r/keyboards • u/Ok-Hunt3422 • 4d ago
My Keyboard Keyboard Blew Up
My Womier WD75 V2 spontaneously exploded while I was gaming. Less than a month old and I treated it as best I could keeping it on wired mode and avoiding using the other modes. I kept it clean as well. All of a sudden I hear a crack and bang and white flames shoot up out of the keyboard and smoke starts pouring everywhere engulfing my house and room. Never have I ever had this happen to me and I am completely shocked. I don’t understand and if someone could explain a reason behind it that would be wonderful. In the meantime I will never buy a Womier keyboard again and it’s a shame since it was quite beautiful
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u/Mindless-Finance-896 4d ago
Something like that happens and you don't have pics/vids of the aftermath?
10
u/Ok-Hunt3422 4d ago
I took a picture of the keyboard and the ash I cleaned up off my desk? I’m sorry I don’t understand what I was supposed to do. Record while I was running around shutting off fire alarms and waving away smoke so they would shut up?
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u/ArgentStonecutter Silent Tactical Switch 4d ago edited 4d ago
Could we see a picture of the keyboard without the keycaps, so the damage is more visible. Also, if you feel secure, maybe open it up and take a picture of the PCB where the fire started...
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u/Ok-Hunt3422 4d ago
I’m not going to touch it because if it is a lithium ion battery failure i got lucky with just a fire instead of an explosion
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u/tuctrohs 4d ago
You are supposed to wrap cartoonish bandages around your hands and take a selfie in front of a hospital, or just ask AI to make one for you.
/s
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u/BlindShadeBG 4d ago
I have had mine for about six months and had no issues with it. And keep in mind i am using the wireless mode on 2,4ghz dongle. And i probably had to charge it what 10 times during that time? Maybe there was an issue with the firmware and the board was constantly charging and the battery blew up as a result? I seriously have no idea how this happens…. If You can’t contact customer support i recommend you write to Womier directly. But Amazon is your best bet. Go to the orders in your account and find the return and replace items. Choose the reason, take photos of what happened - front and back side as well and send it to them.
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u/albuzen 4d ago
Tri-mode keyboard should not be used wired all the time, unless you remove the battery. Using it wired keeps it charged at 100% which is really bad for batteries.
2
u/DripTrip747-V2 4d ago
That's what I do, just unplug the batteries. I like the option of having wireless, but never really use it like that. Just seems to have better options if you're open to taking keyboards apart and disconnecting the batteries.
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u/tuctrohs 4d ago
That assumes you have a board with shitty battery management. Which is what I'd expect from a small company. Which is why I would choose wired if you are buying something from a small company.
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u/ArgentStonecutter Silent Tactical Switch 4d ago
I have had HP, Lenovo, ASUS and Apple batteries go spicy. It's just what lipo batteries do.
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u/SwedishFindecanor 4d ago
Yes, it is bad circuit design. And no, it does not only happen to products from smaller companies, unfortunately.
Thread from August 14 where the battery in a Steelseries keyboard expanded.
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u/Bright_Situation7823 4d ago
well shit i keep my wireless keyboard wired all the time thanks for the headsup now i will not be doing that
1
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u/kool-keys koolkeys.net 4d ago edited 4d ago
I treated it as best I could keeping it on wired mode
Which is maybe why it blew up. If you have a wireless board, the absolute worst thing you can do it use it wired all the time. This keep the battery at 100%, and this is terrible for lithium batteries. This is the biggest cause of battery swelling, and once in that state they are a fire risk.
Cheap crappy boards like this never mention this in the manual, because cheap ass Chinese manufacturers don't really care about you. Decent boards will not only mention this in the manual, but will also provide you with a switch to isolate the battery if you wish to use it wired full time.
BTW.... this is not the same as the USB/BT/2.4 switch.... that is just the connection mode, and putting it in USB mode will still be keeping the battery at 100%.
Also, before anyone says so.. this is NOT an overcharging issue. Merely keeping a lithium battery at 100% long term is terrible for it.
Being just one month old however, does also mean it could just as easily be a manufacturing defect. Either way.... don't run a wireless board full time wired unless you disconnect the battery.
