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We adopt RK Switch to provide you with a better Typing Gaming experience. You can choose the switch type that best suits you according to your needs.
- Hot-Swappable Blue Switch: Blue Switch can offer quicker and springier response, crisp click sound for spring typing enjoyment, precise tactile feedback for ultimate gaming performance.
- Hot-Swappable Brown Switch: Slightly quieter and easier to trigger than the blue switch. Halfway between a typing and a gaming switch. Some people prefer brown switch since it enables you to double tap faster and typists like them because they still have a good Tactile feedback, but the audio feedback isn’t quite as noticeable as blue switch.
- Hot-Swappable Red Switch: Linear Switch, meaning that the force at the beginning and the end of each stroke is nearly identical. The result is a feel that most perceive as “smoother” and “faster” making them especially popular among gaming enthusiasts. Red Switch is the best fit switch using in office.
- RK87 RGB Driver: bit.ly/RKRGBSOFT (Find the appropriate software version according to the PID code on the back of the keyboard.)
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Package Content
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Adjustable Keyboard Feet
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Offset Arrow Keys & Hub Ports
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Features & Specifications
- 【3 Modes & USB Hub】 With 2.4Ghz wireless, Bluetooth, and USB wired 3 modes connection, this is a wireless gaming keyboard that no longer limits how you can connect. What’s more, in Bluetooth mode, you can connect up to 3 devices. Compatible with Windows/ MacOS/ Android.
- 【2 Detachable Frames】The TKL gaming keyboard includes two detachable frames that allow your RK87 to come in 3 modes including 2 floating style modes and 1 embedded style mode.
- 【Hot Swap Mechanical Switches】The 75 percent keyboard can be hot swapped at wish and replaced by all of MX-similar mechanical switches freely（including Gateron, Cherry, etc.）, supporting hot swap of 3-pin/5-pin switches.
- 【Professional Driver Support】This Bluetooth mechanical keyboard is attached with a newly-developed driver that you can customize the RK keyboard lighting modes, macro keys and using scenarios. bit.ly/RKRGBSOFT
- 【RGB Backlit】This compact mechanical keyboard 75% percent has 18 RGB Backlight Modes, 8 monochrome Backlight Modes and 1 full Color Backlight. These light modes can provide you a charming gaming environment at night.
- Dimensions: 14.25 x 5.31 x 1.63 inches
- Weight: 2.72 pounds
Pros & Cons
Pros
Honestly, I love this thing. This keyboard is, in my opinion, an incredible value. Tri-mode wireless, full hotswap (not just Outemu), RGB, USB passthrough, removable bezels, and the list just goes on and on. The RK Brown switches that this board came with are honestly (shockingly) not bad. They're a little scratchy, a little wobbly, and a little pingy. However a little lube on the rails and springs and some film and they perform admirably. They are definitely more tactile than Cherry MX Browns, they sound good, and they feel great to type on. The keycaps are basic ABS, slightly thicker than other stock caps I've gotten, but nothing special. What is special is the attention to detail on these caps. Most stock caps on cheap keyboards have terrible QC, with blurry legends or rough edges on the bottoms. These caps are perfect, they feel good to type on, the legends are some of the clearest I've ever seen for shine through, and they sound nice and solid (they're still clacky because they're thin ABS, but they don't sound cheap). I actually put the RK Browns (lubed and filmed) and the stock keycaps with o-rings on another board I had laying around, and the typing experience is fantastic. Wired performance is exceptional, and according to my testing, has a polling rate of 1000hz, plenty fast for all but the most competitive of gamers. Wireless performance, unfortunately is a different story. My testing shows a polling rate of ~100hz, which is abysmally slow. The 2.4 ghz dongle provides an incredibly stable wireless performance. I haven't tested the range, but it has had no problem being plugged into the front of my desktop about 2ft away. Using bluetooth, the story gets worse. Bluetooth performance is