Cleave Split Mechanical Keyboard – All-Day Comfort, Boosts Productivity, Natural Typing Posture, Tactile Optical Switches, Cushioned Palm Rest, Backlit Keys, Windows/Mac/Linux

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This keyboard does not stay connected to mac once asleep. Also this is a wired keyboard, and on mac you have to unplug it and plug back in every time the computer goes to sleep. The website says it's a known issue, "The best solution will be for Apple to fix this issue in their macOS..." Sadly, it's almost perfect and was just getting used to the layout. The keyboard is super comfortable, but it is not quiet, it's very loud and this one is supposedly the quiet one. I am not going to deal with connectivity issues. I bet a truley wireless Bluetooth version would likely fix the connectivity issue. If you are using windows, go for it!

I am a software engineer and so my keyboard is my second-most important tool, after the computer itself. I touch type and also heavily use all the special characters so the overall relative "reachability" of every key is important. I spent 8 to 12 hours a day using it and ergonomics is king. A long time ago purely straight keyboards began causing symptoms of RSI, so an ergonomically split keyboard is a must-have for my main computer. I am reviewing after getting past the learning curve and becoming comfortable with the keyboard.The physical construction is excellent on all counts. Update 2024-04-06, after a year of use: Several of the keycaps, the periphery CTRL/SHIFT/CTRL, which get a lot of use by my pinky have worn off the black coating and expose the translucent gray plastic underneath. The A, S, and arrow keys are also going. This is quite disappointing.The reimagined QWERTY layout is undeniably a significant improvement, while not being so different that switching to other keyboards is a problem. I find it takes me a few minutes to readjust to my laptop each time and for me the Cleave is my new normal (of course, I am on the Cleave for 8 to 12 hours a day).The highly symmetric arrangement takes a little adjusting -- for me it was a good three weeks to feel completely comfortable with the new locations. But since it brings all keys within comfortable striking distance of home it is well worth the effort, and I hope this kind of layout gradually becomes standard with more manufacturers copying -- it would even improve space use on a laptop and is in fact slightly narrower than my laptop.The ortholinear (straight) key columns are a huge improvement on the "designed to stop typewriters jamming" traditional staggered arrangement. For me my fingers moving straight up and down the rows without needed to offset to the left is so natural my reaction was "why aren't all keyboards this way". Do note that the 6 key is located in the right section, not the left as with many other split keyboards, another example of the Cleave getting it exactly right. That means that the home keys for the numbers are 7890, and you may be used to these as 890- due to the top row ambiguity on a staggered keyboard. Update 2024-04-06, after a year of use: I will never go back to a horizontally staggered arrangement now and am on the lookout for a new laptop with similar ortholinear keys.Especially useful are the centrally located thumb and first-finger keys. I agree with the location of the Fn key. I love the full size Function Key bar. I am ambivalent about the dedicated BACKTAB key, and will likely remap it to something programming specific. The decision to keep all the right hand special characters in their normal placement and shifting is to be commended, and moving ENTER and BACKSPACE to achieve this exactly the right thing. I feel the DEL key at the upper right is wasted, and should have been used for something else, perhaps the insert-mode toggle -- the central DEL takes adjusting but is ultimately much better.The location of the PAGE-UP/DOWN, HOME, and END, does take getting used to and has been the longest period of adjustment for me. But its symmetry with the cursor block is pleasing and it's objectively on par with pretty much anywhere else you could put them. And they are more reachable with the left hand and much like using the cursor pad with the right.Overall this is easily the best keyboard I have ever owned, and I will not go back.But there are problems, too...The first and most obvious is the lack of SYSTEM key (aka Windows key) on both sides with the other shift-state keys. There should be two, horizontally aligned, double wide, under the each CTRL & ALT pair. If like me you have mapped many system productivity actions to SYSTEM+<other-shifts>+<letter> being able to use the either hand for SYSTEM with other shifts and the opposite hand for the letters is ergonomically essential. I compromised by assigning the central programmable shift to SYSTEM where I can use my left hand and reach the other shifts with my pinky, and that's serviceable, but much less than ideal. Please hear me on this TrulyErgonomic, we need to do things like CTRL+ALT+SYSTEM with both left and right hands -- it's essential that all four shift keys be in a block.Another obvious fault is the location of the context-menu activation key, which should have been central between the DELETE and BACKSPACE keys or in the V between the SHIFT and ENTER keys. An alternative might have been pressing both SYSTEM keys at the same time (but see above).The choice to have, by default, another CTRL key just mm above the standard one, instead of CAPSLOCK, is just plain inexplicable to me, and I lost no time reprogramming it to be CAPSLOCK, albeit with the wrong key label. To me that just wasted the CAPSLOCK key next to Fn which would have been more useful as a print screen (for screen captures that I do *a lot*).I think that nearly every key ought to have been reassignable, for the cost of the keyboard, but software tools can help with that (in Windows try PowerToys' keyboard manager). The top-right DEL should have been fully programmable, including a custom scancode so it could be remapped in software (as it is currently, remapping does both). Similar complaint with the dedicated backtab key; unremappable as it sends a SHIFT+TAB key. And, of course, same for the center copy/paste/cut/undo keys, which I would _really_ like to remap. At the very least, they should have been programmable to user-defined scancodes. Again, for a $250 keyboard I expected this to be a given.I was surprised that some of the LEDs could not be turned on in custom lighting modes, though they are on in All On mode: CAPSLOCK, Fn, SYSTEM, and most odd, DEL.Switches are the final area of complaint. Despite all the TE's claims to the contrary, I found that most if no all keys did not *nearly* have a 1.9mm actuation on a 3.8mm travel and the most annoying thing was just brushing keys accidentally or even position fingers on the home key would sometimes actuate the key. The worst effect of this was in slightly clipping the center keys, and I do mean *slightly*, it actuates a CTRL+x combination on the key I was typing -- in a programming editor this was absolutely awful, leaving me feeling as if I was walking on eggshells, so to speak, when typing. I was able to adjust to the point where it was tolerable and still better, overall, that other keyboards, but in the end I pulled the plug and bought a package of Gateron KS-15 Optical Black switches and replaced them all (with an actual 2mm activation distance). The new switches are definitely, and unfortunately, noisier, but they actuate much more consistently and have eliminated all the accidental typing I had with the originals. The also require slightly more force and to me feel better, with more positive feedback. So for me this keyboard has a $40 premium to replace the switches.Note: The switches on this keyboard are *not* easy to remove and require an *extraordinary* amount of force. Make sure to follow the directions and pull the front clip first and then straight up to extract the switch. You will find that pulling the switches will damage the clear plate for the backlight on nearly every switch, and many of them severely. Hold the keyboard down with one hand, pull *hard* at an angle to the back til the front unclips, then pull *hard* straight up to unclip the back. There is nothing at all "gentle" about this process, and you will need to bent the tool back into shape multiple times as you go. It's a good idea to inspect on the replacement switches thoroughly so you have a solid grasp on how it's held in place.In spite of these faults, still the best keyboard out there, IMO.

