What to do with Old Mechanical Keyboard?

Last Updated on December 6, 2023

What to do with Old Mechanical Keyboard? If you still have an old mechanical keyboard still tucked away in your home, you can still do some great things to make your old mechanical keyboard useful.

The coolest thing you can do with your old mechanical keyboard is to modify or upgrade your old mechanical keyboard to a mechanical keyboard that has a cooler appearance and also uses better quality components.

Mechanical keyboards generally already have problems with some components such as the PCB, the USB port or USB cable, switches, keycaps that are already fragile, and the typing feeling is not as good as when you just bought it.

What to do with Old Mechanical Keyboard?

Upgrade Your Old Mechanical Keyboard

You can upgrade the mechanical keyboard very easily as long as the components for your mechanical keyboard are still available in the market. For switches, keycaps, stabilizers, and USB cables, you may find it very easy to get. But for Casing and PCB, this may be a little more complicated and difficult to obtain on certain brands of mechanical keyboards.

Do things that make your mechanical keyboard work properly. Like replacing the Switch, keycaps, and stabilizer. This upgrade suggestion is only for mechanical keyboards whose PCBs are still working fine or normally.

Because if you have an mechanical keyboard whose PCB has problems, that means you’re better off buying a new mechanical keyboard.

Do these simple steps to upgrade your old mechanical keyboard:

1. Replace the keycaps

Replacing the keycaps on your mechanical keyboard is the easiest way to update the appearance of your mechanical keyboard. Choose medium quality keycaps made of PBT plastic which has relatively more durability and quality guaranteed.

For the keycaps design, you can adapt them to the mechanical keyboard designs that you have so that they look harmonious between the keycaps and your mechanical keyboard.

2. Replacing your Old Mechanical Keyboard Switches

One of the components that are most susceptible to damage are switches. Switches are the components that work the most, they are pressed hundreds of thousands of times so that over time, switches will also experience problems whether it is double input or cannot send input to the computer.

Check the function of the switches on your keyboard and then change which switches are not working normally. You don’t need to replace all the switches on your keyboard if you just need the key functions to work normally. But if you want a more enjoyable typing page, you can replace all your mechanical keyboard switches with new ones.

3. Lubricate Switches

One of the best ways to maintain the switches on your mechanical keyboard is to lubricate the internal components of the switches.

Lubricating the switch can make the switch provide a smoother typing experience. Switch components that have been lubricated will have a better level of durability because lubricating the switch can reduce rough friction between each component on the keyboard switch.

4. Added O-Ring

This is one of the simplest ways if you want a smoother and quieter typing experience on your mechanical keyboard. Installation of the O-ring is also quite easy and does not take a long time. O-rings are also very easy to get at a very affordable price. Try doing this on your mechanical keyboard for a smoother typing experience.

5. Added Wrist Rest

One of the easiest ways to upgrade your mechanical keyboard is to add a wrist rest as an extra accessory. Wrist rest can provide convenience when typing because the keys can be reached more easily. In addition, the wrist rest can also provide better comfort and ergonomics when you type.

6. Installing the Silencer Into the Case

By installing dampening foam into your mechanical keyboard case, you’ll get a quieter typing sound and the switch’s signature tactile sound will feel a little bassy. This is an optional step that you can take if you think your mechanical keyboard is too noisy to type.

7. Replace Case (If suitable for your old mechanical keyboard)

To beautify the appearance of your mechanical keyboard, you can do this by replacing your mechanical keyboard case with a new mechanical keyboard case.

Make sure you already know the size or layout of your mechanical keyboard. Also make sure you know the PCB size of your mechanical keyboard so that when the casing you install matches the ports your keyboard has. If you want the easiest way, you can use the services of a custom keyboard case so that you get a keyboard case that fits your mechanical keyboard case. You can watch the video below to get an idea of the perfect case for your mechanical keyboard:

8. Coloring Your Old Mechanical Keyboard

You can try this to get a new look for your mechanical keyboard. Coloring a mechanical keyboard is not difficult as long as you follow the steps correctly. To get ideas for coloring your mechanical keyboard, try watching the video below:

2. Cleaning Your Old Mechanical Keyboard

Mechanical keyboards are very susceptible to damage by dust, dirt, and water adhering to their components. Try cleaning your keyboard to make it look like new. Clean all components by disassembling the case, removing the keycaps, and removing the switches on your keyboard PCB.

Clean all components such as PCBs, wash keycaps, clean switches and lubricate them so you get a smoother typing experience and by lubricating switches, you will have switches that have better durability.

3. Submit your mechanical keyboard to a mechanical keyboard modification service

Currently, there are quite a number of mechanical keyboard modification services available online. You can choose a modified motif according to your preferences. By re-modifying your keyboard, you will get a mechanical keyboard that looks fresher and more pleasant to look at and use.

4. Sell it

If you are confident that your keyboard still performs well and that there is no significant damage, you can sell your keyboard on an online marketplace.

You can also sell it separately on each component such as Switch, keycaps, PCB, casing, and other components. But we prefer you to sell the mechanical keyboard as a whole.

5. Gift it

If you feel your mechanical keyboard is still worthy as a gift to your close relatives, relatives, or friends, your keyboard can be used as a gift and can provide benefits to others than you do not use it at all.

But remember, give whatever it is as long as it’s something that’s still good and works well.

6. Display it

Your keyboard can also be used as a decoration or collection in your home. Usually, people display their keyboard on their desk using a special keyboard rack. Displaying your keyboard can add aesthetic value to your desk.

7. Keep your old mechanical keyboard as a backup

Something bad could happen to your daily mechanical keyboard that you are currently using. By having an mechanical keyboard that still functions normally, you have a keyboard backup in case the mechanical keyboard that you are currently using has problems.

Conclusion

There are so many options that you can do on your old mechanical keyboard from modifying, upgrading, cleaning, lubricating switches, changing keycaps, displaying it, making it a spare keyboard to making it a gift to those closest to you or for those in need. It all depends on your individual preferences, we only provide suggestions that are feasible and relevant to be applied to an old mechanical keyboard. The rest is up to you as the owner of that mechanical keyboard.