An open community 
of Macintosh users,
for Macintosh users.

FineTunedMac Dashboard widget now available! Download Here

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Laptop wont find magic keyboard
#53250 01/03/20 03:25 AM
Joined: Dec 2009
kevs Offline OP
OP Offline

Joined: Dec 2009
I took a three day trip, with my laptop, and come back home and my laptop wont find new (4 month old) magic keyboards. It does find the small bluetooth keyboard than come with imac, but neither of 2 large magics -- fully chrarged, I bought recently. Stumped.

Re: Laptop wont find magic keyboard
kevs #53258 01/03/20 06:52 PM
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 16
Moderator
Offline
Moderator

Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 16
There is a cheat, plug the Magic Keyboard into the computer, use if for a minute or so, then unplug it. After that it should be automatically recognized. At least that worked for me.


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: Laptop wont find magic keyboard
joemikeb #53260 01/03/20 09:42 PM
Joined: Dec 2009
kevs Offline OP
OP Offline

Joined: Dec 2009
Thanks Joe, it self resolved today, mystyeriously.

But

1- Any idea what happened? really frustrating.
2- Did not even think of plugging in idea. So cord you use to charge can be used a cord to use it manually, that will work? I just ordered a backup $15 corded keyboard to have on hand for emergencies, but if that cord works maybe I don't need it then..

3- Is there a way to know level of charge on keyboard, also an you know it's charging in real time? Does matter if switch is on or off while charging?

Re: Laptop wont find magic keyboard
kevs #53262 01/04/20 12:38 AM
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 16
Moderator
Offline
Moderator

Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 16
I learned half a century ago that RF propagation can be weird and the higher the frequency the weirder it gets. Bluetooth is really high frequency.
  1. While troubleshooting a bluetooth issues caused by the metal base of a monitor apparently too close to the bluetooth antenna in my Mac mini that the charging cord works fine and with it connected bluetooth is overridden and your wireless keyboard becomes a wired keyboard 👍so don't waste your 💰 on another keyboard .
  2. In Catalina the charge level is displayed at the bottom of the System Preferences > Keyboard pane. Similarly you will find the Magic Mouse charge level in System Preferences > Mouse and the Magic Trackpad in System Preferences > Trackpad. (Frnkly I am surprised someone hasn't created an app to report that kind of data as it is obviously available — may one of the numerous Battery apps in the App Store?.
  3. If the switch is off you cannot use the keyboard either wired or wireless but it does not effect the battery charging either way. I suspect it would charge a bit faster if the keyboard were turned off but I can't verify that and I doubt the difference would be noticeable in normal use.


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: Laptop wont find magic keyboard
joemikeb #53266 01/04/20 11:38 PM
Joined: Dec 2009
kevs Offline OP
OP Offline

Joined: Dec 2009
Thanks Joe, still on Mojave, do you know if charge indicator anywhere? Or don't worry. Top full charge is in hour or 5 hours any idea?

Re: Laptop wont find magic keyboard
kevs #53267 01/05/20 01:05 PM
Joined: Aug 2009
Offline

Joined: Aug 2009
Originally Posted By: kevs
Thanks Joe, still on Mojave, do you know if charge indicator anywhere?

If you go to Bluetooth Preferences and enable "Show Bluetooth in menu bar" you can quickly see a percentage of charge left in any Bluetooth device connected.


iMac (19,1, 3.1 GHz i5, 12.7.4, 40 Gb RAM); MacBook Air (1.8 Ghz, 8 Gb RAM, 10.14.6, 256 Gb SSD) Vodafone router and Devolo Wi-Fi Extender, Canon TS8351 printer/scanner.
Re: Laptop wont find magic keyboard
freelance #53268 01/05/20 03:22 PM
Joined: Dec 2009
kevs Offline OP
OP Offline

Joined: Dec 2009
thanks Freelance, don't see it. I'm on Mojave. I have menu bar up. but no %

Re: Laptop wont find magic keyboard
kevs #53269 01/05/20 03:56 PM
Joined: Dec 2009
kevs Offline OP
OP Offline

Joined: Dec 2009
Joe, plugging in keyboard manually did work, BUT you have to turn Bluetooth off or it wont work. Currently I don't have a bluetooth mouse, but if I did, one day I might upgrade to bluetooth mouses. then mouse would be screwed so maybe that normal corded emergency keyboard is good idea?

