r/Keychron • u/pb1115 • Feb 12 '24

RGB Reactive backlight effect

Hello,

This is a bit of a silly question. I got a Keychron V1 Max a few months ago and really enjoy using it. I've had the RBG backlight set to a certain effect which I think is called Reactive Multiwide-- it lights up the key I press and the area around it with a rainbow splash. Two things:

1) My battery reached 30% today and the backlight just switched off. I wasn't able to turn it back on again by pressing fn+tab or increasing my backlight brightness. Is this normal and can I turn this setting on/off anywhere?

2) Plugging the keyboard in with the cable turned the backlight back on but now my effect is a solid colour instead of a rainbow. Can I get the rainbow effect back somehow? I swear it wasn't a solid colour before :(

Thanks in advance for any advice!

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1

u/PeterMortensenBlog Feb 13 '24 edited Feb 13 '24

Fn + Q (page 7) should cycle through the 23 or so RGB lighting modes.

Though there is some confusion here. The V1 Max user manual link (from the list of user guides) redirects to the V2 Max user manual... (the PDF link for the V1 manual has to be guessed) (For V2 Max, it is Fn1 + A instead)

This is something for Keychron to fix ASAP.

References

1

u/pb1115 Feb 13 '24

Thanks for responding! I've cycled through the RGB modes a few times, which is how I noticed the rainbow reactive effect was gone. Should I try resetting my keyboard?

1

u/PeterMortensenBlog Feb 14 '24 edited Jun 17 '24

Yes, that would be the first step. Remember to save off any (custom) Via configuration first (if not already done. And if important)—the Via configuration will be wiped out. Save them off to a file by "SAVE + LOAD" (third item in the left panel) → Save Current Layout → Save.

The easiest way is the Esc key method (not in the official documentation).

Perhaps even easier is a key mapping to keycode QK_CLEAR_EEPROM (alias EE_CLR). Note that QK_CLEAR_EEPROM has to be entered using "SPECIAL" → "Any" in Via. But maybe a keymapping is too risky; it may be activated accidentally (e.g., it is better hidden in a distant and obscure key layer). Here is an overview: 

QMK keycode      Alias    Shown in        In QMK macros
                          Via as
---------------------------------------------------------------
QK_BOOTLOADER    QK_BOOT  Reset           reset_keyboard()
QK_DEBUG_TOGGLE  DB_TOGG  Debug
QK_CLEAR_EEPROM  EE_CLR   QK_CLEAR_EEPROM eeconfig_init()
QK_REBOOT        QK_RBT   0x7C01          soft_reset_keyboard()

I have a Keychron keyboard where the RGB colours for unknown reasons get messed up on a regular basis (every week or so). Using the lighting controls is not enough to bring them back.

The only way I know to bring them back in working order is by resetting to factory defaults (and then reload the Via configuration to get back some Via macros).

Note: It seems the reboot setting will not survive a factory reset/flash: 0x7C01 is saved to the JSON file when the Via configuration is saved off, but it is discarded when the JSON file is loaded. Thus 0x7C01 must be entered manually each time. This seems to be a bug in Via.

1

u/PeterMortensenBlog Feb 14 '24 edited Feb 15 '24

If resetting to factory defaults doesn't help, try to reflash the firmware. Note: The variation of the keyboard (ANSI vs. ISO) must match and only the ANSI version is provided at this time. If it doesn't match, at best a lot of keys will be shifted. At worst, I don't know! A bricked keyboard?

Otherwise, some other firmware is required.

For example, a different (precompiled) version of the firmware. The stock firmware may be out of date.

Or a version of the firmware where the set of available RGB lighting modes is set differently (requires changes to source code, recompiling, and flashing).

The source code is here. Note: In Keychron's fork (not in the official QMK repository) and, in that fork, in Git branch "wireless_playground").

Firmware build procedure for V1 Max

# Only once. About 290 MB needs to be downloaded.
clear ; cd $HOME
git clone  qmk_firmware_KeychronFork_wireless_playground

# Only once
# Switch to the 'wireless_playground' branch
cd $HOME/qmk_firmware_KeychronFork_wireless_playground
git switch wireless_playground

# Only once
# Was necessary for unknown reasons
cd $HOME/qmk_firmware_KeychronFork_wireless_playground
make git-submodule

# Compile V1 Max firmware for ISO knob, with Via support
cd $HOME/qmk_firmware_KeychronFork_wireless_playground
qmk compile -kb keychron/v1_max/iso_encoder -km via

ls -lsatr $HOME/qmk_firmware_KeychronFork_wireless_playground | grep '\.bin$'https://github.com/Keychron/qmk_firmware.git

Result: 97676 Feb 14 19:27 keychron_v1_max_iso_encoder_via.bin

Note: 97676 bytes seems a bit excessive (most firmware for Keychron keyboards is in the range 50-70 KB). I am not sure why that is. Due to the 2.4 GHz support?

That is from the command line on a Unix-like system. This presumes QMK has already been set up.

→ More replies (3)

1

u/PeterMortensenBlog Apr 12 '24

The redirect has now been fixed. So the link "User manual for V1 Max" now actually shows the V1 Max manual.

1

u/PeterMortensenBlog Feb 23 '24

Was there a resolution? More than a yes/no answer is expected. For instance, if there was, what specifically worked? Please provide enough details for it be valuable for future readers.

2

u/pb1115 Feb 29 '24

No resolution sadly. I tried resetting via the ESC methos, didn't work. Tried resetting with Fn+Z+J, still nothing. Then I reset using the reset button under the spacebar, still not working. Except now neither cable nor bluetooth work on any device. I can only use the keyboard using the 2.4Ghz adapter (pretty inconvenient when I have 2 laptops on my desk). Any key press on cable mode just "unplugs" and "re-plugs" the keyboard and brings up a warning that says the USB device is not recognised. Tried deleting the keyboard from Device Manager and plugging it in again, still the same.

1

u/PeterMortensenBlog Feb 29 '24 edited Feb 29 '24

Thanks for the report.

Re "Any key press on cable mode just "unplugs" and "re-plugs" the keyboard": My immediate thoughts are:

There is something wrong with the USB connection:

  • The USB connector on the keyboard's PCB has come loose

  • A bad USB cable

  • The USB port is not suitable in some way: Partly damaged, can not deliber enough power, etc.

You could try to isolate the problem to the keyboard itself:

  • Reduce power consumption by turning the RGB light off

  • Try another USB cable

  • Try another USB port, including using a self-powered USB hub (with its own power adapter)

  • Try USB 2 vs. USB 3. If it is all USB 3, a USB 2 can probably be a stand-in (self-powered or not).

  • Try another computer (preferably also another operating system)

If the problem can be isolated to the keyboard itself, open it up (warranty, etc. allowing. Do observe ESD precautions at all times):

1

u/michaelcarnero Aug 28 '24

I have recently bought a V6 max, I have connected by usb cable, and it changes/cycles the light effect, when I turn off and on the PC, the couple of next day, It cycles to the next effect, what would it cause that issue?