MNT Reform Battery Problem

The MNT Reform has a serious issue with its battery system: no low voltage cutoff. That means it likes to kill battery cells.

Videos:

The video covers the battery issue in more detail.

Here are some notes I had for a more detailed video on the Reform. I may or may not get around to doing it, but they’re here as a bonus for anyone who actually reads my blog posts.

Good

  • Replacable standard battery cells
  • Fancy layout mechanical keyboard:
    • I hit alt for space and up for right shift.

Great

  • Building the thing at all

Bad

Problem: No sound device. It was just missing.

Solution: There’s a custom script to enable the sound device and launch the volume control app - I found it in the Sway config file.

  • Trackball is scratchy and requires inconsistent pressure.
  • Speakers are kind of crap.

Ugly

Problem: The battery controller has no low voltage cutoff. This thing destroys batteries.

Easy fix: Hardware power switch: Even when “off” the device draws down the batteries. It’d be useful to have an external switch that disconnects the batteries.

Correct fix: Actually have a low voltage cutoff.