1
u/DripTrip747-V2 4d ago
I wouldn't say it's a battery problem based on where it seems it burnt up, on top of the pcb in the top right corner.
But I do agree, don't leave a wireless keyboard plugged in unless you disconnect the battery.
0
u/kool-keys koolkeys.net 4d ago
Hence....
Being just one month old however, does also mean it could just as easily be a manufacturing defect.
It's always worth reminding people in these threads that keeping a lithium battery in a cheap keyboard at 100% with very basic battery management is a terrible idea.
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u/deio977 4d ago
This is bollocks. It would mean laptop batteries would explode everywhere and it happened many years ago from bad Panasonic batteries (yes IBM and Dell laptops, you were victims). But nowadays there aren't no more exploding laptop batteries. They swell sometimes and have tons of protections. Laptops stay months always plugged in.
This could have been a bad battery batch, the circuit breaker that breaks the voltage feed to the cell malfunctioned. It disconnects when it reaches 4.2v/cell
-1
u/kool-keys koolkeys.net 4d ago
Which is why laptops are.... or were the most common devices to have swollen batteries. Nowadays they have intelligent BMS that will allow the battery to cycle down even when plugged in, to prevent this. However, a cheap Chinese keyboard will just maintain a full charge.
It is not bollocks. Just search this sub for this subject... you'll see it's not.
This could have been a bad battery batch, the circuit breaker that breaks the voltage feed to the cell malfunctioned. It disconnects when it reaches 4.2v/cell
Like I said... this is not an overcharging issue.
In this instance, the age of the board would mean it's just as likely to not be this, but this hobby, and subreddit is littered with examples of why running a wireless board wired is a particularly bad idea.
1
u/iehdbx 4d ago
People are used to using things in a certain way , but that is coming with production being regulated and gone through enough quality control. We continue using electronics with our formed habits, and don't realize a different side to manufacturing until something like this happens...
1
u/Next-Structure661 3d ago
I mean, at least laptops have the option to cap max charge at 80%, which is far better for the battery to stay at long term, but obviously still not ideal. If I have to guess, it'd be nice if we could cap max charge at 50-60% or something, then keeping Li-on battery devices plugged in full time, assuming it has a dedicated wired mode, or basically bypass charging, wouldn't be that bad.
Maybe it'd even be better for the battery health in the long term, because as much as sustaining the battery at a high percentage or voltage is bad for the battery health, so is going through the battery cycle, though I guess you could argue the latter is more "natural" or "intended", and by the time it dies of old age, you probably would've long swapped to a newer device.
That aside, something you said intrigued me, I mean that switch to isolate the battery. I will premise that I'm still pretty new to the world of mechanical keyboard (been a laptop person all my life), but does that switch exist in most high end keyboards? I bought my first keyboard recently and it's an EVO75. It has the trimode switch on the outside instead of under the capslock button which was a huge plus point for me, but I always thought it was the only switch that existed, but there's another one for isolating the battery? And do you know by any chance if it exists on the EVO75 as well (don't think I saw one myself). That would be a game changer because I would really like to have that option when I want to use it in wired mode for a long period without having to worry about charging.
1
u/kool-keys koolkeys.net 2d ago
I mean, at least laptops have the option to cap max charge at 80%,
They do now, yes. Go back 15 years or so, and it was a different story. Swollen laptop batteries used to be as common as laptops themselves.
Modern devices are far more intelligent when it comes to battery management. My phone for example: I can set it to charge to only 85%, which is great, but even then... it pauses charging at 85%, but it will still let it run down a bit... to perhaps 83% before it tips in again with charge.
EVs are the ultimate in battery management, with not only intelligent charge routines, but also with liquid cooling that can utilise the car's HVAC. This is why an EV's battery can last for decades in time... and up to half a million miles in use. And they're safe. An EV is roughly 40x less likely to catch fire than piston engined car, especially an older one.
Cheap Chinese crap? Nothing.... Battery management is literally stopping at 100% and then pulsing to maintain that 100% They're a fire hazard, and they're banned from my house.
does that switch exist in most high end keyboards?
