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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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Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Mar 22, 2017 6:19 PM

My wireless keyboard wouldn't turn on after I changed batteries. I tried the foil ball and other recommendations. Nothing worked. I thought something had failed or disconnected inside. I flipped it over to look for access to the back and noticed a faint graphic on the exterior of the battery tube.

I had put the batteries in 6 times and didn't pay attention to they way they came out. I reversed them and we're back in business. Green light is on.

I know my way around a spludger, I've changed hard drives, fans & memory in multiple MacBooks and missed the most obvious solution.

If you've given up on your wireless keyboard, give this a try. User uploaded file

337 replies

Jan 29, 2009 6:04 AM in response to Adama_

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.

Feb 2, 2009 5:50 AM in response to JasonBChen

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.

Feb 16, 2009 1:16 PM in response to JasonBChen

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!

Mar 22, 2009 3:37 PM in response to Andreas Keim

Had my Apple wireless keyboard for only 6 months, whilst this was a fantastic device when it was working, I started seeing the fault above. No little green LED, even with new batteries. Tried a piece of aluminium....and hey presto it worked again. Clearly this is a design defect, and needs to be rectified by Apple.

Fortunately I'm still under warranty, so I'm taking mine back tomorrow!

Mar 23, 2009 10:51 PM in response to JasonBChen

+1 on the aluminum foil ball solution for the A1255. Brilliant! I used a ball about the size of a small pea.

Same original issue for me -- this was the second or third set of replacement batteries over the keyboard's life, with no issues previous. This time, no LED. Nothing appeared wrong. Thanks for this thread and the great solution! Definitely a design problem here.

Mar 24, 2009 8:12 AM in response to catalan

ok. After a week of going absolutely crazy trying to press the keyboard on / off switch, change batteries, go into bluetooth settings, etc...I find this Aluminum Foil post & I decided to try it. Low & behold, it worked. Unbelievable. So basically the Keyboards are manufactured poorly. Apple really does need to get a handle on Product Control. I thank the person who discovered the Aluminum foil trick. You saved the day. Why we should have to "Jimmy Rig" a brand new high tech product, is beyond me ?

Mar 27, 2009 10:02 AM in response to adisor19

Quite sad IMO. I cannot believe a brand new Product from Apple could have these type of almost silly issues. And clever Users are coming up with these easy fixes. Something like the Plus Terminal not making contact is just so ridiculous. Especially in a new Product. How does that wear out? I only put Batteries in it ONCE. I guess we have to depend on Creative Users to find fixes for our Apple Products. My problem is, doesn't Apple read this stuff ? If they don't, they should. I got a Tech on the phone about the KB and it took him 20 Minutes to find what KB I was referring to. I kept telling him. Your newest Bluetooth KB. It did not help. He could not find Model Number. True Story !

On a different note, I just updated iTunes & it wouldn't synch with my Apple TV, Something about Port 3689 needed to be Opened. I did a factory restore & then did the update on the ATV. I hope it works and STAYS working. When you do nothing but an Update, it should make things better, not worse.

Wireless keyboard won't turn on after changing battery

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