Greetech Sunset Switch Review

I have to admit that I am at least mildly upset that I’m here to write this review and that the world didn’t end less than a week ago with the “one in a lifetime” total solar eclipse that occurred. Never mind the fact that this only occurred over the eastern half of the US as well as smaller parts of Canada and Mexico – the internet told me that this was the Rapture, the re-ignition of the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the end of power grids and society as we knew it all around the globe. (As if the rest of the globe existed, anyways. Everyone knows the entire internet is full of only Americans and that any event that happens in the US and only the US is of the utmost global importance and impact!) In spite of all of this astrological turmoil planned suspiciously around this one total solar eclipse out of the 68 set to occur this century, I survived and had a pretty decent view of the totality at the parking lot of my work. Set up in lawn chairs with appropriate celestial themed treats in Capri Suns and Moon Pies, I’m at least glad that I got to see this pretty cool phenomena as I do not intend to travel and fight thousands of people cramming into random cities to see the next total solar eclipse to pass through the US in 2040-something. I’m even doubly lucky that the Midwest weather decided to skip out on rain and clouds for the first time in what has felt like days before and since April 8th. However, following the pack this time around for the eclipse, I did at least take a really shitty cell phone photo of the eclipse from my one specific view to send to all of my friends and family who also all largely took photos of this themselves. Personally believing that my photo was more special than the thousands of other shitty phone photos you’ve seen online over the course of the past few days, I feel compelled to subject you all to it now. Behold:

**Figure 1:** Note the artistically positioned power line for ambience.

All jokes aside, the total solar eclipse was a rather unique experience to take part in and I highly encourage anyone who is near one in their home country in the future to take part in viewing them. The time shortly before and after the total eclipse is especially interesting and has eerie lighting unlike any other time of day or year, despite what you may initially have guessed. In fact, you could definitely say it doesn’t look anything like a sunrise or sunset at all…

Switch Background

While the April 8th eclipse didn’t signal the end of the world as we know it, these aptly astrologically inspired switches in Greetech Sunsets do signal the end of the vendor of the vendor who brough them into existence in 415Keys. As stated in the initial debut announcement of these switches by 415Keys on r/mechmarket on Marh 31st, 2024, the Sunset switches mark the departure of the company after nearly 3.5 year of being in business. Based out of Richmond, VA, this vendor started in late 2020 with a narrow offering of aftermarket switch modification components including various lubes, a couple of different types of switch films, and springs. These were followed up shortly thereafter with their first of three total switch offerings in Durock POM linears. In the years following their debut, and not counting the switches being reviewed here today, not much has changed with 415Keys nor have they expanded much beyond their initial offerings. The only other switch of note within that span of time, comprising the second of three total offerings that they had, were that of the all-white colored, heavily H1-inspired Durock/JWK switches in Snow Whites. While those switches, in and of themselves, were not particularly remarkable for any specific reason, they certainly are noteworthy with respect to the history of switches that I’ve reviewed as they received quite a bit of contextual ire from me back when they were scored in 2022, receiving 10 out of 30 total possible points for their combined ‘Context’ and ‘Other’ categories. To date, this combined contextual score of 10 still ranks them as tied for second to last out 294 total switches to date, with only the Greetech-made OArmy Greens scoring worse than the Snow Whites.

