It is annoying when your keyboard keeps producing two keys simultaneously. Don’t worry. We’re here with 9 ways to fix mechanical keyboard double typing so that you won’t have to waste your time and tons of money at a computer repair store.
What is Keyboard double typing/chattering?
Wonder if there is anything more irritated than a problematic keyboard? You type an A and it gives you two A-s. Or, you press W and S so your character will jump and roll on the run, but it turns out he jumps twice, resulting in missing the rolling. As a result, your essay cannot be completed smoothly and your gaming experience is ruined.
This somewhat gives you the picture of what mechanical keyboard double typing is. Basically, it is when you press a key one time, that the keyboard will respond two times at once. Besides the name keyboard double typing, it may be heard as keyboard chattering. Whether you call it keyboard double typing or keyboard chatting, it’s still a big nuisance for everyone.
The bad news is keyboard double typing can even happen on expensive, high-end mechanical keyboards or keyswitches. But, the good news is the double typing problem is fixable, and you can do the job yourself before getting to the final solution – seeing the keyboard doctor.
You can watch the video below for a visualization of the keyboard chattering problem.
What Cause Keyboard Double Typing?
There are several reasons behind a double-clicking mechanical keyboard. Getting to know the causes can be a remedy itself as you may think of solutions or know how to prevent it from happening.
Dust or other debris
Most of the time dust or ‘alien’ objects under the keycaps is the main criminal for your keyboard double typing. The keyswitches cannot run perfectly if there is a thick layer of dust or strange things get in their way. Dust and other debris also cause other problems to your keyboard and degrade your keyswitch longevity.
If the arrows on your keyboard are not working properly, go see ‘the 6 ways to fix them’.
Defective switches
Cheap switches, old switches, or damaged switches may not allow your typing experiences to happen as normal. A problem within the springs or metal leaves inside a mechanical switch can make the keyboard chattering happen often.
Outdated keyboard drivers
Forgetting to update your keyboard driver can be one of the reasons. An outdated driver can not keep up with your computer and hence, bad communication between the keyboard and a processor happens, or a hole in the keyboard security is born.
Rough Usage
If you tend to go hard on your keyboard when typing or drop it several times, the issue of keyboard double typing is likely to happen. Rough handling can cause physical damage to the fragile components of your keyboard, especially if your keyboard is made with cheap and flimsy materials.
Incorrect keyboard settings
The double typing problem can be due to your keyboard setting. Low-tech users may not aware of the hard-drive settings, so you may set or do not know it’s set wrongly. For example, setting a long repeat delay can make the keyboard produce more than one character with a single press.
Sometimes, you may want to remap your keyboard for the best personal customization. If that’s true, check out our article here on how to remap your keyboard.
High temperature
Not many people are aware of this reason since it is not a big factor. But, a too high temperature can result in the keyboard double typing, so it’s worth noticing.
Best way to fix double typing on a mechanical keyboard
Here is what you are waiting for – 9 ways to fix your mechanical keyboard double typing issue, so you don’t have to meet a mechanic (or at least not yet).
Note that you may need to try all the methods before reaching the one that truly works. After trying them all, if double typing still happens, you should seek professionals’ opinions and avoid opening your keyboard to see what’s going on inside.
Restart PC
The simplest method and the most popular method for almost any computer problem is to click on the restart button. You should start with restarting your computer before doing anything mentioned later.
How to do:
- Start/ Power Button/ Restart.
- Alt + F4.
- Find the restart button on your PC.
Use canned or compressed air
If you think that dust or unwanted objects are what causes a double-clicking mechanical keyboard, it’s time to use compressed air. This can help to remove the dust or debris underneath and return you a clean keyboard that’s trouble-free.
For a thorough keyboard cleaning guide, read our article here to prolong your keyboard’s longevity.
Tap the keys constantly
If it’s just some keys chatter, you can continuously tap them with a strong enough force. This is simple but quite effective. However, don’t exert using this method as it can make the problems more serious. A couple of tries will be enough to see whether it works and turn to other solutions.
Update Keyboard Driver
A not-up-to-date keyboard driver? Easy! Just update it. Here is how to make sure the driver can keep up with your PC.
- Type ‘device manager’ in the search bar next to the window button, then press enter.
- Double click ‘keyboards’ in the device manager window(or click on the arrow before ‘keyboards’)
- Right-click on the need-to-be-updated device/ Update driver.
- Choose ‘Search automatically for drivers option’
- After the updating is completed, restart your computer.
Replace the switches
A mechanical switch is a component under the keycap that sends signals from your typing to your computer’s processor. If not all keypresses perform double typing but just a few, those keyswitches might be damaged already so they need to be replaced.
