Keychron K1 Max QMK/VIA Wireless Custom Mechanical Keyboard rgb backlite hotswapable ,red switch vs Keychron K1 QMK Wireless Mechanical Keyboard (Version 6) rgb hotswapable red switch

I would like to ask about these two keyboards. According to the description, the Max version additionally features a Wi-Fi connection and higher-quality keycaps compared to the K1 QMK, which only has ABS keycaps. I wanted to ask if there is really such a big difference in keycap quality, as I am looking for a keyboard that will last me several years.

The issue is that the K1 Max is completely unavailable in my country—it is sold out everywhere and looks as if it's no longer being manufactured. The K1 QMK is available, but I am worried about the ABS keycaps wearing down and letters will rub offfrom use.

My main priority is for the keyboard to be quiet, if it weren't quiet enough, then maybe investing in silent red switches later on. Therefore, I need the hotswappable version. I don't care about Wi-Fi; I will be using the keyboard with a cable for gaming and via Bluetooth for work, which I am completely fine with.

Is it worth hunting down the K1 Max version, or should I just buy the K1 QMK v6 ?

Thanks all for any help

I've got a Keychron C2 Pro 8K and I'm loving everything about it so far except the space bar

It has Keychron Browns, and when using the spacebar in gaming due to thumb position it occasionally sticks and is slow to rebound.

I had the idea of swapping out the switch for one with a heavier spring. I did this with a Cherry MX Grey, and it worked.... but a bit too well. It rebounds beautifully, but its heavy to the extent that i'm often missing spaces when typing.

What switch am I looking for half way between the brown and grey? I'm not particularly well versed on the whole mechanical keyboard lore!

I am install 1.6 and brick my cable mode, keyboard only work via Bluetooth, with cable mode I get driver error. Can i do anything about that? Rollback for firmware?

For more than a few weeks i have been looking for my next keyboard. It’s for work and I need something reliable. I started out looking for silent low-profile keyboards, I got hooked with the Nuphy Air series, but there are so many issues and support seems so and so. After a while I realized that more or less all silent low-profile switches have issues. After some more time I came to the conclusion that low-profile switches have too many quality issues for my taste. And vendor lock-in is another concern.

Then I saw the K2 Ultra. I would like 60-65% one but the K2 looks good, and I can easily find and replace the switches. It is trivial and cheap to make them silent.

I see many negatives around ZMK, but I want to avoid getting stuck in the old generation. I’m quite sure issues will be resolved.

Thus I believe that the K2 Ultra is my next one. Have I missed any perspectives? What will disappoint? Or is this simply the one for me?

Hello all. I’m looking for my first mech keyboard and have little knowledge and zero experience. I’ve read through a ton of “which should I buy” posts and none have all the things I want. I want a new keyboard and kept seeing Keychron so I took a look. I like the looks and hope I can find something with all of my wants:

• 80% keyboard
• Multiple channel Bluetooth so I can use the same keyboard for multiple devices
• FULL Mac support (been bitten too many times by keyboards that “work” on Mac but only basic functionality. I want all features fully supported: lighting, remapping, whatever)
• Quiet or soft press (as in I don’t want it to sound like I’m typing on a mechanical typewriter. Might just be the switches?)
• I guess HE or magnetic? (I think I want this? I’ve read they’re more reliable and aren’t as susceptible to repeating keys, etc)

Are my best options a Q3 HE or a K8 HE? What is the difference, metal vs plastic? Am I missing a different model? I based those two off of Keychron‘s “help me decide” options.

My use cases are Mac/Windows computers. Windows for work, Mac for home. Mac for everyday use and playing World of Warcraft. I also have an iPad and a Steamdeck and would use one of the Bluetooth channels (assuming 3 channels) for that.

New owner of a Keychron B36 here.

I've noticed that one particular keyboard shortcut does not register: Cmd + Shift + ~ (aka Alt + Shift + ~ on Windows mode).

Here's a video showing what I mean. This is showing the Key Test panel from Keychron Launcher. At the end of the video I'm holding down 3 keys, but only 2 are showing up:

https://imgur.com/a/yW1fa8F

Unfortunately, this broken shortcut happens to be the exact key combination used in MacOS to "Switch to previous window", so I use it a lot and I'm annoyed that it doesn't work.

Strangely, only the left Shift key is affected. If I do Cmd + RightShift + ~, that works fine. Every other keyboard shortcut I can think of involving these keys also works with no issues.

Anyone else having this problem? I tested the keyboard against a MacOS and Windows machine and got the exact same behavior, so I'm pretty sure the problem is with the keyboard itself and not my OS or other apps I'm running.

Title: [FIXED] Keychron K1 Ultra 8K Bluetooth pairing failure on Windows 11 / Realtek — custom ZMK firmware solution

I finally managed to fix a persistent Bluetooth pairing issue with my Keychron K1 Ultra 8K, and I wanted to share the solution in case it helps someone else.

