. It even smelled horrible.

Smell MUST be added to all keyboard reviews in the future.

[inanis]

The most disappointed I've ever been in a keyboard was the Pok3r I bought. The QC was terrible. The damn plate is bigger than the PCB! It doesn't fit in any aftermarket case because of it. Like a dumbass I jammed it in a case to prove a point to someone, and couldn't get it out. I ended up bending the (flimsy) plate in the process of removing it. And I don't know why the hell they had to move the arrow keys away from WASD. I do like the MX Greens though. And that is the main reason I bought it.

Also I bought a WASD CODE with MX Clears and it pings so loudly it is pretty much unusable. I could open it up and work on silencing it, but I don't use full size anymore. Plus I'm lazy as hell.

Both smelled fine though. 

[engicoder]

Wasn't it like $35 on sale? And people still so mad. It truly must've been the worst. Hah.

I picked it up for $30 and I regret it dearly. There was no good qualities about that board at all. Horrible quality case, a cheap and easily bent plate, a stupid keyboard cover instead of a case top, awfully printed and thin pad-printed caps, and a flimsy PCB. It even smelled horrible.

Smell MUST be added to all keyboard reviews in the future.

I've picked up a couple older boards that absolutely reeked. One smelled of diesel fuel. I don't mind the smell, but it was very strong. Even after thoroughly cleaning the board with warm soapy water, the case still smells of diesel if you give it a whiff. I think it permeated the plastic, if that is possible.

I had another that smelled like cat pee. It cleaned up fine...go figure.

[Snowdog993]

Beware of eBay sellers that have Model M keyboards that are pretty much thrashed.
My story is of an M13 Trackpoint II that was so bad, that I considered throwing it in the trash and forgetting about it.

When it arrived, I was shocked at how awful the keyboard felt to type on, even after cleaning it up.
I knew I needed to get a new cord for it, and ordered that around the same time I got it.
This is the original cable.

Anyway, after cleaning it up to the best of my ability, replacing the cord with a new one...

Most of the inside was full of RUST on the components.
A good example is the mouse PS/2 pass-through port....

This is what it looked like after getting it as clean as I could get it....

Of course the Trackpoint buttons would not respond at all, but the pointer did!  *sigh*

I was at a point of being so frustrated with how it felt, that I knew it needed very serious help.  The keys felt awful!  The absolute worst feel of any BS keyboard I ever had!
I knew that I could just throw it away, and be done with it.  But something inside me felt that it would be better to have someone more experienced than me that could fix it.
So I decided to get in touch with Maxx at Phosphorglow. 
Long story short, the keyboard was run through a cycle on a dishwasher.  Definitely not a thing to do with a Model M.  It rusted the springs and the membrane needed to be replaced as well as the blanket.
http://phosphorglow.net/2015/05/27/130/
Maxx literally had to rebuild the keyboard! He also fabricated new buttons for the Trackpoint.  Once that was done, he also put the new mylar copper underlay.
It turned out to be a great decision.  The keyboard is splendid now!
It was the best decision I made!  I was very apprehensive because he turned that keyboard into what it originally was meant to be!  Instead of looking good on a display case, it is actually usable and I am proud to have it!

So maybe it was the worst keyboard I ever bought.  I'm glad I made my decision with it.

[osi]

Wasn't it like $35 on sale? And people still so mad. It truly must've been the worst. Hah.

I picked it up for $30 and I regret it dearly. There was no good qualities about that board at all. Horrible quality case, a cheap and easily bent plate, a stupid keyboard cover instead of a case top, awfully printed and thin pad-printed caps, and a flimsy PCB. It even smelled horrible.

Smell MUST be added to all keyboard reviews in the future.

+1

[GL1TCH3D]

Brand: Razer
Model: Blackwidow Ultimate 2014 - Razer Greens
Serial: Didn't pay attention
Reason: Self explanatory and in my review but a quick recap

Everything sucked.

[Wannabe]

Ducky 1087 xm (the one w/ black alps).

