Key Cap puller, scratching Key :(

[jboydgolfer]

How old is the KB?

I purchased it in 2016 or the beginning of 2017 , but I had that one replaced with an entirely new keyboard of the exact same make and model about six months ago.

 

[sneekypeet]

My Corsair,

I looked in your specs and showed an image of the caps that came on my K70. TBH I have never gotten a Corsair that didn't have painted main caps. On the same token, none of the G.Skill boards were double-shot either. I have to assume you either bought sets for them or you are seriously special and got the only boards from them made with those caps. Mind showing an image of the caps you have?

 

[Jetster]

I looked in your specs and showed an image of the caps that came on my K70. TBH I have never gotten a Corsair that didn't have painted main caps. On the same token, none of the G.Skill boards were double-shot either. I have to assume you either bought sets for them or you are seriously special and got the only boards from them made with those caps. Mind showing an image of the caps you have?

I thought I read it somewhere I see if I can find it

Edit: I guess you're right. I better be more careful from now on. I really thought they were better quality

 

[qubit]

I think you're right to ask them for replacement keys. Their own puller definitely shouldn't scratch.

I think getting them will depend on how good their customer service is and how much they care about retaining customers (they should).

 

[jboydgolfer]

I looked in your specs and showed an image of the caps that came on my K70. TBH I have never gotten a Corsair that didn't have painted main caps. On the same token, none of the G.Skill boards were double-shot either. I have to assume you either bought sets for them or you are seriously special and got the only boards from them made with those caps. Mind showing an image of the caps you have?

I never liked the "k"series KB , didnt feel "good" to me. Had a couple , returned them each within a week

@qubit
Frankly since I spoke with someone live on the phone ,I had anticipated a response by now because they are three hours behind me, but who knows maybe they're going to drag their feet for a couple days ,and then get back to me. they sure as hell better cover the cost of the keys ,that's not even a question for me . One thing that made me grumpy when I was talking to the human I spoke with, he alluded to the fact that I may have been overzealous or forceful which is absurd

 

[sneekypeet]

I never liked the "k"series KB , didnt feel "good" to me. Had a couple , returned them each within a week

@qubit
Frankly since I spoke with someone live on the phone ,I had anticipated a response by now because they are three hours behind me, but who knows maybe they're going to drag their feet for a couple days ,and then get back to me. they sure as hell better cover the cost of the keys ,that's not even a question for me . One thing that made me grumpy when I was talking to the human I spoke with, he alluded to the fact that I may have been overzealous or forceful which is absurd

Figure it out and let us know. While they may not be perfect, I may have a set you can replace the OG ones with.

 

[newtekie1]

Cheap pullers are cheap..... that combined with painted keycaps is a huge no-no!

https://www.amazon.com/WASD-Keyboards-Wire-Keycap-Puller/dp/B00AZCGF7K
this is what I use on all reviewed boards, as it is known that plastic on plastic tends to mar the surface. Even on some double-shot caps, it will leave marks. The wire cap pullers go under the caps, and does not cause any damage

I have that exact puller sitting on my desk right now.

 

[eidairaman1]

I never liked the "k"series KB , didnt feel "good" to me. Had a couple , returned them each within a week

@qubit
Frankly since I spoke with someone live on the phone ,I had anticipated a response by now because they are three hours behind me, but who knows maybe they're going to drag their feet for a couple days ,and then get back to me. they sure as hell better cover the cost of the keys ,that's not even a question for me . One thing that made me grumpy when I was talking to the human I spoke with, he alluded to the fact that I may have been overzealous or forceful which is absurd

Likely excuse, always blame end user and not the low quality tool.

 

[jboydgolfer]

I'm still waiting on a response from these guys. When I spoke to the dude live on the phone ,he told me he would "forward it immediately", apparently he has a wildly different definition of the word immediately.

I'm not going to form my opinion yet. The last time I had a support experience with Azio, they were wicked helpful, extremely fast, and gave me the best resolution that I could've hoped for. I'm gonna wait & see how this experience turns out

 

[Totally]

I looked in your specs and showed an image of the caps that came on my K70. TBH I have never gotten a Corsair that didn't have painted main caps. On the same token, none of the G.Skill boards were double-shot either. I have to assume you either bought sets for them or you are seriously special and got the only boards from them made with those caps. Mind showing an image of the caps you have?