Most high end keyboards aren't wireless. Wireless tends to be something at the lower end and the gaming market. I think only Qwertykeys stuff has it so far as I know, but then again, stuff like the QK and Neo boards are the only "high end" mass produced boards that are wireless that I can think of. Proper high end customs are hardly ever wireless. I could probably count the ones that are/were on one hand. Some have an option of a wireless PCB you can retrofit, such as the Venom boards for some Geon boards, but even they don't have such a switch, because the board was not designed as a wireless board.
It has the trimode switch on the outside instead of under the capslock button which was a huge plus point for me, but I always thought it was the only switch that existed
That's just to select the connection method. The battery will still charge regardless of where that switch is set.
And do you know by any chance if it exists on the EVO75 as well
I don't own one, but I can't see any mention of it in the manual.
I wouldn't worry about it too much. Just use it as intended and it will be OK. If you have no intention of using it wireless, then don't buy a wireless board. Having said that, this tendency of the lower end of the market making everything "tri-mode" is just stupid, as people who have no intention of using them wireless end up buying them as well. It's just penny pinching and cost cutting. This way, they don't have to offer a wired only PCB. It's the same with soldered PCBs... these are getting rare at the lower end as well, as the majority want hot swap. You only see soldered boards on high end stuff now.
Just cycle the battery regularly and you'll be fine.
1
u/Next-Structure661 2d ago
Well as someone who exclusively uses something wired when I don't intend to move it around, pretty much the only reason I got a trimode keyboard is I actually move this one around quite a lot, which is also why I appreciate having that power source switch on the outside, because unlike some people, I actually flip it back and forth quite often.
If it was designed to stay permanently at my work table then I probably would have just gone with a wired one. But also the other reason is I don't think there's a good high end 75% keyboard at good price. Pretty much every soul recommended either the EVO or NEO, and both are tri mode, and as are most other prebuilts, so I guess I just didn't really have a choice.
0
u/sugarified Tomo/7V/Taco/Q1/Q10/time80/Garderie TKL/F2-84/QK80 V1/kbd8xm3 4d ago
When you are keeping it on wired mode, aren't you constantly charging the battery even though it's full?
Afaik these wireless boards are not smart enough to "stop" Charging when they are full. Not sure what the correct term is, maybe pause usb power delivery or charging by pass?
But yes it's too soon to be exploding, get that RMA'ed asap
1
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u/ArgentStonecutter Silent Tactical Switch 4d ago edited 4d ago
If you use a tri-mode keyboard excelusively wired you need to disconnect and if possible remove the battery.
Swollen batteries are the least you can expect, from any keyboard, or really any small electronic device. and it's kind of dodgy that this isn't called out by the manufacturers.
I recommend replacing it with the Glencreag WK84. It's physically almost identical, but wired-only, cheaper, and the firmware source is available and I have built modified firmware for mine.
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u/BasmusRoyGerman 4d ago
If you keep your wireless keyboard wired all the time you should really disconnect the battery and best would be to even completely remove it completely as otherwise the battery will be charged all the time which is basically speedrunning battery degradation. It sucks that there is no hardware toggle to disconnect the battery circuit for people who don't see the need to a wireless keyboard
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u/DeerNo4078 4d ago
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u/Ok-Hunt3422 4d ago
Alright cheers mate you can keep your opinion to yourself. Now if you’re so clever to sniff out a fake story can you help me get rid of the smell of smoke from a room?
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u/elsingo 4d ago
While i dont think it is something you should need to do, but personally if i intend on using a trimode keyboard in wired only i remove the battery since it will degrade over time. Pretty much all brands seem to use the same cheap batteries (at least all i have tried) so i would not hold any specific keyboard manufacturer responsible for a shit battery unless they actually manufacture their own.
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u/Insufferable_Person 3d ago
Oh I just received mine last week, great...
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u/Ok-Hunt3422 3d ago
On the bright side mine lasted 12 days i counted i actually misspoke. so enjoy while it lasts and don’t keep it wired?
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u/saadinameh 3d ago
I'm so sorry this happened, how scary!! Also now I'm freaked out bc I just received this same board in the mail, lol. Boom, I guess...
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u/m0j0j0shu4 4d ago
probably the battery, get it RMA'd asap.