Troubleshooting FAQs

The RGB indicators are very helpful to determine the cause of connection issues. Please see "BT and USB indicators" section in the Glove80 User Guide.

To activate the RGB indicators, tap the MoErgo key (also known as the Magic key) on the left side.

The RGB indicators can tell you :

• Which device Glove80 is currently sending the keystrokes to
• Which of the Bluetooth Profiles are paired, and which of the Bluetooth Profiles are connected

To debug a connection issue, try the following steps:

• Use the RGB indicator to determine which device (i.e. USB or Bluetooth Profile) Glove80 is sending the keystrokes to. Look for the thumb key with a white LED.
• If the device Glove80 is sending keystrokes to is different from the device you want, try switching to that device as described in "Selecting BT Profile and USB-connected device" section of the Glove80 User Guide.
• Check the RGB indicator color of the device you want to send the keystrokes to. The color should give you a good idea why Glove80 is not sending keystrokes to the device you want to send to.
• If Glove80 indicates that the desired device is not paired, then try pairing procedure as described in "Pairing with a BLE host" section in the Glove80 User Guide.
• If Glove80 indicates that the desired device is paired but not connected, then it is possible that the other side has Bluetooth turned off or otherwise lost the Bluetooth pairing information. Try the "Troubleshooting" subsection of the "Pairing with a BLE host" section in the Glove80 User Guide.
  

NOTE: Bluetooth BLE uses 2.4 GHz microwave which is primarily line-of-sight. If the BLE path between the host and the left hand of Glove80 is blocked by a conductor (such as a metal case) or something with high water content (such as a hand or a cat), the signal strength will decrease. Other common issues include missing BLE antennae on the PC.

NOTE: If you are dual-booting with multiple OSes, very specific setup configurations are required. Please see ZMK documentation for more details.

If you had a reliable BLE connection between Glove80 and your Windows PC prior to Oct/Nov 2023, and suddenly started having problems connecting with Glove80, one possible cause is the new Intel BLE chipset driver that may be incompatible with ZMK for some setups.

The latest Glove80 firmware (v24.02) has improved compatibility with the new Intel driver. Please update your Glove80 to the latest production firmware version.

If you are experiencing BLE connectivity issues with macOS, please upgrade to latest production firmware (>= v24.02). v24.02 firmware has vastly improved the compatibility with macOS.

If you have an older Intel mac with BCM_20703A2 (or similar) BLE chipset, you may need to apply the workaround below.

Workaround for BCM_20703A2 BLE chipset:

Please use the latest firmware (v24.02), with the following Advanced Configuration settings overridden in your layout in the Glove80 Layout Editor:

• BLE_CTLR_PHY_2M=n

Is your left half of Glove80 connected to a USB charger/power brick?

Some chargers & power bricks pretend to be a USB host device. If your Glove80 has selected to use USB as the primary output device, then the Glove80 could be tricked into sending the keystrokes to the charger/power brick instead. To check if this is indeed the situation, please disconnect the USB charger/power brick and type on Glove80. If this is indeed the cause, to fix this problem, switch Glove80 to output to the BT Profile of the host device you want to connect to.

If the above procedure does not fix the problem, please see the earlier FAQ entry titled "Glove80 is not sending keystrokes. How do I fix this?"

A successful pairing requires both the host device and Glove80 to recognize the pairing.

If you have previously paired the said host and the said Glove80, and subsequently removed the pairing from one side, attempts to pair again will fail.

To successfully pair, you need to remove the pairing information from both sides before attempting again.

To do so, please refer to the section titled "Unpairing from a BLE host" in the Glove80 User Guide.

After unpairing on both the host and the Glove80, try pairing again.

Which button to press? That depends on what locale you have set. If you are using standard US ISO locale:

• The button for "press the button on the right side of the left hand shift button" is "z"
• The button for "press the button on the left side of the right hand shift button" is "/"

Please try the following steps:

1. Is the right half powered on?
Check that the power button on the right half is pressed in.

2. Is the right half out of battery?
Try plugging in the right half to a charger, and try again.

3. If you have recently updated the firmware, did you upload the same firmware to both halves?

If you are not sure, please reload the firmware to both halves again.

