Megadesk

Name: Megadesk
SKU: 15639
Price: 38.00 USD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4.78 (103 reviews)

(103 Reviews)

Megadesk is an open-source, drop in controller for the IKEA Bekant standing desk

Designed by Greg's Tinker Town in Canada

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2019-02-16T13:47:31.461Z-megadesk batch 1.jpg

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Megadesk is an open-source, drop in controller for the IKEA Bekant standing desk

Dec 16 - Canada Post service resumes Dec 17; significant mail backlog is expected. I am disabling all shipping options without tracking for approximately 1 month. Updates June 2023 - Megadesk Compani…

Dec 16 - Canada Post service resumes Dec 17; significant mail backlog is expected. I am disabling all shipping options without tracking for approximately 1 month.

Updates

June 2023 - Megadesk Companion is now available for easy smarthome integration. All megadesks shipping now are the 5-pin version. If you want smart home integration for your Bekant, you will need to buy 1 companion + 1 megadesk. If you do not care about smart-home functionality, all you need to do is buy a megadesk (this page).

Full setup videos

Megadesk

Megadesk

Megadesk is an AVR based, open source, drop in controller for the IKEA Bekant standing desks.

The Bekant is a relatively inexpensive motorized standing desk. It doesn't come with memory positions.

I wanted to have memory positions for easily switching between various work positions. I also didn't want to be limited to just 2 positions. However, as I went through the process, I realized the hardest part was designing the enclosure. 3D Printing is a great option, but lacks that professional look, and limits the availability to those with printers. Additionally, getting custom membrane buttons that would look good was also extremely expensive. Simple push-buttons would take away from the look of the desk.

By targeting the factory enclosure, it keeps the original look and robustness, while adding functionality.

Installation

I now have a video covering some tips on installation. You can also read through some of the reviews below for user tips.

units now have a latch for the ribbon cable. It can be opened simply with a fingernail with very little force before sliding in the ribbon cable, and then pushing the latch back down to close.

Operation

Holding Up/Down moves the desk just like the OEM version.
Memory recall is done by short clicking the UP button. To recall memory position 3, you would push the up button 3 times. 3 beeps will be played back (representing memory position 3), and the desk will move to that position.
Memory store is done by clicking the UP button for the memory position you wish to save, but HOLDING the last click. To save memory position 3, you would push the up button twice rapidly, and on the 3rd press, hold it until 3 beeps are heard. The number of beeps represents which memory position it saved in.
There is no practical limit to the number of memory, although the AVR will have a hard limit if you get into the tens of positions. (Memory #1 does not exist, as holding the UP button is for moving the desk manually)
Any button can be pushed at any time to interrupt movement during a memory recall.

Assembly

Unplug the existing controller from the desk.

You will need to carefully pry apart the grey plastic enclosure. It has 3-4 attachment points, after that it is fairly easy. Scoring the seams with a sharp blade can help. Also, once re-assembled, the topside portion will not be visible, so minor cosmetic damage will not be seen.

Carefully remove the ribbon cable from the existing connector.

Connect the cable to the header. Reversing the connector will not cause damage to the unit - it will simply not power up.

Carefully insert the flat ribbon cable into the megadesk board, ensuring it is seated as far back as possible.

Connect the control unit back to the desk. When power is applied, you should hear a series of 4 beeps, rising in tone.

Test out the buttons, and enjoy having near-unlimited memory positions on your desk! You can use a small piece of tape or a dab of adhesive to keep the lid on the control unit, but it will be held in place once screwed back on the desk.

Troubleshooting

Please view the steps on github

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Review Breakdown

Average Ratings

Product: (4.92)

Documentation: (4.64)

Shipping: (4.71)

Communication: (4.84)

Ignas | Oct. 11, 2024

Great table improvement, I don't need to buy a new table now

After so many years of having a Bekant table, I can finally have height presets. Before buying I thought that the beeps would be annoying, but they are not loud and I actually prefer the audio feedback, because sometimes don't press the button accurately.
Also, even though shipping and import taxes cost me almost as much as the chip itself, it was totally worth it!

Joaquín Yeray | Oct. 10, 2024

The upgrade I needed for my desk

It works perfectly! It is easy to install and use. It makes my desk much more "smart". Good old times where I needed to play pressing up and down to reach my desired position.

Franco | Aug. 16, 2024

Great solution to turning an old desk into a smart desk

Had the IKEA desk and wanted something that had automatic lift and memory. this is a great solution and without having to shell out $800 for a brand new desk and having to dispose of the old one.

Experience installing:

Delivery was a bit slow, so if that's gonna be a factor for you make sure you pay a bit extra for shipping

Opening the case:

- Ok, I've seen and read a lot of reviews on this topic so here is my method: Identify one of the corners away from the buttons and drill to small holes in the back so that you can stick a flat head screw driver in the newly created hole. Once you pop one side off you should be able to make your way around, if needed make another hole in the opposite corner (away from the buttons!). took 5 minutes and didnt have to struggle with trying to pry it open, its gonna be hidden anyway.

Installing

once it was open, you just stick it in and attach the wires. be careful of teh ribbon cable (look at the sellers YT page and it has a very helpful video on instal).

The only thing I will say about the product is that the wire that it comes with is a bit shorter then the original, wish it was a bit longer but it should reach with no issues.

Nice product! highly recommend.

Jonatan | July 26, 2024

Very very good product

Megadesk is so good, work like a charm. 50 ish dollars with shipping is way better than buying a new 800 dollars desk. The box from the desk with the controller is a pain to open, but the video on the GitHub is very good for that. I recommend a lot. Have a nice day

James | July 13, 2024

Just what I needed

Spent more time taking apart the IKEA controller case than I did dropping in the board and swapping out the cables. A simple drop in replacement and working great for me.

Christopher | May 11, 2024

Megadesk works perfectly

I've had these IKEA desks for many years, and it's always been a little bit frustrating to try to put them in consistent positions. I stumbled across a mention of Megadesk in a post on Hacker News and it looked like just the thing.

Having installed it on one of my desks, I can't live without it on the other one and just ordered a second unit. The only troublesome part, which isn't the creator's fault, is that it's so hard to open the factory controller's case. I watched the video and I thought I would somehow do a better job with my collection of spudgers and experience cracking things open. Nope, I mangled it and I am convinced there's no other way. I'm not going to be so delicate on the second one since most of the cosmetic damage can't be seen anyway.

Thomas | May 10, 2024

Fantastic upgrade to my Bekant desk

Firstly, shipping was fast - 4 days to get from Canada to the UK - fantastic.

Installation was no problem - worst part was (as expected) opening the original housing - but I did it in a few minutes without doing too much damage (and the damage isn't visible once it's reinstalled anyway)

Thanks :)

Andy | March 18, 2024

Installed quick and easy

I saw all the videos of people tearing apart the controller, but I actually managed it pretty quickly.
Used a heat gun to warm up the edges and then wedged in a flat head screwdriver. Then just pried my way around the edges.
Just like many, I was worried I had messed something up... forgot to put the "key" back in when I hooked it back up. :)
All aorund, loving it and saved me $1000 on buying a new desk just for memory features!!

