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Key cap popped off
#49142 06/20/18 09:29 PM
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deniro Offline OP
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I have a Mattias Quiet Pro keyboard which I doubt is a year old yet. Today the command key keycap popped off. I thought it would slip back on, but it looks like it was glued. Now what? Glue it back on? With what? Have a preference? I'm still waiting to hear from Mattias.

This is the command key that I use often with my left thumb for cutting and pasting, directly to the left of the space bar. I've owned several keyboards over the years. I don't think this has ever happened before. I was sure keycaps could slip back on easily via a slot or something.

Re: Key cap popped off
deniro #49147 06/21/18 01:31 AM
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At one time keycaps did slip off or on with relative ease, but that was before the days of short stroke keys and high tech key springs to improve the keyboard "feel", and ever thinner keyboards. If your Matias keyboard is no longer covered under warranty, check with the nearest Office Depot, Staples, or Best Buy and see what they would charge to replace the key cap. (Given the minimum labor charge at most stores, a new keyboard might be less expensive. tongue )


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: Key cap popped off
joemikeb #49149 06/21/18 01:35 PM
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I have been working with Matias of late as I’m writing a review (for the local MUG) of their wireless extended backlit keyboard. That keyboard has a 1 year warranty, and I suspect yours does as well. I found the Matias crew good to work with. A call to them can’t hurt.


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Re: Key cap popped off
Pendragon #49151 06/21/18 04:33 PM
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deniro Offline OP
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There's no way to slip the keycap back on. The male end snapped and is still in the switch. The switch still works.

I have to check on the warranty. It's a six months old keyboard, $150 from B&H.

It's the most I've ever paid for a keyboard, and the first time I've ever had a key cap break, and that includes the $15 Logitechs I was buying from Office Depot once a year.

Also, it slides around the desk, esp. the left side of the keyboard. The right side is heavier. It doesn't feel like a $150 keyboard though I really like the touch of the keys, somewhere between a membrane and a mechanical keyboard.

The only solution I see is for Matias to send me a new keyboard.

Re: Key cap popped off
deniro #49152 06/21/18 05:07 PM
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Let us know how you come out with Matias.


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: Key cap popped off
deniro #49254 06/28/18 07:23 PM
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Originally Posted By: deniro
I have a Mattias Quiet Pro keyboard which I doubt is a year old yet. Today the command key keycap popped off. I thought it would slip back on, but it looks like it was glued. Now what? Glue it back on? With what? Have a preference? I'm still waiting to hear from Mattias.


I've replaced many hundreds of key caps over the years. There are so many different designs though, even on computers that look identical. Take for example the white iBooks, they had maybe 25 models of keyboard that boiled down to about a dozen different designs. When you switch to a different brand like a Dell, everything changes.

Most caps can be popped back on, if the cap and the action have not been damaged, and no pieces have been lost. Reassembling the action can be tricky, and knowing how to place and lock the cap back down can be difficult though.

Actions and caps are often damaged by users that attempt to force the cap back into place.

Sometimes a damaged cap or action can be harvested from elsewhere on the keyboard. ("do you really need that tilde key?")

Without seeing it there's just no way to walk you through this.


I work for the Department of Redundancy Department
Re: Key cap popped off
Virtual1 #49320 07/04/18 12:13 AM
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On June 22 Matias agreed to send me a new keyboard. It hadn't arrived it yet, so I called them today. They told me a it should be shipping next week.

In the meantime, this keyboard has shown other problems. Keys will either repeat or fail to register a keypress, requiring you to hit it again. When I bought this keyboard, I ignored some of the negative forum comments I read, but now I'm having some of the same problems. So I'm debating whether I should get my money back while I still can or accept the new keyboard that is supposed to arrive and hope that it doesn't have the same problems as the others.

Re: Key cap popped off
deniro #49324 07/04/18 02:20 PM
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Originally Posted By: deniro
When I bought this keyboard, I ignored some of the negative forum comments I read, but now I'm having some of the same problems. So I'm debating whether I should get my money back while I still can or accept the new keyboard that is supposed to arrive and hope that it doesn't have the same problems as the others.