Holy crap what a piece of s**t.

I have the full sized version of this with Ducky's Green Alps clone. Definitely my worst mechanical keyboard purchase (though definitely cheapest). Everything about the keyboard screams cheap, especially the incessant rattling while typing.

[zlittell]

I haven't purchased a lot of keyboards so far, but my 710 takes the cake.  I swear to god if I break another ****ing keycap on this thing I am going to find the logitech CEO and smash this thing over his head.  I just haven't picked out a new set for it yet.  Shouldn't have to though.

[Snarfangel]

Wasn't it like $35 on sale? And people still so mad. It truly must've been the worst. Hah.

I picked it up for $30 and I regret it dearly. There was no good qualities about that board at all. Horrible quality case, a cheap and easily bent plate, a stupid keyboard cover instead of a case top, awfully printed and thin pad-printed caps, and a flimsy PCB. It even smelled horrible.

That's the new keyboard smell. Some people pay good money for that.

[alexjd99]

Wasn't it like $35 on sale? And people still so mad. It truly must've been the worst. Hah.

I picked it up for $30 and I regret it dearly. There was no good qualities about that board at all. Horrible quality case, a cheap and easily bent plate, a stupid keyboard cover instead of a case top, awfully printed and thin pad-printed caps, and a flimsy PCB. It even smelled horrible.

Smell MUST be added to all keyboard reviews in the future.

[Tactile]

A Cherry model whatever with Cherry MY switches. It's the only working keyboard I've ever thrown away - I didn't even save the keycaps.

[Lepidus]

Beltron TK-M501C

It uses Ya Sheng buckling springs (http://deskthority.net/photos-f62/buckling-springs-can-5001cw-t2043.html), that is something like a cheap chinese IBM buckling spring copy.

The feel wasnt that bad actually, but switch inconsistency was a pain in the ass. Some would click very loud, some would just do a cherry blue click, some wouldnt click at all.
But the worst part was the Ping. Holy ****, cherry clear ping or model m ping are nothing near this board's ping.
In the end I couldn't even use the keyboard, as I was getting lots of double keypresses (like chattering) on pretty much every key if I did not bottom out hard when typing. Never discovered if it was a controller issue, or just a "switch" design flaw.

I still have it around, its a cool keyboard to have at least.






Mod Edit: Reuploaded images to imgur because of reports of images being blocked by antivirus programs.

[BucklingSpring]

Anything from iOne itself or rebranded (ie XArmor)

[keyboardia1]

Royal Glam Wrist Hardwood Wrist rest - https://www.massdrop.com/buy/hardwood-wrist-rests

Pros: is a wooden wrist rest

Cons: Gave me splinters in my wrist due to the roughness of the sanding
the included rubber feet did not hold the wrist rest steady on my desktop (not enough friction - caused wrist rest to slide about )

my Royal Glam Wrist rest is actually okay. I don't even have a problem with the rubber feet.

[chyros]

Amstrad PCW keyboard, models 8256, 8512, and 9512.

Not sure how anyone is going to beat that xD .

[FoxWolf1]

Ducky 1087 xm (the one w/ black alps).

Holy crap what a piece of s**t.

Ducky 1087 xm (the one w/ black alps).

Holy crap what a piece of s**t.

I have the full sized version of this with Ducky's Green Alps clone. Definitely my worst mechanical keyboard purchase (though definitely cheapest). Everything about the keyboard screams cheap, especially the incessant rattling while typing.

^ My worst mechanical purchase as well, but not my cheapest or even my second cheapest (second cheapest goes to my Model M thanks to used stuff being cheap, and first cheapest goes to a MicroConnectors D07-135, which was $15. If I had the choice between the MicroConnectors keyboard and the Ducky at the same price, I'd take the MicroConnectors).

If you've ever wanted to find a mechanical keyboard that's both worse-built and worse to type on than your typical rubber dome, a Ducky 1008XM will end your search. Its only upside is that it doesn't last very long, so you'll soon be able to move on to something better.

