Keychron V10 (Alice Layout) QMK Custom Mechanical Keyboard

Was excited to use this as I've been wanting an Alice layout keyboard for a while. After unboxing it and plugging it in, I was immediately disheartened as it would not provide any input to my Windows 10 PC. I ensured the keyboard was in Windows-mode so this wasn't the issue. I then verified my USB-C ports and USB-A ports were working by trying out other keyboards, and of course, they worked. Then I tried the Keychron provided cable and USB-A to C converter, and sure enough, they work with my other keyboards. All of this pointed directly to the keyboard being the issue.

After navigating to the Devices page in Windows Settings, I noticed that while plugging in the V10, under the "Mouse, keyboard, & pen" field, a keyboard device labeled "Keychron V10" momentarily pops up (on occasion, not always) and then immediately disappears. It seems that Windows recognizes the device for a split second, but it is intermittent. It seems to be a hardware problem with the USB-C interface on the keyboard itself. I am extremely disappointed as for the price of this keyboard, something as simple as soldering a USB-C port onto a PCB should NEVER be a problem.

Buy this product at your own risk. There's no guarantee it'll work once unboxed...

I bought this piece back in 2023, kept it on the shelf as a piece for my collection, started using it a year later finally and loved it.. one day about 3-4 months of use and it died... was gonna purchase the pbc but then realized I paid 104 and I guess I got what I paid for... t00 bad, beautiful design goo d build quality, bad cheap pcb. .

So I have been using this keyboard for about one year now and I have some thoughts to share about it.

Pros:
- It releases the stress from the shoulders, so they can be more relaxed while typing.
- The knob really improves the user experience. I use it as a scroll key to have a more ergonomic experience than using the mouse scroll key.
- The keycaps are of great quality and they provide a good typing feel.
- The macros with QMK/VIA are awesome.

Cons:
- It is too high for my taste (I highly recommend buying its palm rest, especially because of its eccentric layout, and if you plan to use it for many hours a day).
- It is too noisy. Putting o-rings (for linear switches only) or even a tape mod are highly recommended.
- The number 6 should be inclined to the right hand, because that is the hand you use to touch type this key in a standard layout.
- There should be only one letter b (in the left side), for a similar reason to the number 6 key. Besides, it does not look good and it is unnecessary to have it for the right hand.
- There should be a right control, since there is an empty space in the right side. I am glad they fixed this problem in the newer versions.
- One think that almost made me not buying this keyboard: it lacks the end button. There is no excuse not to have it while having the insert key, which is a much less important key. The end key helps a ton when editing texts and there is enough room to it in this keyboard. I am glad that at least there are macros to diminish this issue, but it is still not the best experience.
- I also miss the printscreen button, although it is not a big deal (again, the macros saving the day...).

Overall, despite my criticisms about this keyboard, I do not regret buying this last year. It really helped me to work with satisfaction while avoiding (or at least reducing) bad postures. However, considering the V10 Max (with gasket mount construction and wireless conectivity), or better yet the K15 Max (low profile version of the V10 = better ergonomics, right ctrl and wireless conectivity), it no longer makes sense for someone to buy the V10 in the same price range.

Coming from a regular shaped keyboard I thought it was going to be very hard to get used to the layout, glad to confirm that it is not hard, def takes some time to get used to, but it feels intuitive to use the proper hand on each side of the keys. QMK/VIA makes this insanely versatile, I was able to get it working in a way that I don't need to toggle the physical switch on the keyboard to be able to access all layers for my daily multi OS workflow. (macOS, Windows and GNU/Linux).

It's a chonker and sounds very good out of the box. I hope keycaps last a bit longer than my last one >:v

Popped my cherry on my first mechanical keyboard. I started out with red switches. My wife complained about all the clickity clacking. I ordered silent red switches but while I wait, I have been enjoying it. The ergonomics are a little bit different than my other ergo keys so transitioning took some real efforts. So much so, I wanted to buy another for my office so that I don't have to keep relearning how to type quickly. The second one I got brown switches. They are, obviously, not as smooth as the reds. They have just a bit more "chew" to them. I don't have much time on that board as of yet but the little I tried didn't seem to make a huge difference. I have really started to get into the key mapping since this is only a 75% layout it's missing a few crucial keys. I liked that the F keys were present but things like print screen and end are missed until I added them back with custom mapping. Macros were pretty okay. I found that I had to use delays in order to ensure that the each subsequent command is executed. Kind of annoying because it then makes the macro drag on but I can live with that. All in all, I am pleased as punch.