Recently, my Chromebook keyboard has been glitching, with some keys not working. I tried prying the keycaps and checking the button underneath, but to no avail; I had no clue how to fix it. So, not wanting to buy a whole new internal keyboard and set it up myself, I looked for cheap keyboards that would offer a similar experience and came across the KoorUI BKM01. It supported Bluetooth for my Chromebook and Wi-Fi for my PC, which is so old it doesn't have Bluetooth. And it is better than I expected in many ways, the most important being that it was responsive, worked instantly on all my devices, and was silent, but it did come with the drawback of frequent disconnections.

Responsiveness

It had better response times than I expected, even on Bluetooth

It was more responsive than I expected, which was shocking. I've used wireless gamepads before, and they weren't very responsive. Now, the ones that used Wireless USB were better, but they still weren't quite as good as using them wired. It's bad enough that, for all of the gamepads I still use for retro gaming, I made sure they all support wired modes.

But this keyboard was different. Even when it is a few feet away from the receiver, I don't notice any latency. I'm sure there is some, but it's not enough to bother me, and I'd say I'm fairly sensitive to that. It also supports Bluetooth, and I haven't had any latency problems there, either. It is quick and snappy, as far as I'm concerned.

Ease of setup

It was so much easier to set up than I expected

When I bought a wireless keyboard, I didn't really know what I was getting into. I expected struggles with pairing, as I have with my knockoff Switch Pro controller and knockoff PS3 controllers connecting to my Batocera box. I also expected to have to set up the media keys, as I know you have to set up any extra buttons on the PC with Bluetooth controllers.

However, I was surprised here too. As it turns out, media keys are automatically detected, just like with wired keyboards. And the Wi-Fi dongle made it easy to connect to my PC, which doesn't have Bluetooth. Plus, the Bluetooth connection, which supports two separate devices, was a breeze to set up, and I can even hold the key to change the MAC address so I can fix it if any connection problems occur. It connected on the first try, unlike the Bluetooth controllers I've used. It was totally a plug-and-play experience!

Silence at last

The keyboard keys are quieter than I expected

I've never had a "silent" keyboard before; the closest I've had is my Chromebook's built-in keyboard. Going into this, I expected it to be slightly quieter than a mechanical keyboard. I knew it wasn't a mechanical keyboard, so I shouldn't expect those levels of loudness, but I'd never actually had a different keyboard to test with, apart from my Chromebook.

However, it actually sounded better than the Chromebook keyboard. It sounds more tactile, but roughly the same volume. This way I get a nice sound, like I'm used to with my wired keyboards, but it's also quieter, so that I'm not disturbing others while I'm working. Which is an important factor for me, as I'm living in a household with 4 other people.

Frequent disconnections

If I had a problem, it'd have to be the disconnections

The main problem I have with the keyboard is that it disconnects quite often. In fact, whenever I have it connected over Bluetooth to my Chromebook, I've noticed it will even randomly disconnect Wi-Fi and Bluetooth at the same time, which forces the Chromebook to reload the driver. I'm not entirely sure how it does this, and it is likely a flaw with ChromeOS rather than the keyboard.

And this is a serious annoyance, as I struggle to get back into the same mindset once I'm distracted. The keyboard often disconnects over Wi-Fi, too, though without crashing any drivers. And this makes it difficult to game with it, as every time it disconnects, it's a chance for me to be mauled by a zombie in Minecraft. And this could be a dealbreaker for some.

Disconnections are okay for me

Disconnections aren't so huge a deal for me, on further analysis

The thing about the disconnections, though, is that over Wi-Fi, they only happen when my arm is in the way. So, as far as I'm concerned, it's more a positioning problem than an actual hardware issue. I mean, it makes sense for something wireless to stop working when there's no direct line of sight.

And over Bluetooth, while I haven't managed to find the cause, these crashes seem to be happening less frequently, so I assume ChromeOS updated its driver, or I unwittingly stopped doing whatever caused it. Either way, it's not such a big deal to me if it disconnects, especially since I mostly do schoolwork or office work on my Chromebook.

This keyboard is one of my favorite productivity devices

While I don't have experience to know whether this keyboard is the best bargain, I can certainly say it's a safe bet for someone looking for a wireless keyboard for typing up documents. It works wonders for me, and it was one of the best value-for-money purchases I've made in a long time, since I really needed a new one. A mechanical keyboard will be my next venture, methinks.