Greetech, in a similar fashion to 415Keys, is a smaller switch manufacturer and brand which has been around for quite some time while maintaining a fairly low profile relative to their immediate competitors in their space. More formally known by their factory name as “Huizhou Youliweier Microcontrol Electronics Co., Ltd.” or “Unionwell Micro Switch”, Greetech is an MX-style switch brand which has existed since at least 2007 according to Deskthority, solely focused on OEM-style switch offerings with black, clear, and white housing combinations following the lapse of Cherry’s patent around 2014. While a full catalogue of Greetech’s keyboard switch offerings has never concretely been established, collections have proven that they have at least made Black and Red colored linears, Brown colored tactiles, and Blue and Green colored clickies as is commonly expected among OEM-style offerings. As well, each of these variants have come in mixed availability in fully opaque black, clear over white, and clear over black housing constructions. Throughout my personal collecting journey, the clear over black and fully opaque black Greetech switches were the first available all the way back in 2017, with the clear over white constructions not arriving to me until actually just a few months ago. Adding a bit of a caveat to this timeline, though, it is always hard to tell if, when, and where OEM-style switch offerings are being used by a manufacturer like Greetech, as they are not always sold independently of the keyboards that they were manufactured for. Generally, when loosely available, Greetech switch offerings have always been amongst the ‘bargain bin’ range of pricing, fetching between $0.10 and $0.35 per switch depending on where they are purchased from.

**Figure 3:** A representative portion of my Greetech OEM switch collection showcasing the different stem colors and housing combinations made over the years.

Aside from the well-trodden OEM path, there is at least one foray into more customized switch offerings that was taken by Greetech in the form of the instantly recognizable classic Razer switches. While Razer Green, Orange, and Yellow switches have bounced around a handful of different manufacturers over the course of their existence, those reported to have been used in boards produced from 2014 to at least 2016 included Greetech as their manufacturer – something which was only ever evident upon removing a switch from the board and inspecting the exterior of the bottom housings of the switches. Unfortunately, though, the tenure of Greetech as a switch manufacturer for Razer is entirely unknown due to a lack of transparency about such on Razer’s part. In spite of “tech blogs” like Tom’s Hardware suggesting that the partnership between Greetech and Razer ended in 2016, it has been proven numerous times over that Razer Greens produced after this supposed cutoff timeframe were still being produced by Greetech in addition to Kailh, the other manufacturer commonly associated with early Razer switch production. Unlike the Razer switches of old, the most modern iterations of Razer Green, Orange, and Yellow switches have abandoned all identifying markings and branding of companies other than Razer, making it nearly impossible to hazard a guess as to who is continuing to make these switches. However, much like Tom’s Hardware, I have no problem in wildly speculating sans any evidence whatsoever that Greetech could still be the manufacturer making these Razer switches in 2024…

**Figure 4:** Greetech Razer switches with the Razer Yellow upturned to show Greetech marking on bottom housing exterior.

Outside of the early (and maybe late???) Razer switches, as well as a few other custom-colored OEM offerings, the Greetech Sunsets are for all intents and purposes Greetech’s first known dip into the more modern, uniquely colored switch world. While it is unknown if these were custom ordered by 415Keys or not given that the Sunsets still bare the classic Greetech nameplate, the all pink housing design is a noted departure from the behavior of Greetech over the course of their manufacturing history. Unlike most other uniquely colored offerings that first pop onto the market, the nature of their arrival at 415Keys’ departure has the future availability and stocking of the Sunset switches left in a strange limbo. It is very possible that this is the start of a dive into more specialized, small batch offerings by Greetech in the near future. It is also equally as likely that 415Keys ordered these switches at one point in time, have sat on them for months or years, and are only now choosing to sell them as part of their closing liquidation. What I can definitely assert, though, is that the Sunsets will likely stand the test of the time as a small footnote in the complex history of modern mechanical keyboard switches because of these strange circumstances. At the time of writing this review, packs of 90 Greetech Sunsets were available at $18 each ($0.20/switch), though my original pack which I purchased for this review was priced at a temporary sale price of $9 per pack of 90 switches ($0.10/switch). Given what is generally known about the manufacturer-direct cost of switches, it is almost certain that this $9 price point was a loss-leader for 415Keys and is unlikely to return unless they are aiming to fire sale the remaining stock after getting closer to closing down permanently.