Vipul | March 7, 2024

Down key is not working for the Megadesk

I bought this and was very excited. I ordered it incorrectly initially and Greg was too considerate to educate me about the correct model.
I received it, yes it took a while but I think that delay I felt was due to my excitement.

I watched so many videos on how to configure it. But now, when I installed it after all that breaking in the motor piece, my down key is not seems working.
It is going up but NOT Down.

The second issue I am facing is with saving memory spots. I am not able to save those either.
Yes, it is making those noises which it should and it feels something is happening. (Haptics are really good)

Third, in the 5-pin model, which is getting shipped now, the ribbon does not fit properly. It works though, BUT it does not get into the jack completely.

But, I am really struggling with it to properly function.

please if anyone can guide or help me, what I am missing, because I am quite sure I did all the steps right.

Vivian | March 7, 2024

Saved me hundreds of dollars

I love my Ikea desk, but I've been eyeing other sit/stand desks with memory features. After some googling, I found this solution and pulled the trigger.

Shipping was quick; it arrived in less than a week from Canada to Miami. The installation was a bit hairy. I had to hammer the Ikea control open using some force, like others say, this is the hardest part. Installing the ribbon cable made me a bit nervous because the cable didn't go all the way through. I said a prayer, closed the hatch, and put the controller back on. When I heard those 4 beeps, I was ecstatic!

The setting instructions were clear. I did have to get used to the short delay when pressing the buttons, but I read somewhere that it was intentional to allow the controller to recognize if it was a configured press or just a normal press, so I can live with that.

Overall, I'm very happy with this product! It saved me from having to buy a new desk!

Henrique | Feb. 16, 2024

Just works

Works as advertised
Packaging could be better, specially for intercontinental shipping.
Some pins were slightly bent, assuming due to shipping.
The PCB cable route does not completely align with the casing.
Overall very happy.

David | Dec. 13, 2023

Fantastic result

I got a Megadesk and Megadesk Companion combo. The kit arrived well protected and following the instructions to replace the board in my desk and have it in Home Assistant was a breeze.

Everyone will agree the hardest part is opening the plastic case of the original board.

Highly recommended to 3D print the enclosure for the Companion board using the stl in the repository, the final result is really good.

Michael | Dec. 1, 2023

Instant replacement received

Had a problem with my boards, which Greg instantaneously rectified by sending another batch that work great now. Thank you for the great customer service!

Kirill | Oct. 28, 2023

Works perfectly!

The controller works perfectly! I just plugged it in, calibrated and set up the desired positions. That's all. Of course I forgot to put back the safety pin and nothing worked initially. I even started panicking a bit, but since I found out that I forgot to put back the safety pin (grey plastic cylinder), everything starts working as it should. Hardest part was to open the original IKEA controller's case (with buttons). Spent around an hour and almost destroy case's edges. But the damaged part of the case faces the surface underneath the table so it doesn't matter at all (you anyway will never see it again). Definitely worth the money! Absolutely love the sounds it makes (bip-bip, bop-bop :)

About the shipping. I initially ordered shipment to Cyprus with tracking, but unfortunately this option is not actually available for Cyprus. So, I reorder the regular shipment without tracking. I placed the order on 9th September and it was available for collection in Cyprus Post on 13th October (took a little bit over a month). Just in case, I also payed customs tax (7.47 euro) when I collected the order from the post office (common thing for Cyprus).

Adrien | Oct. 18, 2023

Amazing

It works great! So happy that I was able to upgrade my old desk :).

The Megadesk controller has truly transformed my IKEA Bekant standing desk experience. The added memory positions have been a game changer, allowing for seamless switching between work positions. I appreciate the attention to detail in keeping with the original enclosure—maintaining the desk's aesthetic while enhancing its functionality. It feels both robust and professional. Highly recommended!

Steven | Sept. 12, 2023

Turned this dumb desk into a megadesk

Once you get into the enclosure of the controller, which is the hardest part, connecting everything together was straight forward (if you read the instructions, unlike me which did not read the instructions). Usage is as easy as can be considering you only have 2 buttons and I LOVE that you have the option to have unique memory settings for both the up and down buttons. I only really needed 2 settings, one for up and one for down and the fact that you let me set the 2-press action for both buttons is great.

It worked right away and the beeps are a nice touch so you know if things are working.

The memory settings was the only thing I was sad that I was missing from my standing desk and this megadesk fixed that for me.

The only thing that would have been nice is if the cable was a bit longer as I originally had the controller on the far part of my corner desk and the cable that came with it isn't long enough for where I had it originally as I have the bekant corner desk.

Shane | Sept. 2, 2023

Had some issues, but Greg's customer service is fantastic

My first board seemed to be DOA. I reached out to Greg, he asked a little about what was going on, and when it was clear I had an issue that we weren't going to be able to troubleshoot he shipped a new board out ASAP (and it arrived faster than the original order). The new board is installed and working wonderfully. Very happy with my purchase!

Sergej | May 28, 2023

Made Bekant great again

Bekant has one problem - no presets, but Megadesk fixes the problem. It also has serial support, so can be extended by tinkerers as a hobby project. For example, I can control mine with an iphone (homekit), voice (Siri) or local network. Now I love my desk, and it's fun to use ("hey Siri, table up").

The only con is that the original Bekant enclosure can be a real pain to open in order to replace the board. But I didn't have to open mine, as I control it via serial.

Lukas | May 23, 2023

Something that should be included by default!!

I recently purchased an Ikea BEKANT standing desk and loved it so far. The only thing missing was a memory function so I could easily make the desk remember a couple of positions and recall them with simple presses without holding down the buttons each time.

Being a maker myself I already thought about reverse engineering the control unit but I was sure someone must've done that already. I quickly found this awesome project. While I could easily make it myself I opted to purchase the unit here in order to support the effort the creator had (also I didn't have the time right now).

It arrived in a bit over a week using standard shipping (based in Austria) and installation was a breeze. The only thing (that I was aware of due to other reviews and notes by the creator himself) I struggled a bit was the disassembly of the control unit as it was plastic welded together pretty much all around the perimeter. I ended up using a tiny flat screw driver and began prying on the short edges (where the mounting holes are). I also "weakened" the bond by using a razor blade. Then after applying a little bit of force the lid popped right off. After that the installation process was pretty straight forward.

I really like it so far and I'm planning on "hacking" together a homeassistant daughter board in the future, so I can use it in my automations.

I 10/10 can recommend purchasing this ready-to-go circuitboard!

Response from Greg's Tinker Town | May 23, 2023

Thanks for the kind words!

On the topic of the daughter board - stay tuned :) I have something in the works.

Basile | May 4, 2023

Excellent product

This is awesome and perfect for making my IKEA Bekant smart.
The description and the video are very useful!
It was easy to follow them, everything was clear. The only thing I had to do was to fight the enclosure to open it 😂

I have no excuse not to stand now 😄
Many thanks to Greg!

