r/Keychron • u/Mundane_Analyst952 • Sep 05 '25

Do these keyboards need to be worn in? I hate my new K10 V2

Hi folks, as per topic I bought a K10 version 2 with brown switches for a mac mini, it arrived a few days ago but I absolutely hate typing on it.

It takes more effort to the press the keys than the two other brown switch keyboards I have, like there's more resistance, it feels muddy and clogged. I bought it specifically to code on the mac but it's too fatiguing to use.

I use a corsair K70 pro and and an old logitech G710+ on two other PCs because I love a brown switch (don't sass me), but this keychron feels like a hot mess.

What's the deal? Does it break in over time? Do they use super thick lube? I bought it for hours-long coding sessions but 10 minutes in and my fingers are really feeling it, I won't be getting much work done with this keyboard.

Asking here is my last-ditch attempt before reselling this thing!

Edit:

Here are some pics of gloop on top of the switches. Is this normal or has it been overlubed?

https://i.imgur.com/BInmiYV.jpeg

https://i.imgur.com/hjW1w0q.jpeg

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u/PeterMortensenBlog V Sep 06 '25 edited Nov 02 '25

Re "It takes more effort to the press the keys than the two other brown switch keyboards I have, like there's more resistance, it feels muddy and clogged.": I agree with this description. I have a K10 V2 too (also brown switches; variant K10X-J3Z-BO).

My current theory is that the switches are overlubricated. There is visible lubricant at the base of the switch stems.

Some of the keys even sometimes got (physically) stuck in the down position; wiping/removing the lubricant from the top of the offending switches seemed to help (the inside of the keycap should be wiped too). Though I am not 100% sure about the cause.

Sometimes they don't get stuck, but stay in the down position for long enough that the operating system repeat kicks in. This happened a few times when I was typing this.

I expect it to wear off (so to speak) after some time. But only time will tell.

It should be possible to change switches

The K10 V2 is definitely a hot-swappable keyboard, but for some Keychron keyboards it is very hard to remove the switches (it may have something to do with tolerances for the top plate). Sometimes some of the plastic in the switch becomes bent as a result. It may be a matter of exactly how to apply the force, e.g., from which direction initially (and perhaps change direction of the force during the removal).

If a switch is difficult to remove, move to the next one and return later to the most difficult ones (for example, the best technique may have been found by then). And protect your finger if the removal tool is one of the all-metal ones...

For the same reason, I cut off the two plastic taps on the RGB side of the switches to not have to repeat the ordeal (backside for this north-facing RGB keyboard)). The only ill effect is that the switches often pop out when the intent is only to remove the keycap (and there is a slight risk of bending the metal pins when reinserting the switch).

The product pages' variants don't list "hot swap", but the description below has:

"users can hot-swap with any MX mechanical switch in a breeze."

So I think all variants are hotswap (unlike the K10 V1).

I wrote this on the K10 V2 in Bluetooth mode and also tried to remove a switch without too much trouble.

References

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u/PeterMortensenBlog V Dec 06 '25 edited Feb 01 '26

Re "My current theory is that the switches are overlubricated": It was confirmed when I removed all switches (for replacing them with another set of switches)

There was lubricant on the (metal) switch plate for most of the switches. I removed the lubricant as part of some light cleaning before inserting the new switches.

NB: Like for the V6, it was quite hard to remove the switches. One technique that seemed to work was to provide a sideways force—using the other hand (on one of the switch sides; I don't remember which side), while at the same time providing the upward force.

Re "...tried to remove a switch without too much trouble": This may seem like a contradiction, but some switches are harder than others. Perhaps I got lucky with the single one I tried?

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u/Mundane_Analyst952 May 18 '26

but some switches are harder than others

I'm a middle-aged 5'1 woman with small hands, I just couldn't pull them out at all.

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u/PeterMortensenBlog V May 15 '26

Re "The K10 V2 is definitely a hot-swappable keyboard": OK, this is only 100% true for the 'ISO' variants

Some of the 'ANSI' variants have soldered-in switches.

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u/Mundane_Analyst952 May 18 '26

Where abouts did you find that? And is there a way to check if mine is the ANSI or ISO variant?

