Touchpad

If you are having problems with getting an Apple Wireless Bluetooth keyboard, mouse or trackpad from connecting to your Mac (iMac, Macbook or Mac Pro) then the following explains how to resolve keyboard issue s. It will also work for other wireless devices that have a on/off switch of the contact type (i.e. Press on and off, rather than a physical slide switch). Mouse Keys: If your keyboard is not responding to alpha-numeric keys (letters and numbers), and the arrow keys cause the on-screen cursor to move, then you have inadvertently enabled the Mouse Keys Accessibility feature. If your keyboard/mouse will not connect via Bluetooth, or appears completely unresponsive, then the following instructions may help you resolve the issue.

Please bear in mind that your device might have a hardware fault, but if it works fine elsewhere, its likely to be a configuration or pairing issue which can be resolved. Resetting the Keyboard Note: Any USB keyboard or mouse can be used if you need to workaround any part of these instructions that requires a functional keyboard or mouse. They are dirt cheap from retailers, or borrow one from a friend (they work on all PC and Mac systems). Switch off the keyboard by holding down the power button for at least 3 seconds (The power button is on the opposite end of the keyboard from the battery compartment). Click the Bluetooth icon in the menu bar.

Click on “Set Up Bluetooth Device” or “Open Bluetooth Preferences”. Turn on the keyboard by holding down the power button, BUT DO NOT LET GO OF THE POWER BUTTON. It must be kept held down through the entire process. The Setup Assistant will find the keyboard, so click the name of the keyboard, and then click on “Continue”. Make sure you are still holding the power button down. You will be prompted for the Pairing Code.

ForWireless Bluetooth Keyboard With Touchpad Manual For Mac

You can now release the power button, type the pairing code on the keyboard and then press return. There will be a slight delay whilst the pairing completes (a few seconds).

The keyboard will now be Paired, and should work as expected (if it produces wrong characters for key presses you may have the wrong language setting on your Mac, see below). The trick is to continually HOLD DOWN THE POWER BUTTON. Are you working with a fresh set of non-rechargeable batteries? Apple’s keyboards are known not to work well with rechargeable batteries as the voltage they supply is too irregular. Battery life on alkalines is in the order of 6 months plus, so there really isn’t any reason to use rechargeables.

Any battery that is providing low voltage or irregular current will result in all sorts of weird behaviour. Don’t assume that batteries fresh out the packet are good, try another to be sure. Have you unpaired the keyboard with any previously paired Mac, iPhone or iPad? Apple specifically state this in their instructions, and pairing and connection behaviour is undefined if there is a previously paired machine within communication range (up to 10 metres). If you no longer have the machine, or it is well out of range, you may be able to skip this step, but if you can, remove the pairing from the old machine. On the old machine, just go to System Preferences Bluetooth and highlight the keyboard you want to pair elsewhere, and click the ‘-‘ at the bottom of the list to remove the pairing.

Unfortunately you do need to identify any other paired machines, as you can’t tell the keyboard to forget the pairing that is stored on the old machine. This can be big issue in large offices – perhaps IT took your old machine away, gave you a new one, and then reissued your old machine to someone else, perhaps even on an adjacent floor. If they forget to remove the Bluetooth pairings, this can create all sorts of problems, and of course your co-workers may not be happy for you to go digging around in their machines changing settings they don’t understand. Is there any other device causing interference? Bluetooth keyboards use the same 2.4ghz frequency used by WiFi and Cordless telephones, not to mention that you may have numerous other Bluetooth devices within the vicinity, paired with the target machine or with others nearby. Bluetooth is a great technology, but it can’t work miracles when there is a lot of electronic noise nearby.

If you can’t eliminate interference, you may have to go back to a corded keyboard. Are you getting incorrect characters, symbols or non-functional keys when using the keyboard?

Best Wireless Keyboard With Touchpad

There are multiple places on OS X where keyboard behaviour can be modified, i.e. You press a particular key on the keyboard, but some other function occurs on the Mac. You need to check System Preferences Keyboard Input Sources are correct for your locale. Check System Preferences Keyboard Keyboard Shortcuts don’t have incorrect behaviours defined. Individual applications can also modify behaviour, so if you’ve recently installed new software, check there. Also, check System Preferences Language & Text Text to see if there are any substitutions that could be causing problems.

Use the ‘Restore Defaults’ button where provided to be sure, although bear in mind any legitimate customisations you’ve already made may be lost. Resetting the OS X Bluetooth Device List and the Bluetooth Controller This will affect other Bluetooth connected devices, including your Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, which may have been working fine so only follow this after you have exhausted the other steps.

Bluetooth Mini Keyboard With Touchpad

Depending on if your keyboard or mouse is currently not working, you will need to use a USB wired keyboard (or alternate Bluetooth keyboard/mouse) to perform these steps, so borrow one from a friend if necessary. If you follow these instructions, after rebooting you will be asked to setup the Bluetooth keyboard and/or mouse as if you were starting up a new Mac. NB: This will remove all existing pairing information for Bluetooth devices, so each will need to be reconnected. You need to have the Bluetooth icon showing in the menu bar. If it is not there, open System Preferences Bluetooth and enable the option ‘Show Bluetooth in Menu Bar’. Hold down the Shift and Option keys (‘Alt’ on some keyboards) and at the same time click on the Bluetooth icon in the menu bar.

Wireless Keyboard And Touchpad

Once the menu is showing, release the keys. From the Bluetooth menu, choose Debug Remove All Devices. Repeat step one, then from the Bluetooth menu, choose Debug Reset the Bluetooth Module.

Reboot your Mac, then setup your keyboard and/or mouse as normal. If all else fails then the only real way to check your keyboard or mouse is faulty is to unpair it with your machine, pair it with another, test, and if it works, unpair and pair again with your computer.