absolutely horrible. It pairs and connects fine, but even with the keyboard just a few inches away from the computer, I lose keypresses far too often for it to be useable. If you are looking at this keyboard for the bluetooth function, look elsewhere. Its just not good. RGB performance is ok, but not great. Most RGB is actually RGBW, meaning that it can mix white into the colors, giving you the possibility to create lighter shades of color without sacrificing brightness. These chips are true RGB, so the color choices are much more limited. Using the software provided by Royal Kludge (which is sketchy as hell, but I was able to determine is indeed safe) you can customize the RGB lighting to your liking, but only in a static mode. You cannot change the colors of any of the animated modes beyond the default colors, which is very disappointing. Battery life is pretty good if you keep RGB off, but when using RGB it is very short. I can easily get an entire work week off of a charge with RGB off, but I only get about 10 hours of use with RGB on before the lights turn off (this is your signal the battery is low). Stock stabilizers are surprisingly good, mine had no rattle at all right out of the box. I took them out to lube them and noticed there is already lube on them, so I just left them as-is. They're not perfect, but they're plenty good enough for me. Finally, the case. This thing is heavy, it feels premium, and it has foam preinstalled in the case AND in between the plate and PCB. This is basically unheard of at this price point. So would I recommend this keyboard? Absolutely. If you're in the market for TKL mechanical keyboard that is budget conscious and totally usable out of the box, this is the board for you. If you're in the market for a platform that you can use to build the custom keyboard of your dreams, this is probably the best you can get without spending a LOT more money. Despite its shortcomings, I'm incredibly happy with this purchase.
perfect for my needs. I sometimes spend 8-10 hours at a time at my desk editing text. With the software I use, there are lots of shortcuts with the F keys and I was tired of having to hit fn to use the F keys on my laptop. This keyboard has the F keys as the main function and you use the fn key to use their shortcuts like stop/pause audio and volume controls. I also like that the F keys are spaced into groups of four so I can easily find what I need without accidentally hitting the wrong one. I originally purchased brown switch and then returned for red. I LOVE the red switches. The sound is so thocky and the press feels really smooth. The backlight is great. You can control the color, speed, brightness, and the pattern of the lights. I use the lighter rainbow set and it is such a fun addition to my desk! I have not downloaded the software because I have no need to customize the keyboard, so I can't speak to that feature. But one downside I've found is the BT 2.4 connectivity (with the plug-in USB receiver) is not great, which surprised me. It would stop typing in the middle of words. But it works GREAT on wireless BT 5.0, and I have it paired with my laptop and my ipad with no issues to either. Obviously, it also works with a USB-C cable plugged in and that charges it at the same time. Battery life is awesome. This was the biggest surprise with how much I use it. I charge it less than once a week, and the charging time is fast. The keyboard goes to sleep after maybe 10 minutes and then wakes up when you press any key. Much better ergonomics than my last (Microsoft compact designer keyboard) and a great price too. I've recommended this to friends.
I've died and gone to the keyboards of 1997. I wish I had known about this keyboard when it first came out. I do not EVER use a numeric keypad. I refuse to move my hands very far from QWERTY. I limit my use of the mouse to only when absolutely necessary. But, I've been using keyboards with a numeric keypad for ... decades. This keyboard brought back the old feel, and gave me some table space back. I'm pretty simplistic, but I really wanted backlighting - just a simple dim light for at night when all the lights are off. The backlight on this keyboard is fantastic - took me about 30 seconds to use the instructions and find the dim white backlight. It is perfect. Many thanks to the engineers and programmers who made this keyboard!