Same my corsair caps are painted, and backlit double shot caps are rare as 3 of the 4 big keycap manufacturers do not make such sets and I never received a response from the 4th.

 

[Jetster]

Yea I was wrong in my assumption. But Corsair does sell a set

http://www.corsair.com/en-us/corsair-gaming-pbt-double-shot-keycaps-white

 

[Bill_Bright]

When I spoke to the dude live on the phone ,he told me he would "forward it immediately", apparently he has a wildly different definition of the word immediately.

Having worked tech support for more years than I care to mention, I am absolutely sure he did indeed "forward it immediately". Why? Because that moves that "ticket" out of his queue and off his desk and it is no longer his responsibility. And his job is to clear tickets out of his queue and off his desk.

Frankly, I don't see this being resolved in your favor. Those key caps did not break. Scratches may easily be considered "normal wear and tear". Did you have to remove the key caps? Probably not. Why didn't you stop after scratching the first key cap? You didn't notice? Why not? Weren't you paying attention to what you were doing? Just being the devil's advocate here - I am not blaming you so don't shoot the messenger. As I said above, I personally think any supplied key cap puller should be safe to use. That said, those scratches are just superficial and don't affect the performance in any way.

Have you tried to rub/polish the scratches out? I might suggest trying to with one key cap to see what happens. A trick/method I've been using very effectively for years to remove minor scratches from CDs and DVDs (and to polish out scratches from watch crystals and other items) is to take a small dab of toothpaste (plain white paste, not gel) and rub gently in circles with my thumb. You should feel warmth as the friction builds. You might try it on the backside of one key cap as a test site. It might take the shine off, or make it even shinier. But it might also just remove the scratch and make it look good as new.

 

[jboydgolfer]

unfortunately, azio says they cannot offer me replacement key caps, they will pay for shipping, for me to send it back, so i can have the entire KB replaced with a new one (again), but Id rather not go without the damn KB for another week & a half.

so now i need to decide if i want a new KB more than i dont want to go without it for almost 2 weeks. i know its not a bad choice to have, but i hate when companies have these "all or none" warranty policies.

 

[Bill_Bright]

but i hate when companies have these "all or none" warranty policies.

I hear you but it really is cheaper for us consumers that way. The logistics involved to maintain an extensive inventory of individual spare parts in a warehouse for all their products for would be enormous! There are 100s of parts in one keyboard. In addition to the 100+ distinct keycaps (125 different caps on mine), there are springs, connectors, switches, cables, circuit boards, LEDs, various body parts and more. And AZIO makes over a dozen different keyboards, plus other components too.

They would have no choice but to pass those costs on to us in the form of higher prices. Then they probably could not compete on the market.

So it is much cheaper (and faster) for them to just keep a much smaller inventory of replacement keyboards than individual parts for those keyboards.

 

[jboydgolfer]

I hear you but it really is cheaper for us consumers that way. The logistics involved to maintain an extensive inventory of individual spare parts in a warehouse for all their products for would be enormous! There are 100s of parts in one keyboard. In addition to the 100+ distinct keycaps (125 different caps on mine), there are springs, connectors, switches, cables, circuit boards, LEDs, various body parts and more. And AZIO makes over a dozen different keyboards, plus other components too.

They would have no choice but to pass those costs on to us in the form of higher prices. Then they probably could not compete on the market.

So it is much cheaper (and faster) for them to just keep a much smaller inventory of replacement keyboards than individual parts for those keyboards.

i can understand replacing the whole KB over say a micro chip, or other indepth parts, etc, but the Key Caps, they Must have on hand, as they do theyre manufacturing/assembly in the same building as theyre support, and keys are an item almost any end user can install with general ease . theres no question some parts just wouldnt be feasible, but the keys IMO, are do-able, and im certain they have them, on hand, as i was told they do by an employee. the reason i was given is it wouldnt be free under their warranty, so my choices are replace or make due. Or pay for the keys out of pocket, which im not interested in doing. ive given my back up KB to one of the kids who keeps breaking KB's like they are free, so ill need to find a replacement if i decide to send it out for replacement.

