Keychron - K2 HE Wireless Magnetic Switch Custom Keyboard

I bought keychron k2 HE for 140 $ and it’s ridicoulous how good this keyboard is

K has some real clangers in it and honestly only the K2 Pro/Max gives you anything you can't get from V.

Those are all from gaming or mainstream office equipment companies and they tend to produce overpriced boards because they're not run by keyboard fans. TBH I don't know what Glorious damage is, but I regretted everything I bought from them. Even Microcenter does better (Inland is their house brand). 80%: Zouya GMK87, Monsgeek M3 v3, Keychron V4, because that's basically all the ones I know of with VIA, I really don't do anything over 75%. 75%: Gamakay SN75, Keychron K2 Pro/Max or V1 or V1 Max, Monsgeek M1[W] v3/v5 VIA, Akko 5075S VIA, Inland MK Pro (KB83) and MK Pro v2, YMDK YMD75, KPrepublic ID84 or CSTC75, Womier RD75, Ducky Tinker75, or Shortcut Studio Bridge75. 70%: Keychron V7, Yunzii AL71. Also Woot currently has the Keychron Q7 on special for like 1/3 list. 65%: XVX M67, Yunzii AL68, Keychron V2, Ducky Tinker65. 60%: Skyloong GK61 Pro/DS QMK/VIA, Royal Kludge RK61 QMK/VIA, CIDOO QK61 QMK/VIA. 40%/ortho: Inland MK47, KPRepublic CSTC40, Nuphy RS40, YMDK ID75 TKL/FRL/XT: Daring Run DR-70F

I got the keychron K2 just for sc2, basically the same reason, and it worked quite well. Switched to the Dygma Defy more recently and adopted something closer to the core with all its thumb keys. Still struggling to adjust but hoping to get comfortable with it

what makes some keyboards better for GD than others is "Rapid Trigger" which is something only analog keyboards can do. So your answer for this is the analog version. However I'd really suggest against buying razer keyboards. They are bad, like really really bad. Especially the huntsman lineup. There's cheaper rapid trigger keyboards than wooting 80he, like drunkdeer a75 or keychron k2he. Even if those are too expensive then you have options like mchose ace60 and monsgeek fun60 which are very budget friendly but are in 60% size only.

Keychron K2 Max. It has RGB, but you can disable it. RGB tends to be a feature you pay more to remove, not less. It's also available in ISO, if you needed that. I think it's over your budget, though.

I got the same Yesterday. I Love it but i have a Question Question: Cant you activate SNAP Tap and the Controller Thing at the same time?

+ 1 Point for the K2 he

KEYCHRON K2 HE Don't even look at anything else. Reasons: \- Hall effect switches \-0.2mm actuation \-Wireless \-THOCK \-keychrons software is amazing \-cheap (compared to 60he or 80he) \-insane build quality

I was one of the lucky ones who got a board that wasn’t plagued by the factory issues many had. I’ve been using mine for about a month now and I love it. Keep it on either the 2.4 ghz connection or cabled, and never noticed any latency issues. In my opinion, the switches sound amazing.. definitely something different than what I’m used to. Somewhat quieter and more thocky. Typing on it is a dream, I bring it to work because I prefer it to the K10 I have there. When I’m gaming on it at home, it works wonderfully. I haven’t dabbled too much in messing around in the launcher with configurations, right out of the box it does exactly what I was looking for.

Ignore the haters and go with what you like! I’m still using this keyboard constantly and am really enjoying the look and feel of it, for both typing and for gaming. I actually love the way it sounds too.. definitely a solid choice going with this board, it’s been wonderful for me!

Hey - I got mine yesterday and the right side of the spacebar has already developed a lot of rattling when pressed. Have you noticed anything like that on yours? Thanks!

You can buy the Keychron K2 HE if you feel like having an extra set of keyboard and extra budget, good for it's price, and you stay with the same brand. Just switch on mechanical or magnetic depending on what you feel using. You don't necessarily need to "switch out" entirely. Tbh, you won't feel the difference between magnetic and mechanical on gaming if you're not into competitive gameplay or don't need that minus millisecond. I find that magnetic keyboards are easier to clean though, and most of them don't have loud "clicks" when typing/pressing keys.

I got K2 HE regular black edition, been using it for a few days. Didn't have many HE keyboards, just an Ajazz AK820 Max HE. K2 feels stiffer to type on, is that because of the plate mount or the alluminium positioning plate? The Ajazz has some sort of a plastic plate (semi-transparent)

I sold K2 HE quickly because of the switches. They have great sound for typing but in games they feel too heavy. I prefer Jade Pros but K2 has no hotswap. I've got other HE boards like Cidoo C75, Magger68 Pro, Halo65 HE. Oh, and also the F-row positioning is not my favorive in k2. My favorite HE board these days is Cidoo C75 (great metal case, classic 75% layout, volume knob, amazing deep spacebar sound)

K2 HE all the way

I had my K2 HE for a good while now and its not doubt the best keyboard i used. No wierd double pressing or typing errors that are not my own fault. The switches are great, great quality overall.