David | March 28, 2023

Great to bring new life to an old desk

I started looking for a new desk with memory function but this was exactly what I needed. I didn't do the best job to pry the case open but installation was easy (just remember to put in the pin when testing it) and since it is mounted under the table you can't really see the scrapes anyway.

Ramon | Feb. 16, 2023

Excellent product, bought 2 of them, fast shipping

Within a few days it arrived in the Netherlands, well packed.
Opening the Bekant took some force, used a dremel to get a start.
Once open, installation was a breeze.

Made a mistake with the second one I forgot to put in a piece of plastic, causing the interface to believer there was no safety pal inserted.
But that was all my vault.
The two of them works great, I highly recommend this

Can't wait to find the time and hook it up to Home Assistant (will need to read upon first how to get it done)
Not because I need it, but because it can! :-)

Zhaoxing | Jan. 12, 2023

works for my 2015 IKEA Bekant

This is an awesome product. Plugin to my 2015 IKEA Bekant and it works like a charm! Enjoying my new standing deak.

Michael | Jan. 8, 2023

Works great, but installation is a pain

The products works exactly as described. No documentation is included, so be sure to bookmark this page.
Installation was a real pain, as my controller was sealed all around, even in the front where two walls come up beside the „key-switch“.
I had to cut away some of the lid at the rear to get below the top plate, and use a good amount of force to snap off the rest of the plate all around.
Beware of the controller board directly under the top plate and make sure to apply force to the plate and not to the board.
When I finally managed to open the case with a bang, a part of the keyswitch fell off and I had to search the room for it :-)
Installation was no problem, and the flip-lock-connector for the ribbon-cable was helpful.

After repowering the desk everything worked. So I am happy. Great product!!!
Thank you so much Greg!

Dallas | Oct. 11, 2022

Great experience overall

Like many people before me I did some research on how to automatically control my IKEA Bekant sit stand desk and came across this project as the best way to do it. I made an order and waited about a month for the shipping to arrive to Australia. Like most other people I struggled to get the unit apart, even after reading the reviews and watching the videos. In the end I drilled a hole in the front corner without the ribbon and then pried it apart with a screwdriver. This caused some damage to the plastic but since it is under the desk you can't see it.

But unfortunately for me the first the unit didn't work. I tried all the troubleshooting steps at https://github.com/gcormier/megadesk and had different results as expected. Fortunately the original unit still worked so I knew the desk was okay. I reached out to Greg with my issues and he quickly responded and sorted things out right away. This product is awesome and has stopped me going out to buy a new sit stand desk just to have a memory feature to change heights between sitting and standing.

Many thanks again to Greg for making and supporting this product.

Edward | Aug. 22, 2022

This is perfection

Firstly, it arrived so quickly. UK delivery was in 4 days!

Same as everyone says, getting the top of the desk's control unit off is painful. It's got multiple long inner joins, I cracked a lot of mine but as it all ends up hidden I don't care. Just keep jamming a small screwdriver in sand pry it up. Work from the corners next to the cable, this makes sure you avoid the area with the ribbon cable.

The unit itself is easy to install. There's even a note on the board itself telling you where the red wire should go, making that step even easier. Follow Greg's video for help getting the ribbon cable back in.

Now that it's firmware got updated to let it perform the calibration steps, you don't need to keep the old board, although I have.

Very easy to use, it's literally the simplest functionality. Greg has made a great product and you should definitely buy one if you're on the fence.

His GitHub page has plenty of documentation.

Love it, great purchase. Nice one Greg.

Pi-1356 | Aug. 20, 2022

Worst exactly as described

Worst exactly as described and it arrived safely (Canada > Miami,FL > Dominican Republic). Opening the Ikea control was difficult because it's welded shut, but that was fairly warned on the installation video. So no surprises there. What I ended up doing was taking a chunk off the side with an Exacto knife until I finally saw a glimpse of the inside. Then, I simply pried it off.

Thank you so much for this product!

Stephen | June 11, 2022

FANTASTIC UPGRADE Easier to open than feared with right tool

SO SO SO glad that google took me to this fantastic desk upgrade. Using two button mode I now have double tap down to sit, double tap up to stand, its just what the Ikea should have done. If you are reading this wondering whether to buy - HELL YES.

Greg is a genius - all you need to do is open the unit (see notes below) swap over the circuit board, a replacement wire is supplied and buttons connect with a small ribbon cable that's easy to connect, sorted !

UK shipping - just SEVEN days.

The elephant in the room, opening the damned unit, lots easier than I thought and afterwards, once you push the bent plastic back with the shaft of a screwdriver, there is only a slight whiteish line at the top to say anything ever happened. For me the secret was as below, took just 5 minutes, don't touch anything else (don't go around all the other edges for example, not needed, doesn't help and causes unnecessary damage).
1. Just using a sharp thin blade open up the gap at the back near the corner away from the wire.
2. Insert a 2-3 mm screwdriver (I used one of those mains checker ones that has a neon light inside for mains voltage warning), you will need to push down and under the top cover, it will make some damage, but like I said above, afterwards its hardly visible. You need to work it in and lever open the top until just that corner snaps open. You are now home and dry !
3. Work around the sides snapping open first the near side then the far side.

Glenn | June 8, 2022

Works great! Easy to install! Definitely would recommened

For the life of me i do not understand why IKEA does not currently sell a desk with the ability to set height profiles.

Thankfully this exists. Easy to install and works great.
- quick presses recalls that heigh profile (2 press for profile 2, 3 presses for 3)
- quick presses then a long press to set that profile to the current height

Izipizi. Hardest part about it is prying off the back plate to the controller housing, check out his video above on how to do that.

It looks like on his video that the ribbon cable sits very far into the port, but mine couldnt go very far in. But I was able to lock it in proply with the small latch.

Oh and don't be like me and forget to put the plastic key back in and wonder why it doesnt work lol.

took about a couple weeks to get to me in Australia.

VERY NICE APPLE SLICE

Dimitrios | May 20, 2022

Essential hack for your ikea POS

This little board makes your BEKANT a joy to use rather than a chore. The hardest part, to quote everyone, is opening the box. If I do this again, I'm going to use a (tiny) power tool. It can be quite hazardous without the right equipment (yes, I drew a little blood). Still, huge thanks to the brilliant creator! Next up: connect to HA/mqtt, but thats another story.

Kevin | April 30, 2022

The addon that makes my Bekant complete

The memory function is really a crucial missing feature of the original Bekant desk.
I can only imagine that IKEA has not implemented it for safety reasons.
However, plenty of other manufacturers have this feature.

Luckily there is megadesk providing me with that feature.

Shipping to Germany would have been 7 days or less without the easter holidays.

The tricky part was opening the control unit.
I drilled the corners as others suggested. But I still had to apply quite some force to crack the other welding spots.

Megadesk works fine for me but there are two things that deteriorate the very good impression (thus 4/5 stars):
- The desk isn't as responsive compared to the original control unit. You have to keep pressing the controls for a little while until the desk starts moving.
- I have the impression that the step size for height adjustment is bigger compared to the original controller. It's still fine enough but something you wonder when first experiencing.

