707 words, ~4 min read

The UpDesk UpWrite

Backstory

Over the last few years I have been paying more and more attention to ergonamics in my workspace. It all began when I started having issues with my wrists and given I am a software developer I need my hands to work properly. This sent me down a path of exploring ergonomic keyboards and standing desks. I started trying out the cheaper ergonomic keyboards and never had any luck. Enter the Kinesis Advantage Pro, I finally decided to drop a chunk of change on it and I really haven't looked back. My next exploration will be the ErgoDox which I recently ordered all the parts for.

A little bit before I switched to the Kinesis Advantage Pro I switched to a fixed height standing desk which I bought from Ikea for approx. $150. I have been using the fixed height standing desk for over a year now and I love it. However, the more research I do around the topic the more I have found that it isn't good to stand all day, which is what I currently do. Therefore, I started looking into motorized standing/sitting desks. After a lot of research I finally decided on the UpDesk UpWrite. It is at the lower end of the price range, $1,149.00, for motorized standing/sitting desks but it has the specs of a lot of the more expensive alternatives. It also has the added benefit that it is a dry erase/wet erase surface so you can scribble notes on it while working.

The Setup

Putting it Together

My UpDesk UpWrite arrived tonight and it was actually very straightforward in terms of physical setup. The included instruction sheet explained things very well. It is actually much simpler in my opinion than most Ikea furniture. It probably took me 25 mins to get it put together. I was extremely impressed with the quality of packaging and the quality of the parts them selves. It seems to be an extremely solid piece of furniture that will last a long time.

Initializing and Calibrating

Once I physically setup the desk I tried to initialize it and callibrate it. Initializing the desk was very straightforward on their instruction sheet and worked like a champ. Calibrating it on the other hand did not work following the instructions they provide. The instructions for calibration that were provided are as follows:

  • At any height, measure the distance from the floor to the top of the desk.
  • Press both the "UP" and "DOWN" arrows at the same time until the display shows three bars (---).
  • Release and immediately set the correct height by pressing either the "UP" or "DOWN" arrow until the correct height is displayed.

I tried the above steps numerous times and every time I got to the third step and pressed the "UP" or "DOWN" arrows to adjust the displayed height it would also move the desk up or down which made no sense if the goal of the process was to callibrate the height.

So, it took a little playing around but I finally figured out how to properly callibrate it. The directions to calibrate it should really be as follows:

  • At any height, measure the distance from the floor to the top of the desk.
  • Press and hold both the "UP" and "DOWN" arrows at the same time, the display will immediately display three bars (---), continue to hold the "UP" and "DOWN" arrows until the display flashes from (---) to the displayed height.
  • Release and immediately set the display to height you previously measured in the first step by pressing either the "UP" or "DOWN" arrow until the correct height is displayed.

Dialing in Presets

Once I had it all calibrated I followed the rest of the instructions to set the presets to heights that I like for standing and sitting. All worked great.

Conclusion

So far the UpDesk UpWrite seems like a great desk. It was a little frustrating that the directions weren't clear enough, or rather just plain wrong, for how to calibrate it. However, I am willing to look past that small hickup and I hope this blog aids others in getting their desks calibrated quicker than I did.