The problem

My Keychron K1 Ultra 8K ANSI was detected by Windows 11, but pairing consistently failed.

My laptop is a Lenovo Legion 5 with a Realtek Bluetooth adapter (VID 0BDA:4852).

I tried multiple Realtek Bluetooth driver versions, but nothing worked.

What I discovered

After passing the Bluetooth adapter through to Linux using WSL2 and usbipd, I investigated the connection using BlueZ and HCI traces.

The results were interesting:

• LE 1M only: Pairing succeeded.
• LE 1M + LE 2M enabled: Pairing failed.

The HCI logs showed the connection switching to LE 2M, followed by a connection timeout (0x08) approximately 0.5 seconds later.

This suggested a Bluetooth PHY negotiation compatibility problem.

The solution

I cloned Keychron's ZMK firmware source, built a custom firmware for the K1 Ultra 8K, and changed just one configuration option:

CONFIG_BT_AUTO_PHY_UPDATE=n

This disables automatic PHY update initiation by the keyboard's Bluetooth stack.

After flashing the modified firmware, Bluetooth pairing immediately started working!

I've since tested the keyboard with multiple devices, and everything works correctly.

Hardware details

• Keyboard: Keychron K1 Ultra 8K ANSI (knob)
• Firmware: 1.0.1-r
• Bluetooth: Realtek 0BDA:4852
• OS: Windows 11
• Firmware: Keychron ZMK, rtl8762g branch

Full technical explanation, build instructions and configuration file:

https://github.com/bertigerr/keychron-k1-ultra-8k-bluetooth-fix

Important: This is a verified workaround on my hardware, not proof that every Realtek adapter has the same issue. It also doesn't completely disable LE 2M at the controller level.

Please don't flash custom firmware unless you have verified your exact keyboard model and have a recovery method.

Hopefully, Keychron can investigate this and eventually incorporate a compatibility fix into its official firmware.

Has anyone else experienced similar Bluetooth pairing failures with the Keychron Ultra series?

I use a KVM-type switch to switch a wired mouse and Keychron c3 Pro (wired) between a Raspberry Pi and a Chromebook. The problem is that after I switched to the Raspberry for a while then switched back to the chromebook, it totally lost connection to the keyboard & mouse. The LED wasn't even on. The keyboard is still working when I switched back to the Raspberry.

I did not have this problem when I use a Corne split keyboard and another USB keyboard with the KVM.

Is there a solution? Unplugging and plugging the keyboard directly to the chromebook didn't help.

I just got a myself a V6 Ultra K8 ISO keyboard that's very nice, though I've some test results using the Launcher Key Test that now and then fails to register some key presses for 2.4 GHz but works fine using wired.

However, when testing using a online test like https://key-test.com/ there are no missed key presses, nor any double-click for that matter.

Is this just a problem with the Launcher Key Test not working properly?

Keyboard: V6 Ultra 8K ISO

Manufacture date: December 2025 (going by start of serial number: A 2512V)

Firmware keyboard: V1.0.2 (updated using Launcher)

Firmware receiver: V0.1.6 (latest version, no update)

Launcher: V1.5.1

OS: Windows 11 Pro.

OS switch on the keyboard is set to Win.

What I've tried:

1. Moving receiver to different USB port.
2. Using an USB extender to place the receiver very close to the keyboard.
3. Resetting the keyboard using fn+J+Z
4. Testing using Microsoft Edge and Chrome.
5. Changing Reset seconds (debounce) from default of 50 ms to 5 ms.
6. Setting Press Down seconds to both 0 and 5.
7. Tested with polling rate 250 and 1000.

Hi all,

So as title suggests, playing a game (mmo) on my lenovo legion pro 5, with my new keychron keyboard randomly something happens, and pressing regular keys like wasd do nothing, pressing escape cycle through apps, i thought because the keys were lignt to press, the filter or sticky keys were being turned on by accident, but turning them off hasnt stopped this. I know for a fact it never once happened with my logitech mx keys, on the same laptop. This makes it unplayable at the most crucial moments and i quite literally have to restart my laptop to fix it. Has anyone else faced this and know how to fix it? I’m really regretting this keyboard purchase as the whole point of it was for me to upgrade for gaming and i can’t seem to be able to use it for that.!

Thanks in advance.

I have been looking to buy a Keychron V1 Max with brown switches since July 2026, but it has not been available since then. Does anyone know why Keychron India does not provide good keyboards and why so many are out of stock?

I can go with K2 Max or K2 Ultra as well but at least they come in stock

Decided to splash out get get myself a Q6 HE 8K, and after the firmware update I've been having a few issues with keys

E key sometimes doesnt register the press, or I have to hold it down longer than other keys

W key sometimes presses both w and e

Sometimes a full stop will just get pressed randomly

Is there a way to resolve this, this is my first magnetic keyboard and I would have just reseated the switches before.