Response from Greg's Tinker Town | May 1, 2022

Hi Kevin! Thanks for the kind words.

The delay is indeed there as the firmware has to provide some sort of delay to know if you are going to release the button and use the memory function, or hold it to manually move the desk.

It is configurable in the firmware, but the firmware I flash contains a sort of "middle of the road" value that I use.

Moritz | April 20, 2022

Works as promised, well documented installation

I have a BEKANT, the control module said 2020-22 Rec.: C and it worked well. I was a little surprised how much scraping was necessary to remove the lid of the box but it worked out well after a lot of prying.
Shipping to Germany was very fast taking 9 days from the day of ordering.

June | April 15, 2022

Best possible addon for an IKEA sit/stand desk you can get!

Easy install, awesome functionality. Absolutely cannot have an IKEA desk without one. This totally transformed my desk into a workplace that I enjoy instead of fight with.

Artem | March 22, 2022

It just works!

My first purchase on tindie. The Megadesk is the definition of a drop-in replacement. No issues installing whatsoever (aside from initial struggle with opening of factory control box, but that's nothing to do with Megadesk. F* you IKEA!), and operates like a clock!

After installing the Megadesk my Bekant table finally reaches its intended purpose and full potential. IT SHOULD'VE BEEN LIKE THIS FROM THE FACTORY!

True power and spirit of libre culture and grassroots approach to owning you furniture, bravo Greg!

Jimmy | March 15, 2022

It Works really well

It took 3 Weeks to Receive with mail letter shipping. I recommend the tracking option. I installed it in 5 min after Watching the video.

I forgot to turn off the Power. It was making 3 continuos bip sound. Everything came back to normal after the Power reset.

I puchased that for my wife. I Made her Day.

Brian | Feb. 26, 2022

Excellent upgrade for my 2015 IKEA Bekant

Case removal was difficult, the rest was easy. It didn't work on the first try, and when the Troubleshooting asked if I had inserted the safety key I had to laugh, that was the issue.

The review that suggested drilling out all the corners was the only way I got the cover removed. I had previously tried a dremel cutting wheel deeply around the edges and could only bend down the sides trying to pry it off. After drilling the holes, I used the shank of the bit as the pry bar in the holes. Mine was so securely glued on the ridges down the center from the control surface it bent and discolored before giving up.

Martin | Feb. 8, 2022

Works like a charm.

During the installation, the opening of the plastic button housing of the IKEA desk is arguably a bit tricky, but the instruction videos on youtube really do help a lot.

Denis | Jan. 27, 2022

Works fine!

Absolutely love my Megadesk!

Fro business owner: would be even better if you put a twice long wire in the set, so it can feet wider desks. I have a custom 180X110cm table, so I made an extension to the wire.

Gunther | Jan. 3, 2022

Excellent product

Greg was very helpful both before my purchase and when the first shipping attempt failed. The device works exactly as described, and I seem to be one of the lucks ones as the lid of the controller box is only held on by one plastic piece that can be slightly bent to open, so the whole exchange took less than 5 minutes. Naturally I initially forgot to re-insert the "key" and panicked that it wasn't working, but with the human problem out of the way, it's all perfect.

Christopher | Dec. 31, 2021

I am in love

Works perfect! Took about 20 minutes to get up and running, 17 of those dealing with the infamous case. I was being pretty careful and I still sliced through half my ribbon cable. Almost had a heart attack, thankfully it was the side without leads!

I thought about doing this myself, but as other reviewers pointed out, this was 1000x easier and a far better final product than anything I could do. Thanks for making this! Hello from Toronto!

Patrick | Dec. 13, 2021

Awesome!

I recently bought the Megadesk because I was too cheap to get the more expensiv table that has build in height storage.
Shipping was considerably fast to Germany and about a week. Product looks well made and parts fit well in the case.

Opening the Controller though was a bit of a pain even with the help of the how to.
I ended up ripping of some parts at the back to pry it open. The lid or plate I'd rather call it is really thick, about 2-3 mm and you need to scorch pretty deep around the controller (not the front where the buttons are!) to get good leverage.

So far the controller does everything pretty well although I sometime struggle to get him to recognize my commands to raise/lower to desired stored position (might be only me with too fast/slow tapping of buttons).

Gavin | Nov. 26, 2021

One small change one major upgrade

The item arrived quickly and was easy to install and works really well! Its amazing how much easier it has made the transitions from sitting to standing

Andreas | Nov. 23, 2021

A normal desk became a beautiful Megadesk!

With the instruction video, it was very easy to install the board. I've been using it for a couple of weeks and it just works!

Alexey | Nov. 21, 2021

Works as intended

It was kind of hard to open the plastic box to swap internals but it took me 10 minutes, also damaged the plastic box while opening but that doesn't matter and Ikeas fault :)

Delivery to Russia was 40 days.

Joey | Oct. 26, 2021

Great upgrade for a Bekant Sit/Stand Desk

It was fairly quick and easy to modify the original controller to install this — the video guide was very helpful.

Harrison | Oct. 18, 2021

Amazing + quick install

This is amazing! It took me 5 mins to get installed and working, with me messing up on the wire direction. Thankfully you built in that error checking. I turned the wire around and all works perfectly. I was going to build one of these myself until I found this, you saved me a lot of valuable time! Great work! I know a lot of people have benefited greatly.

Lars | Oct. 4, 2021

Great product and awesome customer service

I purchased the module, because I was just to lazy to use my desk. Therefore I bought the module. The first one got lost while shipping. But Greg easily replaced it and sent me another one. Thanks Greg! 👍. It arrived after 7 business days in Germany.
The module it self works flawlessly. Opening the original IKEA module was a bit time consuming - drilling two holes in the backplate helps.

Thanks for this great invention Greg!

Response from Greg's Tinker Town | Oct. 5, 2021

Thanks Lars! Tracked shipping is indeed a much faster and safer option these days. Glad you are enjoying it!

Kevin | Sept. 13, 2021

Works perfectly, easy to install

Does what it says on the tin, which is great!

I guess I need 100 characters.. does this get me to it?

J.W. | Sept. 5, 2021

This is controller that should be delivered by default

This replacement controller for my desk makes me using its again for its purpose: working at different heights. With the Megadesk, changing the height is simply a matter of a couple of clicks. No longer fiddling with the buttons to get to the "right" height!
The documentation is good, and easy to follow. I already had taken a look inside the desk controller before, so I didn't need to open up the housing anymore. I was surprised that the controller includes a replacement cable as well, making the installation really simple. Some additional attention in the documentation for the alignment of the cabling would be a nice addition; you now need to take a good look at the supplied photos, but a couple of lines in the documentation would be helpful.

In all, this is truly a great replacement and actually the controller that the desk should have had from the beginning.

Xavier | Aug. 12, 2021

Great service, highly recommended

If I could, I would give a 7/5 stars. Very patient and solved my problem without any hassle. Awesome service!

Dara | Aug. 11, 2021

Seller was really great

There was an issue with my first order but the seller was very helpful in getting it sorted out.

It was easy to install and works like it should apart from the occasional bug needing a re-plugging of the unit.

