JasonBChen

Q: Wireless keyboard won't turn on after changing battery

This is what happened:

I got a message yesterday telling me that the battery for my wireless keyboard was low and I should replace them. This morning, before I switched on my Mac, I put in new battery for the wireless keyboard. Then I switched on my Mac. And I got a message on the screen saying that There's no keyboard connected and couldn't find any keyboards. I thought that maybe I need to turn on the keyboard to make it work. So I pressed the power button and noticed that the green light doesn't even come up..

What's going on? Is my wireless keyboard already dead??

Any advice would be appreciate it. Thanks.

G5, Mac OS X (10.5.2)

Posted on Jun 26, 2008 12:48 PM

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Q: Wireless keyboard won't turn on after changing battery

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  • by ipuustin,

    ipuustin ipuustin Aug 27, 2010 12:07 AM in response to GlennTx
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 27, 2010 12:07 AM in response to GlennTx
    Hi, I just wanted to say that I'm one more happy user of the aluminium foil trick. After trying out multiple sets of batteries I finally googled and found this thread. I made my aluminium foil ball from one quarter of a yoghurt can lid. Dropped the ball to the battery compartment and the keyboard works again. Thank you very much!
  • by Digital Hippo,

    Digital Hippo Digital Hippo Aug 29, 2010 7:13 AM in response to ipuustin
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Aug 29, 2010 7:13 AM in response to ipuustin
    Addendum to the foil ball trick:

    Been there done that previously and it worked like a charm - Now I find that after the recent firmware update I couldn't pair the keyboard no matter what - No flashing light, just a solid light and then it would turn off again. Gave up for a couple of days.

    Solution: Hold down the 'Enter' key when you power up the keyboard and then hold down the power button for 10 secs - Result - Flashing Pairing Light and everything restored to normal use. Tried all the other solutions so far.

    Is this one of those fixes that isn't really a fix though, and just by chance it paired - I don't see this information anywhere else?
  • by Sharkimus,

    Sharkimus Sharkimus Sep 2, 2010 1:42 AM in response to JasonBChen
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 2, 2010 1:42 AM in response to JasonBChen
    Same problem here.
    The keyboard power light wouldn't come on after installing new batteries, and my computer
    couldn't find my keyboard.

    I thought the keyboard had died. I wiggled the batteries, checked their voltages, tried a bunch of stuff... Nothing worked.
    I finally gave up on it and found a spare pc usb keyboard in the house so I could get up and running again.

    Then I came to this discussion group and read several posts, including one where someone said something about dirty battery terminal contacts inside the battery compartment.

    So I had a look inside - with a magnifying glass, and I noticed on the contacts in the keyboard compartment where the positive end touches (the opposite side of the negative springs) there were small black discolorations. I used an exacto knife and gently scrapped that black stuff off, put the new batteries back in and bingo! the keyboard immediately came back to life!!!
    Wow, that's all it was!
    Some tiny little bit of corrosion was preventing contact, so no power was getting thru.
    My keyboard is the wireless white unit with the numeric keypad and clear casing,
    but this fix might well apply to other battery powered wireless keyboards.
  • by danmac147,

    danmac147 danmac147 Sep 7, 2010 1:08 AM in response to JasonBChen
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 7, 2010 1:08 AM in response to JasonBChen
    Aluminium foil ball works. Thanks.
  • by reinrow,

    reinrow reinrow Sep 19, 2010 8:40 PM in response to JasonBChen
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 19, 2010 8:40 PM in response to JasonBChen
    hey guys i just had this same problem;
    The keyboard simply wasnt turning on, even with fresh batteries.
    i bashed the thing around for a bit and stuck some chop sticks inside, eventually i got this grey 'cap' thing a couple other people mentioned here. i threw that cap in the garbage, you dont need it and its obviously causing a connection issue between the batteries and the keyboard. then i put the batteries in and bingo!
    good luck
  • by Dave S-o-A,

    Dave S-o-A Dave S-o-A Sep 21, 2010 11:34 PM in response to reinrow
    Level 2 (365 points)
    Sep 21, 2010 11:34 PM in response to reinrow
    Aluminium ball worked for me as well - thanks.
  • by Brubel,