Hmmmmm. Seems to me you should be thinking "Once bitten, twice shy". Grab the money and run.

Last edited by ryck; 07/04/18 02:21 PM.

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Re: Key cap popped off
ryck #49328 07/04/18 03:56 PM
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Well, maybe. How does one judge the quality of a company's products? By one unit? In the past there were reliable brands. Today, no matter what I buy, my chances are quite good of getting a lemon. Even Toyota has recalls.

I bought a Logitech mouse that was dead on arrival. I returned it for the same model, and it lasted four days. The third was a keeper, but I decided there was something wrong with that model, so I bought a gaming mouse as a spare on the assumption that gaming mice are sturdier. That seems to be the case.

It used to be that if you spent more money, you knew you were getting higher quality, but that's not true anymore. So despite all the research I do whenever I buy something, and I do a lot of research, I mean a lot over a long period of time, I know that today's products are inferior and will be either dead on arrival or require some degree of constant maintenance and troubleshooting. The need for DIY is returning. The need for independence is increasing. Too bad they didn't teach home repair in school. A handy person can save a lot of money and frustration and, perhaps, time.

I bought a Bosch dishwasher, a German brand built in North Carolina. At the time, most of the reviews were positive. But in the first year I had to call the repairman twice, and the repairman admitted that he didn't even own a dishwasher anymore. The Bosch requires regular maintenance, or what I call babying. It doesn't fit my plates very well. The Germans use smaller plates. They also use less water. I had to switch soap because only a certain kind got the job done, in tablet form, in addition to using Rinse Aid. It's quiet, but it doesn't always get the job done. If you google dishwashers, you'll see the complaints, the changes made several years ago and the consequences, starting with the government telling us what soap we could no longer use. Companies have scrambled ever since to make a dishwasher that worked.

My folks had appliances that lasted for decades. Those days are over. Those companies are gone. Steve Jobs wanted the computer to be an appliance. I wonder if he meant a reliable appliance or a disposable appliance, but he probably didn't think about it. Silicon Valley has really been loading up our landfills with junk.

My attention was caught by the ergonomic keyboards at http://www.allthingsergo.com/, particularly the split keyboards, such as the ones by Kinesis.

Last edited by deniro; 07/04/18 03:58 PM.
Re: Key cap popped off
deniro #49330 07/04/18 04:12 PM
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I should add something about positive experience.

I bought a WASD mechanical keyboard, and it was quite solid, it felt solid and reliable—a wood base rather than plastic. But it was just too loud. I spent a lot of time debating. The guy at WASD was so helpful and spent so much time with me, though I didn't even buy the keyboard. He was impressive, and I told him so. It was incredible customer service.

I know I'm supposed to hate ATT, but I have few complaints with them. It ain't cheap, but the service is reliable, never drops, never is out. The modem/router is more secure than my previous Netgear and TP Link models and easier to configure without requiring any babying. In recent years, compared to previous years (when they outsourced to India), the phone tech help has been quite good at solving problems. They have been articulate and helpful. The guys who come to the house are first rate. They initiate and volunteer, which no one does anymore, and they go beyond work that is their responsibility, such as helping me try to fight the squirrels that keep chewing through my wires. I contrast this with Comcast people, who are not the greatest.


Re: Key cap popped off
deniro #49395 07/07/18 07:24 PM
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The talk about Matias keyboards made me realize that many of the typos I have spent time backing out and missing characters I have had to go back and insert may not have been entirely due to my fat fingering the keyboard. So I broke out may old Apple Magic keyboard last night and voilá my error rate dropped significantly and no more dropped characters. I bought the Matias keyboard even before it was ready to ship because Apple didn't have an extended wireless keyboard. Now they do and one will be replacing the Matias keyboard tomorrow.

So thanks for the comments about the Matias keyboard.


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: Key cap popped off
joemikeb #50912 01/14/19 02:14 AM
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And there it goes again. Another Command key breaks. Same one, left side.