Great way to save on paying full price for the memory buttons.

Alexander | July 25, 2021

Thank you for this upgrade of the Bekant desk!

For me the main challenge was to breakup the case of the control unit. As in the video I did cut along the case cover into the glue but with less success. So initially I was a little bit disappointed. But then I did drill a hole into the corner of the case cover with a rechargeable driller. When this hole was large enough to get in with a screw driver, I could beginning from this hole pry and break up the case cover along the glue joint. I was a little bit afraid to break the whole case, because some force was required, but it is quite stable and only the cover was damged. The hole in the cover or any other damages there don't matter, because they can't be seen after fixing the control unit back at the desk. Then I followed the steps in the video. Only when connecting the motor cable I was a little bit unsure which orientation is the right one to connect the small plug. To find out the right position I compared the colours of the wires with the video. Maybe the position of this conjunction is irrelevant, I don't know. But everything worked after reassembling and I was very happy.
The delivery was fast and tracking was also quite helpful.
I am very happy to have this very much desired memory function now! Thank you for inventing this!

Alexander | June 13, 2021

This is amazing!

So had the idea to make something that i don't have to press and hold the buttons all the time for it to move but i had problems open the enclosure (i read that there isn't any good way to open it so i just cut it open with small milling cutter) so i searched for a how-to and i found "Megadesk" and it is amazing!

But i had one Problem but it turned out it had nothing to do with Megadesk but i'm going to describe it if someone got the same Problem:
At some Position the desk would stop whe going up, it looked like one spindle got stuck sometimes, with the oem-board the desk would stop at this position but when you pressed the up button again the desk continued moving up. But with the Megadesk-board it just stop at this point and would not move in any direction anymore. Anyway i figured out that it was an mechanical Problem, the middle segment of the telescope is mounted to some plastic plate that holds the spindel, this plate was not mounted correctly so i fixed this and now it works perfeclty.

greetings from austria! (shipping was also pretty fast)

Sebastian | May 25, 2021

It's great once you get the dang glued ikea control box open

So this really is a game changer (or better a table changer) for me. I use the "standing" height much more since this great board made everything so automatic. Super awesome. But boy was opening the glued box for it a hassle. Like: I had to really "break" it apart - and yes, its still usable / attachable. Important -
its not the Megadesks fault. But be prepared to do some break-open damage and plastic carnage to it to get it to the point where you can switch the boards. And watch both videos. After that, in the end its just click - click - click - screws back on - works. And thats awesome. Ikea should hire that boards creator and let him make the real deal for everyone.

Alexander | May 25, 2021

Great gadget

Got mine today, much faster than promised (it took 1 week to germany, tracked shipping). Opening the case was not easy - i broke the lid. But that doesn't matter, since you wont see it when the case is mounted. Didn't work at first, reinserted the original PCB, did a recalibration, and reinserted Megadesk - works like expected :-D

Thanks Greg

Nils | May 21, 2021

Best purchase regarding my homeoffice

I love that gadget. No stress, no pushing the buttons all the time - and it remembers the needed heights (as I don't myself and always had to figure it out manually.

The first Megadesk had one mistake (obviously during shipping - not Greg's fault). Greg was super nice and sent another part out - which works well.

Would always buy again - both the gadget and with Greg. Thanks for this invention and regards from Cologne Germany

Søren | April 27, 2021

Great product

Very happy with the megadesk. A little challeging to break Opel the original Bekant controller casing but installation of the megadesk was painless

Michael | April 21, 2021

Immensely improved usability of the BEKANT desk

Soon after purchase of the desk I started thinking 'you are wasting
too much time trying to keep a steady finger while watching it winding
up or down and for micro-adjusting", which - more often than not -
kept me from doing it. II therefor began looking for a way to measure
the desired heights for sitting and standing via either two marks on
the legs/wall, or a reflection distance meter. Then, if I could "press
the buttons" using MOSFETs / analog-switches / reed relays...

Fortunately, while looking for the metering stuff on the net, I found
a hint about someone decrypting the servo protocol and finally the
link to Greg's super fine, much more professional project. It took a day
to decide, a week for delivery and half an hour to install and program
the two positions.

I use it at least 4 times each day in home office and it works
flawlessly. I often thought I should thank Greg for this work, but -
see, I care about 4 x 45s/day ;-)

Luckily there was a reminder from tindie-bot today, so:

Thank you, Greg! I now like my desk much more.

Response from Greg's Tinker Town | April 21, 2021

You are very welcome! I am glad you enjoy it :) It has been so long I've been using megadesk, but your review reminds me of the early days and the fine tuning of height, etc.

Andrey | April 11, 2021

Greg rules!

After getting past the plastic case, installation was smooth and the controller works perfectly. Delivered to Russia without a hitch, except for some delay due to the whole pandemic.

I think that memory positions for electric desk is a must, because it lowers the effort needed to stand up, and provides more incentive to do so during a busy day when every minute counts, and Bekant desk is so sloooow. Now I can stand up to do a little stretch or take a sip from a bottle, and when I'm done, the desk is up and ready.

Ikea deserves no praise for leaving out this essential feature when it would take them next to no effort to include it in their controller. I'm very grateful that awesome people like Greg do the awesome job of correcting their mistakes and help us overcome the nonsensical quirks of capitalism.

Pepijn | March 23, 2021

Works great

It's awesome. I've had a standing desk for years but never change the height because I'm very picky about the desk height while sitting. Installation went smooth, the hardest part was getting the lid of the controller open.

Miloslav | March 8, 2021

Finally at home and working

Shipping took 4 weeks to Czech Republic and Instalation was in plug&play way as advertised. I made a external switching of buttons by external relays to integrate it into my smarthhome. Now every mornig I have default possition of my desk and that is really priceless!

Megadesk solved my thoughts to tune up Ikea desk. Thank you!

Glenn | March 6, 2021

Worked as advertised

Took some tinkering... finally figured out to calibrate with the original one, install the new one, plug it in, unplug for 30 seconds, change the mode to work with my desk, unplug it for 30 seconds, then it worked!

Gina | March 4, 2021

Just what I always wanted!

Bought this a while ago, but only now got around to actually installing it. Installation was absolutely smooth with the video instructions and done less than 5min after I finally got past the lid of the stock controller (friction welding really should be outlawed). I tried to reverse engineer my desk 5 or 6 years ago when I got it, but I was unsuccessful (lack of experience 😅). Being able to simply buy a drop in replacement that does what I tried to achieve a few years later is absolutely awesome 🥳

Alexander | March 1, 2021

Great product

Bought 2 for my home office and for my "real" office. Works just as it should and did fit perfectly in the original IKEA box. Shipping took like 6 weeks, mostly due to customs and toll, I live in Sweden. I would bye it again if I got more desks and it's worth the waiting.

Wim | Feb. 10, 2021

Great deskhack!

Shipping to Belgium took a bit longer than expected (yay covid) but was up and running 30 minutes after opening the package. The included cable seems short at first but you probably already put the controls near one of the motors anyway, so plenty of length to do the job!