    Brubel Brubel Sep 26, 2010 9:45 AM in response to Sharkimus
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 26, 2010 9:45 AM in response to Sharkimus
    Easiest fix there is, although I wouldn't have thought of it until reading these posts. I have a model A1016 - the white keyboard with keypad - and it was simply a matter of cleaning the contact with a cue tip! It's the same fix for my trackball or mouse. The contacts simply get dirty over time and have to be cleaned. I'm not sure this is really an Apple problem.
  • by stevehow,

    stevehow stevehow Sep 27, 2010 5:52 AM in response to JasonBChen
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Sep 27, 2010 5:52 AM in response to JasonBChen
    Just to let you guys know the aluminium foil trick works a treat - I'm using it now. But I discovered it only after I'd arranged for a replacement to be shipped out. Shame on Apple for not alerting its customers to this piece of shoddy workmanship or even posting up the solution. Apple Tech support simply reckoned the keyboard was "dead" and didn't offer this workaround.
  • by zombiehunter,

    zombiehunter zombiehunter Oct 2, 2010 4:55 PM in response to JasonBChen
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 2, 2010 4:55 PM in response to JasonBChen
    EVERYONE who is having this problem needs to call in and file a complaint. This is a factory default that they should cover. Apple will not do anything till they get enough formal complaints though. This happened to me this morning and that is what I was told by the apple representative. So lets make those calls and get our keyboards fixed!
  • by Matthewrp86,

    Matthewrp86 Matthewrp86 Oct 5, 2010 8:01 AM in response to JasonBChen
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 5, 2010 8:01 AM in response to JasonBChen
    I have a month old wireless keyboard that will not turn on. Some times it will, sometimes it wont. When it does come on it works fine. When it doesnt work, the green light wont come on. I have tried multiple sets of new batteries. I think I might have a faulty unit. Is there a way to reset the device?
  • by vallleydoll,

    vallleydoll vallleydoll Oct 6, 2010 11:03 AM in response to JasonBChen
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 6, 2010 11:03 AM in response to JasonBChen
    I just now got my new wireless keyboard, it wouldn't pair up w/laptop; disconnected from my iMac; new batteries, no power... ?? **Put in the foil, so obviously not making contac

    Thanks everyone for the info!
  • by Klahane,

    Klahane Klahane Oct 14, 2010 2:49 PM in response to JasonBChen
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Oct 14, 2010 2:49 PM in response to JasonBChen
    I just encountered the same problem today. The Apple Wireless Keyboard (sans number pad, 3 AA batteries) was working. I replaced the batteries, it was dead. The power light would not come on.

    While some in this thread have cited dirty contacts, I can see that the batteries are no longer fitting the same way (I have an identical keyboard to compare to.) There appears to be a plastic ring around the positive contact inside the battery chamber that gets displaced, preventing the batteries from fitting up against the positive contact. Or, possibly, the spring holding the positive contact up is not functioning.

    Before I read about the aluminum-ball trick, I made a small brass ring of about the right diameter and thickness, and the keyboard now works fine. The batteries still don't go in as far as normal, but they do now make contact.

    Possibly the aluminum ball would be slightly better, as it would crush to more nearly the right thickness.
  • by IcemanIceman,

    IcemanIceman IcemanIceman Nov 3, 2010 3:27 PM in response to JasonBChen
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 3, 2010 3:27 PM in response to JasonBChen
    Removing the batteries turns the keyboard off. All that you have to do is to replace the batteries and turn the keyboard on again. Go the opposite end to where you put the batteries in. It looks like the circular cover for the battery bay, but is at the non-opening end of the cylinder shaped battery bay. Just press it. The green light should come on and the keyboard should work again.
  • by gazrsvr,

    gazrsvr gazrsvr Nov 12, 2010 3:11 PM in response to IcemanIceman
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 12, 2010 3:11 PM in response to IcemanIceman
    Thank you so much for the tin foil solution. It worked like dream after trying loads of different batteries, and thinking that I was going to have to pay out for a new keyboard!
  • by GENERAL LUDD,

    GENERAL LUDD GENERAL LUDD Nov 25, 2010 9:01 AM in response to JasonBChen
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 25, 2010 9:01 AM in response to JasonBChen
    HI: I also just discovered the same problem. I cut off the end of the spring found inside a dead ball-point pen and dropped it into the well. Now it will at least turn on. WARNING: Don't let the spring be long enough to contact the aluminum barrel or you will have one smoking-hot keyboard.

    Pairing it with my iMAC (which works fine with a bluetooth mouse) is another problem. It sees the keyboard but won't pair with it.

    (I have always found Bluetooth to be a royal PITA.)
    (also, no matter how sophisticated the device, the battery holders/contacts/switches always seem to be the weak link)
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