Fantastic board, beautiful lights, great size. This board is fantastic, some of the best value for money I have ever spent. I use this for work and for gaming. It is so portable I pop it into my work bag on office days. It's heavy & durable, but small enough to be maneuvered. As I work in IT i spend my life typing on this keyboard, as I am now. and I love it to bits. I have my wireless mouse plugged into the keyboard, then I plug the keyboard into my machines. This is made for a really seamless way to switch between machines. The brown switches are really satisfying, they have a nice click but it's not deafeningly loud and they have this little springy bounce back after they're actuated, which makes for a really interesting typing experience. I would say the keys are a very nice mix of satisfying audible click and satisfying to use. Suitable for shared office space. I mainly use it wired so I can't speak to the battery life too much, but the times I have used it wireless I had no issues. Switching between bluetooth devices is also really seamless. I have had no issues with this board other than it sometimes stops responding and needs to be replugged in, but even then my other USBs plugged into it work fine. All in all an amazing board with a fantastic form factor, I've gotten a lot of compliments about it and have in turn recommended it many times. Everyone is always surprised by how affordable it is as well.
Frame is built like a tank. Keys? Not so much. I bought this keyboard 9 months ago; it's the first mechanical keyboard I've had since they were simply called "keyboards", and for the most part I really like it. But today, my "K" key busted. Not the switch: the actual key. Extra switches came with the keyboard, but not extra keys. So you might want to mentally add 30 or 35 bucks to the price for a new set of keycaps if the same happens to you.
overall great. just the software... for the price, the keyboard is great. build is solid and ticks all the right boxes-left side usb c connector, bluetooth and wireless options, extra ports, great keycaps, and hotswap. what killed it for me was the software for rebinding and rgb. seriously it was just frustrating and felt very limiting. if you dont care for rgb and dont have a need for rebinds, this is 5 stars.
Cons
Could be a great Keyboard, but software kills it. I really want to like the RK87. It looks great, it feels good and sounds good for a $55~60 keyboard. Be aware there are two basic versions from Royal Kluge, the basic doesn't include hot-swap switches, bezels, pass-through, and Bluetooth. Easily worth the extra $9 for this version. Edit May/2023: Get the RK98, I own two of them (Love them) and had 3 of my friends buy them as well. The RK87 has many neat features as shown: USB Passthrough, onboard memory for 3 profiles. So you can keep key colors, macro and key settings as you like with different devices without installing software. It includes two bezels to give you 3 options - as I generally do not like the floating key effect. The included bezels works very well, no noise issues. Snap-on and off easily and Look really nice. The keycaps are nice, with good Legends, unlike the ugly ones included on most cheap keyboards in the $20~60 range with the legends not closed for shine-through double shot keys caps. (such as Q, R, O, P, A, D, and B keys). The 2.4Ghz works fine. Did not test out Bluetooth. The RGB LED brightness is good. (Apparently, the older version was much brighter) The Rev version I'm reviewing is SN22# (There's 21# and 20#, but you'll likely get the 22#) I've used this RK keyboard with an April 2022 version and 3. 9 July 26 2022 Keyboard software. No problems using switches by AKKO and Kailh (which are a bit larger on the pins). The keyboard's RGB can react to the sounds and music from your computer, neat, but I only tried this once. My first impressions of this Keyboard are high. The angle is very good and it feels like a solid product. After 3 weeks and a second RK87 in an attempt to get a usable product... I give up. The first unit had problems for sure, with flashing spacebar and Keys doing some odd color things. But the main problem isn't so much the keyboard itself but its software and some choices in firmware functionality. First, what other things I DO NOT like about the RK87. The wireless and ON/Off switches are tiny and on the bottom, I'd mark them to know what mode they are. The status light location is hard to read, it's above the main island of INS / Home / Page Up keys Keychron uses bigger plastic switches to switch modes. These are minor issues that I could easily live with. But the software is 100% useless. Any problems you'll have with this product will be the "Professional Software", which isn't on the website - but is kind of hidden in the product promo area on the Amazon page. The software. once installed after Windows complains about it. LOOKS CLEAN and seems to do everything you need. Remap keys, RGB color, Macros, Factory reset. But there's no KB polling rate control, so I assume is 125hz Many gamer keyboards offer 125Hz, 250Hz, 500Hz and 1000Hz. The 3 profiles on the software are supposed to work with the keyboard's onboard memory, which is where I think the problems begin. There is no apply/Send button so every RGB key location you send any anything else is writing to the keyboard’s memory. 