BlackWidow V4 Pro Wired Mechanical Gaming Keyboard: Yellow Switches Linear & Silent - Doubleshot ABS Keycaps - Command Dial - Chroma RGB - Magnetic Wrist Rest - Snap Tap

I played with this keyboard a lot. Pretty much everyday since I had it. This was a beautiful keyboard. ✨☺️💖 I loved the way the lights wrapped all of the way around the wrist rest pad. It was comfortable, it was even easy to customize with fun different key caps! I spent 2 years and 4 months with it before I started having issues. 💔 I'm not sure what the average lifespan of a keyboard usually is, but I guess I wore out the D after using it too much. Unfortunately, the D is now somewhat unresponsive when I touch it. Perhaps it was all of the repetitive strafing from side to side that went on in the competitive games I had been playing. The A and D keys were definitely put to work with many long hours of play sessions. It was not each time I pressed the key where it didn't respond, but the inconsistentcy was enough to cause me to retire this keyboard. Time to move on to my next, new keyboard. ⌨️🌷RIP🌷 this beautiful keyboard. We had some good times together! Maybe I'll get the same type, or maybe I'll try something different. Who knows! I'm not sure yet!

Over all I will say that I typically really enjoy razer products and my wife gifted me this keyboard and I absolutely love it. the aluminum metal makes it feel very durable and just a overall great feeling so the build quality is really felt once you hold it in your hands. Easy plug and play and works well with the razer program. The extra keys are easy to program if you need it. This is a heavier keyboard so its not something I would recommend for like traveling. The color options are good just like most rgb keyboards. I personally like the clicky'ness of blue switches so I can tell you that the green switches sound great IF you like that sound. It is loud if you get the green switches so if your going to be using this near someone or just don't want keys that are a bit loud defiantly get red switches. The keyboard just feels so nice when typing and pretty much anyone I let try it or use it falls in love with it to. It definatelly has a more premium price but you can feel it in the quality of the keyboard. If you want something that will last you and feel great I would recommend this keyboard. Highly recommend.