[davkol]

I doubt anyone here would deliberately buy it, but for random visitors from search engines: Tesoro Colada. It's an ordinary backlit "gaming" keyboard, with typical horrible soldering on the PCB… and to make things worse, a poorly insulated controller under an aluminium cover, because aluminium is the hype, right? Anyway, the controller was obviously fried, due to the basically non-existent insulation.

[ideus]

thrashette's Noob struggling with chattering/unresponsive keys on new Filco.

[mszy52]

First mech i bought was an off brand kailh red switch on a e-3lue k272 board i got on massdrop for $65. Not the worst board but its stated as "rgb" when the rows have set led's in them. The feel of the board is not terrible but i finally upgraded to a corsair strafe with Brown's and i would never go back

[swimmingbird]

Just got my KC60 and it feels like the most rattly thing ever.

Coming from an HHKB and Gon though I probably have my expectations set way too high

[alexjd99]

Just got my KC60 and it feels like the most rattly thing ever.

Coming from an HHKB and Gon though I probably have my expectations set way too high

Still waiting on my KC60.
Is it worth waiting for, or should I just cancel now while I still can?

[swimmingbird]

Just got my KC60 and it feels like the most rattly thing ever.

Coming from an HHKB and Gon though I probably have my expectations set way too high

Still waiting on my KC60.
Is it worth waiting for, or should I just cancel now while I still can?

I don't wanna make the call just yet - I'm gonna solder in zealios tomorrow and put gmk on it and see how it goes

[ideus]

Just got my KC60 and it feels like the most rattly thing ever.

Coming from an HHKB and Gon though I probably have my expectations set way too high

Still waiting on my KC60.
Is it worth waiting for, or should I just cancel now while I still can?

I don't wanna make the call just yet - I'm gonna solder in zealios tomorrow and put gmk on it and see how it goes

Just be aware of the other Zealios issue.

[swimmingbird]

Just got my KC60 and it feels like the most rattly thing ever.

Coming from an HHKB and Gon though I probably have my expectations set way too high

Still waiting on my KC60.
Is it worth waiting for, or should I just cancel now while I still can?

I don't wanna make the call just yet - I'm gonna solder in zealios tomorrow and put gmk on it and see how it goes

Just be aware of the other Zealios issue.

Yeah just saw that - wasn't expecting that - how many people have reported it so far?

[ideus]

Just got my KC60 and it feels like the most rattly thing ever.

Coming from an HHKB and Gon though I probably have my expectations set way too high

Still waiting on my KC60.
Is it worth waiting for, or should I just cancel now while I still can?

I don't wanna make the call just yet - I'm gonna solder in zealios tomorrow and put gmk on it and see how it goes

Just be aware of the other Zealios issue.

Yeah just saw that - wasn't expecting that - how many people have reported it so far?

I dunno, but parts with the defect appears to be over 10% in some cases.

[swimmingbird]

Just got my KC60 and it feels like the most rattly thing ever.

Coming from an HHKB and Gon though I probably have my expectations set way too high

Still waiting on my KC60.
Is it worth waiting for, or should I just cancel now while I still can?

I don't wanna make the call just yet - I'm gonna solder in zealios tomorrow and put gmk on it and see how it goes

Just be aware of the other Zealios issue.

Yeah just saw that - wasn't expecting that - how many people have reported it so far?

I dunno, but parts with the defect appears to be over 10% in some cases.

Is it something that can be tested for with a multimeter or is chatter a problem that is intermittent?

[ideus]

Just got my KC60 and it feels like the most rattly thing ever.

Coming from an HHKB and Gon though I probably have my expectations set way too high

Still waiting on my KC60.
Is it worth waiting for, or should I just cancel now while I still can?

I don't wanna make the call just yet - I'm gonna solder in zealios tomorrow and put gmk on it and see how it goes

Just be aware of the other Zealios issue.

Yeah just saw that - wasn't expecting that - how many people have reported it so far?

I dunno, but parts with the defect appears to be over 10% in some cases.

