Keychron C1 RGB Backlit Mechanical Keyboard Brown Switch Review

what our customer say this product:

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1. David Hackbarth Verified Buyer – 17 March 2024

   Bought this keyboard with the intention of modding it. Great hot-swappable PCB and there’s plenty of room to put foam behind it. Solid build quality for the price
   

2. MFR Verified Buyer – 21 June 2024

   This is a good quality mechanical keyboard. It feels solidly built, and comes with both Mac and Windows keycaps. Just a few things to note:

   – Initially, it would not work with the VIA software on the Keychron website. I had to manually update the firmware on the keyboard first, and then it worked. However, nothing in the documentation or on their website indicated this.
   – The default red keycaps are surprisingly loud – there is a pretty solid “thunk” when pressed. I had to swap them out for some Gateron silent reds to use in the office.
   – The “south” facing RGB lighting is a bit odd – the switches mount upside down from most mechanical keyboards, and you cannot use shine through keycaps – just solid or side printed.
   

3. André Herrera Verified Buyer – 6 November 2024

   The overall sound is very good, the RGB is kind of slow to put on a solid color but the brightness of the caps lock and windows leds is very good compared to the previous model, the switches feel really good, linears are my favorite.
   The keycaps are not transparent but I do not miss so much being able to see the light in the middle of the keycap.
   

4. Kate W Verified Buyer – 1 January 2025

   This keyboard is everything it says it is. The lights are awesome and even the “clickiness” of the keys is satisfying and super smooth keys.
   

5. Aaron Verified Buyer – 19 February 2025

   When I got this keyboard, I didn’t bat an eye cause the packaging looked fine. However, as I was changing the switches, I noticed that the switches themselves have a similar box shape similar to the outemu switches. I took a closer look and notice that they are “REDRAGON” switches. Whatever that is. Someone must’ve taken the switches out from the hot swappable board and replaced them with much lower end switches. PLEASE CHECK THE SWITCHES WHEN YOU GET THIS KEYBOARD AS IT COULD BE THE WRONG SWITCH.

   

6. Matthemole Verified Buyer – 2 March 2025

   The product arrived and I was excited. I wanted a mechanical keyboard that worked with a Mac.

   Unfortunately this keyboard was disappointing. The documentation supplied is limited, does not include a link to a decent web site explaining the functions of the keyboard and how to set it up in english (well not that I could find in the documentation supplied and haven’t had the time to surf the Internet for hours to find it) The packaging is however very good, and the keyboard action is perfect!

   However the following top row function keys do not work. F1 F2 F5 F6.

   Summary
   Look it is a good keyboard from an action point of view, the packaging it arrives in is good, but poor documentation in English and for the cost…. not worth it.
   

7. Scott l. Verified Buyer – 3 March 2025

   Good keyboard overall, but the RGB is where they either cheaped out or they just do not have an quality control going on a Keychron. As you can see from the pictures of the first board I got, the question mark key color doesn’t match the rest when it’s on a solid color mode. So I got an exchange, and the exchanged board has the same issue except on the J key this time. And because this keyboard doesn’t have per key lighting, even though my $40 red dragon board does, there is no way to remedy this unless you want to bring out the soldering iron. This issue does not affect performance of the board, but when you’re paying $80 it’s a little annoying to have an issue like this. go-keyboard.com will not let me exchange the board again so I may just keep the 1st board and say whatever, but I’m leaning more towards full refund and try again with a 3rd board.

   

8. Fernando Verified Buyer – 4 April 2025

   No issues with it what so ever, still original look and everything, cable is USB-C to USB-C, I think it comes with an adapter if pc does not have type C, long braided cable, it’s super easy to clean if you snack and play, just annoying part of every keyboard when deep cleaning is removing everything lol but this keyboard is super easy to disassemble and clean! Keychron has their website with different keycap designs but one day I’ll get a different layout. Good clickiness, not crazy loud, I’m using brown switches, good color, and def worth value for money. Feels amazing. It’s not Bluetooth which idc bc it’s not needed for me
   

9. SW Verified Buyer – 4 April 2025

   Summary:
   Yes, I recommend this. But know the limitations.