 

[Bill_Bright]

I do understand your logic. But I also understand theirs. They currently have 15 different keyboards in production. Typical production and assembly factories don't keep large quantities of parts in inventory. That would require expensive space and inventory management. Instead, they order parts as they need them. If the next production run will be for 1000 keyboards, they order 1000 sets of key caps to be delivered the day that production run starts.

How many customers need to replace their key caps?

Most buyers never even need to remove one key cap, then alone all. Turn the keyboard upside down and give it little tap and all the cookie and potato chip crumbs fall out. At worse, a blast of compressed air does the trick.

For the few buyers who reprogram keys, how often do they do that? I expect once and then that's it.

Again, I agree with you. I am just saying from a business viewpoint, it does not make good financial sense. I mean really, most people would be happy to get a whole brand new keyboard.

 

[jboydgolfer]

I do understand your logic. But I also understand theirs. They currently have 15 different keyboards in production. Typical production and assembly factories don't keep large quantities of parts in inventory. That would require expensive space and inventory management. Instead, they order parts as they need them. If the next production run will be for 1000 keyboards, they order 1000 sets of key caps to be delivered the day that production run starts.

How many customers need to replace their key caps?

Most buyers never even need to remove one key cap, then alone all. Turn the keyboard upside down and give it little tap and all the cookie and potato chip crumbs fall out. At worse, a blast of compressed air does the trick.

For the few buyers who reprogram keys, how often do they do that? I expect once and then that's it.

Again, I agree with you. I am just saying from a business viewpoint, it does not make good financial sense. I mean really, most people would be happy to get a whole brand new keyboard.

Yeah I 100% see it from that side as well , which is why I don't fault them for saying they could give me the key caps ,but they would want me to pay for them. Because it makes better business sense for them to take my almost brand new keyboard, replace the key caps ,and then sell it again,ornuse it as an rma replacement,because it's damn near brand new ,it's not even six months old.


I will give them credit because even though it's more of a pain in the ass for me to go without the keyboard for a couple weeks ,they have replaced my keyboard once already (due to a very minor issue with an absolutely pristine brand new in box exact model), and now they're willing to do it again ,for purely aesthetic issue. I'm not gonna say it's as good as logitech support because in my experience all they require is a proof of purchase and then they send you out a brand new one and they don't even ask for the old one, but it's pretty damn good 9/10 bananas

 

[Bill_Bright]

Because it makes better business sense for them to take my almost brand new keyboard, replace the key caps ,and then sell it again

In may even make better business sense to just toss your returned item in the trash. No need to store it somewhere while waiting repair. No need to track it during the repair process. No need for repair parts. No need to provide a fully equipped test bench and no need to train and pay someone to replace the parts and verify every thing works. Then no need to then repackage it again and put it back in inventory where it will require further tracking and labeling for later shipping.

Labor costs are very expensive - much more to the employer than just the employee's wages.

 

[micropage7]

plastic puller is too tight and hard to put it right, i agree if you have mechanical keyboard you should have wire puller
i dont think they gonna accept your claim, they may say you use the puller and its because miss handling

so whats the good news, you have a reason to buy keycaps

 

[AsRock]

I was so p!$$ed off. The one that I used does pull from the bottom ,but you have to push it down over the key cap which is where it does the scratching. I'll have to order one of those types you linked.

luckily their support is really good. The last time I had an issue with the same type of keyboard they just sent me a whole brand new one because of one sticky



Yeah i used it right. It's just the way that type of kcp works ,is you push it down over the key cap and since it's arms are slightly closer together than the width of one key It rubs against both sides which is where the scratching occurred.


It was this type

Thats the kind i have, mine came with clear o rings at the time, but no scratches here, maybe the keycaps are really soft plastic ( maybe spray painted like some suggested). as @newtekie1 the metal black bar ones are much better.