Same keys stop working even after replacement

Hello, I have holy panda switches on a gmmk pro board and a few of the same switches keep dying on me, the alt, space, 9, and S key. I replace the switch and it works for a few weeks until that switch dies too, always in the same spots. What could be the problem? Thank you!

Is it a hotswap board?

Yes it is. Ive just been swapping the keys but they eventually stop working too, and im out of extra ones now

It’s very strange and highly unlikely for a switch to fail. A socket is a thousand times more likely to fail before the switch. I’m thinking either the hotswap sockets on those switches are coming loose from the PCB or, more likely, the leaves inside the hotswap socket are getting bent out of shape and no longer make proper contact with the switch pins.

See how to repair the hotswap leaf here

https://docs.cannonkeys.com/troubleshooting/#cause-3-the-leafleaves-within-the-hotswap-socket-are-not-making-proper-contact-with-the-switch-within-the-socket

I’ve had to make this repair on dozens of hotswap boards at this point. I think they should all come with a manual explaining the repair. Sometimes I’ll take the lazy approach of just bending one of the pins on the switch up or down a bit to make better contact. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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I will try this! Thank you a ton for the help! Google was not working well for me

Just for the sake of experimentation - the switches that stop working in the alt, space, etc. sockets - have you tried any of the ones that stopped working in any other sockets afterwards? @pixelpusher is right; it’s a lot more likely for those sockets to lose grip on the contacts than for switches to go bad - so they might still be fine.

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Twist the metal pins on the switch ~40°

Wouldn’t it be better to squeez the hotswap socket’s pins together? an angled pin can pop off a socket and it’s traces, since I assume most people don’t bother to take apart the board and support it from behind when inserting switches.

If it can be done and not come undone instantly, shure.
But I don’t see how you would pop off the socket by twisting the switch pin.

Just to clarify, you’re suggesting to bend the pin becuase the possibility of the contacts spreading too far apart right, so the bent pin will rest against one of the contacts?

I just feel this suggestion could theoretically lead to people popping off their sockets, as the usual reason for people popping off their socket is bent switches being bent too much, and then hitting the plastic part rather than slide between the contacts.

Well, I suggest to twist it, it should still be facing straight down so the only part it will touch is the flexibil part of the hotswap socket.

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