Is it something that can be tested for with a multimeter or is chatter a problem that is intermittent?

It appears to be related with the plastic's melting point of the transparent base used in the switches, that can be reached when they are soldered, therefore, I think that even if the switches can be tested before hand, they may turn defective after they were installed. I am planning to use some bottoms I have from Cherry and original Gaterons that do no have the issue along with stems and springs from Zealios. I know it is not the more elegant solution, but I do not want to be soldering them many times.

[oxchamballs]

Ducky 1087 xm (the one w/ black alps).

Holy crap what a piece of s**t.

Ducky 1087 xm (the one w/ black alps).

Holy crap what a piece of s**t.

I have the full sized version of this with Ducky's Green Alps clone. Definitely my worst mechanical keyboard purchase (though definitely cheapest). Everything about the keyboard screams cheap, especially the incessant rattling while typing.

^ My worst mechanical purchase as well, but not my cheapest or even my second cheapest (second cheapest goes to my Model M thanks to used stuff being cheap, and first cheapest goes to a MicroConnectors D07-135, which was $15. If I had the choice between the MicroConnectors keyboard and the Ducky at the same price, I'd take the MicroConnectors).

If you've ever wanted to find a mechanical keyboard that's both worse-built and worse to type on than your typical rubber dome, a Ducky 1008XM will end your search. Its only upside is that it doesn't last very long, so you'll soon be able to move on to something better.

The Ducky 1008XM was my first mechanical keyboard. The switches felt weird, the keycaps were cheap, and it had a crap ton of cold solder joints. In fact it was so awful, I pretty much found out about this as a hobby, while trying to look for repair guides, lol.

[SamirD]

Beltron TK-M501C

It uses Ya Sheng buckling springs (http://deskthority.net/photos-f62/buckling-springs-can-5001cw-t2043.html), that is something like a cheap chinese IBM buckling spring copy.

The feel wasnt that bad actually, but switch inconsistency was a pain in the ass. Some would click very loud, some would just do a cherry blue click, some wouldnt click at all.
But the worst part was the Ping. Holy ****, cherry clear ping or model m ping are nothing near this board's ping.
In the end I couldn't even use the keyboard, as I was getting lots of double keypresses (like chattering) on pretty much every key if I did not bottom out hard when typing. Never discovered if it was a controller issue, or just a "switch" design flaw.

I still have it around, its a cool keyboard to have at least.

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Mod Edit: Reuploaded images to imgur because of reports of images being blocked by antivirus programs.

Interesting board!  Thank you for sharing!

I haven't purchased a lot of keyboards so far, but my 710 takes the cake.  I swear to god if I break another ****ing keycap on this thing I am going to find the logitech CEO and smash this thing over his head.  I just haven't picked out a new set for it yet.  Shouldn't have to though.

That bad?  I played with a 710 and I thought it was pretty solid.  Have you felt the 710+?  Does it seem like it will be any better?

[zlittell]

I actually have a g710+ whoops!  But yeah every so often I just split the part that holds a keycap onto the mx stem.  It just literally breaks half of it off clean and then the cap won't stay on.  Its a hefty ass keyboard so thats not a problem.  Just the keycap set is horrible.  Even keys I don't use as much.  Its more about position from home row.  Function keys break because of the side pressure put on them.  Keys like that.  I have a feeling they will go on clearance for $50ish eventually and that will be a steal.  Snatch em up and put a new set of keys on them.

[umeboshi]

Apple A1048, the one with the clear case.  Keys feel bad even for a rubber dome, and collects and displays all your trapped hairs and epithelials...

[ANightOnCloudNine]

Razer deathstalker, **** this ****.

[Bartlebum]

Logitech keyboards with that stupid screen on them. Paid through the nose for it, it was absolute **** to use, and didn't even give you relevant info. Worst purchase ever.

