Products · Broad category
Keyboards
Raised as a usability problem by 80 people on Hacker News over 19 years (2008–2026), in 72 threads.
This is a broad category rather than one product, so its issues aren't ranked on the home page.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads this year.
- 1Keys are tiny and mushy, hard to type onUnreviewed
- 2
- 3Some keys nearly impossible to pressUnreviewed
- 1Keys are tiny and mushy, hard to type onUnreviewed
- 2
- 3Some keys nearly impossible to pressUnreviewed
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
Every issue, all time, most people first
Keys are tiny and mushy, hard to type onUnreviewed
20082026- Reduced-size keyboards are awful to use and hard to tolerate2024-11-21
- Standard tiny keyboard is hard to type on quickly2024-08-14
- Hard to type on standard keyboards after getting used to a custom layout2023-04-03
Switching layouts causes typing errors for half an hourUnreviewed
20082026- Standard keyboard layouts lack keys for en and em dashes, so typing them is hard2025-03-28
- Switching between keyboard layouts causes typing errors for half an hour, especially symbols2024-12-03
- Typing accented or symbol characters reliably is very difficult, relying on dead keys, compose keys, or unicode input2023-10-13
Some keys nearly impossible to pressUnreviewed
20082026- Cheap keyboards drop the last key press when several keys are held together2024-11-17
- Fn key in the corner and integrated arrow keys are hard to use2024-06-04
- Keys placed in the middle and an F-row keyset forcing hand movement across the board2023-09-04
Caps lock remapped to ctrl causes wrong keys on other keyboardsUnreviewed
20082026- Hard to type and enter passwords on a regular keyboard after remapping Caps Lock2026-06-10
- Caps Lock sits where Tab is expected, so user keeps hitting it by mistake2025-09-07
- Remapping caps lock to ctrl means fingers hit wrong keys on other people's keyboards2019-05-16
No keyboard has the wanted key layout, forcing tradeoffsUnreviewed
20082026- Home, End, Page Up and Page Down keys are grouped in a way that makes keyboard use annoying2026-06-10
- Compact or stylish keyboards cut keys, squash keys together, or alter alignment, making them hard to use2023-09-27
- No keyboard has the key layout wanted, forcing tradeoffs between keys2016-10-19
Pressing modifier keys in the right order is a struggleUnreviewed
20082026- Symbols and number keys are shifted and on hard-to-reach keys, slowing programmers down2019-02-25
- Struggles pressing modifier keys in the right order; keys are hard to reach2018-09-26
- Non-alphabetic keys like arrows, modifiers and punctuation are hard to reach2018-08-22
Symbols in wrong places and short left shift make typing hardUnreviewed
20082026- Right hand must reposition to reach brackets and symbols, causing frequent typos2023-06-14
- Up arrow sits at the edge of right shift, causing typing errors and garbled text2023-03-24
- Up arrow placed beside right shift key, awkward and easy to hit wrong2019-02-18
Right alt key awkwardly positioned and unusable on many keyboardsUnreviewed
20082026- Alt key combinations are awkward because hands sit at a steep angle on straight keyboards2021-08-03
- Space bar too long and pressing alt keys with thumbs causes pain2015-03-30
- Right alt key is awkwardly positioned, making it unusable on many keyboards2009-07-09
Can't tell how to type with a reduced-key chord keyboardUnreviewed
20082026- Can't see how someone types with a reduced-key chord keyboard lacking standard letters and numbers2023-05-15
- 6-key chords are hard to remember and execute, requiring quantization that limits typing speed2014-11-12
- Chorded keyboard input was too hard for normal people to learn2013-12-10
Unreviewed issues were grouped by machine: Claude Haiku labelled each comment as a usability complaint, named what it's about and summed up the problem in a line, and a small model grouped similar problems. Nobody has checked them by hand. Expect mistakes.
