You bought a prebuilt, inherited a keyboard, or simply forgot what you ordered, and now you want to know: what switches do I have? This is a diagnostic question, not a buying one, and you can almost always answer it without opening anything.
I published the full version on KeyboardTester.click with a live sound analyzer, comparison tables, source links, FAQ schema, and Korean/Russian/Arabic versions:
What Switches Do I Have in My Keyboard?
This Dev.to version keeps the core diagnostic workflow.
Fast answer
Listen and feel for three patterns:
- A sharp click means clicky (Cherry MX Blue, Box Jade).
- A felt bump with no click means tactile (Brown, Clear).
- A smooth, click-free press means linear (Red, Black).
Then verify. Run the Keyboard Sound Test, record a keypress, and read a live linear / tactile / clicky badge from its real-time FFT analysis. For the exact family, pull one keycap and match the stem color.
The 3 switch types by sound and feel
| Switch type | How it sounds | How it feels | Common examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linear | Smooth and quiet; a soft thock only at bottom-out, no click | One even press top to bottom; no bump | MX Red, MX Black, Gateron Yellow, Speed Silver |
| Tactile | A muted thock with no sharp click | A clear bump partway down | MX Brown, MX Clear, Gateron Brown, Boba U4T |
| Clicky | A sharp, high-pitched click every press; the loudest | A bump plus a distinct click | MX Blue, MX Green, Box White, Box Jade |
Sound-first method: let the microphone decide
Sound reliably separates clicky from non-clicky. Splitting tactile from linear by ear is harder, so a frequency analyzer helps:
- Open the sound test and allow the microphone (all processing stays in the browser).
- Calibrate against room noise so background hum is filtered out.
- Press a key near the center of the board (avoid the spacebar; stabilizers rattle).
- Watch the badge and confidence. A "clicky" badge is highly reliable; a "linear" or "tactile" call is the analyzer reading low click energy.
- Repeat on a few keys to average out one-off noises.
Feel test: one finger, three questions
Rest one finger on a key, press very slowly, and ask in order:
- Do you hear a sharp click? Yes → clicky.
- Do you feel a bump but hear no click? That bump is the actuation point → tactile.
- Is the press smooth top to bottom? No bump, no click → linear.
This works even on a silent board where sound gives you nothing.
Confirm by pulling one keycap: stem color chart
Pull a single keycap (straight up, with a wire or plastic puller) and read the colored stem in the center of the switch. Most clones (Gateron, Kailh) copy the Cherry MX code, so the color is a strong hint:
| Stem color | Switch type | Typical feel and sound |
|---|---|---|
| Red | Linear | Light, smooth, quiet |
| Black | Linear | Heavier linear |
| Brown | Tactile | Soft bump, no click |
| Clear | Tactile | Stronger, heavier bump |
| Blue | Clicky | Bump plus a loud click |
| Green | Clicky | Like Blue but heavier |
| Silver / white (Speed) | Linear | Short travel, early actuation |
Is my keyboard too loud?
"Too loud" depends on your room more than a number. Rough guidance: quiet typing sits near 40-50 dB, a normal mechanical board near 50-60 dB, and clicky switches in a hollow case spike higher on each press. The sound test includes a decibel meter, so you can measure before and after a change instead of guessing.
If noise is the problem, the order of impact is usually: switch type first, then the case and mounting, then small mods (O-rings, lube, case foam). Clicky switches are the loudest by design; silent linear or silent tactile help the most.
Hot-swap vs soldered
Knowing the switch type is step one. What you can do next depends on the board:
- Hot-swap: switches sit in sockets and pull straight out with a puller. Swap to quieter or faster switches in minutes.
- Soldered: switches are fixed to the PCB. Changing them means desoldering and resoldering every switch, so dampening mods matter more.
Pull one keycap and look at the base: a plastic socket around the metal pins usually means hot-swap; pins straight into the green PCB usually means soldered.
Try it
Start with the Keyboard Sound Test: record one keypress and read the linear, tactile, or clicky badge. If you want certainty about the exact family, pull a single keycap and match the stem color.
The full guide, with the video, sources (Cherry MX official + Deskthority), and FAQ, is on KeyboardTester.click.
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