Sunset Performance

Appearance

At the highest level, the Greetech Sunset switches come in an entirely opaque, pastel pink colored construction that is surprisingly few and far between in the grand scheme of modern keyboard switches. While there are more than a few switches out there which have pink in them, very few have come in entirely pink colorways from stem to bottom housing, and none with as matte of a pink as these switches. Coming in 5-Pin/PCB mount construction, these linears are not really all that differentiable from any other switch out there save for their ‘Greetech’ nameplate that would likely be a rather strange sight to anyone not deeply entrenched in switches. As well, it should be noted that there is no confirmed knowledge of what the housing materials used in the Greetech Sunsets are and that the closest guess that could be wagered is full-nylon housings, as this is what has been confirmed to have been used in other opaque Greetech offerings previously. All of the other details, or lack thereof, worth mentioning about these switches can be found at the component and mold-detail level and are discussed in the following paragraphs below.

**Figure 5:** Greetech Sunset switches and their components.

Looking first to the top housings of the Greetech Sunset switches, these pastel pink housings of unknown material are largely non-descript and feature very little worth mentioning, let alone that would make them stand out from the backdrop of hundreds of other switches. The most interesting thing about them, funny enough, is seeing the ‘Greetech “G”’ nameplate on a housing other than a clear- or black-colored background. Externally these feature incredibly restricted LED/diode slots with only a thin rectangle available within a centered circular cutout. Unlike some other switches documented on this site that have the extra blocking material over the left- and right-hand sides of the LED/diode rectangle slot, the Greetech Sunsets do not have any mold markings or identifying marks there. As well, the Sunsets do not feature any internal mold markings in the top housings that would help differentiate them from other brands or switch manufacturers. In fact, I can’t find any details really worth noting here that aren’t accounted for or captured in the photos below.

**Figure 6:** Greetech Sunset top housing external design showing severely restricted LED/diode slot and 'Greetech' nameplate.

**Figure 7:** Greetech Sunset top housing internal design showing lack of any unique features or identifiable design points to separate them from other switches.

Moving next to the stems of the Greetech Sunset switches, these too are surprisingly barren of details and feature next to nothing that differentiates them physically from other switches out there on the open market today. In fact, these switch stems are so barren of the detail that they are also absent of mold markings on the faces of the keycap stem mounting posts – something which is so commonly seen in stems across the spectrum of manufacturers that I’ve habitually never mentioned it here before. The stems have a slightly tapered center pole, non-tapered slide rails, and small mold ejection circles on the front plate just above the stem legs as I’ve seen in hundreds of other switches prior. Perhaps the only thing that makes the stems kind of stand out in this day and age is that their measurements – at 12.37 mm in length and with slider rails that are 5.15 mm long – are notably outside of the long stem pole/shorter slider rail length meta that has seemed to be adopted in recent years. (Current running average as of the time of writing had average stem lengths at 13.08 mm and slider rail lengths at 5.03 mm across 484 different switches measured.)

**Figure 8:** Greetech Sunset stem front and back showing short, tapered center pole, non-tapered slider rails, and mold ejection circles on front plate of stem.

Unlike the top housings and stems before it, the pastel pink bottom housings of the Greetech Sunset switches are at least slightly more with the times and feature the most minor amount of interesting detail. Internally, there is a raised ring around the center pole hole, padding at the bottom of the slider rails, as well as mold ejection circles in the base of the housing and around the upper edge of the switch in line with more recent (read: past few years) of switch designs. The LED/diode slot is surprisingly closed in and over-designed for the restricted top housing slots that come in this switch, leading me to believe that the top and bottom housings were developed independently and then paired together in the creation of this switch. Externally, the only interesting details of note in the entirety of the Sunset’s designs come in the form of the sideways, two-part mold marking in the lower bottom right-hand corner of the housing and Greetech branding mark sideways between the two PCB-mounting pins. While readers may initially look at this and assume this to be inspired by Gateron’s more recent ‘anticounterfeit mark’ with a Gateron logo placed sideways between the PCB mounting pins, more experienced readers will recognize this mark as having been in Greetech offerings for many, many years. In fact, this bottom housing mark is what helped positively identify certain early Razer switches as having been manufactured by Greetech. Beyond these details, though, the Greetech Sunsets are otherwise largely plain and unadorned.

