Wireless keyboard won't turn on after changing battery

I didn't even change the batteries and this happened.

The keyboard was left switched off whilst I was away for three weeks. Upon my return, I switched the keyboard on and found that the power light no longer illuminates and the computer can't see the keyboard. Putting in brand new batteries correctly didn't solve the problem.

Has anyone worked out a solution other than replacement of keyboard?

Same thing here with an Apple wireless keyboard on my mac mini that was working perfectly fine. Got the battery low warning, but had to go on trip for a few days, returned to a dead keyboard that will not even turn on--have tried several sets of brand new batteries to no avail...stone cold dead and I didn't do a thing to it. Pretty obvious there is a bigger problem with these.

Same here without even having been turned off for some days: Just after the "low battery message" I replaced the three batteries, put in right direction, and does'nt turn on. Tried three distinct sets of new batteries, different brands, no turn on. Some say keyboard firmware should be updated, but how does one do it without turning it on ? Will call Apple Care.

Mine is dead 😟 I guess I'll call apple support tomorrow. I haven't used it in a few weeks, and I've tried 3 new sets of batteries to no avail. The power light never turns on to indicate that it's working.

Edit: Never mind, I tried a set of non-rechargeables and it worked! All three sets of rechargeable batteries are good (verified in my charger), very odd!

Message was edited by: Shaun Guth

I had the same problem. Check inside the battery compartment - there might be a small plastic cap in there that blocks the battery from making contact with the metal at the other end. Try removing that plastic to get the keyboard working again.

Hope it helps.

Exactly the same problem here,
White Extended Wireless Keyboard..
Updated to 10.5.6
Restarted Mac;
Received the Low Battery Warning in Keyboard,
Replaced batteries, initial flash of green light and then nothing,
Now will not turn on,
Have tried many different types of batteries, Eveready, Duracel, Energizer and same story,
no light coming on...
I have the exact same Keyboard wired so no big drama but upsetting,
I treat all my hardware like a gold,
I have UPS's on them, everything to maintain their life span.
Would also like to know what is going on..
Come on Apple respond to these posts..!

I've had the same problem. The low battery message came up, I unscrewed the metal cap on the battery compartment, let the batteries come out, and for the first time, I discovered this grey plastic cap, that for some reason came out together with the batteries. I didn't know how to put it back, and figured it had to go first, and the three batteries second. I must have done it wrong, because my keyboard won't power up anymore when I press the power switch. And now, this **** plastic cap is stuck at the bottom of the battery compartment. No way to remove it. I put it with its hole facing down. Should I have placed it the other way around? Has anybody found a suitable way for removing it?

I also had the same problem - it wouldn't turn on after changing the batteries 3 or 4 different times, nor would it keep a connection/pair with my MacBook. Called Apple Care, and talked to 6 different people - neither knew what was wrong, so sent a replacement, and arrived the next day. When I received the replacement, it was the white, plastic wireless keyboard with the numeric keypad on it, which was the wrong keyboard first of all. Called again after opening the wrong keyboard, and hopefully they send the RIGHT keyboard to me. Also was charged $ 59.00 temporarily for returning/exchanging it, even though it is covered by my Apple Care Plan. DOESN'T MAKE SENSE APPLE.

I ran into a similar issue tonight. My keyboard is pretty much left on all of the time. Tonight I came home and it was not working and new batteries did not help either. On closer inspection of the contacts in the battery compartment I noticed a slight dis-colorization. A little scraping with a razor knife and the light comes on again. The problem in my case appears to have been a little oxidization of the battery contacts.

BTW - my keyboard is well out of warranty and no longer under AppleCare.

Well my issue with this is still ongoing. First, I called about 3 wks ago and they sent me a replacement, which came to me and it was the wrong keyboard (it was the plastic wireless with the numeric pad) 2 x's. Finally they sent the right one, and wouldn't pair at all, so I called and worked with a Tech Support person for 3 days, and had to archive and install everything, which didn't work. Finally, we concluded it was my Bluetooth card was shot, and needed to be replaced. Sent it in, and got it back, and still would not pair. They didn't "replace" my bluetooth card, just updated the software, which I could have done. Called Apple Care the next morning, and was told it wasn't the keyboard, but my computer! Duh! That's what I had been trying to tell them. I asked if upgrading to Leopard would possibly fix the problem, which did not - which by the way, they sent me Leopard for Free b/c I had been on the phone so much with Apple. If feels like I am back at square 1 with them over this issue. Will this problem ever get resolved?? I asked if they could possibly exchange my computer for a new one, but was told that this WASN'T A HARDWARE ISSUE, so they COULD NOT DO IT. I truly believe it is, b/c as I was looking at my information, IS BLUETOOTH NOT LISTED UNDER HARDWARE, or what? This is ridiculous.

Same thing today. Low battery warning on the wireless keyboard (model A1255). Replacing them resulted in a keyboard that would not power on (no green light on power button press). One of the posts indicated it was a bad battery contact on the + terminal (thanks for the clue!). Looking down the tube, there is indeed a plastic ring that the battery rests on. I took a paper clip and created a small spiral of metal and snipped off the remainder. I dropped it down the tube and rattled it around to fall into the hole. Dropped in the fresh batteries and voila... it works. YMMV.

In general Apple stuff is pretty well built. I'm surprised that something so trivial is happening.

Same problem as many others, got a message that batteries were low, I swopped in a new set and the keyboard would not power on again. Not a pairing issue, it was just deadsville. I spent a good hour poking around and holding in power button and gently tapping (at first) on each side. No good. Then having founf & read most of this thread, I removed the batteries, got a half inch square piece of 'tinfoil' aluminium foil, sqeezed it into a quarter of an inch ball shape, not too solid, dropped it into the tube, put the batteries back in.... bingo! Typing this on the revived keyboard!

Can you please elaborate a bit on how you formed the spring? I have a wireless aluminum apple keyboard, and after about two weeks of it being turned off, it no longer turns on even with fresh batteries.

Thank you!

Hello everyone... I woke up this morning and experienced the same problem with my wireless key board. Then I connected the wired key board that came with my iMac and googled into this topic. Glad to say that the aluminum foil solution that was suggested worked perfectly, so thank you very much for that suggestion.

Had similar problem like all of you. Tried the aluminum foil suggestion. It works! Must be something to do with the contacts. So I am guessing it must be a design fault. Well done, you folks for fixing the problem D.I.Y style!