The thing is it’s a real hassle to replace the switch by yourself, especially if this is your first time. Nonetheless, in case you use a hot-swappable keyboard, it’s not hard to replace the double-typing switches. You just need to make sure having the right switches for your keyboard.
For a detailed explanation of replacing mechanical switches, feel free to check out our article right here.
Adjust the repeating key rate in the operating system
This method is for the incorrect keyboard delay setting. Follow the below steps to change the delay rate.
- Open ‘Control Panel’
- In the ‘View by’ drop-down list, choose ‘large icons’ or ‘small icons’
- Click on the ‘Keyboard’ tab and then the ‘Keyboard Properties’ window will open.
- Change the ‘Repeat delay’ slider from ‘Short’ to ‘Long’. And, change the ‘Repeat rate’ slider from ‘Fast’ to ‘Slow’.
- Apply/ OK and then restart your computer.
Adjust Registry for Keyboard Response
Another way to fix mechanical keyboard double typing is to change the keyboard response in the registry. But, any modification in the registry will lead to a major change for your computer so if you do it wrong, you may receive more troubles. Therefore, the very first thing to do is to backup the registry. When it has been done, start to modify the keyboard registry with these steps.
- Window button + R to open the find the Run box.
- Type ‘regedit’ then click Okay.
- When the ‘Registry Editor’ opens, open this folder by ‘HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Accessibility\Keyboard Response’
- Double-click the ‘Auto Repeat Delay’ to open the ‘Edit String’. Change to ’500’ in the ‘Value data’. Then, click Okay.
- Double-click the ‘Auto Repeat Rate’ to open the ‘Edit String’. Change to ’50’ in the ‘Value data’. Then, click Okay.
- Double-click the ‘Bounce Rate’ to open the ‘Edit String’. Change to ’50’ in the ‘Value data’. Then, click Okay.
- Restart your computer and check whether the problem is solved.
Replace Keyboard
If none of the above solutions show an improvement, it’s time to consider bringing your mechanical keyboard to the repairers or getting a new one. This should be based on your judgments on which ways bring more benefits, both functionally and financially.
Go for a new keyboard if those things are your situation. First, your keyboard warranty is still valid so there is a none-to-little charge. Second, the repair fees are higher than buying a new keyboard. Last, there is a high chance the keyboard double typing will reoccur.
For a good brand new keyboard, it’s best to gather the necessary information before bringing back any new one. Apart from a mechanical keyboard, an optical keyboard or a low-profile keyboard is also a good option for a nice typing experience. Furthermore, if you cannot bear the loud noise coming from pressing down the keys, a quiet keyboard will be your best friend.
Download the Keyboard Chattering Software
One of the best remedies for the keyboard double typing ‘syndrome’ is using the keyboard chattering software. The software is safe to use and super effective. All you need to do is download the keyboard chattering software and run it.
Here is how to get the software and use it.
- Access the link to get the keyboard chattering software.
- Unzip to run the keyboard chattering file.
- When the ‘Keyboard Chattering Fix’ opens, click the ‘config’ tab.
- Enable ‘Chattering Filter’.
- Change to ‘90’ in the ‘Threshold’ value. Then, click ‘Apply’
To run this software automatically without redoing the above steps every time your computer opens, do these.
- Window + R to open the ‘Run’ dialogue.
- Type ‘shell:startup’ and click Okay.
- Cut the keyboard chattering software to the ‘C:\Users\<YOURUSERNAME>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup’
Conclusion
Quite many factors result in the mechanical keyboard double typing problem, ranging from many layers of harmful dust to the wrong keyboard setting. The thing is, nothing can go right anymore when the typing goes wrong all the time.
The best things are investing in a good keyboard and taking good care of your delicate company. Some good practices are frequent cleaning, occasional hard-drive updating, and rough-using avoidance.
However, soon or later problems like keyboard chattering will happen after a long using time. That is why we are here to help with 9 ways to fix mechanical keyboard double typing. Thank you for reading and hope it helps you somehow.
FAQs
How to fix double typing on a mechanical keyboard?
There are some ways to fix the mechanical keyboard double typing issue.
- Clean up the dust with compressed air.
- Update your keyboard driver.
- Modify the repeat delay in the keyboard setting or registry.
- Use the keyboard chattering software
- Simply get a new keyboard if it’s convenient.
What makes your keyboard chatter?
Here is a summary of the causes behind the keyboard double typing problem.
- Dust or unwanted object under the keyboard.
- Defective mechanical switches.
- Dated hard drive.
- Incorrect keyboard setting.
What to do if none of the 9 ways work?
You should decide on replacing your keyboard or bringing it repaired. Remember not to open the keyboard to fix it by yourself if you have no knowledge of the subject.