8 out of 10 will result in an ERROR pop-up “Update Settings Failed”. So imagine you’re trying to set your individual key colors and that error pops up most of the time, yeah – it gets old. There are also pop-under error windows you’ll find out later when you’re done. When these errors happen, the RK87 keys will go dark. But if you keep making your RGB changes on the software, they may come back. But perhaps some keys are a different color than what you selected. UGH! Okay, program the RGB colors through the keyboard, you may have to press the key 7~15 times to get the color you want. White isn’t one of them. And the FN cannot be colored this, so it stays off. Going into RGB edit mode on the keyboard *WILL WIPE OUT* whatever is in memory for that profile and all keys are off. Want to make 1 key color change = wipes out all key colors. Accidently press fn + spacebar for about 2 seconds = resets keyboard to factory default. So, I resorted to having the keyboard on mono cyan, since mono white isn’t an option. Other makers tend to find ways to make RGB customization easier. Like using a mouse to draw a box or select the keys you want to color. Or Select basic default color, then use a mouse pointer to change the specific key you want. With RK’s nightmare, you’d be pressing ALL those keys, and with error messages on pretty much ALL of them. But wait, it gets worse. The “professional Software” will kill your keyboard – temporarily. This is why I ordered a replacement and installed the latest software. Certain keys WILL not work, and its not always the same keys. Or some keys will add an “o” to the press. Like press “g” key and you’ll get “go”, B = Bo, etc. To fix this, factory reset. On one of these Keyboard tantrums, the FN key was dead and had to use the software to send the factory reset code. This gets old quickly and happens every time when using the software. I’ve included two examples using Switch Hitter, the grey keys = dead. The one showing the RK software in the background is with the 3.0.9 software which I just re-installed to prove a point, as the keyboard instantly started having key issues. So yeah, when keys die, do a factory reset. The best way to make this keyboard reliable IS to NOT INSTALL the software at all. I hope they fix this and we’ll know about it because the software will make the keyboard useless. I want a keyboard with custom RGB for my work, and this isn’t cutting it. This software issue is hurts the final product. FIX THIS. Keychron’s TKL keyboards are $ 60~200, depending on various models and options, $125 is out of my budget. The software doesn’t require retooling factories, but a couple of people to fix the bugs to make a solid product, which should last 5 years or more. I’d rather pay $60 for a wired-only TKL that works and that is what I use on one of my computers. I bet every potential buyer would easily pay an extra $3~5 for an RK keyboard for functional software. Because I’m looking at $70~100 TKLs to replace the RK87 because *OF SOFTWARE*. REMEMBER: The Software will cause errors. The RK87 should work fine as long as you DO NOT install the software. If you’re happy with the default key settings and mono colors, it should be a fine product. This is me saying, "Fix Your Junk" UPDATE, 3 months later: I realized why the LED lighting isn't as bright on certain others. The LEDs are lower, below the PCB level, rather than above it. That minor distance actually makes a difference! Again, I love how this keyboard, looks and feels. After using it wirelessly for a while, having the BT/2Ghz switch on the bottom is not fun at all. If the switches were on the side or back, it would make using several devices much easier. Also, put a dot or mark which switch is which. I use a blue sharpie for the BT position and a Green sharpie for the ON position. But the BIG problem is that this keyboard is DEFECTIVE. You cannot adjust the keyboard colors or key settings without it crashing the keyboard, rendering it useless. It will require a factory reset to get the keyboard working again (fn + spacebar). This is NOT a software problem! It's in the keyboard firmware. I use other RK keyboards that WORK PERFECTLY. I reduced this down to 2 stars: For BAD firmware -2, and -1 for the switches being on the bottom. May 2023 edit: I highly recommend the RK98 keyboard. Its works fine with the RK software. Use RK software to remap keys (I made my top row above num pad into volume) and the page up/down etc keys are already there on the Num pad. But the included keycaps on the RK98 are NOT shine-through... YMDK (122 cap sets) come in about 20 variant colors to choose from. $30~38 per set.
