Wireless keyboard won't turn on after changing battery

Thank God for you guys!!! I'm typing this reply out on my Apple Wireless Keyboard (aluminum, non-alphanumeric) after finally getting it paired and connected.

I spent the day unscrewing and screwing the %^%$# Aluminum cap. Once or twice it said it PAIRED, but would not connect. I then Iet it "SEARCH" as I unscrewed it (turning it off); then screwing it back (turning it on) during the searching process, BINGO the PASSKEYS came up, entered them, and VIOLA!! Maybe that was a fluke, but my fingers are crossed.

I can't believe the Apple Techs aren't following this thread. Maybe its a case of DENIAL!

Anyway to BizNav:

What to do with the gum in the tinfoil... Let's all send the gum, chewed or not, to the APPLE SUPPORT CREW. Judging by the number of posts on this subject there must be thousands of users out there about to pull their hair out. One hint though, don't take the gum or your keyboard to your APPLE STORE. They like to sell these things but my experience is that I know more about troubleshooting than they do... and I'm at the bottom of the food chain on fixing things.

Thanks BizNav, I saved $69.00 !😉

I had this probem too and after doing some Googling, found this: "If Apple Wireless Keyboard Won't Turn On"

http://www.ode2.com/?p=77&cpage=1#comment-11759

I tried it, worked like a champ. Now the question is, why did this happen in the first place... :-/

A FINAL NOTE:

Like most electronics, seems the tiny board elements keep a nascent charge for a few minutes... Even after removing the batteries. Allow the charge to dissipate (get another cup of coffee, go to the bathroom); then after CLEANING THE BATTERY TERMINALS and the TWIST CAP, along with the➕ POSITIVE END OF THE TUBE, with Alcohol, (use a Q-tip taped to a Popcicle stick); then with the ➕PLUS end of the batteries IN first... You have in effect (batteries IN remember) re-virgin-ized the unit. The keyboard PAIRS right away. If your Man-cave is pretty dusty like mine, you'll have to perform this task either every time the power dies at the house, or every 6-months, or after a full moon, which ever occurs to you first.

'Keep your stick on the ice: we're all in this together' --Red-Green😁

Hy all.

I do think my problem is the same as the original post. ON indication (green light) even does not turn on after battery replacement.

I truly think there is a desgin/reliability concern on the spring at the bottom of the battery compartment, it means, mecahnical defect that makes the spring get 'stuck' after several months or even a year not replacing/removing batteries.

Solution: I did small aluminum paper ball of around 5-8 milimeters and place it at the battery compartment before placing the batteries.

Now kb is working again (I'm typing on it).

Hope this may help any of you.

bye

Same problem... new batteries, no light coming on, dead wireless keyboard.

This worked instantly for me. Insert the batteries, then crunch up a small piece of foil and insert between the batteries and the end screw cap (which will fit more snugly). Good as new (I'm using the offending keyboard right now).

Worked for me too. The first ball I made was too small and didn't work. It ended up being a coin shape with diameter 4mm. I made another one which was 6mm in diameter. Boom! Green light. Bad apple! Bad design, but they probably fixed it with the updated model (the one that only needs 2 AA batteries)

Here's how I got the gray plastic ring out:

Tool:

I used a piece of 1/4" diameter AllThread, which is a 1/4" rod that is threaded along it's entire length (like a very long bolt).

It comes in various lengths but the shortest is probably three feet. (Most hardware stores carry it.) Of course it only has to be the length of the batteries plus another 6" to hold on to. Note that 5/16" all thread might have worked even better because it wouldn't flex at all.

Technique:

First let me describe the gray plastic ring that I extracted.

It could be described as two shapes molded into one part.

1. a flat disc with a hole in the center. 2. a very short tube (no more than 1/8" long).

Note that the hole in the center was not used to get ahold of the plastic ring at all.

The inside face of the short tube is what I grabbed, (using the threads on the tip of the AllThread).

I tipped the keyboard so that the battery compartment opening was down. I placed the AllThread up into the battery compartment so the the tip of the AllThread was resting on the inside face of the plastic ring's short tubular surface. I then used the AllThread to press the plastic tube against the side of the battery compartment so that the threads of the tip of the rod were pressing very firmly against the inside face of the plastic tube. (To Clarify: I applied lateral pressure only.) At that point I slowly pulled the AllThread (while maintaining sideways pressure) and the ring slowly came out.

Once It was out, I set the ring on top of the positive end of a battery with the flat disc part of the ring against the battery, so I could see down into the open tube of the plastic ring as it rested on the end of the battery. With the keyboard still positioned with the opening down, I slid the battery (with plastic ring on it) up into the compartment followed carefully by two more batteries (my keyboard takes three, though some only take two). Then I just put on the battery cap and the keyboard fired right up.

No problem.

I hope this helps.

I had put my KB away some time ago - probably because I had changed the batteries and found it wouldn't work but this afternoon I got it out of the cupboard to use with my iPad and, having found this thread, tried the aluball trick and discovered that it instantly worked - but why?

I took a length of 11.5 mm dia dowel and shaved it down to about 11.1 mm dia so that it would fit tightly into the plastic cup at the base of the battery housing. I twisted the dowel carefully so that it "unscrewed" the cup from the spring over which it fits and pulled it out. It comprises a plastic cup about 5.5 mm deep below which is attached an inverted metal cup the base of which forms the battery contact and the open end of which fits over the spring.

Despite the comments on this moanboard the item is a good simple design - except for one thing. The plastic cup is about 5.5 mm deep but the +ve terminal on modern batteries is only about 1.5 mm long and the body of the battery does not fit into the cup. This results in a 4 mm gap between battery terminal and the terminal in the plastic cup. At some time in the last couple of years battery terminals seem to have got shorter but perhaps nobody told Apple. It is a shame Apple didn't tell us when it found out. All the talk on this thread about cleaning dirty contacts will not help bridge this 4 mm airgap.

So, although the aluball trick worked well, I wondered if there was a more sophisticated repair. After spending an hour on the problem I decided there wasn't. Returning to the aluball, after some experimentation I came to the conclusion that a 6 x 6 cm square of baking foil rolled into a tight ball and packed well down into the plastic cup with a piece of dowel will fit snugly without overflowing the sides and short-circuiting the batteries and it shouldn't fall out the next time the batteries are renewed. The packing-down can only be done effectively with the cup out of the battery housing.

The filled cup can then be dropped back down into the tube. It is a loose fit but it slides down controllably back onto the spring by being cushioned by the air below it.

Hello all,

After 4 years of uninterrupted service, my wireless keyboard suddenly didn't turn on.

The aluminium ball trick worked perfectly.

For those with a similar problem: take a small piece of aluminium (2cm x 2cm for example, folded over), drop it down the battery barrel, add (charged) batteries and hey presto, the keyboard works again...

interestingly enough i had the same problem, but found an easy solution. I checked the batteries in my keyboard and they were still making contact... i blew into the battery barrel a couple of times and could smell some residue in there. Once I put the batteries back in again, it started working... woot!

I have a aluminum bluetooth keyboard, it was working fine the evening before bed, i wake up the next morning and it doesnt work. Figured it'd be the batteries so I put in a brand new pair of batteries and the light doesn't turn on. Really frustrated with this not working. I've tried a new set of batteries, blowing into the battery case to get rid of any dust, even checked to see if the batteries were snug and they are.

Anyone have any idea's why the light wont turn on, and if there's a way to fix it?

thanks.