Apple wireless keyboard won't stay connected in Windows.

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Level 3

934 points

Apple wireless keyboard won't stay connected in Windows.

I have had this problem since one of the beta builds of Boot Camp, version 1.3 I think. It has persisted through all subsequent Boot Camp driver updates, including the most recent one.

My problem is this: my Apple wireless keyboard, which works perfectly fine in OS X, will not stay connected in Windows. At first, it pairs correctly, but the next time I boot in Windows, the keyboard doesn't work. It shows up in the bluetooth device list as paired and connected, but the keys just don't work. The Apple wireless mouse works fine throughout, though.

As I said previously, I have already brought the Boot Camp drivers up to date. I have even tried uninstalling the bluetooth drivers and reinstalling them specifically. Same issue.

The only clue I have is that every time I restart Windows, I get a number of "Generic Host Services" errors. Sometimes only one, sometimes multiple. It's possible there is a conflict in the startup sequence that is preventing the bluetooth keyboard from working, but I just can't find it.

Any ideas???

24" iMac, Mac OS X (10.5.3)

Posted on Jun 20, 2008 1:43 PM

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Answer 1

marksan

Level 1

0 points

Sep 11, 2008 10:46 AM in response to Brad DeMoss

I have exactly the same problem...however...it worked earlier. My Mom (86 years old) got on my computer...notsure what she did, but now I cannot get the wirelesss keyboard keys to work (even though it shows as connected and the passkey process works). Have you found a resolution? My configuration is on a Windows PC w XP Pro SP3 and a bluetooth dongle.

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Answer 2

Oct 27, 2008 3:49 PM in response to Brad DeMoss

Here is the solution I have found, tested and that works:
First, go into your Macintosh side and remove the keyboard from all of the bluetooth settings
Second, reboot the system into windows
Third, run the bluetooth setup system, run the wizard and your done

This seems to be a issue in that the EFI firmware that holds onto the keyboard for the mac side so its available during reboots. WIndows cant grab it because the EFI system is reserving it, once you remove it from the Mac side, it will start working again.

Happy hunting! 🙂

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Answer 3

Nov 7, 2008 12:19 AM in response to Sean Neilon

Can anyone confirm if this works?

Just got my new MacBook Pro and after installing Vista, my Apple Wireless Keyboard wont stay connected more than 2 sec. 😟

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Answer 4

Nov 7, 2008 5:30 PM in response to Brad DeMoss

Have you tried installing the latest version of Boot Camp (2.1) in Windows?

I just did, and it solved this very problem.

Good luck!

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Answer 5

Nov 7, 2008 8:26 PM in response to soccerman3

I just re-installed everything and this time, I'm stuck. Nothing seems to work for the wireless keyboard. The wireless mouse works fine, the keyboard works fine under Mac OS, but not under Vista.

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Answer 6

Nov 7, 2008 8:45 PM in response to soccerman3

My apologies for all the posts, I'm working through this and discovered that if I removed the keyboard from Mac OS, per the suggestion above. Then press and hold the power button on the device to turn it off before pairing it with Vista, I can pair it with Vista. Then if I power it down before I pair it with Mac OS, it works with both OSs and I don't have to manually mess with it. Hope this helps.

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Answer 7

Nov 10, 2008 12:22 AM in response to Sean Neilon

Worked like a charm, thx! =)

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