Fixing Function Keys on Mechlands Vibe99 on Linux

The Mechlands Vibe99 keyboard is an excellent value mechanical keyboard, but on Linux it is detected as an Apple Aluminium Keyboard (ANSI). This causes the F1–F12 keys to act as media keys by default, and some Fn key combinations may not work as documented.

This guide provides a universal, distro-agnostic fix to restore normal function key behavior.

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📌 Symptoms

• F1–F12 act as media keys (volume, brightness, play/pause, etc.) without pressing Fn.
• KDE/Linux keyboard settings may not solve the issue.
• Keyboard appears as "Apple Aluminium Keyboard (ANSI)" in lsusb.

1️⃣ Verify keyboard detection:

Run:

lsusb

Example output:

Bus 001 Device 004: ID 05ac:024f Apple, Inc. Aluminium Keyboard (ANSI)

2️⃣ Check the hid_apple kernel module:

Run:

lsmod | grep hid_apple

Example output:

hid_apple  28672  0

3️⃣ Temporary fix:

Note

To immediately test correct F1–F12 behavior:

Run:

echo 2 | sudo tee /sys/module/hid_apple/parameters/fnmode

4️⃣ Make the fix permanent:

Note

Create a configuration file for the module:

Run:

echo 'options hid_apple fnmode=2' | sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/hid_apple.conf

5️⃣ Then regenerate initramfs:

Note

Depending on your distribution

Ubuntu/Debian:

Run:

sudo update-initramfs -u

Fedora/RHEL:

Run:

sudo dracut --force

Arch:

Run:

sudo mkinitcpio -P

6️⃣ Restart the system:

Run:

sudo reboot

Important

The keyboard will still appear as Apple Aluminium Keyboard in system tools. This fix works for most Linux distributions (Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, Arch, and derivatives).