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Product Description
Starting with the successful and popular body design of the VA87M, Varmilo has made the long-desired VB87M. Finally bringing a native-supported Bluetooth 4.0 mechanical keyboard to the market that boasts the same build quality you've come to love, but with the extra features of Gateron switches and full Mac compatibility Read More
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I've owned this keyboard since 2017 and never had the issues with Bluetooth other owners had.
This is my work keyboard since 2017 and it never missed a beat. I'm writing this review using the keyboard. Battery life is great still on this as it still lasts for more than a month or so, although I don't use the back lighting anymore so that helps with battery life.
I've gone through 4-5 laptops since 2017 and never had an issue with connecting this keyboard to their Bluetooth. Manufacturer's are HP, Dell, Lenovo, although these laptops may use the same Bluetooth chipset from just 1 manufacturer. I don't use USB Bluetooth dongles.
Here's my work setup the peripherals are all Bluetooth:
I am going against the grain here, but I feel like sharing my experience with the almighty Varmilo VB87M.
It's been a story filled with drama, that is for sure, but after so much fighting I can say it was pretty worth it.
To everybody complaining about Bluetooth: I feel you. I have been struggling with the connection for most of the time, I had a dual boot Windows/Hackintosh and you can imagine how pleasant was re-pairing the keyboard every time. I found out that WiFi/BT interaction was the problem: the keyboard is very sensitive to other 2.4 GHz signals, sometimes they fuck it up. So I decided to take action.
After sticking to Windows (macOS is going to shit anyway) and buying a proper WiFi/BT card (an Asus AX58BT), I can tell you that this keyboard never felt smoother. Repeated keys, sudden disconnection, signal degradation, all gone.
The culprit in this mess is surely the poor support of the keyboard, but another big responsibility is for the BT driver: get a full fledged, well supported BT adapter, whether it's a USB stick or a PCI-e adapter, just get a BT adapter with good drivers.
I got the white frame Varmilo with light grey keys, white backlight and select wooden after market keycaps.
Switches are Cherry MX Red, my favorite (although I would love to replace them with the Cherry MX Silent Red). I can tell you that every time I am typing on this beast, I feel happy. It's heavy, solid, minimal and beautiful at the same time. Keycaps are amazing, we'll never get something closer to this for a long time (try searching for aftermarket Step Sculpture 2 (SS2) low profile PBT keycap sets).
I also sourced other 3 batteries identical to the one used by the VB87M, just in case of sudden battery death.
This keyboard is a legend already: produced in limited quantity, production possibly ended (?) and still has a unique combination of features still not seen on other keyboards.
There are no many solid, well built TKL Bluetooth keyboard, and yet the VB87M has it all:
Step-sculpture 2 low profile PBT keycaps
Cherry MX Red switches
Sturdy and heavy aluminum chassis
White backlight with static and glowing settings, with different glowing frequencies.
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I recently got the Mojo60 Ember, a bloodbath to say the least: I spent almost the same amount used for the VB87M only to get a cheap, plastic, sad little keyboard. Keycaps are horrible, although it has dual mode (wired and USB), hot swap switches and connections up to three devices, all lacking in the VB87M.
At this point there are two things that I regret the most:
Device selection: this is the biggest flaw of this otherwise perfect keyboard. I would have loved to switch between devices without having to go through the pairing process.
Varmilo stopped making BT keyboards: their website is full of amazing keyboards, but not a single one of them comes with BT. Big shame.
Basically I am calling on Varmilo to up the ante and start developing the next VB87M.
We can start from the solid foundation of the VB87M and add:
Bluetooth 5.0 (yes, it's time)
Hot-swappable switches
Programmable RGB LED
QMK or something similar to remap keys via hardware
More choice for chassis (wood, aluminum, steel etc..)
Dual mode (wired and wireless)
Multiple devices support (3 would suffice, 5 would be awesome)
More choice for switches (definitely Silent need to be an option)
Sound dampener with different thickness (nice little touch if done right)
I would definitely give Varmilo my money if they would ever come up with a new TKL or 100%/110% full fledged Bluetooth keyboard.
If you have any question hit me up, but I can tell you it's been smooth sailing since I got a proper BT driver for Windows 10.
I too have had loads of same connection issues described by others in the community, causing choppy link, missed types, repeated letters et al.
BUT - in my case, it might as well been, at least partially, caused by the bluetooth receiver on computer. Turns out it was interfering with something (just my guess here), and after the BT dongle was moved away the computer by a USB extension cable, the link stabilized and everything's been stable so far. Only 2 days into this fix now, but it's been more stable than ever.
Apart from the BT issues it's a solid 5stars from me, feels like a solid build. But then again, it's the very first mech keeb for me so be warned.
Reddit appears to be recommending Anne Pro for BT keyboards these days though, unsure which one I'd be getting now.
But it's been with me for some years, and when Varmilo is working, it's great.
Input fails, randomly disconnects, randomly stops working
I bought one of these two years ago and I didn't really put it to the test until a few months ago. Same problems on Windows and Mac:
Keyboard will randomly stop working. Will need to disconnect and reset input on the computer.
Keys wont work for random periods of 2-5 seconds. Awful if you're gaming.
Keys STICK - sometimes the shift or command buttons won't unstick. HAve to wait 10 seconds to reset.
This sucks because it's a well built keyboard - sturdy and pretty. Would NEVER recommend.
Excellent build quality with a solid frame. No rattle on the stabilizers and keycaps feel solid with a smooth finish. Only issue is the bluetooth, connection would randomly drop and have to resync to the computer
Bluetooth antenna broke while trying to service the keyboard, Varmilo refused to help find a replacement SMT antenna.
I would not recommend buying anything from them in the future.
Initially, the keyboard was great. After a year or so, a few switches died and the bluetooth became dysfunctional. I would have to power cycle the keyboard and re-pair it to reconnect to any device. Very inconvenient.
Overall, I am disappointed in the Varmilo VB87M. Only if they allowed the keyboard to communicate to devices via USB, then I would have been okay with the purchase. Look elsewhere for bluetooth mech keyboards.
Avoid this keyboard like the plague! My biggest regrettable purchase in my life. the Bluetooth broke after 1 year. Some keys when pressed will be typed on the screen after a min or so. some will appear after I click REALLY hard and then I'll get multiple outputs on my screen.