Documentation on installation is superb but opening the plastic case of the controller was a bit of a challenge. I used a thin-bladed knife to score around the edges but I don't think that helped much. Used a thicker blade with a good wedge to break away the lid from the body near the safety key hole so I could get a flat screwdriver in there and pry it open all around. Messed up the outer shell a bit but hey, it's under the desk, who looks there, anyways?

Tobias | Feb. 9, 2021

I love it

I was tinkering automated table movement myself but it was always very hacky. Now I've replaced my own tinkering with Megadesk and it's fantastic. Once serial control is in place (https://github.com/gcormier/megadesk/issues/12) I'm looking forward to connect an ESP32 to it and control the desk over the network, e.g. with MQTT.

Oliver | Jan. 23, 2021

Great enhancement of the IKEA Bekant, quick shipping

The Megadesk is awesome. Disassembling the original controller is the hardest part. I had to switch to the alternative mode to make it work, but also that was no issue given the nice FAQ.

Shipping to Germany was a breeze: ordered on the 10th, received on the 22nd. Thanks!

Martin | Jan. 20, 2021

Outstanding

At first, I had an issue, but it was my own fault I didn't see that the white piece that sits under the safety pin fell off while I disassembled my controller, so my desk wouldn't move.

But after figuring that out, it just worked!

Communication with Greg is great and fast, thanks again for your help in troubleshooting my mistake :)

Make sure to check out his GitHub, if you're good in electronics please help Greg make a USB version so that I can make an app :D

I'm concluding with the most difficult part which is - a surprise to no-one that is reading - the disassembly of the controller, I think I would suggest starting aside the black wire (the back) cutting diagonally with a exacto. Of course follow the video, but after that with a small flat screwdriver build a hole on each side of the black wire on the back. Once I got a hole in I was able to pry out, but it's a slow process. After all, remember that it'll stay under the desk. Unless you use your desk by being under it, it poses no issue to me!

As I told Greg, a great and useful plug-and-play-mostly-other-than-disassembly product :)

Frédéric | Jan. 10, 2021

Works perfectly, fits like OEM. Simple to use!

Fits perfectly into original unit once opened. Easy to configure. Read the whole documentation online as there is some special mode that you may require. I had a question and was answered very quickly.

This is such a nice upgrade to this desk!

thanks again!

Filippo | Dec. 29, 2020

Love it!

I am greatly enjoying Megadesk. Video instructions are super clear, both in terms of what to do and what not to do. I struggled a bit while opening the case the first time but after that it was smooth sailing. Happy to have bought Megadesk and support open source hardware.

Stephen | Dec. 10, 2020

Brings your Bekant up to par with other motorized desks

Works well on my Fall 2020 Ikea Bekant desk. Needed to put the controller into "variant" mode for it to work. Docs could have been slightly clearer on what that is exactly. Once I did that, everything worked as expected. The hardest part is definitely getting the enclosure open, at least for me. I'm used to quite involved disassembly, but typically where things are screwed together. You need to wedge a stiff screwdriver or equivalent at around a 45-degree angle near one of the "safer" edges as shown in the video, and then pry. If you don't get deep enough, prying really only separates and warps the outer wall, from my experience.

Enrico | Nov. 28, 2020

The missing piece for the now perfect sit/stand desk!!

After owning a 63” Bekant desk (sit only) for about 3 years decided to get the sit/stand frame about 2 weeks ago. Immediately loved it but found myself keeping a tape measure on my desk to measure the height every time I changed from sit to stand and viceversa so started looking online for memory controls and found the Megadesk. Ordered it immediately on Nov 20th and got it today, Nov 28th. Like every body mentioned the tricky part was to pry open the controller but thanks to this thread tips and Greg’s video, mine came back without any mayor damage. Installation took less than 5 mins. Now the non easy part was getting it to work. My frame was built on Sep 2020 so very recently. It took me several times to get Megadesk to switch to the Variant firmware. After many attempts, I figured that you have to press 16 times the UP button very fast, after that everything worked as designed. Tape measure is back in the drawer and now I love my Bekant desk even more. Thanks Greg for making such an amazing device the Really Works!!

BTW, USPS messed up with my Megadesk delivery sending the package to the wrong USPS sorting unit so I had to drive this morning 45 mins to get it but it was worthy of the 34 miles one way drive!!!

David | Nov. 22, 2020

Great product!!!

Easy to install, just read ALL the instructions, they are very clear about two types of motors in the Bekant desk. Just be patient taking the old controller apart, I used a small mechanical screwdriver to work my way around the whole controller casing, then it came apart.

Charles | Nov. 18, 2020

The missing piece!

This overcomes the one shortfall of the Bekant desk. The hardest part is opening the original case. I had to destroy more than I thought I would like to get it open. Once it's open, the installation is super simple, and getting it working w/ my larger Bekant (firmware setting w/ 16 presses of the up button, and holding the button) desk was a snap.

Response from Greg's Tinker Town | Nov. 18, 2020

Awesome, glad you enjoyed it Charles! I've just posted a new video with some tips on opening the case that hopefully are useful for future customers. It is indeed the hardest part :)

Tim | Nov. 4, 2020

Superb

Ikea should bundle with Greg's controller 👍

Trickiest part was prying open the controller box, but be patient and follow others' advice.

John | Oct. 30, 2020

Took a bit of fiddling to get right, but fab once working!

So I had multiple existential crises when the megadesk finally arrived as I really struggled to get it going, but once I did, it worked wonderfully!

Some of my findings:

1. There is a white piece of plastic which goes over the key button in order for the key to be registered. Mine flew out of the case when I finally got it open, and I didn't realise it was missing until later
2. I was convinced that I'd broken the ribbon for a while, as the only sounds I was able to get out of it where when the "up" button was pressed. I'd moved my table as far up as it could go so I could unscrew and work on the underside of the table, so I thought I'd either broken the cable or otherwise shorted the motor. Scary!
3. After playing around with the megadesk, I then struggled to get my original controller to work(!)
4. However after swapping the cables around and plugging the original controller into the other leg, and then running calibration, I was able to regain control of the table
5. I then re-ran the calibration to reset the table, then plugged in the megadesk, and - lo-and-behold - it worked!

I hope this is helpful :)

Sky | Oct. 15, 2020

megadesk chip issue

Hello there Greg,

I bought the megadesk a week ago and just today, I don't know what happened but the motor stopped responded, however there still beeps corresponding to the amount of times I pressed it. I have tried all the troubleshooting steps, but it does not seem to fix the issue, also the chip was quite warm when plugged in and you can feel it through the encasing. I have written a review because for some reason sending a message loaded the word "forbidden" and so I could not send it. I'll gladly change all the ratings to a 5 star if I can get a solution for the issue. Thanks so much!

Response from Greg's Tinker Town | Oct. 16, 2020

Hi,

I'm not sure why you are unable to send messages - if you reach out to Tindie support they can further assist. After which, we can hopefully converse to troubleshoot further.