For both/ anyone. Any clue why this happened? 1st time.

Re: Laptop wont find magic keyboard
kevs #53270 01/05/20 08:58 PM
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 16
Moderator
Offline
Moderator

Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 16
this may be a Mojave vs Catalina variation (or I suppose it could be laptop vs desktop Mac), but I did not have to turn bluetooth off. If the Magic keyboard/trackpad/mouse is connected via Bluetooth, when it is plugged in there is a short pause and a notification pops up that the device has been disconnected, which apparently refers only to the bluetooth connection as the device works normally. If the device does not have Bluetooth connection and it is plugged in there is no notification but the device simply starts working. The Magic keyboard/trackpad/mouse must be switched ON to work in either wired or wireless mode.

I don't know if this is a Mojave vs Catalina thing or not , but in Catalina when you select a device on the Menu Bar Bluetooth dropdown menu, not only does it show the remaining battery percentage as freelance said, it also offers options to Connect/Disconnect that device and to open the Bluetooth Preference pane.

SIDEBAR:

I solved my previously mentioned bluetooth propagation issue by standing the Mac mini on edge rather than sitting flat on the desktop next to the monitor stand which was apparently attenuating or distorting the Bluetooth signal propagation. As a side benefit that freed up more space on my desk. 👏


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: Laptop wont find magic keyboard
joemikeb #53271 01/05/20 10:18 PM
Joined: Dec 2009
kevs Offline OP
OP Offline

Joined: Dec 2009
thanks Joe. I do now see the %, very faint light grey. Why Apple would make it like that barely able to read, have no idea.

Yeah, I needed to have bluetooth off or else the unit assumes you want to use bluetooth I suppose (or maybe different mojave?)

Spare corded keyboard arrived, only $13 thanks to China, maybe should keep it in closet in case?

For my laptop any guess why this happened?

Re: Laptop wont find magic keyboard
kevs #53272 01/06/20 02:30 PM
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 16
Moderator
Offline
Moderator

Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 16
In my recent case I believe it was because of a weak bluetooth signal caused by external factors, but I would have to see your setup to speculate what might have been happening in your specific situation and even then I might not have a clue. 🤷‍♂️ High on the list of things I would look for are sources of RF interference such as florescent lights and other Bluetooth devices or anything that might attenuate the Bluetooth signal such as the steel base of my monitor. Sometimes moving a device a few inches or changing its orientation is enough.

In my experience, temporarily plugging in the device and then unplugging it has reliably re-established a bluetooth connection that has previously been reliable. The "nuke and pave" option to "un-pair" the device (System Preferences > Bluetooth, select the device and click on the x at the right end of the selection bar) and then have it re-discovered and re-paired (it may take a while for the computer to "see" the un-paired device) is frequently recommended but plugging in is a lot faster.


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: Laptop wont find magic keyboard
joemikeb #53279 01/07/20 01:37 AM
Joined: Dec 2009
kevs Offline OP
OP Offline

Joined: Dec 2009
"even then I might not have a clue. "

Funny line Joe!

Ok I get the gist. BTW, not sure, but maybe I cannot test it Bluetooth on, because the issue resolved? And if Bluetooth has to be off to test the magic keyboard corded, then not a good test....?

And I don't even know if I understand that! My $13 corded arrived.


Moderated by  alternaut, dianne, MacManiac 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.4
(Release build 20200307)
Responsive Width:

PHP: 7.4.33 Page Time: 0.059s Queries: 38 (0.043s) Memory: 0.6266 MB (Peak: 0.7268 MB) Data Comp: Zlib Server Time: 2024-03-19 09:58:21 UTC
Valid HTML 5 and Valid CSS