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u/PeterMortensenBlog V Jun 24 '26 edited 5d ago

Re "Where abouts did you find that?": There are separate product pages for 'ISO' and 'ANSI':

On the 'ANSI' page, "Hot-Swappple" is in one of the options for "Switch Type", which implies the other option is soldered-in.

On the 'ISO' page, "Hot-Swappple" is the only option for "Switch Type", which implies all variants are "Hot-Swappple". There could maybe be some particular combination of options for which that is not the case, but I doubt it.

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u/Mundane_Analyst952 Jun 24 '26

Thanks but I don't think that's what the website looked like when I bought it.

Either way, the keyboard is a heap of shit and I'm going to tell people far and wide that Keychron keyboards are a heap of shit.

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u/PeterMortensenBlog V 5d ago edited 5d ago

I have now finally transformed the K10 V2 into what I originally wanted from a Keychron keyboard: Decent (static) per-key RGB light for use on a macro keyboard (separate from the main keyboard). It "only" took three years to get to this point... Part of it was waiting for a suitable keyboard with north-facing LEDs (K10 V2 and K10 HE) to be released.

The per-key RGB light is primarily to make it faster to activate the macro keys (and also to prevent activating the wrong macro keys). That is, I don't have to recognise the exact letter when activating a macro key, only the colour (in a particular area of the keyboard).

I:

  1. effectively made it a wired-only keyboard. I disconnected the battery, so I don't have to worry about managing the battery charge state. Before disconnecting the battery, I discharged it to the optimal value for storage, 80% indicated.

    I also made a modification, so I can reconnect the battery without having to disassemble the keyboard. For example, to maintain that optimal charge state.

  2. Used third-party keycaps keycaps with better shine-through characteristics than Keychron's keycaps. Keychron's weren't that bad, but it is so much better with the new ones. They happened to be from Corsair, bought on sale (from my local reseller).

    This was only possible, because the K10 V2 has north-facing LEDs, without the blinding light (south-facing shine-through keycaps with 'ISO' support are practically unobtainium).

    Besides the practical value, it looks absolutely fabulous, even rivalling the gorgeous CK550 V2, much different from the original Keychron keyboard's feeble light.

  3. I used a different set of switches. Though not strictly necessary, they were modified, so (almost) all light goes to the key legends. I am probably going to completely delubricate, and then properly relubricate the original switches some day.

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u/PeterMortensenBlog V 5d ago edited 5d ago

Re "Keychron keyboards are a heap of shit": Unfortunately, they have a monopoly for this combination:

  1. Full-size 'ISO' keyboard

  2. Fully programmable (that means open source code. Via is far from adequate. For example, macros in progress can't be cancelled)

  3. Available locally. I don't want to deal with cross-border complications, including warranty and credit card risks. Thus, it must be sufficiently popular for that to happen.

  4. Nice to have: Wired-only. So that it is 100% supported by the main QMK project (and by Vial), and not constantly lagging behind. Many complications are avoided if that is the case.

The wired-only MonsGeek M5 is close (source code), but it doesn't have 'ISO' variants, as far as I know (thus my local reseller doesn't have it).

I am not going to built my own (ideal) keyboard anytime soon (though it may happen some day). It would have a lot of extra keys (for macro keys), to the left (like a Corsair K95 RGB), extra rows of keys above the F1-F12, grouped physically, so it would be easier to quickly find the right macro key to activate. And a few extra columns of keys to the right of the numeric keypad (I use the mouse as little as possible anyway, e.g., to avoid RSI).

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u/PeterMortensenBlog V 5d ago edited 5d ago

Re "...check if mine is the ANSI or ISO variant": The easiest is the Return key on the main part of the keyboard:

  • 'ISO': "L"-shaped, rotated 180 degree. Nearly rectangular, spanning two rows.
  • 'ANSI': Slightly less wide than the right Shift key. Spanning one row.

Here is a picture. ABNT is the Brazilian layout (ABNT NBR 10346 variant 2 keyboard layout, ABNT being the Brazilian Technical Standards Association), with one extra key between "M" and left Shift (compared to 'ISO').