Apple Wireless Keyboard won't power up

Ok, I've looked all over the internet, tinkered with the ideas I came across and these are my conclusions:

The shift key won't light up unless you're connected to your Mac. Eventhough I could eventually power the keyboard, the LED (indicating that the KB is trying to pair) was blinking, the shift LED wouldn't light up.

I disassembled the KB, and trust me, it isn't necessary at all. The problem is the + contact, it seems that the battery contact just isn't abble to conduct current.
I resolved this by rolling some soft household metal sponge, as recommended in a previous post, into a small ball and dropping it directly on the contact, then jamming in the batteries. Don't worry, the case will close (my ball was about 75mm in diameter). I've been told that is nevertheless important that the metal sponge doesn't touch the casing, this could cause a shortcircuit. I'm not sure this is accurate, but it seemed pretty plausible.

My keyboard worked just fine after these steps. Try this first, if it doesn't work, then try opening up the enire thing, it's pretty delicate in there and there's simply no way, without beeing somewhat of an engineer, that you can reach the + contact by removing the hardware as described in te previous post.

I hope this helps some of you out, I wish I had found a post like mine when I first tried googling the issue ;-D

Cheers,
Sander

i have the old white one which came with the imac G5 and after nearly four years of reliable performance it simple will not pair.
fresh batteries
it is recognizable via the blinking green light.
the computer sees it.
gives me the pairing code.

but the keyboard appears not to be active.
irritating...

I have the aluminum wireless keyboard without the number keys and it would not turn on after a battery change. Once I read this forum, I decided to take a shot at the "Add something to the battery area" approach, but didn't have steel wool. I instead rolled up a bb sized (like the size of an airsoft pellet) ball of Aluminum foil, dropped it in the tube, added my three new batteries, and like magic, the keyboard turned on!

Somewhat of a hokey hack, but hey... it saved me $60 from buying a new one. I'll take the .05 cent chunk of tin foil.

Brilliant! After reading about your 'foil' solution I bought a slab of chocolate and used the aluminum foil wrap paper - and voila! I have a keyboard again. Thanks for this really neat innovative solution.

Hokey hack indeed—except that it worked.

I bought the aluminum Apple Wireless Keyboard (MB167LL/A) back in December, 2007. I went through the first set of batteries and then several cycles of recharge batteries, and then around July, 2008, the keyboard refused to power on (the green power LED wouldn't light at all) after changing batteries. I tried several sets of rechargeables before trying out a fresh set of alkalines, no power. Took it in to the Apple Store, where several Geniuses each tried changing out the batteries for fresh, before they finally decided that it was kaput. They replaced it with a brand new keyboard at no charge.

Earlier this week, the new one wouldn't power on after a battery change. In exasperation, I checked the discussion forums. I have to admit that I rolled my eyes when I got to "steel wool." I rolled them farther back when I got to "wad of aluminum foil." Still, several people reported success, and I have seen terminals corrode before, even subtly.

The aluminum foil ball worked.

I'm sorry I rolled my eyes at you good folks.

I tore off a corner about 1 inch square, wadded it into a ball about 1/4 inch in diameter, then flattened it somewhat, almost into a disc shape. I dropped the disc into the empty battery compartment, replaced the batteries, closed the compartment, and hit the power button. The green power LED light right up, they keyboard paired, and I'm back in business.

I have a wireless keyboard. It didn't power up so I opened it to replace the batteries and only two came out. How did you take the third one out?

HI guys. Had the same problem. Made the small aluminium ball thing and now it works! Thanks guys!

Hi Tomahawk... Ever sort this out. We just purchased another mac pro and are experiencing the exact problem. Old G5 wireless keyboard will not pair with new Mac Pro... Mac Pro sees it but will not pair. Not even a code. Thanks!

I have managed to get it working, and I have tested that it works from more than 10 feet away from the Mac Mini.

I have to agree; it was not as simple as it should have been... assuming that the Bluetooth Hardware is actually switched on and working, and you can connect other Bluetooth devices (such as a Mouse or a Mobile Phone).

The Bluetooth cables have been known to come 'loose', especially after leaving your machine at an Apple Service Centre (not pointing any fingers). After all, the Mac Mini would have to be one of the hardest computers to service thus far.

Anyway, back to my point. I am using the oldest (white) Wireless Keyboard (the one from about three years ago, that came out with the first flat panel Intel iMacs). I can confirm that it is compatible and I did get it to work with my Macbook (black) and my Mac Mini (latest model), and this is how I did it.

Set up Bluetooth Device > Choose 'Any Device' > Choose 'Passkey Options' > Tick the box that says 'Automatically Generate a Passkey' > Now hold down the discoverable button (on the bottom of your Wireless Keyboard) and keep it held down until the light starts flashing green. Do not release it until the pairing process is complete.

You will be given a Passcode to type in on the Keyboard (I used the Numpad on the left, followed by the 'Return' key (not the 'Enter' key on the Numpad). I must admit that this part of the procedure was a little bit 'unco', and some of you might be thinking why on earth did he do it that way.

Just remember: there is always more than one solution to every problem when it comes to computers and this was the solution that worked for me. If I have been unclear, or if you need any further help with connecting your Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard just Email or IM me: guy.sutton@me.com.

Message was edited by: guy.sutton

Tnx guy.sutton, it worked for me on my new MacBook Pro this way as well. Somewhat weird procedure, but I'm happy it works now.

Well thanks people - I am dismayed that my keyboard was also raised from the dead this afternoon by a bit of tinfoil, but I'm very grateful to you all.

That is such a dreadful design defect, I'm shocked, AA batteries have been around a while now.

Anyhow, mine wasn't under warranty so I've been saved an argument with Apple too.

Anyone know if the design has been altered on the very latest (late 2009) wireless aluminium keyboards?

Hi,

that thing with aluminium foil, just works!!
80 € keyboard saved by a piece of foil? I couldn't believe it.

Thank you very much!

Message was edited by: charsics

thanks for this guys. poor that it's taken me 6 months to find this on a forum and a 40 min wait in the Tokyo Mac store didn't help.

i had the same problem. i googled it and saw this site

This is how i solved it:

I grabbed some alluminium paper and rolled it to a small (0,5cm dia) ball. Inserted it into the keyboard and jammed the batteries inside. this solved it for me aswell!! very great thanks alot man!

Wow, I was so dreading having to call Apple Support, or worse yet to have to travel an hour & a half to the nearest Apple store. Fortunately I found this thread, and the aluminum foil worked perfectly! Just to reiterate what's already been said:

- upon changing batteries, the keyboard was dead (no green light at all)
- cut a 1 inch square of aluminum foil
- rolled it into a ball, squashed it into a disk
- dropped it down the battery compartment
- replaced batteries & it works now!

This is on the pre-2009 version wireless aluminum keyboard (requires 3 batteries). Hopefully they've fixed this on the 2009 version, which I'll be getting soon too. They should at least educate their support staff on how to fix this.