   Detailed:
   I don’t game, so I can’t comment on that aspect. But for typing, this thing is a beast. Definitely get some orings for the caps to soften the bottom out. I chose the blue switches. I’m not a fan of gaterons, so I used them for as long as I could and switched them for Fekers (MUCH better!).

   The KB itself is nothing to write home about. Plastic and light. I was expecting more heft for the price. Shoot, some of the $25 KBs have aluminum tops. If the board was programmable, even some, the price would have been justified.

   The RGBs are nice, I suppose, but I don’t care for colored backlit. If that’s a selling point for you, then these are great! Each key is RGB, unlike those cheaper KBs, where they’re sectioned (R1 is always red, R2 is always green, etc.).
   

10. The Rusty Burger Verified Buyer – 7 April 2025

    Being fairly new to mechanical keyboards, I spent a good deal of time talking to people online and browsing various sites to find one that fit my needs. I ended up decided on the Keychron C1 wired hot-swappable RGB keyboard. First impression: When I got the delivery, I shipped it an go-keyboard.com box. So when I got home I was pleasantly surprised at how nice the keyboard’s actual packaging was once I took it out of the go-keyboard.com box. The keyboard came in a nice sleek black box, inside were a few switch/keycap tools and lots of foam padding. The included reading material was very helpful and a nice touch as well. All in all, A+ on this front. The keyboard: The keyboard itself was very well constructed, has very nice feeling keycaps and the RGB is good for what it is. The switches (Gateron Pro Reds) were great, but I ultimately wanted as silent a keyboard as possible here so I went ahead and replaced them with Kailh Box Silent Pink switches. With the pink switches installed it went from smooth to buttery smooth and incredibly silent (before I even put any foam or any other modding in it like lubing the switches). And about lube… looks like the team at Keychron lubed the stabilizer contacts and the switch parts of the plate inside… which was a pleasant surprise. The Gateron Pro Reds it came with are factory pre-lubed. The weight of the board is not light by any means, but I wonder how heavier it would be if it had a battery in it (which is why I ultimately chose this board, no battery, less weight). Side-Note: The Type-C to Type-C cable it comes with also comes with a Type-C to Type-A adapter for the cable which is a nice touch. Conclusion: Worth the price of admission for sure. I love the ability to fix/change things and the board is well made enough for me to trust it for at least a few years. Would highly recommend if you’re new and looking for a well made mechanical keyboard with quality switches.

    

11. William Verified Buyer – 7 April 2025

    Great
    

12. Allen Zitzelman Verified Buyer – 9 April 2025

    First things first, I was replacing a Razer Blackwidow Chroma (forget the exact model name). That keyboard was absolutely terrible for someone who likes quiet keyboards. It was free because my brother left it exactly where it should be, sitting on a shelf collecting dust, dirty as heck. I got the C1 with the Gateron Brown version of this keyboard. Upon opening the package I immediately became excited. The weight, the sound of the keys, the color of the keys, the texture of the keys. The RGB is also very nice because it’s not a “HEY I AM RAINBOW LOOK AT ME”. It is very responsive, I wish there was a way to get into the onboard programming of the board and edit it, but that’s a VERY small thing, I like the white back-lighting but the other options are amazing because there’s so many. My only con is that I am used to having a numpad and I go to use the NUM_Enter with my thumb while holding my mouse but that’s just a bad habit that I need to break. That’s not even the keyboards fault. Basically, if you are new to mech keyboards and want to get something cute and inexpensive, then get this little guy. It’s not a mass produced Chinese keyboard that is terrible. They have firmware updates on their website, and if you don’t get it from go-keyboard.com, get it from Keychron themselves. Thank you for reading if you have read this all.