George Krompacky

Q: Apple Wireless Keyboard will not become discoverable--solution

I use an Apple Wireless Keyboard and mouse with my MBP. Today when I arrived at work and set up everything, the laptop would not recognize the keyboard. I went through some troubleshooting steps as recommended by Apple, but to no avail. So I figured I would remove the keyboard from my bluetooth devices and go through the setup process again.

Not so good, because I soon realized that the keyboard wouldn't go into discoverable mode. Pressing the power button caused the light to glow for a few seconds--indicating the batteries were still charged--but it wouldn't blink. I tried removing the batteries, inserting new ones, all to no avail. Just kept pressing the button, getting the glow without blinks, and the keyboard wouldn't show up in the bluetooth setup list.

So I guessed that the keyboard still thought it was paired with the computer, even though the computer knew it wasn't. And then I read somewhere that the range for the keyboard was around 30 feet or so. So I walked out of our cubicle area and into a stairwell 50 feet away. Sure enough, after the initial glow, the light blinked! It was discoverable.

I ran back to my desk, hit "continue" in the bluetooth setup panel, and paired the keyboard again.

So, if your keyboard isn't paired with your computer, but still won't go into discoverable mode, maybe this trick will work for you.

MacBook Pro (early 2011); iMac (20-inch Mid 2007), Mac OS X (10.6.7), Wacom Intuos 3 tablet; HP Deskjet 6840; iPhone3GS

Posted on Mar 22, 2011 12:43 PM

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Q: Apple Wireless Keyboard will not become discoverable--solution

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  • by jappas,

    jappas jappas Nov 3, 2014 1:55 PM in response to George Krompacky
    Level 1 (15 points)
    Nov 3, 2014 1:55 PM in response to George Krompacky

    I have just found this post from George and am happy to say it has worked for me. Nice work!!

     

    I'm posting this response in the hope that it will turn up in other peoples searches if they are encountering this model A1255 keyboard bluetooth pairing issue.

     

    I have recently upgraded to Yosemite or OS X 10.10 and thought it may to do with this but clearly not.

  • by George Krompacky,

    George Krompacky George Krompacky Nov 3, 2014 4:51 PM in response to jappas
    Level 3 (858 points)
    Mac OS X
    Nov 3, 2014 4:51 PM in response to jappas

    Wow, until today I had no idea there were so many replies to my post! It is very gratifying to learn that I have helped so many people stop tearing their hair out when they cannot re-pair their keyboard with their Mac. Glad to be of service.

  • by UncleBill27,

    UncleBill27 UncleBill27 Nov 6, 2014 12:22 PM in response to George Krompacky
    Level 1 (1 points)
    Nov 6, 2014 12:22 PM in response to George Krompacky

    Hi George ,  walked away two flights down from comp and pressed the power button for a few secs and it worked like a treat. Thanks

  • by nicoospina92,

    nicoospina92 nicoospina92 Nov 11, 2014 10:50 AM in response to Robert H. Austin
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 11, 2014 10:50 AM in response to Robert H. Austin

    Thanks a lot, I couldn't figure out how to unpair it from a pc that was turned off....  I even thought about buying a new keyboard. Thanks man!!

  • by Tank Button,

    Tank Button Tank Button Nov 19, 2014 7:05 AM in response to George Krompacky
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 19, 2014 7:05 AM in response to George Krompacky

    George - you are THE BEST! I have been dealing with this silly problem off and on for years (when I replaced batteries or switched up my keyboards from the iMac in the kitchen to the iMac in my study). Your "just walk away" suggestion did the trick.

     

    A BIG thank you...

  • by dngreenspan,

    dngreenspan dngreenspan Nov 30, 2014 1:28 PM in response to George Krompacky
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 30, 2014 1:28 PM in response to George Krompacky

    Thank you, sir!  Hugely helpful post!  I'm sure I looked strange running back into my house in the rain but it was worth it!

