Is there such a thing as a keyboard with a lifetime warranty?
I am sick and fucking tired of keyboards dying on me. I want something dependable that’ll last me at minimum a decade.
Find a Model M on ebay, last forever 
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Build your own…
I gave up on prebuilts for the most part. Now I can swap out my switches and caps as I need/want.
What do you need in a keyboard (other than lifetime warranty)?
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Full size
ISO or JIS layout
Ideally hot swappable switches.
I hate this question because it bothers the shit out of me, but Why do you need fullsized?
Can you list what extra/special keys you use and the types of tasks you perform on your keyboard so we can fully understand the usecase?
(i am not about to suggest a 60%, just need to know what really needs to be used)
The usecase is I’m familiar with a full size keyboard, having used the layout for the past twenty years and being really fucking hostile to any changes that force me to amend my muscle memory.
100%
ISO
LIFETIME WARRANTY
Does such a thing exist or not?
If not, what is the next best thing with the longest warranty?
kinda, 100%'s are the hardest ones to find and they almost only come as prebuilt with crappy closed source software that may or may not work on your operating system.
Ideally I think you would like something that runs on QMK/VIA which is open source so you can remap keys for the life of the keyboard.
I felt the same way when I got into custom keyboard and while I enjoy typing on some other form factors (I have a 40%, 60/65%, 75% Ergo, 96%, and 2x 100%'s) I have found that the 96% was the best fit for compact size and the ability to map all the keys I need. I use the navigation keys and 10 keys constantly due to the nature of my job, so the 96% gives me all the keys I need and I was able to live without an insert or pause/break key which are the ONLY two I dont use daily.
I got the Keychron K4v2 RGB because the SonixQMK group has nearly 100% QMK/VIA support and is just debugging the bluetooth functionality. I also got it because after flashing QMK on to it I can remap the keys I need and remove the ones I dont.
My top row after the F12 key is: DEL, SCRL, HOME, END, PG UP, PG DOWN.
Muscle memory is a thing, but it can be changed much faster than you think. I have been typing on keyboards now for over 30 years and I was able to within a day or two train myself to use all the different form factors I have to see if I liked them.
I use my keyboard for lots number entry, CAD like drawing, programming (really just copy paste), photo/video editing, gaming, and general typing.
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Ok sounds good. How long is their warranty/what is their RMA rate?
First and foremost I want a keyboard that will last.
I have a model M from '88. It does not have a warranty but it’s my daily driver. It has an obvious will to live. I enjoy the full size because of the number pad. I’ve done accounting work for an insurance company in the early 2000s and that 10-key muscle memory stuck.
I also like building my own boards. The model m stays on my desk. My homemade stuff goes to work, and secondary machines… for now…
1 year and no idea on rma rate.
I don’t think there is one, realistically. You are looking for something that will give you lifetime support on hardware parts and maybe software (firmware) as well.
There are keyboards that last really long such as the IBM Model M but some parts will eventually give in to normal wear and tear: the wires, plastic components that will eventually warp, shrink, or deform, and basically all the stuff with moving parts. Those have to be replaced too over time.
The thing about the mechanical keyboard community is that it has matured enough that all if you choose a model that can be DIYed, parts or alternatives to parts can be had because of their modularity. If one component maker runs to the ground, there will always be someone out there that will pick up the task of reproducing it.
Even if you do not know how to properly solder or desolder like me, you can always provide the parts for and pay for skilled labor.
Warranty isnt really an issue for this community. But, yes, worn out parts will have to be replaced eventually because the modern key switches has a rated lifespan. They will have to be replaced by you (if it is hotswappable) or someone else (fixed/soldered).
It is for me. I want a keyboard I can rely on not to fuck me over and have me running off to the local electronics shop because I urgently need a new one. I don’t really give a shit if I can fix it myself, it has to work and not need fixing at all beyond a good cleaning now and then.
All I’m hearing is I should buy the cheapest piece of shit I can find and buy several of them. There appears to be no tangible benefit to getting an upmarket keyboard beyond fancy accent colors.
Take the Keychron for example. What the fuck kind of pitiful bullshit is a 1 year warranty? Are these switches not rated for millions of keystrokes?
Here you go…
https://www.pckeyboard.com/page/product/NEW_M
Its the old Model M remade. Cherry switches from Ducky seems to work for me without issues.
Keychron is cheap because it is modular and repairable.
The warranty period is twelve months from date of original purchase.
Again, pitiful.
Do you have a special use case that operates in a dirty/dusty environment?
Just a regular desk in a not particularly dusty home office.
I’ve had cheap logitech keyboards most my life, all have failed within the TWO YEAR warranty period and been replaced by a new one at no cost. Finally having grown tired of this ridiculous unscheduled update cycle every other year I got myself a mechanical keyboard from logitech. It failed within a year. I replaced it with a hyperx mechanical keyboard which was the only one the store had on the shelf when I came in with my warranty claim and it too has now got several non-functioning keys but for the first time I’ve got a keyboard that failed outside of warranty.
Why the fuck would I have any trust in a keyboard lasting me a long time if a manufacturer won’t even match the warranty logitech has on their trash boards? What faith should I have in the durability of a product made by a company that clearly has none?
Get something with like a cherry switch, they are rated for a longer time. The brands you picked, especially logitech seem to make products with planned obsolescence in mind.
People swear by the Model M and have been using them since forever.
I myself have been using a Ducky keyboard and its fantastic. I’ve spilled stuff in this and and had been crawling in it because I was sloppy with food and typing is still nice. The wear and tear is beginning to show after about 7 years and some keys are beginning to droop a little but I’ve been abusing it for 5 years of pretty much non-stop MOBA and FPS. I’ll probably move on to their hotswappable keys witches if this one bites the dust.
Asking for lifetime isnt reasonable these days.
Here is their site.
you can get up to a 5 year warranty on these, and I can tell you from personal experience that they last at least that and often much longer with brutal use in some situations.
Lot of 9 Devlin F1-KMX-143-750-501 Series Rapid Access Mechanical Keyboard | eBay here is a used one.
None are hotswap but they can be modded to use hotswap switches.
I can get you a new one from my company but they are $1500 with our custom logo and key caps on them.
Oh I am sorry. I didnt know I suggested an inferior Taiwan/HongKong product that hasnt failed me but you would like to defend something like Logitech that had failed you twice. Ok.
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For some time now, I’ve been interpreting “lifetime” to mean the lifetime of this piece of crap that you’re buying, not your lifetime. In the modern world everything is intended to be replaced at increasingly shorter intervals; we live in a world not so much of products but streamed services. Upside is that stuff is cheaper than it used to be (although getting more expensive by the day now).
Good luck (I’m also trying to find a reliable and good modern keyboard that I can use accurately, and which doesn’t try to blind me with stupid lighting tricks).
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