Keychron - K4 HE Wireless Magnetic Switch Custom Keyboard

just got my K4HE in today, and it's been quite an enjoyable experience so far. first time using linears and hall-effect switches, coming from heavier tactile low-profile switches (40g vs 65g) on a k17 max. feels fairly smooth and the board isnt too loud. has kind of an in-between "creamy" and "clacky" sound to it. dont regret buying this board at all so far, espeically since it was cheaper then some other HE boards while offering basically the same functionality (minus 8k polling that some offer) while being in the 96% form factor i like which there basically arent any others of. and then you get the added bonuses of HE switches. like the customizable actuation range which im already liking since i can set it shallower and allow me to just tap keys to use them if i want to, or deeper like the key i have set to put my computer to sleep so i have to fully press it to get it to do anything. you get rapid trigger, multi function key presses, analog capability to where it can work like an "xbox remote", snap tap the board is wireless if you are into that (bluetooth and 2.4ghz dongle) only downside is you are limited to 3 different switches. 30g, 40g (default), and 50g linear switches and they are quite stubborn to take out of the board with the provided switch puller. But the stock ones feel nice enough imo edit: turns out im just a dum dum and have been trying to pull the switches out wrong, they come out nicely

Second this but the K4 HE, hall effect switches are OP for gaming

[Keychron K4 HE: A wireless Hall-effect gaming keyboard](https://preview.redd.it/3ik6jxjgzhre1.jpg?width=1332&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=318896b34c25af809c923f9b3dfbcf94b37fe44e) I reviewed the Keychron K4 HE, a 96% Hall-effect keyboard with wood accent panels. Here is the full review including a sound test: [https://www.notebookcheck.net/Keychron-K4-HE-review-Wireless-gaming-keyboard-almost-everyone-can-enjoy.978784.0.html](https://www.notebookcheck.net/Keychron-K4-HE-review-Wireless-gaming-keyboard-almost-everyone-can-enjoy.978784.0.html) Overall, I really like the K4 HE, especially from a design POV. It feels well-made, and it packs in a lot of neat features, like hardware connectivity switches, wireless connectivity, and all the fancy stuff that HE keyboards are known for. The only gripes I have with it are the uber-stiff tray-mount design and the chattery top-out sound from the Gateron Double-Rail Magnetic switches. I have the Nebula switches in my unit, and they feel quite nice to use. Weight and lube feels consistent throughout the board, the actual bottom-out sound it quite pleasant, and the stem wobble is minimal, but they still have that typical Hall-effect clatter when they top-out. I would rank them above the Wooting Lekker V2 switches but below the Gateron Magnetic Jade Pro switches. Curiously, I did find that I type quite quickly on this board, and I didn't find it fatiguing to use for long periods, despite the tray mount. I also liked Keychron Launcher for both gaming and productivity, since it allows you to program macros onto the K4 HE, which is something not a lot of HE boards allow at the moment. That alone makes the K4 HE a do-it-all keyboard, in my opinion. The OSA profile keycaps on the K4 HE are also surprisingly comfortable, and the low R1 height of the profile means the K4 HE is comfortable to use, despite its high 23 mm front height. I will be opening the K4 HE this weekend to check out the internal design, but I suspect there is a decent amount of room for improvement with mods. Please let me know if you have any questions or if there is anything you'd like me to test on my board in particular.

Specs: Keychron K4 HE Special Edition 96% keyboard Switches: Gateron Double-Rail Magnetic Nebula Hall-effect switches Keycaps: Keychron OSA profile double-shot PBT

I have the K4HE, and it's quite a nice board for a $140 tray-mount HE board. I think it could do with some mods, but it's definitely not the worst-sounding HE board I've heard. Keychron Launcher is excellent for HE features, too.

I'd stick to the V Max line. The K line misses out on gasket mounting, which is not as nice as the gaskets in the Q and V lines. You could also check out the Lemokey (Keychron sub-brand) P1 HE if you want to try out a Hall-effect keyboard for adjustability and gaming features. That said, I have a Q13 Max and a K4 HE, and both are actually really nice to type on. What keyboard are you currently using? Are you comfortable with a smaller layout or do you need a full size board?

Yeah! I love the K4 HE. I wish the keycaps were better. I swapped on one of my MDA caps from my Galaxy 100, and lemme tell you, the sound from the thicker keycaps is so much better. Basically eliminates the shitty top-out sound completely. I may try to buy a set of the nicer OSA profile keycaps specifically for my K4 HE. I got the board for free as a review unit, but I would not have been mad about paying $145 for it. I've played around with the actuation distance settings and eventually settled on around 1-1.2 mm, with deeper settings on my modifiers and number row. It's actually been a decent help in avoiding miss-presses on the top alpha row, and I'm decently faster on the K4 HE than any of my other boards, which was a surprise to me. I have two 8 kHz HE keyboards, and I don't think the higher polling rate is noticeable at all. I'd much rather have the convenience of wireless than the high polling rate. I often work on an Android tablet, so having wireless is a huge boon for me. I tested the Wooting 80 HE on the tablet, and it absolutely decimated the battery life. I don't actually mind the limited switch options that much, tbh. The Gateron Double-rail magnetic Nebulas are nice enough, even if they are a little fatiguing to bottom out consistently. Maybe I'll learn to be a better typist on this thing lol.

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.

i love the look of this keyboard!!

I got the same keyboard. I'm coming from the mx keys. Only thing i miss from the mx keys is the sensor of recognizing when you are close by that it turns on while this keyboard you have to press the space bar to wake it up from sleep.

If your going for hall effect then the wooting HE is the best in raw performance along with Razers optical in the huntsman. For actually using the wooting would be better. Nuphy field 75 HE, Halo 65HE, Wooting 80& 65, keychron Q1 he, k4 he, or Lemokey P1 HE. I like the Lemokey since it's keychron with the same webapp, it's full metal, it costs ~$160 which makes it middle of the price pack but not as expensive as a metal wooting. The L5 is similar with slightly better polling rate. The Nuphy Field 75 is also good, but it's a bit gamery and plastic.

I think a Keychron would be a bit more suitable for the office aesthetic wise. I don't game on it but i have the Keychron K4 HE and i love it, it has a noticable sound but not too loud, I believe the Q1 HE is similar. And I would like to point out that the Keychron K2 HE and K4 HE are a lot cheaper than the Q HE series and the Q HE series does not have adjustable feet on the back.

Keychron K4 is pretty nice. It has a numpad, takes only slightly more space than a TKL, and can toggle between Apple and Windows/Android modes. I have grown to really enjoy the feel of Gateron switches.

Ducky one2 or Keychron (k or c series) both with silent reds should be in your budget you could build one for under 80 euro r/budgetkeebs is good for finding budget builds

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.