Go with the Keychron k2 HE. Or the Nuphy Halo V2

I third this. I have the K2 HE and absolutely love it

Its my first high quality keyboard im leaving razer behind forever. The sound is so creamy so smooth oh my god all my friends and me included pogged first time typing on it. I changed caps to same quality white japanese style and it looks fantastic too. Super customizable. Only problem is RGB cant sync with my wallpapers like the rest of my setup but thats a tiny drawback to me the experience is peak

Super snappy both wired and wireless. I use laptop so i carry this with me for work outside with bluetooth and thats fine too. Gaming wise nice macros available and it has hall effect bells and whistles which u should look up it makes it a true gaming board unlike the fake overpriced gaming keyboards out there. Only complaint is that its super sensitive and sometimes i stop pressing shift hard enough and i have to re press it and i lose stealth in cs matches. Other than that ill get used to it and so will you. I dont think you will regret it at all. Custom wise its fantastic stock but tuning it if you do custom keebs its highly moddable as well. For me its a perfect all rounder. Btw shift sensitivity you can disable but im too lazy for that. Got it for 130€ but anything less and its a steal

Oh one thing that shocked me is how high profile it is because my previous i had for 6 yrs was ornata chroma and it was half the height. Without carpio or wrist rest is doomed to screw your wrist. I love carpio for left hand keyboars tho so its good. Keycaps for mechanical keyboards are all compatible with each other. The stock keycaps are doubleshot pbt idk the profile but it makes the thockiest creamiest sound. I bought razer budding keycaps and regret it. Got japanese doubleshot pbt from temu and they had better sound and feel for half the price. I now use both

Happy with mine. Haven’t noticed any latency issues but then I don’t game with it. Not yet anyhow. Have used Bt, cabled and wireless. Currently cabled as required for launcher configuration and I have been trying out the actuation depth. The minimum is sooooo sensitive - fingers just brushing the keys trigger! How do you test the latency? It arrived about three weeks ago, pledged order way back. No dead keys. Is much more ‘solid’ than my gen1 K2, and I like the special edition PBT key caps. My old K2 looks very tired when put side by side, with the key caps worn shiny in places. I use these keyboards as my daily driver so to speak, as I am a professional coder, so they get a lot of use. The HE switches are pretty quiet in comparison. Just got my old K2 out to compare and I had forgotten just how clacky it was - the HE keys have a smooth action and very little clack.

Keychron has the win symbol keys in the box if you really want to change them out. I don't know of any quality builds that have both at the same time. I have the K2 metal edition with hot swappable switches. Probably the last keyboard I will ever buy.

I tried it and it feels good! Do you use a wrist pad?

My favorite keyboard I've built is the Mode Envoy ($209 base) The keyboards I've built: - Mode Envoy (2x -- one for Best Man of my wedding) - Mode 65 (2nd generation) - Qwertykeys QK101 - KBD Adam - GMMK Pro (original) - Zoom65 v2 - Keychron Q2 Max - Keychron K2 - Womier K66 60% All are 60% or 75% except for the QK101. Out of that list, the Mode keyboards are in a league of their own and it's not close. Build quality is great, there's no crazy "gamery" aesthetics, no group buys + extra parts are usually in stock, and they respond really well to different setups (mounting styles, plates, switches, etc). After that, in order my recommendations would be: - Zoom65 - QK101 gap - KBD Adam, Womier - GMMK Pro, Keychron

For gaming, really anything with an HE on the end. Q HE are high-end, K HE are less fancy, but still very nice imo. There's almost no reason to buy a non-HE Keychron keyboard for gaming. Cost is about the same, HE features are super useful in games, and the switches sound pretty good now.

Honestly, unless you're looking to dump $100+ into a keyboard, HE doesn't make sense. Cheap HE boards are just not it in terms of reliability, build quality, and software experience. The cheapest HE board I can actively recommend is something like a NuPhy Field 75 HE or Air60/75 HE. Keychron's K2 HE or K4 HE are also a steal for what they cost. But it's all preference. Generally speaking, mechanical keyboards still have the upper hand when it comes to sound, and to a degree build quality. But if you're not particular about sound, and you can handle more or less only having linear switch options, HE is fantastic for both work and play.

I've had a good experience with my K4 HE, and that's been great. I'd much rather use a Q HE series or a Lemokey L or P HE keyboard, because the aluminium chassis sounds and feels a decent bit better, but the K HE series is great nonetheless. The K10 HE is a solid affordable option for full-size HE.