Occasionally the two halves may fail to establish a connection when you power on the right side. This is rare, but it may happen.

4. Power off the right half and power on again. See if that fixes the problem. If not try again a couple more times.

If not, there may be an extremely rare chance that one of the two halves has lost the Bluetooth pairing information with the other half.

5. Attempt re-pairing the left and right half according to the "Configuration factory reset and re-pairing left and right halves" section in the Glove80 User Guide. Please note that this will wipe off all the configuration information stored, including BT profiles.

Tap the MoErgo key (also known as "Magic Key"). If some RGB indicators turn on, it means that the battery is running low.

When the battery runs low, the Glove80 automatically switches off RGB to conserve battery power.

If no RGB indicators turn on when you tap the MoErgo key, the battery may be completely depleted or the power may be switched off.

1. First check that your particular Glove80 has RGB LEDs on the right half. The "Standard Edition" Glove80s in the Kickstarter/Backerkit campaigns do not have RGB LEDs on the right half.

2. Try typing on the right half, to check that it is not a connection problem between the left half and the right half.

3. When the battery runs low, the Glove80 automatically switches off RGB to conserve battery power. One way to test this is to plug the right half into a USB charger. If the RGB LED comes back, then the battery is running low.

4. Try switching off and on the RGB light pattern a couple of times. ZMK does not sync the RGB pattern between left and right when you power on the right half.

5. If you have recently updated the firmware, did you upload the same firmware to both halves?

If you are not sure, please reload the firmware to both halves again. Right half RGBs not working is a common symptom of the left and right halves having incompatible firmware versions.

There are two ways. One way requires a correctly functioning ZMK firmware.

In this FAQ we document the fall-back mechanism which works even if the ZMK firmware is not functioning.

Click here for an illustration and instructions.

Before Ventura v13.1, due to an issue with Ventura v13.0 and beta versions, it is not possible to simply copy the Glove80 UF2 firmware file to the finder to update the Glove80 firmware.

This problem has been resolved by Apple on macOS Ventura v13.1. We recommend that you upgrade to Ventura v13.1+.

ZMK currently does not provide this capability.

If you are unsure what version you are running, the best solution is to generate the latest version with the Glove80 Layout Editor and flash two Glove80 halves.

This is a timing issue between the bootloader and the OS. Effectively the Glove80 bootloader processes the new firmware and reboots too quickly for the OS to receive the completion acknowledgment.

This is okay and nothing needs to be done. The firmware has been flashed successfully, and Glove80 should work as normal after it has finished rebooting.

Note: This issue also affects macOS

The filename of the firmware file is too long. Please rename the firmware file, while keeping the same extension (.uf2)

To load firmware onto Glove80 from a PC, necessary privileges to access the USB port are required. Some workplace I.T. policies limit such access privileges.

One workaround is to use an OTG USB cable with your phone. Many (but not all) phones support USB mass storage devices via an OTG USB cable. Please note that this method is not officially supported by MoErgo due to the vast variety of phones, however, it may be worth a try.

This is a known issue for Glove80 units with firmware that has persisted "bad" configuration data. It can be easily fixed.

Step 1: Charge the right half with a USB charger. Keep it connected while performing the subsequent steps.

Step 2: Power off and power on both halves. 

Step 3: Switch on RGB LEDs (for the default layout in the US locale using the key combo magic-t). Make sure RGB LEDs are operating on both halves(unless you have a Kickstarter Batch Standard Edition without RGB on the right hand). If this step fails, please contact us.

Step 4: Switch off the RGB LEDs (for the default layout in the US locale using the key combo magic-t). Then wait for at least one minute without powering off the two halves; this is necessary for persisting the new configuration.

Step 5: Keep the right half charging for 4 hours.

This procedure should fix the problem.