The newest 50 complaints
- Dongle becomes practically unusable or loses connection when adjacent USB port transfers data2026-08-19
- Thumb keeps getting in the way while typing on the layout2026-06-24
- Hard to type and enter passwords on a regular keyboard after remapping Caps Lock2026-06-10
- Home, End, Page Up and Page Down keys are grouped in a way that makes keyboard use annoying2026-06-10
- Caps Lock sits where Tab is expected, so user keeps hitting it by mistake2025-09-07
- Mouse and keyboard PS/2 plugs look alike, so easy to swap them and stop the computer booting2025-03-28
- Standard keyboard layouts lack keys for en and em dashes, so typing them is hard2025-03-28
- Switching between keyboard layouts causes typing errors for half an hour, especially symbols2024-12-03
- Reduced-size keyboards are awful to use and hard to tolerate2024-11-21
- Cheap keyboards drop the last key press when several keys are held together2024-11-17
- Standard tiny keyboard is hard to type on quickly2024-08-14
- Fn key in the corner and integrated arrow keys are hard to use2024-06-04
- Typing accented or symbol characters reliably is very difficult, relying on dead keys, compose keys, or unicode input2023-10-13
- Compact or stylish keyboards cut keys, squash keys together, or alter alignment, making them hard to use2023-09-27
- Firmware versions differ subtly, so the layout feels maddening, and switching back to standard is frustrating.2023-09-27
- Keys placed in the middle and an F-row keyset forcing hand movement across the board2023-09-04
- Forgetting which layer a rarely used symbol is on slows typing compared to a dedicated key2023-08-23
- Compact keyboards force two-modifier chords or layers to reach functions a single Fn key handled2023-08-23
- Documentation was so brief that developers easily misunderstood how the keyboard library worked2023-06-30
- Keys must be hit dead center or the tilting key smacks adjacent keys2023-06-20
- Right hand must reposition to reach brackets and symbols, causing frequent typos2023-06-14
- Can't see how someone types with a reduced-key chord keyboard lacking standard letters and numbers2023-05-15
- Switches actuate closer to 3mm, making typing without bottoming out much harder2023-04-04
- Hard to type on standard keyboards after getting used to a custom layout2023-04-03
- Up arrow sits at the edge of right shift, causing typing errors and garbled text2023-03-24
- Couldn't locate the pipe symbol and had to hit every key to find it2023-03-16
- Reaching for the number row feels like a chore and breaks typing flow2022-12-12
- Keys are tiny and mushy, making the keyboard hard to type on2022-10-25
- Keyboard is unusable, similar to the DevTerm's keyboard2022-10-25
- Power buttons sit right above arrow keys, so users accidentally shut down and lose work2022-05-21
- Keystrokes lag noticeably on laggy wireless keyboards compared to wired ones2022-04-01
- Keyboard is frustrating to type on, though you get used to it2022-03-23
- Extra-language letters hidden behind symbols force layout switching, causing easy mistakes2022-03-18
- Forces wrists to twist sideways, making typing physically uncomfortable2022-03-18
- Forgotten custom shortcuts and layouts under stress, causing the commenter to lose focus while coding2022-03-18
- Worn dome drops keystrokes, forcing awkward finger position and heavy pressing to register2022-03-18
- Keyboard layouts vary across devices, so muscle memory for typing doesn't carry over2021-11-25
- Converters lock up sooner or later, forcing a reboot to keep the keyboard working2021-10-23
- PS/2 input delayed up to 30 seconds per key when CPU cores are pegged2021-10-23
- Noticeable keystroke lag caused by software abstraction layers2021-09-03
- Alt key combinations are awkward because hands sit at a steep angle on straight keyboards2021-08-03
- Keys bottom out on normal keyboards, causing finger joint pain when typing fast2021-02-19
- Page Up/Down jumps are too large for modern screens, no medium-step navigation2020-06-24
- Wireless mice and keyboards jitter, lag and need manual replugging after reboot2020-06-07
- Changing layer layouts creates friction as users must relearn them2020-05-31
- Palm presses the Ctrl key by accident, and leaning to reach it causes wrist and back pain2020-01-21
- Remapping caps lock to ctrl means fingers hit wrong keys on other people's keyboards2019-05-16
- Battery dies within days, and charging port on the bottom is awkward to use2019-05-07
- Symbols and number keys are shifted and on hard-to-reach keys, slowing programmers down2019-02-25
- Up arrow placed beside right shift key, awkward and easy to hit wrong2019-02-18