TLDR: slipshod programming, excellent marketeers. [NOTE: apologies for the typos - I had no time to proof my notes. But it takes ages to even list all the issues/flaws, much less document them--I'm far from the only person who has tried... and threw up their hands in defeat.] //skip to Part 2 for better grammar :) PART 1 ----- THE HARDWARE ----- Literally every major feature listed (on the amazon page for naga pro and blackwidow v4 pro) has a major issues 1. Media keys 1. Sunken down too far to be visible, aka too short to see and use easily 2. Hard to see. Symbols are faint. No through-key illumination, only peripheral backlight. Very difficult to see even in good light and without glare of the backlight. 2. Indicators above the arrow keys 1. No backlight, cannot see the text, not that you use these often. 3. Command dial - modes + comments 1. Keyboard brightness ® Redundant. Dedicated fn keys already exist on this very KB 2. Windows zoom. ® Programmed with wrong output (e.g. deprecated in newer windows os) 3. Track jogging. ® Limited utility. Works only when player is in focus, which defeats the main purpose ® Doesn't work will all apps ® Windows media: dial ONLY WORKS WHEN FOCUS IS ALREADY ON TRACK SLIDER. Absolutley useless. ® Under the hood, it's just "shift + left arrow" and "shift + right arrow" 4. Vertical scrolling. ® Good use case: gaming. For button mashing quick-events; perform scroll wheel up/dn if you've already mapped your physical scroll wheel's up/dn to something else ® Useless? For me anyway 5. Horizontal scrolling. ® Actually works. Nice to have when synapse crashes, disabling horizontal scrolling on razer's naga pro mouse. (though I haven't tested this extensively). ® UPDATE. Nvm. Does not work w/o synapse. 6. Switch apps ® Alt + Tab… but much worse. you already have alt-tab. But this is worse. Once you stop turning, it selects that app, but gives you little time to glance through them, so you have to key turning the dial. But if you overshoot and reverse dial turn direction… ◊ It Scrolls in wrong direction // If you reverse scroll direction too quickly, it won't recognize the change in direction, aka the wheel doessn't work well 7. Track selector ® Basic next track, prev track 8. Switch browser tabs ® Why would you need this? 9. Custom modes - user created ® Can be useful, but YMMV ® Gaming: map to scroll wheel 4. Dedicated macro keys 1. M1, M2, M3, M4, M5 - useful 2. Side keys - too easy to bump by accident Overall hardware quality - fine for <$100, but not remotely worth >$200 PART 2 ----- THE SOFTWARE ----- No review of Razer peripherals is complete without mentioning their software, Synapse. Razer Synapse - so, so many issues 1. Required for most features to work, integral to the product listed. 2. Frequently crashes (especially during games). Result: i. Your profile stops working: macros and keys return to default (or to some random ghost profile that you can't delete) ii. Your macros stop working iii. Your lighting stops working 3. Profiles 1. corrupted 2. Hybrid storage doesn’t work (white profile on Naga Pro): unable to retain settings when synapse disconnected 3. Profiles and macros don’t work when signed IN to Synapse, but work OK on a guest account. 4. Unable to sync profiles 5. unable to factory reset / erase profiles (!) 4. Macros don’t work in a dozen ways 1. issues with combined modifiers (like win + ctrl) 2. keys stuck in down-press or un-press 3. keys do not respond 4. corrupted in so many ways... 1. random keystrokes removed from macros 2. unwanted duplicates 3. failure to run 4. failure to duplicate correctly 5. corrupted on import 6. up/down keystroke pairs no longer “linked” 7. no name “No macro” 8. unable to edit 9. unable to wipe from account 5. Not synced 6. Disappeared from account 7. Nonfunctional 1. When signed into Synapse 2. When signed into specific user account 3. At all 8. NOTE: yes, I am sure many (if not all) the issues stem from Razer/Synapse, not the user. eg i checked the macro files themselves and discovered, for example, some were missing ID tags, had the wrong ID, sequenced my inputs differently from what was displayed in Synapse, were missing key-up lines (making your keys/buttons stuck "pressed down"), etc. 9. Keys are incorrectly mapped Example: the inputs {up, down, left, right} are mapped to arrow keys ® But with turbo, they are are mapped to numpad 2,4,6,8… ® But Synapse doesn't automatically deactivate num lock. ® So when you think you're rapidly commanding {up, down, left, right}, Synapse is actually putting out {8, 2, 4, 6} on the numpad. ® Even when using "keyboard recording" i.e. they don't actually record faithfuly your key presses, they estimate. ® This bug is hidden. Zero indication is visible to the user. I had to parse the macro files directly to finally figure out what on earth was going on. 5. resource intensive 1. Consumes 1 GB of RAM 2. Consumes 100 MB to 200 MB of GPU VRAM(!) while machine is idle just after rebooting. 3. Generated >10 GB per user in AppData. (Razer, what on earth are you doing that requires multiple gigabytes?!) 6. Seriously, it's easdier to list what they did right than what they did wrong. This is literally the worst piece of software that I (or most people buying Razer products) will EVER use. PART 3 ----- SUPPORT IS TERRIBLE ----- 1. Razer Support actively dissuades users from contacting support: i. they require A LOT of personal info to even start talking to you. ii. they require VERY invasive logs to even start helping you 1) even if their intent is completely benign, would you really trust Razer Security™ with your personal info? If you think Synapse code is bad, do you think their internal code is any better? 2. they can’t help you anyway (so what was the point of collecting all your personal info?) i. their main advice: 1) uninstall/reinstall everything. 2) don’t get fancy: a) don’t make complicated (useful) macros, b) don’t use USB hubs, including their own accompanying peripheral, c) don’t ‘run too many things at once’ 3. Support forums are littered with tons of “yes-men” who just repeat official lines from Razer i. … even if the advice is irrelevant ii. … even if the advice does not work (see a comment above), eg their driver removal tool doesn’t work on recent firmware patches 4. And yes I’ve tried EVERYTHING while troubleshooting over the years: 1. clean Windows installs 2. new machines. 3. laptops/desktops. 4. different OS. 5. different synapse ver. 6. different combinations of razer products 7. different Razer accounts 8. Multiple of same product 9. safe mode 10. lesson: RAZER PRODUCTS WORK BETTER THE LESS YOU USE THEM. 1. don’t use synapse 2. don’t use macros 3. don’t use chroma / lighting 4. don’t reassign keys 5. don’t mix/match razer products 6. Don't use on multiple profiles on the same computer 7. Don't use on multiple computers 8. etc. ad nauseum 9. … which defeats the point! I could go on for hours… this is just the tip of the iceberg… and these are just the issues i’ve experienced this year alone. Razer has written terrible software and fielded terrible support for years and years. Do you expect them to improve any time soon? From the start and for years on, I was a big fan of Razer products because they offered features not found anywhere else on the market. But their value soured. Their broken software is a deal-breaker. If they invested half as much on software as they did on marketing, they would not need marketing. But I can no longer recommend their products any longer. Even if Razer started discounting their products AND Razer’s competitors all went on vacation (no longer true in 2024, if ever), I could not recommend buying Razer products: they just DON’T work. They are tremendously tiresome, hassle-some, fragile, inconsistent, perpetually broken, and time-consuming. They have wasted thousands of dollars of my time. At minimum. I bought Razer products because they not only accelerated my work, but also enabled me to do things I could not otherwise. So I tolerated their terrible software for a long time... until now. This is the last straw. One can’t help but wonder whether their software issues are intentional. It would make more sense than this calamitous never-ending train-wreck. (Seriously, it's as if they slapped together every feature solely to satisfy a checkbox but performed zero user-testing and or zero quality control, especially in their software. ) TERRIBLE PRODUCT. Just buy a Wooting keyboard instead. Or even a Wooting knockoff.

