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Mechanical Keyboard

Royal Kludge RK84 vs Royal Kludge RK71

Royal Kludge RK84

Royal Kludge RK84

66 reviews

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Royal Kludge RK71

Royal Kludge RK71

41 reviews

View Product Details

Great backlighting with RGB

Compact size

Hot-swappable switches

Various connectivity options and ports

Customizable features

Great variety of layouts available

USB Type-C charging port

Easy to switch between multiple devices

MacOS support

Decent battery life

Not consistent quality control

Poor customer service

Some users have experienced connectivity and software issues

Not as aesthetically pleasing as some competitors

Connectivity issues reported by some users

Some users have experienced problems with the switches

Verdict

The Royal Kludge RK84 keyboard has received mixed reviews, with some praising its compact size, hot-swappable switches, and RGB backlighting, while others have experienced issues with connectivity and software. The keyboard offers a variety of connectivity options and ports, making it appealing to some users. However, there have been reports of poor customer service and quality control issues. Overall, the Royal Kludge RK84 may be a good option for those looking for a budget-friendly, compact keyboard with customizable features, but it may not be the best choice for everyone.

Verdict

Overall, the Royal Kludge RK71 has received mixed reviews. Some users appreciate the keyboard's balanced feature set and variety of layouts, while others have experienced connectivity issues and problems with the switches. The keyboard's design and lighting options have generally been well-received, but some users have noted issues with the keycaps and Bluetooth connectivity. Despite its flaws, the RK71 remains a popular choice for those seeking a compact mechanical keyboard with wireless capabilities.

Reviews by Topic

Our analysis shows how reviewers feel about different topics. Please note these are not full reviews.

Quality

Not a bad board but opted for another.

That attention to detail is important. The wireless dongle, again while present does have a very short range. The Royal is smaller than the K2 and I have big hands, so I felt a bit cramped when typing. No issues at all with that on the K2

youtube

Royal Kludge RK71 v2 Review |Good Entry Keyboard for ...

The 70% layout gives users a taste of what a 60% keyboard footprint would be like without having to deal with the navigation keys under a different fu...

Positive

Build Quality

For those planing to use the 2.4 ghz dongle

pros: keyboard looks great -decent customization -good feel to it -no deck flex -small and compact cons: 2.4 ghz dongle has absolutely no range unless you plug it into a usb extender( i don’t know why but it worked once i plugged it in to a usb 3.0 or 2.0 extender no i can go a couple feet from it ) -software is well pretty useless the keyboard has all the short cuts that do everything the software does - i have yet to try the bluetooth but if the dongle doesn’t work well i can imagine the bluetooth will -i have gotten a replacement with the same issues so it’s not that i just got a bad keyboard or something like that because it had the exact same issue (not a con but just something i felt should be noted) -customer service is non existent(sent an message to them through amazon and got no response so i went though amazon’s support) - also weirdly enough the replacement worked even worse (now i have to send the replacement back and i’ll probably just deal with the usb extension even though that’s really not what i wanted to have to do)

Stops working in and out, then bricked after 2 weeks.

If you're looking for a cheap keyboard, you will get a CHEAP keyboard. I learned my lesson. Keyboards are something you're going to touch every day, it'll be one of the most important things you buy. Invest in something good and reliable, otherwise you'll get screwed by a cheap piece of plastic

Weight

/r/MechanicalKeyboards Ask ANY question, get an answer (September 10, 2021)

I just bought the Royal Kludge RK84 (80%) with hot swappable brown switches. Not sure how to explain it well, but the keys are much heavier than my Keychron K2 w/ Gateron Browns. It's kind of tiring to type quickly for extended periods of time.

Neutral

reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards

Great keyboard for the price!

