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ESD Safety

Electrostatic discharge (ESD) can damage sensitive electronic components on your SliceMK keyboard. To help you protect your keyboard from ESD damage, please follow these guidelines when handling your keyboard PCB:

  • We recommend wearing a static strap (Amazon) or latex gloves. If not possible, an alternative is to periodically discharge static electricity by touching a grounded object such as your desktop computer's metal enclosure.
  • Please refrain from touching any PCB components while the keyboard is plugged via USB as that significantly increases the likelihood of ESD damage. The USB cable should be unplugged when pulling or installing switches. Having the battery installed is fine as that and does not affect the risk of ESD damage.
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Failure to take precautions when handling your keyboard PCB may result in long term damage such as keys not working reliably or battery life being shorter than expected.

Magnetic USB Connectors​

Please avoid using magnetic USB connectors as they do not follow USB standards in most cases. Connecting and disconnecting a magnetic connector can create unexpected ESD, resulting in damage to sensitive electronic components.

To ensure the safety and longevity of your keyboard, it is best to use a standard USB C cable. USB C connectors are extremely robust, designed to last at least 10,000 plug/unplug cycles.