I got Keychron K2 HE Special edition black recently. It's a bit expensive (~$200), but it sounds good, looks good, and is good enough for gaming. Look up few reviews on youtube. Edit: Added note that it's a special edition black version.

I recently got the K2 HE and im loving it!

Funny you say all that, because I'm not in love with the way the K2 sounds and feels. After the first day, I went and ordered a Nuphy 75 with Westeria switches.

Yeah for sure. It's very disheartening that I can't change the switches out on the K2. The Nuphy Air is gonna be my first low profile though, I'm nervous about it.

Build quality and feel of the board is great in my opinion, I've been using it for about a month and I enjoy it. 2 things about it I don't love but aren't exactly deal breakers personally: 1. The battery in mine seems terrible, it lasts about 16 hours. If battery matters, this board (mine at least) isn't for you. By comparison my Nuphy Air 75 v2 seems to last hundreds of hours 2. It seems only the spacebar wakes the board up from sleep, and the wake-up keypress registers with the OS, which isn't great as it causes random things to happen with whatever app you have in focus

If it helps at all OP I just switched from an Apex 7 mechanical keyboard with brown switches to a Keychron HE K2 special edition with no regrets. I don't play anything competitive but the key feel and sound are both a big step up.

They aren't see through no, the website is correct about only the standard edition having that. The backlight still looks nice but doesn't shine through the actual caps at all. Personally that was a feature for me as I'm moving away from overt RGB. I'll snap a picture in the morning and post it here.

So far no difficulties, the backlighting is still plenty bright/visible even at night despite the caps not being see through. And worst comes to worst you can always swap out the caps later.

Haven't had any issues with my as of yet. Mine is the special edition (the one with the wood) from the newest batch after they supposed resolved all of the qc issues they had. So far it's been amazing. Great sound, great feel and HE has for sure made a difference for me in games but surprisingly also typing. It's pretty much perfect for me and I'm done looking at anything else. It's my endgame I guess lol

Not much of a gamer but my Keychron K2 HE is great! There are other sizes as well.

I've had four keychron keyboards in the past few years K2, K8 Pro, K2 Pro. My latest keyboard was the bridge75. This keyboard sounds and feels amazing. Now I feel like all my keychron keyboards feel like trash in comparison. I heard the Keychron Lemokey is really nice, but I've never seen one in person.

I have the k2 he, its pretty nice, HE functionality is cool for fps gaming(look up rapid trigger and snap tap), in terms of typing its basically a linear switch, nebula ones are a bit on a heavier side with 40-60 g, but there are different switches. In terms of performance, I think we are past the point where wireless latency is a concern.

Idk, afaik just the formfactor, but lookup full reciews online. I think due to formfactor sound will also be a bit different. Can't comment further. The only issue with this keyboard that I had is that I couldn't figure out how to get the analog mode working, but I didn't really need it that much, so I just gave up. I had considered building a custom one, but it was like 3x the price for what I added to the cart, so I am satisfied with this one.

Hall effect is the future. The Keychron K2 HE is awesome

I use a Keychron K2 HE wireless and I've never had a single issue on Linux or Windows... What type of issues are you having?

Nice i just ordered one yesterday after breaking my old keyboard broke (it was one of those temu ajazz keyboards for 50 bucks) so it seems i have done a good purchase

K2 HE is only $140US it's cheaper than most half decent mechanical switch keyboards. It's got hall effect switches, so if you pick a really low profile keycap you decrease the amount of physical travel it has. And being HE you can set the actuation point as shallow as 0.2mm. I bought the special ed white on pre order almost a month ago, I have to say it's the nicest keyboard I've ever used. Tomshardware thinks the same too 😉 You can set the keys to act like triggers or joysticks on a controller too, makes playing racing games on a keyboard fun. They have rapid trigger, and adjustable lift off before repressing. You can also program up to 4 different keystrokes per press of one key, you can program an entire mortal combat combo into 2 key presses 🤣

For something portable and good, K2 HE. I have one and I've already brought it overseas with me on a trip. Love the aesthetics and performance too.

Honestly in your case I'd just get 2 separate keyboards, one for work and one for gaming. That is what I am doing simply becuase as you mentioned in your post work and game require very different keyboards. For my work board I have a Keychron Q12 Max (96%, mum pad on the left) with a set of Gateron Baby Kangaroo tactile. For the gaming board, I run a Keychron K2 HE 75% with magnetic switches. In general, work boards, tactile switches, 96 or 100% Gaming boards, go for a magnetic/ hall effect keyboard.

i ended up getting it and it has worked great so far, no compromises in the build quality and it feels super premium, the HE keebs may not be for eveeyone bc of the sound but personally i love it

yeah ive just been using it stock and ive had no issues tbh, it feels super nice (which is subjective ig) and i also didnt feel like spending more money on a keeb i bought pre built lol, but i feel like modding it can def make it tons better

yeah i totally agree people shit on it before they even try it most of the time but anyone ik whos taken rhe time to actually sit down and try it has ended up loving it

Appreciate the quick reply. I have the K2HE and agree with your take. I may pull the trigger and get the EZ63 because I really like the magnetic jade pro switches and would like to use this as my primary driver for work.

