How to Fix Bent Pins on a Mechanical Keyboard Switch!
When replacing switches in a Hot-Swappable Keyboard, one common problem that can occur is that the switch pins can become bent or damaged. As these pins are used to transfer the physical input into a signal for your motherboard, having them bent can easily cause issues such as keystrokes not being registered. Here is how to fix bent pins on a mechanical keyboard switch!
Fixing a bent mechanical keyboard switch is easy, and it’s something that every keyboard enthusiast should learn how to do.
How to Fix Bent Pins a Mechanical Keyboard Switch
What You Will Need to Fix Bent Pins on a Mechanical Keyboard Switch
- Flat-Edge Tweezers (Any type of tweezers should work, but it's easier this way), OR;
- A flat-edged tool (Screwdriver, etc. Although this isn’t really recommended, it’s a last resort)
Now, it is time to start fixing the bent pins on your switches for your hot-swappable keyboard!
Want to see the easy way to fix bent keyboard switch pins? Watch this video above!
1) Inspect the Mechanical Keyboard Switch
Firstly, it’s important to see what is actually happening with the switch. In the case of a bent pin, inputs (key presses) may intermittently not register, or may not even be detected at all. In other words, pressing the key does nothing. There can be other issues that cause this, as well as other problems with mechanical switches, so it is important to know if the pins are bent or not.
This may involve removing it from the hot-swappable keyboard, unless you already have the switch laying around.
2) Time to Fix Your Bent Keyboard Switch Pins
Fixing a bent pin is super easy, but getting it exactly straight (which may matter depending on some hot-swappable sockets), can be a little tricky.
If the keyboard switch pin is bent over on itself or curled, it is important to get it relatively straight before trying to properly straighten it. To do this, just grab the pin with your teezers, and gently uncurl it, and straighten it. If the pin is just simply bent 90 degrees, do the same thing.
When doing this, it is very important to be careful to not damage the pins or the switch. It shouldn’t require a lot of force, and should only take a few seconds to do.
3) Check If the Switch Pin is Straight, Do This if it Isn’t
If the pins on the keyboard switch aren’t perfectly straight yet, don’t worry. One little that you can do is to grip onto the pin with the thicker part of the tweezers (not near the tip of them), and gently crimp (tighten) and pull. This should straighten out the pin again.
4) Re-Insert the Switch Into the Hot-Swappable Keyboard and Test!
Now that you’ve hopefully fixed the switch, it is important to put it back into the keyboard and test it. To do this, just ensure that the switch is the right way around (as incorrectly inserting it will bend the pin again), and gently insert it into the hot-swappable socket. To make sure you do it properly, be sure to check out our "How to Replace Switches on a Hot-Swappable Keyboard" guide!
To test that your hot-swappable your keyboard, and your fixed switch is working properly, we suggest using this free online keyboard tester.
If everything is working fine, then you've just fixed your bent mechanical keyboard pins and saved money!
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RGB MECHANICAL HOTSWAP KEYBOARD
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