Redragon K556 RGB LED Backlit Wired Mechanical Gaming Keyboard, 104 Keys Hot-Swap Mechanical Keyboard w/Aluminum Base, Upgraded Socket and Noise Absorbing Foams, Quiet Linear Red Switch

In brief: Pro -Customizable switches and key caps; field replaceable with no need to solder -Comes with several blue switches to set for special keys/try out a different switch type -Feels and looks like good overall build quality. Nice metal base with the best risers I have seen (things to raise the back of the keyboard to give an angle) Con -minor rough spot on the chamfer on front of base, dosent look pretty and I smothed it out to ensure that I would accidentally get cut (unlikely it didnt feel sharp but better safe than bloody). -Backlighting, I didnt see a way to turn it off other than to dim it but likely just overlooked where it says how to do that. -Personal preference would have been to have a removable USB cable instead of an permanent cable Overall/Review I am having to do much more typing lately to update system documentation and after using a mechanical keyboard while visiting one of my remote offices I decided if I was going to be tortured I should at least be tortured in comfort. Thus I decided that I wanted a mechanical keyboard the problem is that I havent really used any keyboard other than what is on my laptop or comes standard with a computer when you order it from a company. Thus the journey of buying a mechanical keyboard began. Not having much experience with all the different aspects of a mechanical keyboard, particularly switch types, I decided that if I wanted one I had to find one that would allow me to change switch types fairly easily so that I could try out different types as the desire overcame me. This keyboard fit the bill and even provided some extra switches to use of a different color (user experience) than was on there which I love. By doing that it let me see that I was right to go for brown over blue switches because I think that the extra clicky noise would have been distracting for me and possibly my neighbors. Secondly the fact that the switches used are modeled after the Cherry MX, it opens up a world of keycaps to chose from for further customisation down the road. The overall construction of the keyboard is solid, and as I stated the only issue I had was a rough spot along the from chamfer that was smoothed out with a few gentle strokes of 600 grit sandpaper. The only other negative I have is that the cable provided, while seeming to be of high quality, permanently attached. This would have been nice so that I could transport it easier and unless I am mistaken will likely be the part that breaks first, years down the road. The weight of the keyboard is wonderful, its rubber(?) feet are very grippy, it is easier to lift it up and move it over trying to push it around your desk. Furthermore the feet, those things near the top of the keyboard that can be flipped out to raise it up if you want, are the most solid ones I have seen and if they get broken I think it will be due to someone trying to break them. The RGB is smooth, both in movement and color transitions and are easy to switch among the various presets and to turn off just dim completely. Not an overall fan for everyday usage, but it is useful for darker environments. Reason I gave only 4 stars is that I think having a replaceable USB connector in place of the permanent connection would have been nice and I dont care much for the key caps. I feel like the key caps are slightly narrower than I like and the font on them is somwehat distracting but the quality of the caps themselves so far seems excellent. The caps have no visible manufacturing marks visible and other than feeling slightly narrower and have a sharper edge that I like/am used to, feel very nice on the finger. I really like my purchase and feels so far feels like a solid keyboard which I can modify in the future should i get the itch to try a different switch.

The keyboard is great, types really well and doesn’t make an extraneous amount of sound. But if you want to keep the LEDs always on and not some ridiculous pattern that’s distracting, you have to download their software. Included in it is a file called HidServ.DLL. Normally that’s included by Windows, but the DLL included with the ZIP file downloaded has extreme anti reverse engineering tactics applied like encrypted strings and checking if a debugger is attached. If you download the software, delete HidServ.DLL as it’s not even needed by the EXE to run at all.

