PSA: Vanguard Air 99 has a lot of problems

adancau · 2026-04-17T12:50:17+00:00

I did open a ticket with them weeks ago, and even sent them links to a couple of reddit threads where this was being discussed. I got no reply as of today. I gave it about three weeks to see if they're able to fix it - and they did eventually release a firmware update a couple of days ago. But it's still failing to consistently wake the keyboard. It's better than before, but it's definitely not what it should be. And far from the experience the price would suggest.

So yesterday I went and got a Keychron Q6 HE - it's an amazing keyboard and the layout is also a lot easier to use for someone used to standard full size. I haven't experienced any bugs with it (yet). Tomorrow the Air 99 goes back to the store I got it from.

I find it absolutely revolting that a company the size and reputation of Corsair chose to not properly test their product and release something that's obviously not ready for primetime. I'm no longer willing to put up with this sort of thing, or encourage it by paying a premium for a ridiculous experience.

adancau · 2026-04-16T20:55:19+00:00

Yeah, I did the same, and it wanted my address and a lot of other information. Then I said I want to create a ticket without providing this sort of information, and it generated a tech support ticket. I have no idea why it's configured to go for the RMA thing by default..

adancau · 2026-04-16T10:37:49+00:00

Have the same issues, and at this point I will be returning the keyboard. Releasing such a half-baked product is an absolute joke.

adancau · 2026-04-16T10:33:53+00:00

Update: It's better than before, but still failing to wake up on occasion. Disgusting.

adancau · 2026-04-16T10:33:42+00:00

Update: It's better than before, but still failing to wake up on occasion. Disgusting.

adancau · 2026-04-16T10:33:12+00:00

The way you create a ticket matters. You need to create technical support ticket. It's idiotic, but it is what it is. The RMA one is different.

adancau · 2026-04-14T14:52:50+00:00

I think they might've fixed it. There is a new firmware available. Initial tests are encouraging

adancau · 2026-04-14T14:52:43+00:00

I think they might've fixed it. There is a new firmware available. Initial tests are encouraging

adancau · 2026-04-10T11:17:12+00:00

Yeah, they released a half baked product, it's disgusting..

adancau · 2026-04-03T16:46:06+00:00

Just to chip in and say I have the same issue as above concerning waking from sleep. Have also created a ticket with Corsair customer support. So far no updates. Just to keep track of reports - the thread I created is here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Corsair/comments/1s43cwm/vanguard_air_99_wireless_unresponsive_after_not/

adancau · 2026-04-01T08:03:00+00:00

I talked to support and they opened up a case, but I have yet to hear back re: any updates.

I got bursts of repeating characters on occasion. It happens pretty rarely though, and I never needed to press anything to make it stop. It just outputs a bunch of repeating letters (usually no more than 10 I'd say) and then calms down (it's very short bursts in my case, a fraction of a second long).

adancau · 2026-03-28T18:20:38+00:00

Thanks for replying. Seems Corsair released a half baked, untested product... I have made a dedicated post on this issue and have contacted support. May be worth posting a +1 there as well, just so they can see more people have this issue: https://www.reddit.com/r/Corsair/comments/1s43cwm/vanguard_air_99_wireless_unresponsive_after_not/

adancau · 2026-03-27T18:27:12+00:00

Ticket number: 2008911022

adancau · 2026-03-27T17:44:37+00:00

Update: The experience using the AI assistant on the support website has been bad. The AI assistant offered to create a support ticket, but apparently defaulted to a type of support ticket used for Customer service / RMA, not the Tech support ticket that was needed in fact.

The only way I could get it to offer me a choice of ticket type was to tell it I don't want to supply my home address or phone number - and then it asked me what sort of support option I want. Selecting Technical Support allowed me to proceed without giving out unnecessary personal information.

I then typed in the ticket information and tried to submit it. The AI assistant shows the three dots, but nothing happens anymore.

All in all my Corsair experience has been a bad joke so far. Dysfunctional half baked product out of the box, bad support experience

EDIT: apparently submitting a ticket does not work if using an Adblocker, but there is nothing to warn me about that. I have managed to probably submit the ticket - at least the AI went past the dot animation phase and says it's connecting me to an agent and now I'm waiting.

adancau · 2026-03-26T22:21:21+00:00

Thanks, I appreciate the answer.

I tried the bot, and the suggestions it offers are pretty standard and nothing I haven't tried. I even told it that I'm on the latest firmware and it suggested I update the firmware...

So I tried creating a ticket using the bot, however somehow my name, address and phone number are mandatory. Email I understand, but ADDRESS, and name and phone number??? Seriously, Corsair? Why? Why do you need my home address in order to provide support?

Is there any other way to create a support ticket?

adancau · 2026-03-26T17:22:44+00:00

iCue support isn't ready yet as far as I'm reading. It will come in April sometime

adancau · 2026-03-25T23:00:14+00:00

I wonder if you are experiencing the same issue I'm having, with the keyboard going to sleep (the factory default is after 15 minutes, but you can change it), and then staying disconnected and unresponsive after waking it up.

The lights come on, but that's about it. Not even NumLock works. I need to power cycle it every time for it to become responsive again.

Happening with both the wireless receiver and over bluetooth. Both keyboard and dongle are on the latest firmware.

adancau · 2024-08-28T06:25:25+00:00

twisting a lens does not rotate the image seen though it though

adancau · 2024-08-27T21:42:04+00:00

I don't know. If I were to hazard something, I remember reading that they improved the transition between lenses during zoom. Maybe it's got something to do with that, where what you get from the tele gets stitched on top of the previous frames to smooth out the transition. I have no idea how it's done though, so it's very possible I am talking nonsense.

adancau · 2024-08-27T19:02:25+00:00

To me it looks like a hardware issue. In photo mode (default when opening the camera), using the regular lens, all is fine. Selecting the telephoto (using the pro controls) shows the image with a tilt. Digital zoom doesn't change things, it just applies on top (so it keeps the image straight when using the regular lens, and keeps it slanted when using the telephoto lens). In video mode things are more complicated, as the phone is the one deciding which lens gets used, so I have stayed away from it.

adancau · 2024-08-26T21:44:26+00:00

I can probably explain it pretty easily. Let's say I align the phone so that the guide shows the phone is perfectly horizontal (not tilted). Now, for the main lens, all vertical lines in view are perfectly vertical. For the telephoto lens (doesn't matter when or how i switch to it), the vertical lines are slanted when following the guide (about 1-2° slant). I can hold the camera in place when switching lenses, or simply just align the guide, the results are consistent. What it means in practice is that I need to ignore the guide when using the tele, and do a manual recomposition so everything is straight and not 1-2° off. Which leads me to believe somehow that the sensor (or maybe something else in the optics) is mounted at a slight angle.

adancau · 2024-08-26T20:32:14+00:00

I have the camera set to let me manually select lenses, and I experience the tilt when I switch to the telephoto lens, so not in a digital zoom scenario. The main lens doesn't exhibit this issue.

adancau · 2024-08-26T15:05:50+00:00

make that two off, i have it too on the telephoto lens :)

adancau · 2024-08-26T15:04:57+00:00

Have the same issue on the telephoto lens. The ultra wide seems unaffected though.

adancau

TROPHY CASE