**Figure 9:** Greetech Sunset bottom housing interior showing structured LED/diode slot design, raised edge around center pole hole, and padded bottom out points on guider rails.

**Figure 10:** Greetech Sunset bottom housing exterior design showing 5-Pin construction, mold marking in lower right hand corner, and 'Greetech' logo in between metal PCB pins.

Push Feel

The Greetech Sunset switches feel like they are, largely, switches designed to exercise just how far you can decouple the in hand feeling of a switch from its actual numerical values and force curves. On paper, the force curves for the Greetech Sunset switches show that they are on the slightly heavier side of linear switches, with a more than full travel distance beyond 4.00 mm and a bottom out weight hovering between 70 and 75 gf. As well, replicates of these force curves will show you that these switches are pretty damn consistent between one another, and even so after having been broken in for quite some time. And yet, none of these values, charts, and graphs feel like they translate to the in-hand feeling at all. First and foremost, these certainly don’t feel like they are heavier linears. Prior to testing them out more thoroughly and analyzing the recorded force curves for them, I was easily convinced the bottom out of these switches sat somewhere in the low 60 gf-range. As well, I would have definitely expected these to have a longer travel distance than even the 4.080 mm distance recorded in the force curve below. Nearly all of the switches I tried have a sort of ‘black hole’ bottom out that makes the stems feel as if they sink into a deep quicksand more so than they ever actually reach a hard and fast stop. Finally, the consistency in the numerical output of these switches doesn’t actually feel replicated in the push feeling of the switches as well. While the quicksand-like bottom out is decently consistent across the batch that I received, quite a few switches feel as if they are noticeably heavier in weight than others, are a bit more sluggish to start their downstroke, and feel a bit more or less ‘flimsy’ than one another.

**Figure 11:** Force curve diagram for stock Greetech Sunset switch.

Further expanding on the ‘flimsy’ comment a little bit more, I suspect that a big reason some switches feel this way more so than others is also due to a mismatch in scratch across the batch of switches that I received. Broadly speaking, the Greetech Sunset switches have a fairly fine grain scratch that is consistently present throughout the stroke of all switches and not in any way mitigated by Greetech as they feature no factory lube whatsoever. More specifically, though, the scratch in some switches feels a bit larger in grain or more ‘sticky’ between the stems and bottom housings, the latter of which can cause some switches to feel like they more freely move around and/or stick to the housings depending on which end of the spectrum the variability lies. While none of these things are necessarily unexpected for a largely OEM-centered brand like Greetech, and it certainly is in line with performance of quite a few of their switches that were made before the Sunsets, it is a bit disheartening to see that there really is nothing special about the Sunsets performance wise.

Sound

Coming in on the quieter side of the linear spectrum, the ever-present scratch in the Greetech Sunset switches plays a key part in producing an overall sound profile that can be largely summarized as ‘quiet shuffling.’ Much like with the ‘Push Feeling’ notes above, there is also quite a bit of inconsistency in the sound of the Greetech Sunsets as well, with some switches having a bit more noticeable scratch sound than others, and others having faint ping coming from either the spring or the interface between the stem legs and the leaves. In fact, the most extreme examples of the Sunset switches with scratch almost add an extra layer of fiberglass-y like sound that is almost as much slippery as it is grainy and coarse on the ears. The housing collisions are rather disparate here too, with the bottom outs having virtually no sound when followed up quickly by the thin, plasticky sounding collision between the stem and top housing at topping out. If these were to have been manufactured with a little bit more intentionally, or if a significant amount of time and effort were to be put into aftermarket modifying these linear switches, then (and only then) would they really stand a chance at coming out at a fairly par for the course sound profile that wouldn’t be a limelight mashup of bad manufacturing execution.