  • by William Chadwick,

    William Chadwick William Chadwick Dec 6, 2014 2:03 PM in response to George Krompacky
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 6, 2014 2:03 PM in response to George Krompacky

    For me, walking out of range didn't work- And I took a long walk down the street, much further than thirty feet. I looked ridiculous to my family rushing out they door with my keyboard and then rushing back.

     

    But, while sitting next to my Mac, I held the power button down on the keyboard without letting go. It eventually started blinking.

     

    Then, while holding the button, I told my MacBook Pro to pair, while still holding down the button.

     

    Don't let go of the power button until your mac shows you the keys to press on your keyboard, then you can let go and type the keys to pair.

     

    Worked. Like. A. Charm.

     

    If only Apple made a keyboard that didn't require it's users to make complete fools of themselves to re-pair...

  • by nicole.fig,

    nicole.fig nicole.fig Jan 7, 2015 7:27 PM in response to George Krompacky
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 7, 2015 7:27 PM in response to George Krompacky

    HEY! So I tried all of these methods, but none worked for me. The light was blinking and everything, it just wouldn't pair up! So, i just did the old trick, restart the computer! when i tuned it back on, i went to the setup keyboard in system preferences, and immediately it connected.

  • by nicholas1601,

    nicholas1601 nicholas1601 Jan 16, 2015 2:10 AM in response to George Krompacky
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 16, 2015 2:10 AM in response to George Krompacky

    An alternative to walking 50m is to just switch bluetooth off in System Preferences.

     

    To force the keyboard into discoverable mode you just have to hold the power button for about 10 seconds, until it starts to flash. The moment you press the button no light should appear, so if the green light comes on the moment you press the button then it won't work this time.

  • by Foxtrapboy,

    Foxtrapboy Foxtrapboy Feb 5, 2015 5:49 PM in response to George Krompacky
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 5, 2015 5:49 PM in response to George Krompacky

    Thank you George!

  • by Carmen Andreia,

    Carmen Andreia Carmen Andreia Mar 15, 2015 4:50 PM in response to brahmansky808
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 15, 2015 4:50 PM in response to brahmansky808

    Thanks for posting this, I was struggling to get my keyboard discoverable - it just would not blink at all. The light turned on and then off again and that was it, even walking away and holding the button in did nothing. So I went to Bluetooth in System Settings, held the button in and kept re-pressing when the light turned off and it FINALLY connected and prompted me for the keypresses to connect. Thanks again... my mood dropped when I thought that I'd have to go in to Apple to get a replacement etc.

  • by GabrielZ,

    GabrielZ GabrielZ Mar 19, 2015 4:09 AM in response to George Krompacky
    Level 1 (37 points)
    Desktops
    Mar 19, 2015 4:09 AM in response to George Krompacky

    Great! That did the trick for me! Thank you so much!

  • by Bacman,

    Bacman Bacman Mar 22, 2015 1:50 AM in response to George Krompacky
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 22, 2015 1:50 AM in response to George Krompacky

    Waw, perfect... Thank you George :-)

  • by rengland77,

    rengland77 rengland77 Mar 23, 2015 11:14 AM in response to George Krompacky
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 23, 2015 11:14 AM in response to George Krompacky

    I came here to see if there was a better solution than having to re-pair my keyboard every few days (yes I do it by holding the power button). What the heck!? This has been going on for YEARS!? Why isn't this fixed yet? I don't think I can handle a few more years of this, lol.

  • by GabrielZ,

    GabrielZ GabrielZ Mar 24, 2015 2:19 AM in response to rengland77
    Level 1 (37 points)
    Desktops
    Mar 24, 2015 2:19 AM in response to rengland77

    For me, this has not been a problem - I only have to do this approximately once every 3 years.

     

    Are you using an Apple Wireless Keyboard?

    Could some other Bluetooth device divert your keyboard and make it connect with that other device?

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