JasonBChen

Q: 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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Q: Wireless keyboard won't turn on after changing battery

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  • by Ro42,

    Ro42 Ro42 Dec 26, 2012 9:18 AM in response to JasonBChen
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 26, 2012 9:18 AM in response to JasonBChen

    I am having the same problem 3 years after buying the keyboard.

    Save it with Alu Foil.

     

    MacBookPro, 17", Mid 2009

  • by PhilW3995,

    PhilW3995 PhilW3995 Jan 1, 2013 7:55 PM in response to JasonBChen
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 1, 2013 7:55 PM in response to JasonBChen

    Solution: There's a Gray Plastic part that gets turned around in there.  You have to take the batteries out and Tap the Keyboard on something to make the Plastic part come out enough to turn it around, then carefully put the batteries back in and try it again.

     

    The FLAT part of the Plastic has to be against the battery.  It has a hole in it, therefore the battery will make contact.  If this plastic is turned the wrong way the battery doesn't make contact.

     

    How the heck it gets turned around just by taking the batteries out is a mystery.  I guess it sticks to the battery after a while.

     

    Hope this helps, it certainly worked for me.  There's a lot of post here, so to be clear, this is the fix if you don't get the Green Light (Power) after replacing the Batteries.

     

    PhilW

  • by Rob M,

    Rob M Rob M Jan 30, 2013 4:20 PM in response to JasonBChen
    Level 1 (19 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 30, 2013 4:20 PM in response to JasonBChen

    Aluminum foil move worked for me on a 2009 model that I thought was toast. Thank god for this forum.

  • by rdowling75,

    rdowling75 rdowling75 Feb 28, 2013 6:44 AM in response to PhilW3995
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 28, 2013 6:44 AM in response to PhilW3995

    PhilW3995 wrote:

     

    Solution: There's a Gray Plastic part that gets turned around in there.  You have to take the batteries out and Tap the Keyboard on something to make the Plastic part come out enough to turn it around, then carefully put the batteries back in and try it again.

     

    The FLAT part of the Plastic has to be against the battery.  It has a hole in it, therefore the battery will make contact.  If this plastic is turned the wrong way the battery doesn't make contact.

     

    How the heck it gets turned around just by taking the batteries out is a mystery.  I guess it sticks to the battery after a while.

     

    Hope this helps, it certainly worked for me.  There's a lot of post here, so to be clear, this is the fix if you don't get the Green Light (Power) after replacing the Batteries.

     

    PhilW

    Phil hits the nail on the head here. I have two of these keyboards (both are the 3-battery A1255) and one exhibits the issue while the other does not. The one that works flawlessly has the flat face of the grey spacer facing the battery. Unfortunately, this bit is not only capable of fliping around, but getting locked into place facing the wrong direction. I've tried pulling mine out with an automotive pick but can't get it to release from the contact which just moves with it as far as the spring behind it will allow.

     

    I've even gone so far as to disassemble the electonics portion of the keyboard and although I could get everything else out, that darned battery contact assembly looks to be held in (or together) with a circlip. It's well out of reach from the recess where the brains are housed so I'm sure it requires a special tool to remove if it's not held in with a permanent one-way locking mechanism. Unfortunately, it looks like the best solution for me remains a 1.5mm ball of aluminum foil and a strip of scotch tape along the sides of the batteries. (The latter allows you to insert them as a single mass that doesn't bounce the aluminum out of place.)

  • by opinionated_andy,

    opinionated_andy opinionated_andy Feb 28, 2013 8:06 AM in response to JasonBChen
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 28, 2013 8:06 AM in response to JasonBChen

    Folks, I had the same problem, and later discovered - the positive side of the battery goes inwards into the "tunnel". Its kinda non obvious - at least to me, and i struggled for few hours.

     

    Hope this helps.... positive button inside, negative flat portion outside.

  • by macinoffagain,

    macinoffagain macinoffagain Mar 4, 2013 8:01 AM in response to PhilW3995
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 4, 2013 8:01 AM in response to PhilW3995

    That fixed it! Thanks for sharing PhilW3995! By the way, after turning the plastic piece around, dropping the batteries in flipped it again. I had to redo and then tilt the keyboard to let the batteries slide in slowly to keep the plastic piece in place.

