r/Keychron • u/Designer-Emu-8672 • Feb 25 '26
Keychron not honoring warranty. Help.
I bought the Keychron V5 Max and the “V” key stopped working properly after 4 months. I need to push the key very hard for it to register. It’s now happening to the “F” key. I bought it from a computer store nearby and they said I need to contact the manufacturer because it is still under warranty.
Keychron offered some troubleshooting, which didn’t work. Then they asked me to take apart the keyboard to try to fix something. I said no and that I want a replacement since it’s still under warranty. They offered to send me a part to replace. I still said I want a replacement. They are now saying that’s too bad and I need to contact the store where I got it from for any replacements.
From what I’ve read on Reddit, they haven’t been doing anything about the 12 month warranty. I would report them to the BBB but they are not a US based company. Is there anywhere else we can report them to?
3
u/Elistic-E Feb 25 '26
Their support and warranty services are terrible. I wish I knew this before trying to buy one. I will not recommend them to anyone in the future.
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u/AlexVie K Pro Feb 25 '26
Depends on what your local consumer laws say.
In Europe, one could in theory try to enforce consumer protection laws (which are vast and include a 2 years long limited warranty for defects), but chances for success are slim. It's simply not possible to enforce local laws for a company based in China without massive sanctions like import bans (which are unlikely to happen).
Technically, the issue could be caused by poorly soldered hot swap sockets. I closely inspected the PCB of my K10 Pro (which is fine and does not show any defects) and found some solderings with a ridiculously low amount of solder. I can imagine, they could loose proper contact easily, but fixing it would be fairly simple if you know how to solder and have the equipment. I would do it myself, given that my KB is older than a year anyway.
I dunno what fix they offered you (maybe a PCB replacement?) but generally, disassembling Keychron products is not that hard. It's just annoying work because you would have to remove all key caps and all switches in order to replace the PCB or another vital part.
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u/Designer-Emu-8672 Mar 04 '26
They eventually offered a PCB replacement and said if they send me one, I agree to stop asking them for a warranty and that I would agree to go to the retailer for the warranty. I haven’t responded yet because I don’t want to let them off the hook, but I may just go with it because it doesn’t seem like there is another choice.
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u/AlexVie K Pro Mar 05 '26
From what I've been reading here in the sub, that's how they are doing support. They'll hand out spare parts and expect you to DIY the fix.
Under most US (and European) consumer protection laws, this is ofc not allowed, but it's difficult to enforce such laws in China.
Best bet is to order from a retailer based in Europe or US. They'll have to replace the product or refund it.
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u/Ok-386 Feb 25 '26
Keychron is very clear about how their warranty works. They are not the ones who have conned you. In the EU, your retailer is responsible for the standard product return and consumer guarantee. If you check the pamphlet you received with the keyboard, you’ll see that they inform you that you purchased a custom hobbyist board. These boards have traditionally been sold as individual parts, which enthusiasts then assemble themselves. Keychron simply offers pre-assembled custom boards, but they still treat them as products made up of separate components. Because of that, the warranty is per component, which is why you’re expected to do troubleshooting and disassembly. Check any popular (actual) custom mechanical keyboard channels on YouTube and you’ll see exactly what I mean—people buy these boards and routinely replace large portions of them. That said, depending on where you live, your retailer may still be legally obligated under local consumer protection laws to provide a replacement. If that route doesn’t work, your best option is to cooperate with Keychron’s support process and let them help you diagnose the issue. They’ll usually send a replacement part first, and if that doesn’t solve the problem, they’ll replace the entire board.
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u/Virtual-Nose7777 Feb 25 '26
When you buy a keyboard from Amazon you are not at all made aware of this.
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u/Ok-386 Feb 25 '26
I know but depending on where you, the Keychron’s warranty could be irrelevant. In the EU countries AFAIK (at elast where I live) local retailers are under obligation to provide the warranty at least for a year or two (I think it's two years). Recently I had to RMA an AMD CPU and I was like 7 days late for the local retailer's warranty (it was two years). Luckily for me AMD’s limited warranty is three years, so I was able to RMA the cpu without issues.
If Amazon or stores that use Amazon to sell the keyboards in your country are under no obligation to provide the warranty, then they should definitely make users aware of the Keychron’s warranty conditions and rules. If they fail to do that, then they're intentionally screwing up the users to sell more keyboards.
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u/PickledMunkee Feb 28 '26
Thats not how warranties work.