Really neat keyboard that has some cool features. I enjoy the rgb and razer Synapse software. I know razer is a love hate brand, typically known for over priced devices, however I like the Synapse software which works with my Tartarus, cooling pad, and Balisik mouse. The RGB looks awesome and keyboard functions great. I personally need a full keyboard for gaming and fulfilling admin duties which are bound functions on my number pad. The wrist pad feels great and the full rgb can't be beat. The only downside I see is this keyboard doesn't have hot swapable switches, but for me isn't a deal breaker. Im very pleased with my keyboard. I was able to get on sale and save quite a bit which is why I finally bit the bullet and moved from my Tartarus single hand keyboard.

The only reason I bought this was because my original Black Widow Chroma V2 got drenched in tea. So I go on the hunt and find out they no longer make that keyboard. I purchased two other Razer keyboards and even though they were great, nothing to me beats the Black Widow keyboards. The comfort of the wrist rest is great and it doesn't matter if I'm working, cruising the net or gaming, it's a comfortable go. I do love the color picking ability and I keep it on one color for everything and it looks awesome! You will have to be careful of the buttons on the left side of the keyboard but other than that the smoothness of typing is great. I am a very particular person when it comes to what my keyboard feels and sounds like. Yes, this is a "clicker" keyboard and I absolutely love that. The speed of typing is awesome, the response time keeps you moving, so no complaint there. The biggest complaint I have is the software. I never had a problem with it keeping my settings, starting back up after a reboot, opening up in general. I have all the buttons clicked for it to start up at boot, log in and everything, but 9 times out of 10 I have to open it back up, log in to Synapse and then it starts doing what I want. Also, I truly miss the Chroma extras of the headphone jack and usb port on the right side. This does have a usb port on the back, but you tend to forget about it because of the location. So, everything is great about this keyboard, some things take a little getting used to, like the roller wheel volume control, but like all new things it will grow on you. Is it worth the money, that all depends on your own personal preference. I broke down and spent the money because I knew I would be happy with keyboard and will last for years, as long as I don't spill tea on it.

So i've been using mechanical keyboards for about 12 years now and every single one of them has been mechanical. The following items are why i like this keyboard. 1. The dual cables which one is used as a USB passthrough are long enough that i can move the keyboard to my lap if i need to. I have a bad shoulder so this is a nice function. 2. the wrist rest is magnetic so even when using it on my lap i still can use it pretty well. This is important for me as when my shoulder acts up it's useful. 3. the click sound that many of us computer nerds enjoy is just the right volume and enhances to function of the keyboard 4. Razer synapse is kind of m'eh and the side buttons do sometimes trigger when i pick it up by the side cause they are so close to the top but nothing that really bothers me to any major extent. But overall it's got good options and easy to customize. I even use it for work because opening some functions is just a pain. 5. I have only had 1 razer keyboard last a short time for me. It died due to large amount of fluid falling onto it. As of right now i use this keyboard for my desk. My 5 year old keyboard is being used by my partner as if it was brand new and i have a 2 year old keyboard at my office all of which are functioning perfectly.