Solid keyboard with flaws. This review is for: "RK ROYAL KLUDGE RK87 Tenkeyless Mechanical Keyboard 80%, 2.4G/BT5.0/Wired, Wireless Mechanical Keyboard 87 Keys, RGB Hot Swappable Gaming Keyboard Bluetooth with Software, Red Switch, White" I've only been using this keyboard for an entire day at the time of writing this review, but I'd say that there are some quirks that bother me, and may or may not bother others. - Backlight FN hotkeys trigger key functions when using it on a Mac. - Setting a custom backlight without software is done via FN + Print Screen, but the Print Screen button cannot be changed as the user needs to hit FN + Print Screen to "save" the backlight configuration. As such, the Print Screen button remains off. - The software-less backlight configuration has only a limited palette of colors, none of which include plain white. - There doesn't seem to be a robust on-board memory for settings set in software, as without the software, making a configuration such as "always keep the backlight on" no longer persist. - I've encountered bugs when adjusting the backlight in software, causing the backlight to flicker violently for a while. - It seems like the software is able to set a custom layout for the keyboard, but the options are extremely limited (as well as limited to Windows keys only) and I doubt they persist without the software running. I would prefer to have the FN + Arrow keys control elements such as volume and brightness, which I use much more commonly than adjusting the brightness and speeds of the backlight, but this is strictly personal preference. I will update the review with any praises or flaws as I continue to use it.
Decent Keyboard for the Price - One Big Personal Flaw. This keyboard is good for the price. The two board plates you can take off and stylize. The key caps are decent. It’s Bluetooth and wireless or wired. Plus it’s got a decent look to it and the added bonus of being hot-swappable. However, the RGB lighting for me is a massive flaw. It is so incredibly dim you can’t see it with any light in your room, and in the darkness it looks as if it’s on the lowest setting when it’s really on the highest. I’d honestly say go for the RK84 or KC84 instead. Both are much better options for the same price range. Maybe they’ll fix the key caps, RGB, and overall build quality with future models. This is a newer keyboard, it just could be better. It’s not super sturdy, and the material isn’t the greatest but for the price point, if you don’t care about RGB or premium key caps, go for it. You can mod all of this anyways, aside from the RGB lighting.
Overly good value minus missing usb A ports. I’ve had and use this keyboard a while and use it daily for work and it’s generally a pretty ok built with mechanical switches that are hot swapable. The led light up is bright and the keys are pretty good for budget keyboard minus my up arrow stem broke meaning the key cap needs replaced after only a couple months. The other issue more concerning issue is the misleading photo that claimed USB A ports which mine does not have as advertised. If you are willing to deal with those potential issues it’s still a fairly value option. If you want less issues a slightly higher model maybe something to consider.
Great but software? Right off the bat, the keyboard feels great and sturdy. It is somewhat heavy but a good heavy. I can't say much yet but it's working pretty well until I connected it to the software. After connecting it to the software, it made some of my keys crazy, then on the software, I reset it which made the right half of my keys not working at all just the lights. So I uninstalled and deleted the folder and did the restore to factory settings on the keyboard (based on the manual). After that, it went right back to normal. Everything is good except the software which is a bummer. I do not think I would use the software, for now, I wish they could get it straightened out soon.
Stoped working. I used this keyboard for awhile. Then one day it started to spam keys they I didn't press and then it stopped. Now none of the keys work. The keyboard itself was nice for the price point, bit now it dosent work. 3/10 wouldn't recommend.
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On the whole, this is a pretty nice product that earns many praises from real life customers, being listed as one of the best sellers of PC-Gaming-Keyboards.
We highly recommend the RK ROYAL KLUDGE RK87 Mechanical Keyboard to you.
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