  • by lordstanley011,

    lordstanley011 lordstanley011 Mar 28, 2013 1:44 PM in response to daStevo
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 28, 2013 1:44 PM in response to daStevo

    Used the aluminum foil suggestion and keyboard is now functioning again, Thank You to the original Poster for this resolve, my wireless keyboard works like a champ again. This post was typed on the previously malfunctioning keyboard.

  • by Explorer122,

    Explorer122 Explorer122 May 3, 2013 9:12 PM in response to JasonBChen
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 3, 2013 9:12 PM in response to JasonBChen

    I had the same problem this morning and the aluminum foil suggested has helped me to save the keyboard. I am so surprised that the Apple quality has become this. This doesn't sound like the same Apple I loved for years.

  • by randiwolf,

    randiwolf randiwolf May 23, 2013 12:26 PM in response to JasonBChen
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 23, 2013 12:26 PM in response to JasonBChen

    Same thing happened to me - but then I realized that my keyboard was not "turned on" - I didn't even know that the sliver button on the opposite end of where you load the batteries is a "power" button for the keyboard. While I was loading the batteries, I must have accidentally pushed it and turned it off (or it turned off automatically). Eitherway, after pushing the button in, my keyboard was recognized.

  • by d.dang,

    d.dang d.dang Jun 3, 2013 8:07 PM in response to daStevo
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 3, 2013 8:07 PM in response to daStevo

    Had the same problem didn't touch my mac wireless keyboard for 3 months, try to use it again today with fresh batteries and the green light didn't turn on. Tried the tin foil trick and it worked perfectly! Thanks mate!

  • by CamihIreland,

    CamihIreland CamihIreland Sep 15, 2013 10:14 AM in response to JasonBChen
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 15, 2013 10:14 AM in response to JasonBChen

    I also rolled a ball of foil and it also worked! After trying so many new batteries and nearly throwing my keyboard across the room, it worked. I agree though with others' views, this should not happen Apple, this is not the quality I expect, was both shocked and disappointed.

  • by bluwnab,

    bluwnab bluwnab Oct 19, 2013 4:31 AM in response to JasonBChen
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 19, 2013 4:31 AM in response to JasonBChen

    The alumnium ball (piece) in the battery tube worked.

     

    I am reposting this solution, but I did not discover it.

     

    Instructions:

     

    1. Open the battery tube and remove the batteries.

     

    2. Place a small pea sized ball of alumnium in the battery tube.

     

    3. Install the batteries. (Make sure batteries are in the right direction)

     

    4. Close and lock.

     

    5. Turn on Keyboard.

     

    Thanks everyone on this thread for this solution!  Really dissappointed that I have to do this with an Apple product!

  • by stevieb_xq28,

    stevieb_xq28 stevieb_xq28 Nov 8, 2013 4:16 PM in response to JasonBChen
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iPhone
    Nov 8, 2013 4:16 PM in response to JasonBChen

    Thank you for the aluminum ball suggestion. I was about to order another keyboard, but this simple tip saved me from having to do so. If your keyboard has a green light when you try to pair it, this is not the solution for you; but if you can't get the keyboard to light up at all when trying to pair it to your computer, give this a try.

  • by straybird,

    straybird straybird Nov 19, 2013 5:56 AM in response to bluwnab
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 19, 2013 5:56 AM in response to bluwnab

    worked perfectly for me! I had to make a bigger aluminum ball after the first try. I was afraid that the ball might be too big to stuck the batteries. Thanks for the summery.

  • by erranttraveler,

    erranttraveler erranttraveler Nov 21, 2013 8:07 PM in response to JasonBChen
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 21, 2013 8:07 PM in response to JasonBChen

    I had this same problem on an older model (3 batteries) aluminum keyboard.

    The Aluminum Foil trick worked for me. Here it is again (not my idea, just reposting):

     

    Instructions:

     

    1. Open the battery tube and remove the batteries.

     

    2. Place a small pea sized ball of alumnium in the battery tube.

     

    3. Install the batteries. (Make sure batteries are in the right direction)

     

    4. Close and lock.

     

    5. Turn on Keyboard.

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