The Glove80 tenting system is designed to be continuously adjustable to allow the tenting angle to be exactly how you want it. However with enough vibrations, the feet may require occasional re-adjustments.

If you want to avoid the occasional re-adjustments, there are quite a number of solutions:
1. If your tenting is high enough, please use the M4 nuts that come with Glove80 to tighten the threaded rods tight against the feet and the keyboard body

2. Use silicone O-rings around the threaded rod to act as a spring washer. We recommend OD=5.5mm ID=3.5mm Thickness = 1mm silicone O-rings for thinner gaps, and OD=6.5mm ID=3.5mm Thickness = 1.5mm silicone O-rings for wider gaps. These O-rings come with Revision 2 Glove80. They are also available as part of the Glove80 Upgrade Kit.

3. Wrap the threaded rod with plumber tape, such as https://www.amazon.com/plumber-tape/s?k=plumber+tape

Detail instructions are documented in the Glove80 User Guide.

We have not yet defined the behavior of the red LED while the Glove80 is running ZMK firmware. The red LED is not  a charging indicator. We are still trying to find the best use of this LED while running ZMK.

The behavior of this LED however is defined when Glove80 is in bootloader mode:

- Slow pulsing indicates that the bootloader is operating in mass storage device mode and is ready for firmware loading

- Fast pulsing indicates that no ZMK firmware is found and the USB is disconnected

We recommend that you use a powered KVM such that it can provide enough current to the Glove80, especially if you intend to turn on the RGB LEDs on your Glove80.

Furthermore, not all KVMs implement an adequately complete implementation of HID protocol. As such some models of KVMs are not compatible with certain keyboards which may include Glove80. There are no hard and fast rules; we recommend that you enquire with the KVM vendor and run actual tests.

1. Use air to blow dust out
2. Or gently remove keycaps, if you want a deep clean between key switches
3. Use a very slightly damp cloth (but not too damp) to wipe down the Glove80 keyboard body. Water and electronics don't mix.
4. The palm rests can be detached, then washed by hand with mild soap or dishwashing liquid. Do not wash in a dishwasher. Make sure the palm rests are completely dry before re-attaching to the Glove80 keyboard body.
5. Do not use organic solvents under any circumstances

ZMK has known limitations with these indicators over a Bluetooth connection on certain operating systems.

However these indicators should work if the Glove80 is connected to the host device via a USB cable.

Design is all about finding a reasonable compromise between all the conflicting design goals.

Our first versions had 82 keys. One of our key objectives is to be able to easily bring the ergonomics of concave key well with us to meetings and on the road. We decided to remove the two keys so that we can reduce the height by 10 to 12mm, which makes a big difference in portability.

However we recognize that some people want to have F11 and F12 on the primary layer (by default they are on a secondary layer). F11 and F12 keycaps are included in the Glove80 box (if you chose labeled keycaps). So if you want to have physical F11 and F12 keys, please remap the keys using the Glove80 Layout Editor and replace the keycaps.

Unlike many other keyboards, Glove80 is designed to facilitate the easy interchange of keycaps. Every key uses the same keycap profile.

With 80 full-sized keys, Glove80 has more accessible keys (with minimal hand movement) than any other ergonomic keyboard (contoured or not) on the market.

ZMK is a powerful firmware, but as a result, it can be somewhat complicated.

On the Glove80 Discord server there are the #glove80-zmk-mod channel for ZMK-related discussions and #glove80-keymaps channel for keymap/layout-related discussions.

The best place to start learning ZMK is with their excellent documentation at https://zmk.dev/docs.

ZMK has an active community on the ZMK Discord server. This is a great place for technical discussion around ZMK.

If you are looking to compile ZMK firmware without using the Glove80 Layout Editor, Glove80's ZMK configuration GitHub repository is at https://github.com/moergo-sc/glove80-zmk-config

If you are planning to modify the ZMK firmware source code, the official Glove80 ZMK distribution is at https://github.com/moergo-sc/zmk