7 Ways to Silence Your Noisy Mechanical Keyboard

Mechanical keyboards are extremely loud. You don’t like it? Check out these handy methods to quiet mechanical keyboards.

Every movement makes some noise, including your keyboard keys. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a noiseless keyboard, and the amount of noise produced by a keyboard is determined by how clicky its keys are.

If your noisy mechanical keyboard is constantly annoying your siblings while playing games or making a racket in the office, there are some solutions you can try. They will not, of course, make your keyboard silent, but they will significantly reduce its noise.

Without further ado, let’s look at why mechanical keyboards are so loud and how to quiet mechanical keyboards.

Why Are Mechanical Keyboards Loud?

The primary cause of noisy mechanical keyboards is the mechanism by which they operate. A slider beneath the keycap transfers the force you apply to a keyboard key to the spring, which activates the electrical circuit. 

The transfer of force generates noise, but this is how your system receives keyboard input.

Years of use can cause the slider beneath your keys to become rough and create frictional noise, or you may have purchased a mechanical keyboard with loud, clicky switches to begin with. Noise is noise in any case.

Now that you understand why mechanical keyboards are louder let’s look at some simple DIY solutions to silence them.

Ways to Silence a Noisy Mechanical Keyboard

Below are the 7 ways to quiet a mechanical keyboard that is noisy:

1. Adjust Your Work Surface

The surface of your keyboard has a significant impact on whether the noise is reduced or amplified. Your mechanical keyboard is likely to be noisier when used on an old desk with dents. Try putting it on a smooth surface to see if it makes a difference.

The placement of your keyboard also contributes to the noise made by your clicks. The force transmitted to your keyboard spring is usually dampened somewhere beneath the support. 

There’s nothing to explain why it sounds louder when it’s half on the table and half away from it. It’s the same reason your keyboard makes more noise when you use it on your lap.

As a result, you should first check its placement and, if possible, change your working surface. If you cannot afford a new one, purchasing a desk pad may be a better option.

2. Making Use of a Desk Mat

Maybe you have a mouse pad handy. Place your keyboard on the pad and begin typing to see if the pad muffles the sound of your keyboard. If so, you should think about getting a desk mat.

When you type on your keyboard, some force is transferred to the working surface. This surface vibration tends to increase vibrational noise, which amplifies the noise level. 

As a result, it is critical to dampen that force before it reaches the desk. A desk mat can help with this by acting as a damper.

Satechi Eco-Leather Deskmate and Felt Desk Mat are two popular desk mats available today.

If moving the keyboard to a smoother surface and dampening the vibrational noise with a desk mat haven’t silenced it, you’ll need to open it up and make some mechanical adjustments.

3. Use of O-rings as Dampers

O-rings are commonly used around the edge of the drumhead to reduce overtones. They reduce noise caused by key presses in keyboards.

Install the O-rings on the switches after removing the keycaps one at a time. It will now dampen some noise with each keystroke, making your keyboard a little quieter.

If you do this, your keys may become sloppy, defeating the purpose of purchasing a clicky mechanical keyboard in the first place. 

Aside from that, frequent keystrokes cause them to wear out over time. As a result, they must be replaced on a regular basis.

So, if you can live with this, then go ahead and install O-rings. If that doesn’t work, try some of the other fixes on the list.

4. Insert Foam Inside the Keyboard

Foam can help reduce your keyboard’s internal vibrational noise. It is a simple and inexpensive way to reduce overall keyboard noise. 

The only disadvantage is that it takes a long time; otherwise, it’s as simple as removing the plastic clips or unscrewing your keyboard, then inserting the foam between the bottom and PCB.

Sobrathane and Neoprene are two common foam materials. Sobrathane will most likely reduce noise significantly, but it may make your keyboard heavier. 

Neoprene, on the other hand, is lightweight and inexpensive, but it does not reduce noise as well as Sobrathane.

If you’re on a tight budget, you can also use the same packing foam that came with your keyboard. If you’ve already taken it to the dump, find some shelf liner near you and use it instead. 

Despite the fact that these two options are nearly free, they will not significantly quiet mechanical keyboards.

5. Keyboard Switches Should Be Lubricated

This time-consuming but effective method can also be used to quiet mechanical keyboards. Lubrication helps to reduce frictional noise between each switch’s spring and stem.

Because you’ll have to desolder the switches while removing them, adding lube and reinstalling the switches will also take a long time, making this a poor solution for most users. However, if you have the time, it can be beneficial.

Furthermore, don’t add too much lube, or it will start acting as resistance. If you do this, you may end up rendering some of your keys inoperable. 

Finally, when using lube, make sure it’s plastic-safe. You should only attempt this fix if you are confident in your abilities.

6. Replace or Create a Customized Keyboard

If you haven’t reduced noise after taking all of the preceding steps, your noisy keyboard isn’t going away anytime soon. 

If this is the case, swap it out for a quieter keyboard with linear switches rather than clicky ones. You can also build your own custom keyboard if you’re too obsessed with your gaming experience.

When you can choose your own case, keys, and switches and configure them however you want, you might end up with a super quiet board.

7. New “Silent” Switches Provide a Notable Improvement

The action of the individual switches is what makes a mechanical keyboard loud. Plastic sliders beneath each key are pressed down on a spring, closing an electrical circuit and activating the computer’s corresponding key input. 

This is significantly louder than more common keyboard mechanisms, which cover the actuation switches with a sheet of rubber, effectively dampening the sound but resulting in a far less crisp feel desired by many typists and gamers.

Bottom Line

Hopefully, these solutions will assist you in quieting your noisy keyboard. However, avoid more technical options if you are not a skilled DIYer. 

And, if something goes wrong, you’ll always have the option of having it looked at by a technician.

FAQs On Quiet Mechanical Keyboard