You are currently browsing comments. If you would like to return to the full story, you can read the full entry here: “How to Reset an Apple Wireless Bluetooth Keyboard, Mouse or Trackpad (Troubleshooting Pairing and Other Common Problems)”.
Travelling Through Life
You are currently browsing comments. If you would like to return to the full story, you can read the full entry here: “How to Reset an Apple Wireless Bluetooth Keyboard, Mouse or Trackpad (Troubleshooting Pairing and Other Common Problems)”.
Dave – thanks for the tip how to (re)pair my wireless keyboard with my ipad. Found your website through a Google search and so glad I did. I think it’s pretty cool that I can get technical support from you all the way out here in Colorado. Good luck with your travels and adventures.
There and back again!
Kelly
Denver, CO
This was SPOT ON! Worked the first time like a charm. Many thanks.
Thank you for this. It is working now. You made my day’-“
As long as I have had my bluetooth keyboard, today all of a sudden I had an issue getting it to connect. Your post, though from a few years ago did the trick. Thanks so much for helping me get back to work!
Thank you for your advise! Helps a lot, and seems to be the only in deep one in the internet! Maybe Apple should link back to you, if they don´t offer this. Would be the right sign.
Hi Dave,
I routinely encounter this problem approx every few months when the batteries run out in my keyboard. It then refuses to re-connect with my Macbook Pro.
One problem I found is your description of “removing” the keyboard with the ‘-‘ button in bluetooth preferences. This does not exist for me, I don’t understand. My keyboard is still being recognise in the devices in Bluetooth Preferences, and I don’t have a ‘-‘ button – only the chance to right click and click “Remove”. I do this and it continually keeps automatically popping up.
I do this and then turn it off/on a million times/hold down the button whilst trying to “Set Up Bluetooth Keyboard”.
I have got it to re-connect in the past, but have no idea how, just through a combination of clicking different buttons a million times/turning it off a million times. I am now completely frustrated and at a loss of how to fix it (yet again).
Please help 🙂
Thanks
The presence of the ‘-‘ button depends on which version of OS X. In later versions, if you hover the mouse over the paired device in the list, and X in a circle appears, which allows you to delete the previously paired item.
Thanks Dave. Just in case anyone else encounters it, your method to resolve this seems to be sound, but actually never works with my Macbook pro unless I first restart my computer after having replaced the keybaord batteries. Somehow that seems to let the computer know to ‘lose’ the previous connection with the keyboard and enables it to find the keyboard again when I press “Set Up Bluetooth Keyboard” in system preferences.
Thanks!
Thanks a lot, it worked at first try after trying some other solutions.
Worked for me. Many thanks for your help. Mike
Worked like a charm. Thanks so much for posting this trick.
Hi , thanks a lot !
Just purchased an Apple Magic Keyboard. Typing is great – BUT, none of the function keys work… Play, FF, RW, Volume buttons, nada… clicking them just makes a ‘bong’ sound on the laptop. So, started looking around for others having the same problem… can’t find much so far…
Found one post that might indicate whats going wrong. Show the input keyboard viewer, and a keyboard that looks like an apple keyboard shows up… Great. Then I type a single key, and that keyboard viewer changes into showing a keyboard with right hand number keys – 0-9 and so forth…. Thats all I have so far…. any thoughts???
I’ve tried to disconnect/remove the bluetooth keyboard from the computer multiple times. Tried to pair/connect using the lightning cable attached OR not attached… apple notes say to attach it first time with the cable connected… (sigh)…
If you go to System Preferences > Keyboard > Keyboard (Tab) there is an option to ‘Use all F1,F2 keys as standard function keys’. You need to have this disabled (unchecked) for the function keys to work as Play/Pause etc. Or hold Fn to toggle it on each use.
I don’t think its anything to do with the pairing of the keyboard.
That option is already unchecked – I tried to check it, and uncheck it just to see if it would do anything – but nope…. buttons still do not work…
Which version of OSX are you running?
Yep, That was the problem… upgraded to the real El Capitan after work – and keyboard works like a champ 🙂
I am currently running Beta version of El Capitan… (10.11 Beta (15A278b))… That might be it… don’t know…
Thank you so much! it worked perfectly.
THIS WORKED! I had a bluetooth keyboard that was typing incorrect characters on an iPad . Thank you!
Hi Dave,
Hopefully you can answer my question. I am trying to connect (pair) a mac keyboard via bluetooth on a Mac OS X version 10.9.15. I have new batteries in the keyboard! In the screen that says “wait for a bluetooth keyboard to be discovered’ …. I end up waiting and waiting for the ‘code’ to appear so I can connect (pair) but it never happens…
Am I doing something wrong?
Look forward to hearing from you today hopefully.
Cheers
Have you followed the instructions in the blog post about holding down the power key? Follow this carefully, it usually is the step that does the trick.
Yes I did follow your blog re holding down power key before I made contact with you. Any other ideas?
Maria, thanks. Sorry, I can’t think of anything else, the post is pretty comprehensive on problems with the Apple Keyboard. You could try connecting the keyboard to another computer (Mac/PC/iPad) to verify that it is working. Remember to remove the pairing if you do this, or it can lead to connectivity problems back on the original Mac.
Thanks a lot… would’ve been useful for the Apple official documentation to say this on the website. Worked fine for my keyboard and trackpad.
This worked when nothing else did and I was about to literally trash the keyboard as broken. Thank you!!
the remote mouse won’t work after changing batteries. its not a magic mouse so there is no on-off switch. i can’t move the cursor on the computer with the arrows on the key board. can i install a different keyboard from an older mac that i have? thanks a lot
You aren’t able to move the cursor using the keyboard arrow keys anyway. Installing a different keyboard won’t help with resolving the problem with the mouse. I’ve just updated the article with some help on resetting the Bluetooth devices and controller, so you may want to see if that helps.