While this is one of the nicest keyboards I've had the pleasurer to type on it does have some simple flaws that can be addressed by the manufacturer. Reviewed Version had the Razer yellow switches as I prefer the linear switches for the quiet typing. CONS: The first simple thing is the media keys. You can not tell what each one does at a glance as the embossed characters are next to impossible to see especially when the back lighting is used. (to the manufacturer) Paint them white for the users to see. You need to memorize what they do to use them. Not an issue once you memorize what they do but a visual que helps tremendously. The next fixable flaw is the price. While I do enjoy gaming and typing on the is keyboard it is not worth the premium price tag for a corded keyboard. $230+ USD is just not justified for this board even with its options. Wait till the price drops before purchasing. Next the major flaw I found is the side macro keys. On the left side of the board are 3 macro keys that every time you try to move the keyboard you press them. There is no simple fix for this but I just disabled them in Synapse 3 so as I don't seem to use them anyways. PRO's: This board is one of the most well rounded boards I have every seen. It both games well with its quick actuating keys and productivity options allow you to use this board in almost any scenario. The keys actuate quicker than Cherry MX reds (what my last keyboard had) giving you a leg up in games and for those that are quick typists the need to press the key all the way is unnecessary, a help but also a hinderance if you have fat fingers. I don't have fat fingers so it is a pleasure to type on. The reason I never purchased a Razer keyboard before now is that the cases were made of plastic allowing them to flex where as this board has an aluminum case giving it the required rigidity that I expect from a premium keyboard. I am truly enjoying the plush wrist rest that comes with this board. Every other board that I have had has had a plastic wrist rest until this one. I can honestly say this is a big deal compared with other boards I have used. What more can I say on this other than you really need to try it out if you can find one on display some where. You will love the plush wrist rest. If you already have other Razer products having Razer Synapse 3 is no big deal and you are used to how to work the program but for those wishing to keep extra programs off there PC this is not the keyboard for you. For those that don't mind this program is needed to disable, change or edit macro keys. Synapse does use a bit of system resources so be warned. I personally have the Kraken Ultimate head set, Tartarus Pro gaming pad, Viper Ultimate mouse, Fire fly V2 mouse pad and now the BlackWidow V4 Pro so running the Synapse 3 program is necessary for lighting controls. A feature I find cool is that if you do not need a USB passthrough in the keyboard you can use only one cord to the keyboard limiting the amount of wire clutter that PC's create. Of course on the other hand is if you use that feature there are two cords not bundled together adding to the clutter. Over All Thoughts: Excellent keyboard but overpriced. Good for both productivity and gaming. Comfortable to use with quick response. Has some flaws but there are work arounds. Needs Synapse 3 installed to use most features. Best lighting of all of Razers keyboard options.

Original Concerns Resolved - This Board Now Lives Up to Its Premium Promise I purchased this keyboard in January 2025 and initially struggled with serious Synapse software issues that made basic functions unreliable. Nine months later, I'm updating this review because Razer has genuinely addressed most of my concerns, transforming this from a frustrating experience into an excellent premium keyboard. What Hasn't Changed: Exceptional Hardware The build quality remains outstanding after nine months of daily use. The aluminum top plate still exhibits zero flex, the doubleshot ABS keycaps show no shine or wear despite hundreds of hours of gaming and typing, and the pre-lubed stabilizers remain smooth and rattle-free. The magnetic wrist rest is still plush and comfortable, and the textured volume wheel feels premium every time I adjust audio. The hot-swap sockets have been reliable—I haven't needed to swap switches yet, but the option is reassuring. The typing experience continues to impress. Whether I'm writing code, gaming through intense Call of Duty sessions, or typing long documents, the Orange Tactile switches (in my case) deliver consistent, satisfying feedback. This keyboard still feels as solid as custom boards costing significantly more. What Has Changed: Synapse Software Improvements Here's the big update: Razer has substantially improved Synapse through multiple updates over these nine months. The command wheel now reliably controls what it's assigned to—no more random zoom behavior. The F1-F12 function keys work consistently. Volume control actually controls volume. These seem like basic expectations, and they now work as intended. The software still has one minor quirk: about once a week, I need to toggle the keyboard's power to resync RGB lighting across my Razer ecosystem (I also have the Basilisk V3 Pro mouse and Mouse Dock Pro). It's a 5-second fix, not the dealbreaker the original bugs were. I'm planning to integrate everything with my upcoming Philips Hue bridge for unified home lighting. Long-Term Durability After nine months of heavy use across gaming, work, and everything in between, this keyboard shows zero signs of degradation. No key wobble, no stabilizer rattle developing, no wireless connectivity issues, and battery life remains excellent. The wireless performance is flawless—no lag, no dropped inputs. Updated Verdict This is now the premium keyboard Razer promised at launch. The hardware was always excellent; the software has caught up. At its price point, you're getting custom-keyboard build quality with mainstream convenience and ecosystem integration. The occasional RGB sync quirk is minor compared to the original functionality-breaking bugs. Recommended for: Anyone wanting a premium 75% with excellent build quality and reliable wireless performance Skip if: You absolutely need zero software maintenance or want the most budget-friendly option If you passed on this keyboard due to early Synapse issues, it's worth reconsidering now.