I ordered the k2 he as it seems like its the best value for money buts its only preorder atm. Apparently will be shipping start of this month

Yes. Great keyboard. One of the best value for money HE keyboards and sounds great to type with. Not too quiet or loud but more on the quiet side.

Used mine for about a week and then went back to my Q1. Not really sure why, I was a victim of all the QC issues it had at release and it perhaps soured my opinion. But otherwise it just didn’t click for some reason.

Yes, issues should be resolved. Some of the first batch of the boards came with defective HE sensors that basically made the board unusable. Keychron identified the issue and shipped replacements to the people who experienced the problem. I would imagine all future boards are fine. Objectively, it’s a good board. It functions like you’d expect and looks good doing it. In the couple of days I used it when it was new I felt like the battery drained quickly.. but you’ve inspired me to pull it out and use it for the day, so we’ll see how that goes.

Depends what you mean by best. All will have similar performance. Wooting has the best software but you can get keyboards like the MadLion for £40 which have better performance across the board. It just isn’t worth buying Wooting at the moment unless you want analog output which is only supported by Wootlity and Synapse. For 75% the K2 HE is a nice board for performance and quality sound/feel. If you only care about performance the Huntsman V3 Pro has the least dead zone space and better control over the switches in stock performance due to weight and stability. Hall sensors are extremely cheap to produce now. When Steelseries revived Hall effect PCBs were quite expensive to produce. Depends what you want honestly.

I just got the he 2 regular model and I can't believe it only cost $130 for everything it does and is also wireless. This makes gaming keyboards i've had in the past like Logitech and Razer feel like a complete ripoff (and I got this at best buy too so can't blame retail tax) and happy that I don't have to use bloated software to program my keyboard anymore.

I just got the black special edition and I really like it. It feels and sounds much better than my stock gmmk2.

r/MechanicalKeyboards and r/MouseReview would be better to ask specific questions. Wooting 80he is what I have, and I like it, mainly got it cause of the software. Keychron has a pretty nice he wood one. If you search on YouTube, budget wooting, there are alot of decent HE keyboards on the market now, and they all basically do the same thing. I can't help you with mice because I don't know what grip style you like/have. All I know is that you like the viper mini SE so I showed you all the mice with similar shapes to that mice. There's literally nothing else I can do for you. I got the incott g23 v2 because i like the gpx 2 shape but its half the price for better quality.

Looking at the history of this sub over the past year you'll see a heck of a lot more failures from the Q and V boards relative to the K boards. Of course, that *could* just mean Keychron is selling a lot more Q and V boards than K boards. Otherwise, the biggest difference you'll feel/hear will be coming from the difference between steel plate + tray mount and PC plate + gasket mount.

V and Q are flexible/gasket, K is rigid/tray. Hall Effect switches are another can of worms. They are peak hype right now. Eventually people will realize they are actually *cheaper* to implement than contact-based switches.

Wooting or Keychrons Hall effect keyboards are amazing, I thought it wouldn’t change that much but I really don’t like normal keyboards after it.

For wireless keyboard I'd look for those that have qmk/via such as the Keychron

Their new HE series seems promising for gaming.

I bought a Q3 Max with red switches and it was very silent. Be aware, Keychron HE keeb is compatible only with its own HE switches. For me it was a no-go.

I have a Wooting, I love it compared to the previous 3 SteelSeries keyboards I had/have. I do however think it's a little overpriced at the end of the day. I'd probably go with a Keycron HE today if I was shopping

If you're casually playing games then Keychron is all fine. So far the only "real gamer" keyboard to date to be considered is the recent HE variants due to its rapid trigger feature but that is more specifically targetted towards fps players that are willing to tinker each and every key press on how they want it to respond.

Most HE variants offers all keys to be modified if desired since the very switches themselves have the HE features, so some would only changed the main WASD and others would utitlized tinkering the whole keys - but again, this is mostly catered towards fps players that have the intent on tinkering.

The Keychron HE series are fantastic all-rounder keyboards. They are having a sale that ends today.

As you are saying, the reason why you need to replace your keyboard is because you are buying cheaper keyboards. It's probably worth spending 150£ on one that will last you 5 years and that you will change because you want to rather than because you need to! I'd check into keychron UK and look at their mechanical keyboards. They are great quality and if you get a hotswapable keyboard you will not only be able to change the keycaps but also the switches themselves.