Honorable mention: OG Razer Blackwidow

[gadzkun]

for me razer black*****

reason is...

story starts when im buying a new keycaps for my lovely widow
im trying to pull my old keycaps but then something happen.......
its terrible accident! i said its an accident i swear....
the moment i pulled the caps....
the stem switch got pulled too.... GYAAAA!
what a horrible nightmare i had that day..

[hudson0804]

Microsoft sidwinder X6

Reason.

Its a POS that broke twice (warranty replacement) within 10 months. 

I ultimately rage faced and smashed it to pieces..

[SamirD]

Honorable mention: OG Razer Blackwidow

for me razer black*****

The Razer Blackwidows seem to be on the hate list fairly often.  It's not too often that I see anything nice about them.

[SamirD]

I have a feeling they will go on clearance for $50ish eventually and that will be a steal.  Snatch em up and put a new set of keys on them.

That's what I'm waiting for.  Even on craigslist people are still wanting more than that.  And you could have gotten one new at Best Buy for $60 when they had their weekend sale that lasted, well, a weekend.

[heedpantsnow]

Noppoo Choc Mini. Crappy printing. Chattering. Whenever you put your hands on it the case creaked like an old man's joints on a cold morning.

[dante]

WYSE PCE 900866-01.  It's a PS/2 board w/ Vintage MX Blacks.  It exhibits the same symptoms of an M2 (lights come on, does nothing) - perhaps this also suffers from crappy capacitors.  I couldn't figure out what was wrong with it.

Several others have had issues with this particular model as well.  There was a model # 900840-01 (AT connector) but haven't tried it nor heard of anyone who owns one.

[Seranite]

Logitech keyboards with that stupid screen on them. Paid through the nose for it, it was absolute **** to use, and didn't even give you relevant info. Worst purchase ever.

Honorable mention: OG Razer Blackwidow

I've gotta laugh because someone who sits literally 10 feet from me at work actually has one of these.

As for the Blackwidow, why do these seem to be on everyone's ****list? I've never owned one but I can only assume it's partly because of the brand itself.

[SamirD]

Logitech keyboards with that stupid screen on them. Paid through the nose for it, it was absolute **** to use, and didn't even give you relevant info. Worst purchase ever.

Honorable mention: OG Razer Blackwidow

I've gotta laugh because someone who sits literally 10 feet from me at work actually has one of these.

As for the Blackwidow, why do these seem to be on everyone's ****list? I've never owned one but I can only assume it's partly because of the brand itself.

I tried a razor (not sure if it was the blackwidow at walmart the same day I treid a 710.  Compared to the 710, it was mushy on the bottom, not as crisp at the actuation point, and had more key wobble.  It was kinda the mech equivalent of a bad rubber dome if you can imagine that, lol.  If that's everyone's experience with them, then I can definitely understand the hate.

[davkol]

As for the Blackwidow, why do these seem to be on everyone's ****list? I've never owned one but I can only assume it's partly because of the brand itself.

• marketing full of ****
• bad quality control
• marketing full of ****
• layout and gimmicks typical for gaming keyboards
• marketing full of ****

Have I mentioned that their marketing is full of ****?

[Seranite]

As for the Blackwidow, why do these seem to be on everyone's ****list? I've never owned one but I can only assume it's partly because of the brand itself.

• marketing full of ****
• bad quality control
• marketing full of ****
• layout and gimmicks typical for gaming keyboards
• marketing full of ****

Have I mentioned that their marketing is full of ****?

That helps paint a clearer picture...but how do you feel about their marketing?

[davkol]

Noppoo Choc Mini. Crappy printing. Chattering. Whenever you put your hands on it the case creaked like an old man's joints on a cold morning.

Agreed, but at the same time, it was one of the best-bang-for-the-buck keyboards at the time.

The infill fades. Truth. But there are still thick POM keycaps under it.
The switches are at least geniune Cherry (or now with the option of gaterons) and I guess I've been lucky that mine haven't really had chattering problems.
The case creaks indeed. Although, compared to some Rapoo junk, there are no half-broken screws, and it's easy to remove the bendy upper case part and leave the plate exposed, unless you're moving the keyboard around a lot.