This keyboard could have been great if the manual was in English and if manufacturer did not choose form over function in a couple of default settings. Over time I figured out how to change the visual effects I found annoying, I hope this will help someone else as there is no English manual that tells you how to do it. The seller did provide some instructions in the Amazon description but it took some experimenting to get the keyboard to work as I wanted.
I am a through back - I love the feedback of the mechanical keyboards and before I switched to this keyboard I was using a very old DELL keyboard that I loved above all other keyboards I have tried prior to this one.
So here is what I like about this keyboard as well as what I don't like.
I LIKE:
1. Excellent mechanical feedback, as good as my old DELL. I can type fast, my touch is very light, yet this key boards picks up every character I type and gives me a loud click feedback and a mechanical feedback to my finger.
2. I like to work with dimmed lights and my old keyboard did not have backlighted keys. This is the main reason I switched to using this keyboard. It took some work to get the lighting effects to work the way I wanted but once that was done I really like it.
3. The bottom of the keyboard has rubberized keys and they form great tracking with my wood desk. It does not move at all.
4. It has a standard layout of keys (and I mean all special keys not just letters). The only thing it does not have that my old DELL has is the numeric keypad on the right. However, this makes the keyboard smaller and it fits better on the keyboard tray of my computer desk.
I DON'T LIKE:
1. By default the back-light effect is not steady on, instead it shows waves of light that light a small section of a keyboard at a time. I found this lighting effect to be annoying and often I had to sit and wait until the side of the keyboard I needed lights up. Sure, have this funky lighting effect for whoever likes it, but it would have been better to make the steady light be the default. Below I give the steps on how to change the default.
2. The company logo is bright and blinking. I find it very distracting when I look at the screen. I was able to slightly dim it via available control but I was never able to fully turn it off. I solved this problem by taping over the logo with a black electrical tape. I show what this looks like in the video.
3. The manual is entirely in Chinese. The only information on how change back-light modes is in the Amazon description. I have tested this keyboard on both Windows and Linux and the function key combinations work on both.
FN+F1'Calculator
FN+F2'Sound Off
FN+F3'VOL Down
FN+F4'VOL Up
FN+F5'My Computer
FN+F6'Media Play/Stop
FN+F7'Previous
FN+F8'Next
FN+F9'Normal mode/Game Mode (Indicator Light G will light up) Disable WiN & Alt'Tab
FN+L' Adjust"MXX"LOGO Light [*my comment* can change brightness but not turn it off]
FN + F10'Opt Default lighting Mode/User Defined Mode
FN + '/''Adjust the speed of dynamic light effect [*my comment* can change how fast effects move but this does not stop flashing]
FN + F11'Backlit Turn Down [*my comment* can change brightness but this does not make it steady on]
FN + F12'Backlit Turn Up [*my comment* can change brightness but this does not make it steady on]
Fn+F10 twice into user defined mode
Fn+delete to edit.
HOW TO CHANGE FLICKERING BACK LIGHT TO STEADY BACK LIGHT
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I found a way to change flickering back light into steady back light.
Fn+F10 into default mode then Fn+page up/down to select one of the six modes. I just kept hitting FN-page up until the entire keyboard lit up. The key is to do Fn+F10 and then immediately after if FN+page up/down.
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Initially I thought only half of each key had backlight, for example on numeric keys I could see the upper part of the key (the special characters) not the numbers. The same was true for the period, comma, and forward slash. However, I was able to resolve this issue by increasing the amount of backlight and now I can see both parts of each key.
The keyboard comes with a braided USB to USB cable. It is a heavy duty cable and I like that it is nylon braided and long (70"). In video I show this keyboard on top of my dell keyboard for size reference. It is 14" long and 5" wide.
Overall, this keyboard was good enough for me to change from a keyboard I used for many years, but it is not perfect as I outlined above. I was able to cover up the logo and changing the default for lighting effects.
This keyboard is provided by Rantopad for testing and review. I hope the tip on changing defaults will save someone time.
YOu can find "Rantopad Mechanical Keyboard" on Amazon via this link.
Ali Julia review ★★★★☆
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