Wobble

As would be expected of any other switch offered by Greetech previously, there is a pretty substantial amount of N/S and E/W direction stem wobble in the Greetech Sunsets. If the lack of mold details and execution of finer points of note in linear switches wasn’t evidence enough, its pretty clear here that these are not switches with a lot of Greetech research and development behind them. Prior to this switch Greetech was behind the times when it came to stem wobble and mold tolerances, and they will remain there after this switch as well.

Measurements

If you’re into this level of detail about your switches, you should know that I have a switch measurement sheet that logs all of this data, as well as many other cool features which can be found under the ‘Archive’ tab at the top of this page or by clicking on the card above. Known as the ‘Measurement Sheet’, this sheet typically gets updated weekly and aims to take physical measurements of various switch components to compare mold designs on a brand-by-brand basis as well as provide a rough frankenswitching estimation sheet for combining various stems and top housings.

**Figure 13:** Numerical details regarding the stock Greetech Sunset switch force curve diagram.

The latest in the content-adjacent work that I’ve picked up, the new ‘Force Curve Repository’ is now hosted on GitHub alongside the Scorecard Repository and contains all force curves that I make both within and outside of reviews. In addition to having these graphs above, I have various other versions of the graphs, raw data, and my processed data all available for each switch to use as you please. Check it out via the ‘Archive’ tab at the top of this page or by clicking any of the force curve cards above.

Break In

Break In Notes

17,000 Actuations

- At 17,000 actuations, the most noticeable change in the Greetech Sunset switches is that they do appear to get a bit more consistent with their scratchiness as compared to a random sample set of stock switches. While this could very well be a sampling error on my part, the fact that this trend continues into the switches broken in further steps does appear to suggest that it may actually be real.

- As is common amongst the vast majority of switches which have undergone break in testing on this site, the Greetech Sunsets’ stem wobble increases a bit in both N/S and E/W directions after having been broken in to 17,000 actuations.

34,000 Actuations

- While the Greetech Sunset switches broken in to 34,000 actuations were more internally consistent with respect to push feel than a random set of stock Sunsets, they have become noticeably scratchier and more grainy in their feeling when broken out this far. It’s almost more in line with the worst instances of Novelkeys Cream switches at this point than they may have been at the start.

- In addition to becoming noticeably more scratchy in hand, the sound profile of the Greetech Sunsets broken out to 34,000 actuations has also become increasingly overtaken by the scratch sound. I would almost certainly imagine that any realistic use of these switches long term in a build would require aftermarket lubrication.

51,000 Actuations

- Honestly, what else is there to be said that isn’t already well covered in the chart above. The Greetech Sunsets break in like absolute shit and are noticeably worse performing at 51,000 actuations than they were in the stock form – something that is entirely due to an increase in the aggressiveness of scratch in both sound and feeling.

**Figure 15:** Comparative force curve diagram showing no distinctive trend in change of Greetech Sunset force curve diagrams through the break in process.

Comparison Notes to Other Notable Linear Switches

Note – These are not aimed at being comprehensive comparisons between all factors of these switches as this would simply be too long for this writeup. These are little notes of interest I generated when comparing these switches to the Sunset switches side by side.

Tecsee Honey Peach

- As is expected due to the metal stem pole in the Tecsee Honey Peaches, they have a noticeably more firm, punchier, and abrupt bottoming out than the comparatively soft, seemingly bottomless feeling Greetech Sunsets.

- Even though Tecsee has never exactly been the best about the quality control of their mold tolerances, even the Honey Peaches have less stem wobble in both N/S and E/W directions than the Greetech Sunset switches.

- With respect to their overall sound profiles, the Sunsets are a bit more quiet and largely driven by their scratchy sound whereas the Honey Peaches are louder and with a more sharp, crystalline tone to them driven by their housing collisions.