Thanks,
Greg

Michal | Sept. 28, 2020

Wish I bought it sooner

Truly great product and it took only thirteen days from placing order to get here (Canada to Ireland)

Nina | Sept. 7, 2020

Saved my desk

Ikea controller was busted ( still could do the calibration but would stop working after 10 seconds or so ). this saved my desk

excellent docs on github. 99% of documentation was directly relevant to troubleshooting

entire thing took about an hour or so. half an hour just getting the housing open.

Benjamin | Aug. 11, 2020

Great product, glad I bought it

Trivial to install (used a butter knife and a Phillips head and that’s it). Worked perfectly with my Bekant. Shipped quickly. Thanks a lot :)

Kevin | July 27, 2020

An ace upgrade to the Ikea desks

I ordered two of these, and received them last week. I have two different ages of Bekant desk, and although initially one of them had a hiccup the creator helped me through it and it turned out there was already a way to fix it (I needed to switch into a "variant" mode for the newer desk). Apart from this, the trickiest bit was getting the top off the original controller housing; after watching a YouTube video I realised I had to prize it open from the back of the box, not the front or the side like I was trying.

All in all, a fantastic upgrade to the desk; thanks for making it Greg!

Vladimir | July 26, 2020

Good product, excellent support

I had a difficult relationship with my Ikea Bekant sit-stand. It acted on me until it stopped working upwards. I blamed the control board and ordered Megadesk replacement since there is seemingly no other alternative and it also has memory features. The setup is straightforward but did not fix the problem initially. I replaced the main power supply through a manufacturer's recall program but that still did not revive the table. Then Greg suggested trying motor reset (something I could not find on my own, by he shared for free). That fixed the problem and now I have Ikea Bekant with position memory buttons. I would not have solved the issue if I did not buy the Megadesk board and then received the seller's support.

Jack | May 24, 2020

Great product now I have a memory sit/standing desk

Works out of the box. Documentation can be found on the product buy page.
Arrived with a power cable that could be connected to the board and desk.

Love this product and the open source about it.

I'm not that good with a soldering iron. The seller has done a great job, looks clean and solid.

John | May 2, 2020

Great product

[Edit] I was mistaken below, the Megadesk DOES recall stored memory positions after losing power. I can only assume there was some kind of glitch that caused mine to lose its settings. The problem hasn't recurred. My original review is below, sorry for the incorrect assumption on my part!

This product has made my Bekant desk way more useful. Shipping was quick and the seller is super nice and communicative. My only problem with the product is it appears that if the desk loses power, all memory settings are lost. I shut off the power to my home office to replace a light fixture, and once power was back on, the desk wouldn't recall any settings - it just played a series of tones after pressing the button the normal number of times. Its easy enough to redo the settings, but was a little disappointing. I still highly recommend this product though as it makes the Bekant desk what it should have been from the factory.

I didn't have too much trouble opening the factory board enclosure. As others suggested, I (very carefully) tried cutting around the top cover, and then pried it open with a couple of metal spudgers from iFixit. Opened right up with minimal damage.

Response from Greg's Tinker Town | May 3, 2020

Thanks for the kind words John! Sorry to hear about the memory problems - can you try doing a firmware reset by holding DOWN while powering on the unit? That will wipe the EEPROM. Otherwise, send me a a message if you want to troubleshoot further, I'd be curious why it's not saving - it does write those positions to EEPROM when saved so it will persist with power off.

Dan | April 13, 2020

Awesome!

Shipped to the UK in around 2 weeks which was great.

As others have mentioned, opening the button enclosure is really painful - pretty much destroyed the top of mine (not that it matters, it’s hidden anyway, and it pretty much sits back in it’s place). Here’s some pictures I took of the process: https://imgur.com/a/zSRsihY. Score & cut through a section with a Stanley knife, then use a small screwdriver to get a hole, then a larger screwdriver to “pop” it up - most of it will pop apart, if any is stuck use your knife and screwdriver to pry the other side too.

Other than that, installation was a breeze - just disconnect the old board, connect the new one & the new cable.

I had some initial power-on issues where the board worked (and beeped) and recognised button presses, but the table never moved. Tried power cycling a few times, no difference. Tried the original board... nothing. Disconnected everything, reconnected again and both boards started working. Not sure exactly what happened, but seems fine now.

And it works perfectly. Thanks! :)

Jeff | April 10, 2020

Works exactly as described, perfect!

After a few years the controller board in my Ikea desk died. This replacement board worked perfectly, even better than the original!
Thank you for designing and making this board. It brought my dead desk back to life.

Linfeng | March 26, 2020

Fantastic! Please read along if you are stuck

I have a **lager** BEKANT desk and here goes how I set it up:
0. Prep: I stuck the small gray box rather tight to the bottom of the table (as instructed by IKEA's manual) and a slot screwdriver pops the cap off directly. The adhesives kept the back-plastic on the table, making it easy to clip things back together when I am done.
1. Use the OEM control module to lower the table to the lowest position (keeping the table at the highest hight ended up with no wiggle room at all for the MegaDesk module. Not sure why.)
2. Swap out the modules and connect the cables. For my BEKANT desk, I ended up connecting to the three-pin-hole at the back. Initially, the OEM control module is connected to the slot in the front, leaving the one at the back for the extension cable beneath the table running from the left to the right.
3. Press the UP button 16 times to toggle the value for "idle status". There should be a do-ri-me tone that repeats twice.

If you are stuck and need further graphic instructions, please create an issue on the official Github repo and mention my Github username: llinfeng.

Lastly, many thanks to Greg who revived my 4-year-old BEKANT desk!

Johannes | Feb. 19, 2020

Great product

Using it on the largest Bekant. Needed to toggle the firmware support for it and after everything is working as expected. This was a huge improvement to the usability of the desk.

Opening the enclosure was as difficult as described in the other reviews. I didn't succeed in doing it without minor damage. Maybe some detailed pictures about how to do it would be helpful. Shipping was a bit expensive, too.

Arne | Jan. 12, 2020

Great device that should be part of the original desk

I can absolutely recommend this device. It makes it way easier to change between sitting and standing while working at your desk. I can not believe that IKEA did not built something like this for their product.

Shipping to Germany took about 5 weeks.

Daniel | Dec. 23, 2019

Anyone who owns a Bekant needs this!

This little device is amazing! Just a couple screws and prying off a cover got me functionality that should have existed in this desk to begin with! Took 10 minutes to install and I was off to the races.

Cornelius | Dec. 18, 2019

Awesome! The missing part for IKEA Bekant desks!

Thank you very much for this wonderful piece!

Opening the plastic enclosure of the desk was really, really a huuuge pain. That was only possible with a lot of force. Sure—since it was not intended to be opened by customers. The top of the enclosure (that is not visible when it is mounted underneath the table) has been destroyed during this act. However, the comments of the others were helpful for this.

The controller didn't work at the first go. I heard the sound when powering the desk but the buttons didn't work. I played around with toggling the firmware by pushing 16 times UP, removing the controller while the desk has power etc. and finally it works. I could not say what the solution was actually but now it works like a charm! (Small desk from IKEA Germany)

Thanks again!

Henrik | Dec. 7, 2019

Works just like advertised!