Ive used it for about 4 years and it has held up very well with no issues

[Original Review: April 2, 2019 - 1 Star] The Redragon K556 RGB arrived yesterday and I eagerly connected it to my computer. Unfortunately my Win 10 computer (HP Pavilion p6710f) doesnt recognize it as being connected. Ive tried connecting to several different USB ports, rebooting each time, but the keyboard stays dead. My old keyboard works in all of these ports. Installing their driver made no difference. Ive contacted Redragon via their website, as the red card in the package told me to do, so well see what sort of response I get. Meanwhile, it gets one star since you cant give zero. [Update, April 5 - 5 stars] Shortly after writing my initial review, I revisited my Amazon order and clicked the Get Product Support button. The Amazon agent responding to the chat gave me my choice of replacement keyboard or refund. With all the glowing reviews I was seeing here, I just figured I got a defective unit and asked for a replacement. It arrived today, and the instant I plugged it into a USB port on my desktop, it sprang to life, and Im using it to type this update. Im a touch typist and have no problem with the key feel and spacing. The laser-etched keytops let the backlighting shine through nicely and will serve me well for those evening/night computer sessions, and besides they just look cool. Im bumping my rating of the hardware up to 5 stars. Meanwhile, yesterday I received an email from Redragon in response to the message I had left on their website, apologizing for my problem and asking for a video. I replied asking a video of what -- there was nothing to show because the keyboard was dead. They responded asking for my order number and address so they could send me a MOUSE. I replied with the requested information, but pointed out that I had purchased a keyboard, not a mouse, and that Amazon was already sending me a replacement keyboard. Maybe theyre sending me a mouse to compensate me for my trouble (?). I feel they really want to stand behind their product, but there might be a communication problem. Anyhow, well see what ensues. [Added later] Never received a mouse ...

This is a great keyboard, and an amazing deal. You dont find many keyboards like this at this pricepoint. The keyboard is nice and heavy due to its metal body, and is built to last. There are 18 different lightning presets, plus adjustable direction, color, speed, and brightness for all of them! The RGB lights look awesome, especially at night. The switches are very nice to type on and for gaming. This keyboard is sleek and stylish, and definitely looks good! But there are a couple of issues (I will address them later.) As a side note, many people were saying that they got 8 extra brown switches while others were saying they got blues, which is strange because people are getting different switches. Personally, I got two spare reds, browns, blues, and blacks. The switches are all Outemu, for anyone wondering. Pros: -Nice, solid metal body -Adjustable feet with rubber pads -Looks awesome -Great RGB at a budget price -Outemu switches feel great -Double-injection molded keycaps that will last for a long time -Nice sturdy cable with gold-plated USB connector for stable connections -Font isnt all up in your face. (Cough cough, K95 Platinum.) -Spare keys (in my case it was better as a future reference to see which keys I might want to use) -Great overall Cons: -This one is nit-picking, but I will still mention it. The caps lock key doesnt have a light on it to indicate if its on or off. Theres a light on the top right of the keyboard, but Im used to it on the key itself, but thats just me. -No dedicated macro or media keys, but at $60 what do you expect? -No volume knob, also nit-picking -Instructions are unclear on how to remove the actual switches for replacing, ended up breaking one in the process. Good thing they included 2 spare browns. **-This one frustrated me a lot, and its that if you are holding shift while you backspace, it double backspaces. This is really annoying and has caused me several times to go back and forth with one word for a solid twenty seconds. Overall this is a great keyboard for the price and, even though there are a couple of cons, all the pros are still a great reason to buy it. So if you are looking for a budget mechanical gaming keyboard with RGB and a few extra features, this is definitely a good choice to pick up!

Overall nice rgb keyboard

I primarily bought this keyboard to play around with different switches in an effort to find my ideal ones. For this purpose, this board is not the easiest choice - reason being, the hot-swap sockets on the PCB do not fit very many switch types. I experimented with modifying the switch contacts to fit, but this is hit or miss and very time consuming. The next best thing was to open the Redragon switches and swap their springs and sliders with a different switch. I had success this way, with nearly the same feel as the donor switch on its own. (I bought the Brown switch variety so YMMV if your keyboard came with blue or red.) Also note, the switches are a bit difficult to remove with the tool supplied with the keyboard. Its very easy to break a small plastic part where the LEDs shine through (this has no downside really, other than just knowing its broken). I found another, larger switch removal tool to be much easier to use. I would also recommend getting a switch opener, to allow quick and damage-free opening of donor switches if you go that route (the opener I got is not compatible with the Redragon switches, but they are much easier to open than most, using some sort of pokey tool like an awl). Without an opener, you will need to put tension on four separate tabs at once while pulling the switch apart - its doable but a bit frustrating. In my adventures, I found a recommendation for 3rd party switches which DO fit the sockets on this board. Let me preface this by saying I was after a very tactile non-clicky switch, with a rather heavy spring rate and as little noise as possible. (As much like Topre switches as possible, but with heavier springs.) I found all of these requirements in a switch called the Boba U4. These are manufactured by Outemu and designed by a keyboard forum member named Gazzew. It makes sense as to why they would fit these sockets, since I believe the Redragon switches are made by Outemu as well. The contacts fit perfectly, and they are very quiet. I tried the 68g version which is almost, maybe a bit too heavy. They also come in a 62g variety, so when I buy enough to populate the whole keyboard, those will likely be what I get. The only thing I had to do to the switches was to snip off the two extra plastic pegs (my understanding is that these pegs are the difference between a PCB mount switch and a plate-mount one). This is not difficult at all with some standard flush-cut wire cutters. So, if you are willing to do some switch surgery and/or experimentation, this board is viable for getting your feet wet with mechanical keyboards - especially at this price point.