Feker Emerald Cabbage

- In spite of the fact that there’s less than a millimeter total travel distance difference between these two switches, the Sunsets feel as if their bottoming out is significantly deeper into the switch than the Feker Emerald Cabbage switches.

- What little factory lube that was present in the Feker Emerald Cabbage switches straight out of the box makes all the difference in the smoothness comparison between these two switches. The Sunsets are clearly the more scratchy switch and it shows both in single switch to switch comparisons as well as a batch by batch comparison.

- The Feker Emerald Cabbage switches have noticeably less stem wobble than the Greetech Sunsets in both the N/S and E/W directions.

Cherry MX ‘New Nixie’

- In terms of their overall sound profiles, the Cherry MX ‘New Nixies’ are the most similar to the Greetech Sunsets on this list, though they are admittedly much more consistent when it comes to their sound than the Sunsets. Both of these switches are on the quieter side with scratch-forward sounds, though the New Nixies are a bit deeper and leathery in tone as compared to the smaller grain scratch in the Sunsets.

- Yes, even Cherry has outdone Greetech here in terms of stem wobble. It’s not often that Cherry is up to being the better switch in terms of stem wobble, but every switch has its day I suppose.

- These switches are also decently comparable in terms of their housing collisions as well, with the topping out being much more noticeable than the comparatively deep, softened bottoming out. The housing collisions are a bit more firm and substantial in the Cherry MX ‘New Nixies’, however.

Novelkeys Cream

- In spite of what these force curves may seem like, I could swear that my Novelkeys Cream that I am testing in hand feels slightly lighter in spring weight than the Greetech Sunsets. (In all reality, this is likely a function of manufacturing variability, though it could also be influenced by differences in how the scratch contributes to the overall push feeling as well.)

- Even though the Novelkeys Cream switches are certainly more than notorious for being scratchy out of the box, they are at least much more consistent and even with their scratch than the batch of Greetech Sunsets that I received for this review.

- The Novelkeys Cream switches have a bit less stem wobble in the N/S and E/W directions than the Greetech Sunset switches.

Designer Studio Graphite Gold

- The lengthened stem pole in the Designer Studio Graphite Gold switches lends to them having a much more sharp and pointed bottoming out than the Greetech Sunsets in a similar fashion as to the comparison with the Tecsee Honey Peach switches above.

- As a result of their factory lubing, the Graphite Gold switches are noticeably smoother than the Greetech Sunset switches and make for a much better usable out of the box feeling.

- Mentioning it at least one more time to help pad out the word count – the Greetech Sunsets do in fact have more stem wobble than the Graphite Gold switches in both N/S and E/W directions.

Gateron Box Ink Pink

- In terms of linear switches, the Gateron Box Ink Pinks may as well be on the opposite end of the switch spectrum from the Greetech Sunsets – they’re louder, thinner, higher pitched switches which are decently smooth and have noticeable and distinctive housing collisions.

- The out of the box smoothness of the Box Ink Pinks, both in a single switch comparison and across a batch of many switches, is more consistent and smooth feeling than the Greetech Sunsets.

- Looking at their force curves below, it is almost as if the Box Ink Pinks are just a truncated version of the Greetech Sunsets, pulling up at 3.00 mm of travel distance rather than the (more than full) >4.00 mm travel distance that the Sunsets go down.

Linearity

If you are just now seeing this section for the first time and are a bit confused as to what I am talking about when discussing ‘Slope’ and ‘Linearity’, I highly suggest checking out my article titled ‘On Differences in Linear Switches’ where I explain what this section is for and how it came to be! For a bit of a shorter answer, know that this is part of my ongoing attempt to better quantify and articulate differences between linear switches which have historically not been captured in discussions about them.

Scores and Statistics

Note – These scores are not necessarily completely indicative of the nuanced review above. If you’ve skipped straight to this section, I can only recommend that you at least glance at the other sections above in order to get a stronger idea of my opinion about these switches.