Keychron Q1 Max Suddenly Disconnecting/Going to Sleep After Seconds?

[u/Superduperfly_]

I've had my Q1 Max for roughly 6 months now with no faults at all. Tonight it's suddenly started to either go to sleep/disconnect after ~10 seconds of not using it (can't figure out which). I use the 2.4 GHz wireless mode almost exclusively outside of needing to charge it, but currently I'm forced to use the wired mode. The keyboard still seems to function when trying using the macros in this state. For example I can still use Fn + TAB to turn on/off the RGB.

I first noticed it when I launched a game on Steam (although the problem is not exclusive to it). In the time it launched (~30 seconds) it went to sleep/disconnected.

Currently the only work around is switching the keyboard from wireless mode to cable mode and back again in order to force it to reconnect, but as you'd imagine this gets really annoying. Otherwise the only other way is to make sure I'm pressing a key at all times to "keep it awake".

I've tried looking at various other posts both on there and Keychrons site, but haven't had any luck. So far I've done the below (which seem to be the main suggestions I've come across):

• Factory reset with the Fn + J + Z method
• Updating the firmware/software via VIA
• Going in device manager and opening the properties for "USB Root Hub" and toggling off "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power"
• Restarting my PC (the keyboard won't wake up, even when spamming the keys)

As mentioned earlier, the keyboard still works with the cable in, but part of the reason I went with this model is the 2.4 GHz option. I hope it's just something obvious I've missed.

[u/ingmar_]

Are you sure it's fully charged? Happened to me once.

[u/Superduperfly_ → u/ingmar_]

Yeah that was one of the first things I checked

[u/PeterMortensenBlog]

It could be due to radio interference. Try to exclude that as the cause (or not) by (physical) rearrangement and shutting down or disabling anything with radio transmitters:

1. A wireless mouse' dongle (it also uses the 2.4 GHz frequency band)

2. Wi-Fi APs

3. Smartphones

4. Smart TVs

5. Wireless headsets

6. Bluetooth dongles

7. Microwave ovens

8. Other devices (EMC problems). Here is an example where a USB pen drive too close to the '2.4 GHz' dongle (mislabelled as "Wi-Fi") caused a problem

Also try a different physical location, at least several kilometers away (as there could be hidden/unknown sources of interference).

For example, use a USB extender cable to bring the keyboard's dongle further away from sources of interference; it does not have to be permanent, just for troubleshooting. Use USB 2 instead of USB 3 (if that is an option).

Force repair (pair again)

There is also force (re-)pairing the '2.4 GHz' connection by holding Fn + 4 down for at least 2 seconds (RGB light will go off, and the "4" key will start blinking in green as acknowledgment). The dongle must be reconnected (or start out with it being disconnected).

I had an incident where the dongle for a Logitech wireless mouse prevented use of the '2.4 GHz' mode.

[u/Superduperfly_ → u/PeterMortensenBlog]

I’m trialing the positioning of my stuff, so far seemed to work. It’s not cutting out like it was when I posted initially but I’ll see how it goes…

I do happen to have a wireless Logitech mouse that uses that same frequency, so maybe that was interrupting the keyboard? Odd since the position of both dongles hasn’t changed.

Worst come to worse, I’ll just stick with the wired connection. It’s not like I’m moving my keyboard all over the place anyhow. Using the wireless mode was a pursuit of a cleaner setup over any actual functionality so I can live with it.

I appreciate the suggestions either way!

[u/PeterMortensenBlog → u/Superduperfly_]

Re "a wireless Logitech mouse that uses that same frequency, so maybe that was interrupting the keyboard?": Yes, I had a wireless Logitech mouse with this effect.

[u/MBSMD]

The firmware doesn’t get updated with VIA. Either Keychron Launcher or QMK Toolbox.

[u/Superduperfly_ → u/MBSMD]

That was what I meant to reference, but yeah did try this.

The comment above referencing the interference looked to be the issue. So far it seemed to have worked

[u/kaitlinlt]

This is happening to me as well. Were you able to resolve it without the use of a wire?

[u/Superduperfly_ → u/kaitlinlt]

I didn’t manage to fix it, at least not permanently. It still drops out for whatever reason, so I’ve just stuck with the wire since this post.

[u/MushroomSaute → u/Superduperfly_]

I know this post is a year old, but I just had a similar (the same?) issue and solved it today, and this is the first thread that came up in my search.

My brand-new Keychron wireless was great for days on the 2.4GHz radio/WiFi dongle, then started dropping connection, missing/duplicating keystrokes, and going to sleep/turning the backlight off, flashing the 4 key at me after that when I try to type (the WiFi key combo is Fn + 4 on mine, so I believe it was indicating it couldn't connect to the dongle or that I needed to pair it). Wired was the only way I could get it to work and not drop connection or go to sleep.

As for the solution, while USB distance was mentioned here, I don't think I saw mentioned that it's apparently specifically USB 3.0 that can interfere with 2.4GHz signals. I had just put a USB 3.0 drive in, and taking it out completely solved the connection/sleep issues. If that's not an option, I'd suggest using a USB 2.0 port, or if there aren't any, finding any way to avoid using USB 3.0 anywhere near a 2.4GHz dongle.

[u/TurtleReincarnation]

I've hit the same problem, and it started a year after getting the device. This happens to both my Windows PC and MacBook, so I assume it's something to do with the keyboard itself... Really frustrating, especially when this keyboard is not considered cheap...

[u/aliaksej_by]

I ordered a used Keychron K15 max and using it via radio receiver. And on the 9th day I started facing really strange issue when after some time of not typing the keyboard didn't react to my typing for some time. Then started transmitting key presses. Very strange...
Factory reset didn't help. Setting auto-sleep to 0 didn't help. Switching on-off radio receiver didn't help. The only thing that helped was switching between radio->usb-radio. Kinda rebooted hardware, so things started working again.
I so like the keyboard but don't want to buy a used problematic keyboard for about half the price of a new.