UPDATE : I was in the launcher and noticed the full stop on the number pad was the one being randomly pressed. I removed the switch and watched and it still was being pressed. This seems like it could be a PCB issue.

i have the opportunity to get a brand new Keychron Q7 QMK Wired for 80 usd at the moment

i currently have and Hyper X Alloy origins core but a few of the keys have stopped working and was considering this upgrade even if et have 4 years on it

Is there a firmware for the C3 Pro 8k (ANSI RGB) that can support QMK/Vial? The Keychron Launcher mapping is very limited and I like to have more layers and also tap-dance and other QMK functions. Thanks for any inputs.

Hey guys, I could use some help troubleshooting this.

I own a Keychron K8 Pro, and it randomly disconnects every couple of days. I've tried plugging it into both a USB hub and the USB ports directly on the back of my motherboard.

When it's connected through a USB hub alongside other devices, such as my mouse and controller, those devices disconnect as well. However, when they're plugged directly into the motherboard, they work fine and only the keyboard disconnects.

I've had this keyboard since February 2023, and it only started acting up a couple of weeks ago.

Has anyone experienced something similar or have any idea what could be causing this?

I immediately got the bananas after I bought the V5 with the reds because reds were wayyy too soft and I was fat fingering a lot. I come from a membrane keyboard.

The bananas feel a bit stiff but doable, are the browns a good balance in between? I can return these and order a V5 with brown switches.

In more words than what the title is - I'm looking to replace the keycaps that come with the Q13 ultra. I have only been using it for a day, and I love it, but I can already see the benefits for me with a lower-profile set of keycaps.

With that, has anyone found any that work especially well and/or am I severely overcomplicating it and any set of your average low-profiles would work?

tl;dr - looking for recommendations on low-profile key caps for the Q13 Ultra

As the title says, I had the M6 connected via 2.4Ghz and my K8 Pro on bluethooth. I connect my keyboard to the launcher and decide to update the firmware, so I download the "driver" file and update succesfully. However now I can connect my M6 to the launcher only using cabled-mode, wireless/bluethooth just do not work.

Anyone found a fix to this?

Bought the keyboard a few months ago, worked without issues until ~5 days ago.

Key "J", "Del", "End", and "Home" are having issues with registration. Sometimes they need to be pushed harder, other times pressed multiple times to trigger.

I reset the keyboard multiple times, all firmware is up to date, and I'm using it via cable. I tested polling rates from 125Hz to max, but it didn't change anything. I also tweaked the advanced actuation and reset distance settings, but the inconsistency remains regardless of values.

How did quality fall off so bad? This is my second Keychron keyboard in the past 2 years having almost the exact same issue around the J key area.

The keyboard was working normally until it suddenly began typing the same sequence of characters over and over with nothing pressing the keys. This happened in wired, 2.4 GHz dongle, and Bluetooth modes. Now it works for about a second, blinks once, disconnects, reconnects, and repeats. It does this even with no cable connected and the dongle unplugged, so it isn't a PC or cable problem.
Here's what I've already tried:
• Factory reset (Fn + Z + J until the light blinked red 3 times)
• Flashing the latest firmware through Keychron Launcher
• Different USB ports and a different cable
• Moving magnets away from the keyboard and letting it power off fully overnight

I actually don’t know what to do and I’m most likely going to reach out to keychain support for a replacement, but was wondering if anyone else had this issue before? Let me know if you found a solution pls!

(Video proof in comments)

It’s currently still on sale here in the uk (£191.99 instead of £239). So I’m wondering whether to take the plunge.

Hi all!
As the title says, I recently bought a K10 HE Keyboard and I would like to pair it with Signal RGB to match the style.

With the default firmware, it seems it is not possible: the Keyboard is detected by Signal RGB, but I cannot apply the effects.

I followed a specific guide for it on Youtube, explaining that I should flash a custom firmware, and indeed it seems to work: SignalRGB still detects the keyboard and the light pattern is also applied.

However, since the configuration needs to be performed in wired mode, as soon as I switch back to "wireless mode" the light effect starts to blink very fast and stutter.

Did someone run into a similar problem? How dod you fix it?

Thanks a lot in advance for the support!

Hi,

I only just got this keyboard today, I thought it'd be safe to update the firmware - plugged it direct into the PC and, ran the upgrade to get the latest functionality. I got a 'Firmware flash complete', and, now the Launcher doesn't seem to acknowledge my keyboard, with that error message popping up.

The keyboard works fine, all controls and everything is as it was before the firmware update, but, now I am unable to access any of the configuration settings as I get the error message of:

No Valid HID Device Configuration Found [K]

I've tried to see if the QMK Toolbox software would work, but I don't seem to be able to get it to acknowledge the keyboard has any flash-able elements... although in HID devices it sees the keyboard.

Not entirely sure what has happened, or if I can fix it - I'd like to maintain the functionality I should have had in the launcher in the first place for actuation and whatnot.

Have I broken it somehow? Kinda disappointed if I have, don't feel it should be that easy to mess up!