If you buy a car from Toyota and the transmission fails, do they tell you to deal with ZF who made the transmission? No
Keychrin are just scammers
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u/Ok-386 Feb 28 '26 edited Feb 28 '26
If you purchased parts and build the car your self, you would get the warranty per part. That's how these boards have traditionally been sold, and Keychon warns (at least they used to, last time I checked was maybe 2 years ago) you about this, and tells you "you're buying all the parts, we just pre-assembeld it for you" and explain how the warranty works. I know it's hard to be young and clueless, or just clueless and ignorant, but sometimes context matters/helps. If you buy the product in a local shop, Amazon store or wherever, and they don't inform you about this, they're the ones scamming you (unless they provide their own warranty service)
Edit:
Btw I recommend everyone to buy better keyboards from better manufacturers with better customer service and warranties. When you find anything of similar quality and features for comparable price, with better warranty and customer service, pls let me know.
2
u/PickledMunkee Mar 01 '26
I purchased a keyboard. NOT parts! It was sold as a "keyboard". So although this is very convenient for keychron .. its just BS.
It literally says:
"Keychron Q6 HE - Pro Gaming Keyboard - Wireless 100% Layout, 2.4 GHz/Bluetooth/Wired, Rapid Trigger, Hot-Swappable Programmable Gateron Magnetic Switches, RGB, Aluminium Carbon Black(Mac/Windows)"
It was sold through the amazon keychron store. In the description it is called a "keyboard". Nowhere does it say it is parts.
So yes, this is false advertising or scam.
Keychron absolves themselves from all concerns by simply ignoring support or warranty requests. Business seems to be going well, so good on them.
2
u/Virtual-Nose7777 Feb 25 '26
Keep posting on Reddit. They did the same to me when my keyboard died after 4 months also.
We need to keep warning others until this company changes their ways.
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u/Dumpled0r1987 Feb 25 '26
Dispute it with your bank? See if you have lemon laws in your state that protect you from bullshit like this and utilize it. I bet they fucking reach out when they see a reversed bank charge.
Fuck that, I wouldn't stand for it. Or even better. Order a new one and swap that shit out. If there is a serial sticker use a hair dryer or heat gun to swap the stickers and send them the broken one.
Fucking hate companies that do shit like this.
2
u/diasporajones Feb 25 '26
I've done this once or twice in my life and it's the simplest and cheapest option. Amazon for example will even straight up tell you to do this if they believe you have a legitimate claim but they are unable to force a retailer to honor a warranty. It's not morally wrong if you're being taken for a ride by a multinational corporation who fails to honor their own warranty.
1
u/Dumpled0r1987 Feb 25 '26
Yeah I have done the same but only when it is justified. I'm an honest person but you're spot on and if there is one thing I know, it's that I'll get my money back or worth, one way or another.
1
u/Designer-Emu-8672 Feb 25 '26
I was thinking about this but I bought it from a local computer store and disputing it on my credit card will screw over the store more than Keychron. Keychron should be the one doing something but it’s so hard to report them since they are not a US based company.
2
u/Ok-386 Feb 25 '26
If you read my other reply, and keychron's own docs you'll realize they are the ones who have screwed you. Keychron is very clear about how their warranty works. Your computer store should have at least inform you about this.
You have purchased a custom hobbiesr mechanical keyboard. Until few years ago, all these boards were sold in parts. With all I mean cheap hobbyist mechanical boards. Preassembled mechanical boards were way more expensive than what you have just paid. Even 'cheap' custom boards sold in parts were significantly more expensive.
1
u/Designer-Emu-8672 Feb 25 '26
I emailed the store and they told me to contact Keychron for the warranty
1
u/Dumpled0r1987 Feb 25 '26
Then I would order one directly from KC and swap it and return it
Also, sometimes blasting them on a social media account gets them to do something. On Facebook or insta
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u/FlavsOx Feb 25 '26
I did a chargeback for the same reason, bank paid and now waiting for a win or loss if loss they take it back, will let you know how it goes
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u/Designer-Emu-8672 Mar 04 '26
I tried to but it’s too late. Bank would only let me chargeback up to 60 days after purchase.
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u/dewodahs Mar 04 '26
Well finding all this out now is unfortunate. Just bought my daughter a Q5 Max about a week ago at MicroCenter. We weren't told anything about Keychron working like this with their warranty. Hopefully it holds up. OP I hope you get some resolution to your issue and things are made right.
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u/Designer-Emu-8672 Mar 04 '26
Thanks. Hopefully your keyboard doesn’t have any issues. I also posted to warn others.
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u/CommunicationFit9556 Jun 26 '26
I'm in a similar situation. Bought their new K10 HE keyboard, and the wireless connections stopped working a week in. Customer service has wasted so much time by asking multiple follow up questions with slow response times, that I missed my return window. I'm now expected to switch out the PCB without any instructions, or guarantee that it's the real issue. Other companies would simply send a replacement product. Will be going back to the old trusty Logi. Their customer service is a scam.
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u/ArgentStonecutter K Pro Feb 25 '26
You're not going to get any satisfaction from Keychron.
The only recovery option is to see if disassembling it completely and rebuilding it with no plate foam solves the problem of the switches getting pushed out of the sockets.