Re: Key cap popped off
deniro #50933 01/17/19 07:12 PM
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The method by which key caps are attached to the keyboard varies considerably, even between keyboards from the same manufacturer. I wouldn't even attempt to walk someone through this process over the phone. More often than not, the cap has simply come disconnected from the action, and just needs to be carefully reinstalled. (occasionally there is damage and something has to be replaced)

But the chances of just "mashing the key back on" without damaging it are slim, you are very likely to break what was simply disassembled to begin with. There is a bit of an "art" to it. Once you understand how the actions work, and how they interact with the cap, reattaching them is *usually* fairly easy to do. So take it to a computer hop or a friend that knows how to do that.


I work for the Department of Redundancy Department
Re: Key cap popped off
Virtual1 #50934 01/17/19 07:56 PM
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Nah. I said popped off, but really it broke off. I can look at the key and see that. I've been using keys my whole life and I know the difference between one that can be popped back on and one that is broken.

I do a lot of writing and editing every day. I need a reliable keyboard. I lost confidence in Matias and asked them for a refund, which they gave me. I'm not sure what brand to try next. I'm looking at a Kinesis split keyboard and the Filco Majestic, plus other brands at mechanicalkeyboards.com. But you know everything made today is crap because everything comes from China.

Re: Key cap popped off
deniro #50935 01/17/19 08:46 PM
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Have you looked at this ultra classic IBM style keyboard? If it is as advertised you shouldn't be able to break it with a hammer.


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: Key cap popped off
joemikeb #50943 01/18/19 08:21 PM
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Heh, as a matter of fact I have.

Unicomp makes a version of the Model M in Lexington, KY. Several versions. I admire that, but reviews suggest the quality is poor. I'm not sure I want something that loud. Others have commented on hand fatigue. I would like to go the other direction, something easier to type, not harder.

In the mid 1990s I used an IBM model M keyboard. Best keyboard I ever used. Sounded like a machine gun. Fast and loud.

A few years later I used a Lexmark electric typewriter. This was after Lexmark bought the IBM technology. Best typewriter I ever used. Had arrow keys on the lower right (like a computer keyboard) that rolled the platen so you could zip all over the page and correct your mistakes. Inexpensive, lightweight, easy to replace ink, correction tape was invisible. Loud of course.

Oh, IBM. I never thought I would miss IBM. And Xerox. Those great copiers.

The Kinesis Advantage looks like a winner. But with a $350 price tag and an unorthodox layout, it isn't what I'm looking for. The Kinesis2 Freestyle is unfortunately a membrane keyboard that reviews suggest is cheap plastic which slides around the desk easily. My Matias does that already. But the split keyboard makes a lot of sense to me. I think that would reduce wrist pain. I don't know. I may try the Kinesis2. There's a 60 day return.

I've spent years reading about keyboards.


Re: Key cap popped off
deniro #50949 01/18/19 10:01 PM
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I am of the opinion the "perfect" keyboard is as elusive as — well as elusive as perfection itself.

After junking a Matias wireless extended keyboard about a year ago, I switched to Apple's extended "Magic" keyboard and somewhat to my surprise after using it a few weeks I came to really like it! The perfect keyboard would not be quite so flat and it did take some getting used to. Although the key travel isn't long it still has a positive touch/feel and they are reasonably quiet in operation — even with my heavy handed keyboarding. It has proven completely reliable and there have been zero issues with stuck or non-functioning keys (of course that probably will not happen until after Apple Care lapses) tongue . I know the alpha keys are exactly the same size and footprint as the standard "Magic" keyboard, but the extension makes it feel more roomy and I use both the navigation keyboard and numeric keypad constantly as well as the seven additional function keys. The battery does not last as long as Matias claims theirs does but it is reasonably long lasting — up to a month — and it charges quickly when hooked it to a USB C port via a USB C to USB A adaptor.

If you haven't tried one, check it out at the Apple Store, you might be surprised and like it.


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: Key cap popped off
joemikeb #51101 02/14/19 06:23 PM
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deniro Offline OP
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Article about the Macally solar keyboard.

https://www.appleworld.today/blog/2019/2...easonable-price


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