So I returned that one and bought this instead. I needed a keyboard with dedicated arrow keys and this came with them. Pros: - Feels heavy and durable - Brown switches feel pretty good - RGB lights look amazing (so many options to choose from) - Bluetooth works well Cons: - Some of the keys sound cheap. There's a "ping" sound (for the price you can't really complain) - I don't think the keycaps are PBT because my finger oils can be seen very clearly on top of the keys Overall, I would highly recommend this keyboard for anyone looking for a decent budget mechanical keyboard

Software

Great keyboard, not without work

Fix: (downloading the latest software that correlates with your product should automatically update the firmware, so this section is if your keyboard continues to have issues) 1. Turn off keyboard and plug it into your computer 2. From the software, Reset factory data 3. Restore factory settings 4

Fantastic portable keyboard

I would recommend this 8/10 if the price was the same, so I’d recommend waiting for a sale maybe get it for 60 or even 50. Other than that, Bluetooth does seem a little shotty sometimes, as the first time rebooting it was a little confusing why it wasn’t typing when it said it was connected. On top of this, the software is confusing at first since it’s all in Chinese but just go to settings and the bottom option switch to English and it’s fixed

Backlight

Epic board, epic price - if you don't use the wireless modes. (updated 03/2021)

Looks just fine in the dark however, which is when the lighting is really needed. Tiny nitpick - the Mac toggle would be better if the WIN/ALT keys also had command and option labels underneath, no extra caps came with the board to help with this either. Also there's no INSERT key shortcut anywhere that I can find. If you aren't going to make use of the two wireless modes and don't mind the slightly dim backlighting, get this board

Perfect keyboard for my use at a good value

I'm pretty sure this is a defect on mine and it's not like this on others. - The charging light illuminates half of the spacebar with a bright red light. It's a minor aesthetic negative that I feel could've been placed better (a tiny indicator light on the side or back?) - Spacebar is a little loud with an audible click - Timer on the backlight is not adjustable. I would've assumed it'd at least stay on when it's plugged in

Design

I installed the firmware, and it quit working

I liked the all white design and that you can remove the outer frame to give the keycaps "floating" appearance. I *really* appreciate the fact that it is BOTH dongle and bluetooth wireless. I work on a macbook by day, and game on a PC by night, so this is a feature I've been looking for in a keyboard for awhile. (I have a mouse that does it and it's amazing

comfortable and pretty keyboard - battery life, connectivity a bit lacking

I'm sure this was a design compromise: The keyboard is small (so less space for a battery) AND the designers decided to not put the keyboard into uselessly non-responsive sleep mode like my other "compact" bluetooth keyboards, so to accommodate those features/design choices, the battery life has to suffer a bit. What is NOT a compromise and just plain bad is that connectivity is spotty (i.e., keys sometimes do not register when pressed) AND there are bugs in the firmware that cause the keyboard to just not respond sometimes when switching between bluetooth and wired USB mode, causing me to have to frequently disconnect and reconnect the keyboard or use another keyboard

Layout

Great keyboard with useless software

I tend to only use a little backlighting when it's dark and the dimmest settings on bright keyboards are usually too bright for me. As of this review, the software is unusable (crashes on load) so you can't rebind keys or change the color presets(update: reaching out to customer support they sent me a firmware patch and the software works now!). The key layout is XD84, which seems to have limited custom keycap sets (you can use a standard set if it has a 1.75u right shift key and 1u alt, fn and ctlr keys included

Cheap parts. Premium price. Only keyboard available with 71 keys.

Royal Kuldge’s niche seems to be making more layouts available than their competitors. RK is really your only choice if you’re looking for a specific sub-TKL layout. But if you can find the layout you want from another brand- buy it instead. Compared to other Chinese competitors this keyboard is expensive and uses lower quality parts

Keycaps

A budget hot-swappable keyboard with not so great switches.....

.), but probably due to the ABS keycaps. Anyway, I replaced the switches with kailh speed Bronze and some PBT keycaps and everything feels right afterward

Could be better. No media keys and can't boot into BIOS. Loud as heck.

Still too clicky. Then the construction is clanky and echo-y, so even when you're pushing down at average pressure and speed, you whille hear the keycap hit the board. You would have to type gently and slowly to not hear the keycaps. This could be solved with shorter keycaps

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