Bonus tip -- check your switches will be compatible before you buy a load of them -- cheap hotswap keyboards often have Outemu hotswap sockets which will only take Outemu switches (and other brands of switch which have thin metal pins, like Jixian).
This is really solid advice - stuff I learned myself through scary trial and error, and was low-key ashamed to ask back in the day. Can confirm, the “wiggle” is the key for gentle switch removal! Doesn’t take brute strength, takes finesse :)
Tip 2 really helped me! I kept trying to pull these gateron optical switches from the left and right, and didn't see that they had to be removed from the top and bottom. Thanks so much!
Thanks for this, had an issue with my S key on my first ever mechanical keyboard and this helped me fix the issue within minutes. Other videos were needlessly long and confusing, yours is concise and informative.
I've only watched your newer content where you're goofy and energetic. I find it interesting how in this video, you were so serious (plus that epic background music). Anyways, good video!
Thanks for the tip on the Gateron switches. I was having a lot of difficulty and couldn’t believe that was a normal thing. My switches slip out easily now.
The plastic side of the switch always broken and i bleed my hand because of it, its only the factory's switch that hard to pull, the one that i replace myself isnt that hard to pull and broke.
Thanks for the tutorial ! My cat dropped my keyboard on the floor and one key was not working anymore. I swaped the switch with one from a key I never use and it works fine now :)
Yes. MX is a type of switch under Cherry's brand. It can also be interpreted as cross-shaped stem mechanical switches, like how Kleenex is tissue paper. I guess it depends on the context
This is really helpful. Better to know this *before* trying to build your first custom keyboard. Only you guys thought about doing this kind of video. Very good.
When taking out the switches, my GMMK Full size's stabilizers were on the way of my gateron switches and I accidentally broke the casing of those that were vertical (iso Enter, num enter, and num +) because I really didn't have enough room to grab the small latches on the switches with the remover. I was so sad! But apart from that the rest of switches are really easy to take out just pressing on the right place. Thanks for the guide!
I had a similar issue with the full GMMK! I have a few switch puller tools and prefer the bigger one with rubberized green grip, but it's too large in that situation. The cheap metal one like Betty has here allowed me to slip the clip past the little tab and under the top housing to be able to lift the switch. It felt scary and uncomfortable, but it got the job done.
This helped me so much when a piece of small cloth blocked the rgb in the pcb, had to play the interstellar docking scene when I was putting the switch back lol
omg omg tysm tysm TYSM BRO I HAD WATERDAMAGE (NOT IN THE BOARD LIKE IN THE GREEN THING) IDK BUT WHEN I SWAPPED I SAW THERES AN TINY BIT OF WATER AND I DRIED IT OFF AND I PUT NEW SWITCHES (THE SAME THAT CAME IN THE BOX) AND ITS FIXED U JUST SAVED ME 100$ THANK U SO MUCH SUBBED IT WAS THE KEY C AND V
this was helpful! i was trying to get a different switches but then they shows 2 options of 3 pins and 5 pins.. luckily i found your vid so it was helpful! thanks
Girl you made my day as i have 2 thermaltake posiden keyboards one RGB and one with blue backlit and both of them were like fucked up and i tried to replace them but it aint worked that well because i didnt know how to pull out the switches
Nice video! I've got a 3-pin/plate mounted full sized GMMK and a 5-pin/pcb mounted gk64. When removing keycaps sometimes the 3-pin switches will come off the board and stick with the keycap. This has yet to happen with the 5-pin gk64.
I know this video is 2 years old, but I need to clarify something. Keyboards come in 3 different forms of construction when the keyboards PCB boards get manufactured. 1. - Soldered (meaning switches are permanently soldered to the board) You will need to use a solder to take out the switches and place a new one & re-solder them back to the board. 2. - Sleeve connection. This means that its usually a 3-pin switch connection and the pins slide into a sleeve socket to connect to the board. (No solder needed) usually on affordable keyboards. and usually use Outemu or alike as switches of those types for these types of sleeve connection PCB boards. 3. - Hot Swap connection. means they have a switch socket cartridge that gets soldered to the back of the board allowing users to hot swap between 3-pin and 5-pin connections.
OMG YOUR VIDEO Just made my whole day thank you!! I always wanted new switches in my Mizar Mz60 and I wondered how I could get 5pin switches in there!!! THAAAANK YOOUUUUUUU!! YOURE THE BEST
This was nice just to make sure I was on the right track, my 0 was performing intermittently so I decided to reach into my bag o reds and swap it out. Seems to be all good now with the new switch.
@@SwitchandClickOfficial Yes I know it does, and it sounds like you are spending a lot of time to make sure that your videos are high quality. I really appreciate and value that.
I pulled a switch from my keyboard and the switch had some solder on the pins and the keyboard page said it was hot swappable and now I am not sure if it is. I am sorry for bad english
If you are clipping plastic legs off of the 5 pin switch make sure you get ALL of the leg. If you don't. the switch will pull out when you take the cap off. In my experience it's much much better to simply start with the right switch.
Are there any good switch puller tools? I’m asking because the tool that came with my Keychron k6 was too small to fit in my hands. Btw love the videos. You were the ones who helped me find the keyboard that I needed.
This was very helpful! You'd be surprised at how daunting this is to a beginner, even something basic like this. Also, as I'm watching this, my wife says, "she's a dewy queen." No idea what that means but apparently it's a desirable, healthy shiny skin type. So there you go boys. We learn something new every day. In my case two new things.
Quick question from someone new to mechanical keyboards. Lets say I have a hotswappable pcb with five holes for the pins. Can I use a plate mounted switch for the pcb?
Aligning the pins on to the PCB is a lot harder than I thought. Lesson that I learned, buy a good switch puller. Most of them are not good, especially the one that comes with Keychron keyboards.
Great guide vid :) Quick question 🙋🏼, how do we pull off Gateron red switches which are placed between the stabilizers? As it looks cramped with the stabilizers on top & bottom therefore I can't find a way to fit my switch puller in the pull it off. Thanks in advance 😁
If your keyboard have outemu hotswap sockets, then you're out of luck. Some other switches that can fit in Outemu hotswap sockets are Jixian switches and Akko CS switches.
Great video for the uninformed of what is and what isn't a hotswappable keyboard. Personally on my first mkb now, its hard to remove the swtiches from the plate most of the time. I dunno if it's because it's brand new and hasn't been weathered from all the friction or I'm doing something wrong. I have gateron milky yellows on them so it should be fine pulling them up from the x axis sides. But they're just too tough to pop up.
Holy shit i had a heart attack, i took out my F switch for a gateron red instead of yellow, i couldnt get it back in and i just got it for christmas. Thanks so much
if the PCB doesnt have any pin holes, it's likely SK61, the counterpart of GK61 with Optical Switches instead of Mechanical Switches. They're not compatible to each other's board. You will have to find optical switches to swap with the board.
My spacebar started to fail after i did my first lube session on my switches. I tried replacing the switch but the problem persisted. I also tried to clean the hotswap contacts with isopropyl alcohol but it also didnt work, and now the key is not working at all. Did i just killed my keeb or there is something i can do in order to save its poor soul?
Wish I would have watched this before taking my switches out to lube. I was taking my switches out from the left and right side rather than top and bottom. It took an excessive amount of force and after about 5 switches I decided to watch a video on it.