Not sure why the bad reviews from others, this keyboard is an absolute gem. I was previously using a Microsoft sculpt which did not have mechanical switches, backlit keys, and would frequently lose wireless connectivity. I have also tried the Kinesis Advantage 2 and found it too weird. I am a programmer and am constantly looking for ways to reduce typing strain and increase productivity.Ergonomic, mechanical switches, wired, backlit, programmable, ten-keyless, all in one board, function key row, fairly inexpensive. What is not to like about this keyboard!The cleave solves all those issues for me. I have two of them, one for each desktop that I use. Amazing keyboard!

The software kept hanging and I had to unplug and replug the keyboard for it to work. This happened on both a mac and a PC. With and without a USB switch. I even bought the USB switch the support people recommended to ese if that would work, and no dice. No other keyboard (I had three available to test) has any issues at all on this setup, only the Cleave.The support were incredibly unhelpful. She literally sent me a bunch of links to forum posts where people complain about OTHER keyboards that didn't work as if that somehow makes it okay that the one they sell doesn't work. I don't care about other keyboards not working, I care about the fact that the one I bought doesn't actually work. I don't want to hear support people desperately blaming the universe for their problems, I want to hear accountability and solutions. Not once did she even entertain the notion that maybe they sent me a bad keyboard and they should try swapping it out. It was always someone else's fault (even after I had reproduced the problem on two different computers a mac and a PC, with two different USB hubs as well as with connecting directly to the computers). Always someone else's fault. I've sent it back since they apparently have a 90 day warranty, so hopefully they will honor that. I kinda doubt it though. This company seems boderline like a scam operation so I would just steer clear of it. Or at least make sure you send it back via amazon before it's too late.

I really do like ergo boards, but getting used to ortholinear always takes a while for me. I have had some split ortholinear's and was pretty good with them, but the problem was jumping back to a regular keyboard on say, my laptop.The browns on this keyboard type nicely and I enjoy the feel of everything. It has a Mac mode which is great (read the instructions).I think ultimately it will come down to how long it takes for me to get use to and the pain of switching between laptop keyboards and this. Alice keyboards and other split keyboards that have the traditional staggered style keys are probably still going to be my go-to in the future, but I think this is a very solid product overall.It feels really well-built, the palm rests are right where they should be as well. One ding is a non-removable cable and no tenting. In 2023, no excuse for non-removable cables.