I started out with this keyboard back in 2019. It has a good blend of plastic and metallic to its build, so it is sturdy without being too heavy. Keys are decent, the sound was decent as well. Overall, not a bad board. I recently started getting into the world of custom mechanical keyboard so I wanted to upgrade and mod this keyboard to make it feel and sound better. It is not recommended to disassemble this keyboard if you dont know what youre doing but other than that this keyboard was a great board to mod and upgrade. I ended up: - Adding PE Foam to the bottom inside of the plastic case. - Adding Masking Tape to the bottom of the PCB. - Adding PE Foam between the PCB and the aluminum plate (as shown in the picture) - Clipping and Lubing the stock stabilizer with Krytox 205g0 - Hotswapping the stock Outemu Brown Switches out with Akko CS Matcha Green Switches (also lubed with Krytox 205g0) - Switching out the stock keycaps with HyperX Doubleshot Pudding Keycaps After hours of modding the keyboard to its fullest potential, I managed to make this keyboard feels even better and smoother and sounds thockier than it ever has before. Couple of bad things to note: - Redragon keyboards use an Outemu PCB, so only 3-pins Outemu or Akko CS switches or something similar will fit. - The stock switches are very cheap, so pulling them out will have a high chance of breaking the switch and its housing (so process at your own risk). - Has no Bluetooth nor does it have detachable USB cable.

I am meticulous when it comes to testing things out and I will detail some things that really bug me. I hate small keys. I saw that this was a couple of inches longer than my Wisfox and had hoped that this translated to larger keys. Nope. At least the spacing between keys is quite good for their size. This keyboard feels great if you are FACING it straight on (Im sort of an angle typer, if that makes sense) though I have to be really careful to hit the correct keys. Im a bit impaired and wider keys would make things so much easier for me. Maybe Redragon or ChalengeUSA has a keyboard that has larger keys with the same functionality? Please let me know. Edit: 12/03/2020: I had a lot of uncomfortable moments last night while playing Cold War. The keys just didnt feel right (again, too small for my needs). The spacebar was a little wonky which I use a lot. Software functions are great but phsycally feeling this keyboard is a fail for me. I will be returning. So sick of shopping for keyboards, its been a nighmare. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ If youre wondering, YES, you can assign colors to individual keys. But regarding that: A very annoying issue is that the keys have a blatant magenta hue to them instead of being just clear and the color choices are quite sadly affected by this. I detest this. I want white to look WHITE (I kind of need white keys for some things). Brown and orange look EXACTLY the same due to the magenta tinting. Naturally, my phone camera doesnt show the magenta tint. Gotta love android phones! I am REALLY worried about the etching on the keys wearing off. Some of the letters are missing a tiny bit at the bottom. The bottom part of the A and P keys on the capslock look only partially inscribed. Several of the numbers have a gap in either the top or the bottom so arent technically complete characters. Maybe a poorly chosen style choice? The G key (amongst others) has dark spots on part of the key making it look like someone had ink run out while writing the letter. The Ps on the Numpad look like partial letters. The Numpad page up/page down keys just have very badly done letters all around. After looking over several keys closely with my trusty reading glasses, I can see a dark area where its supposed to be bright so the machine that printed them just wasnt exact and misprinted parts of them. The brown switches are slightly louder than expected though they felt very nice. I put O-Rings on them and it dampened sound a hair. I tried putting TWO O-Rings on them but the keys wouldnt stay on. I checked the spacing and why 2 rings caused that to happen I have no idea. Another reason to double-up the O-Rings is if you want to raise certain keys like WASD so its harder to miss them in heated FPS games. Anyway, pending them offering me a similar keyboard with BIGGER keys I am sticking to this keyboard for the time being.

Working in a dark space, this is exactly what I needed. I have two computers and this keyboard makes working with the other one seem like a let down. I really dont understand why you would have the flashing or rolling rainbow colors.All I want is one color backlight. I dont use for gaming, so I cant comment on that.