Took a lot of prying to get the enclosure open but that's on IKEA.

When I got it installed it took a while to figure out that I had to change to the Memory 16 thing but after that it works like a charm. Thank you Greg!

He answers questions really quick too so that's a big plus.

Jack | Oct. 18, 2019

Fantastic add-on to Bekant desk

The board arrived quickly, worked immediately, and was easy to install. Cracking open the case on the desk controls itself was a huge pain, but that's not this board's fault. Once I got the case open it was very easy to figure out how to hook everything up and the controls worked immediately and respond quickly. Worth every penny.

Michael | Sept. 14, 2019

Works as promised

I work from home a lot and this was the only feature of the BEKANT that was missing for me.
Shipping from Canada to Germany took about 12 days.
It was easier than I predicted to open the plastic enclosure. Small advise: if you don't want the enclosure to have any visible damage after the change, use the area around the screw holes (where you attach the enclosure to the table) to pry the plastic apart.
The change was done in less than 10 minutes and it just works - I'm really happy with the change - this completes my work setup @home.
Thanks to Greg for an awesome piece of Ikea hack ;)

cheers,
mike

Response from Greg's Tinker Town | Sept. 16, 2019

Very welcome! Glad you enjoy it! :)

Dudley | Aug. 27, 2019

Why doesn't Bekant include this in their design?

Installed the Megadesk today. Nice design, easy to use. I expect I will now use my desk much more than in the past. I have five preset heights. Thanks for engineering this nifty hack that Bekant should have included from the start. Be advised: as the instructions state, using a utility knife to score along the seams will help pry the back off the plastic case. I then used a small electronics screwdriver to pry from the corners nearest the front of the case.

Knut | Aug. 24, 2019

Great mod for the Bekant table!

When I got myself a Bekant stand-up desk I instantly thought "How can I make it to remember the positions I'm using and recall them without me pressing the button the whole time?", then stumbled upon some video showing the debugging of the protocol behind that controller (how could I be so naive to think it would be just normal switches closing a circuit…) and fell into despair.

After finding this project I was amazed someone took over the whole development of an alternate controller which does exactly what I was thinking about. It took a good while for all the different postal services to get the controller to Germany but it arrived in one piece.

Getting open the old controller enclosure was quite a challenge (hint: If using force is not the solution, it wasn't enough force!) and I needed to switch to the alternative mode for the bigger version (looks like they are using that version also on normal sized ones in Germany) but afterwards it works like a charm!

Thank you for creating this! You saved me a lot of headache…

James | July 9, 2019

Missing link for Ikea sit/stand desk!

This is exactly what I was looking for, and once setup, exceeded my expectations! 5 stars all around.

I bought the unit with a cable. Shipping was very quick (with tracking), follow-up and communication was excellent. As others have said, getting into the grey box was VERY challenging and I finally decided to go for it - and that's what it took. Also, would help to know what is where inside as you start working on it - that's what kept me from using a Dremel. However, once I replaced the old board (had to program for Bekant - even the small one) it worked a charm. I'm a little OCD so got a quick response on how to wipe the memory settings (hold the down button while plugging in - erases Bekant setup also) as I didn't get them "quite" right the first time and now have the perfect sitting and standing positions memorized (2 & 3).

Highly recommended! This completed the Ikea desk for me.

Tim | June 11, 2019

Thank you. This provided the missing feature of my desk.

Outstanding product. I purchased the assembled board and cable. The hardest part was getting the back off of the control panel. It took me 10mintues to unscrew the control panel pry off the cover and then install and cable the megadesk board. I have a few colleagues that also use the Bekant Sit/Stand desk and I will be recommending this to them wholeheartedly.

Nader | May 2, 2019

Combined it with mechanical switches!

Instead of using the original case, I built my own, with mechanical keyboard switches (I hated the original switches). Now I'm really happy with my desk :)

Response from Greg's Tinker Town | May 2, 2019

WOW! If you can send me any information I can link to, I'll put it on here or on GitHub! Pictures perhaps?

Brandon | April 25, 2019

works unbelievably good!

Shipped in one day, worked upon arrival. Hardest part was getting the plastic casing off but it wasn't impossible. Took my cheap sitting/standing to the next level. Was about to pay $1,000 for a new desk with the same functionality. The issue was that the desk was totally fine, I just wanted memory function. Can't thank you enough for making these!

Fabian | March 12, 2019

Great mod

The opening of the grey plastic enclosure was very difficult. I finally cut open the top cover (hidden below the table when installed) and only then managed to insert a screw driver and pry open the joints around the edge.

The controller didn't work right away. I had to toggle the firmware by Recalling Memory 16 (pushing down 16 times) twice (back and forth). Now all works fine.

Jean-Francois | Feb. 19, 2019

Great thing, great guy, 10/10 would recommend.

I did had some issues because the pre-flashed firmware that was bad, but the seller was very nice and helpful and helped me sort it out.

Patrick | Feb. 18, 2019

Exactly What I Would Have Made Myself

I've been wanting a replacement controller for this desk that had presets since I bought it. It was a project that was always on my "[probably never going] to do" list, so I'm glad someone else beat me to it.

I just got this installed ~15 minutes ago. Everything works exactly as described. I got the fully assembled version plus the fully assembled cable. Once I managed to get the plastics open it all went into place very easily. The extra cable was clearly marked with polarity, so that was easy to get right and the ribbon cable could only fit on way. The lid kinda snapped back into place (it's held against the desk anyway so it's not going anywhere). I screwed it back on and plugged it in and it just worked.

The "UI" is very intuitive. Although I don't know that you're *really* going to want to be pressing the button 10+ times to get higher preset numbers. That doesn't really affect me since I only need 2, "sitting" and "standing".

Getting the plastics open was quite a chore. A little bit more direction than "pry it apart" would have been helpful. So, a couple notes: I wasn't able to pry just at the seam to get it open. If you look at the seller's pictures, you can see he cut out a notch from the rear side. I ended up cutting a square out of a corner of the top with a hobby knife so the hole would be completely hidden when reassembled. It looks to me like it was sonic welded together along the whole outer seam as well as some of the internal supports, so I don't think you'll be able to get it apart without some opening. Luckily it's not a very strong bond, so you can get the top off as a single piece if you're careful.

In the end the only slight issue I have is that recalling the presets doesn't seem to take into account the momentum of the travel. That means that you'll end up just a bit higher or lower than where you stored the preset. However that's a trivial thing to work around, you just need to move it a bit lower or higher than where you really want it when you first set your presets. Not really a big deal and totally something that could be fixed in FW.

Response from Greg's Tinker Town | Feb. 18, 2019

Thanks Patrick! I do have an issue open on GitHub to get the memory a bit more precise based on the deceleration of the desk. I didn't want to rush this and ship out a bunch of units with buggy code. I've been running this code on my desk for 6 months give or take, so I was fairly confident it wouldn't cause any issues.

I will try to do a video on the disassembly. I broke off a notch so I could fit some debugging cables out of the case when I was reverse engineering the thing. I got tired of it being taped to my desk :)

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