Cannot use Alt button on power up to choose windows boot

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Cannot use Alt button on power up to choose windows boot

I have a new 2019 mac mini with an Apple magic keyboard. Windows 10 Pro and MacOS work fine and I can switch between them using the system preferences / bootcamp restart options.

On power up, holding the alt button on keyboard has no effect and always boots into OSX. This is my usual way of choosing OS and the only reason I chose a magic keyboard over the better typing feel of my logitech unifying system. Any ideas. Never had this issue before in 10 years.

Mac mini 2018 or later

Posted on Jan 26, 2019 3:12 AM

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Answer 1

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CPM man Author

Level 1

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Jan 26, 2019 7:56 AM in response to Loner T

Well - I am closer to a root cause. I think the BT is not connected on the keyboard until the log screen comes on. If I connect the charging cable of the magic keyboard to the mac mini, the ALT button now works. Without it, it does not. I suspect the same goes for all the other power-on button commands. The older Apple BT keyboards (with batteries) work fine with an iMac and High Sierra.

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Answer 2

CPM man Author

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Jan 26, 2019 8:17 AM in response to Loner T

Well - I think I have nailed it OSX 10.14.3 / Mac Mini 2019 and magic keyboard does not perform any of the three power up commands I tried unless the keyboard is plugged into the Mac mini with its charge cable.

I could not find any mention of this anywhere...

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Answer 3

Loner T

Level 9

59,536 points

Jan 26, 2019 5:46 AM in response to CPM man

Do you have a Wired Keyboard that can be used to test? Timing can be a factor. Does Alt/Option work normally if you restart Windows and hold Alt/Option immediately?

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Answer 4

Loner T

Level 9

59,536 points

Jan 26, 2019 2:47 PM in response to CPM man

For Security, the BT driver may not be started. You may want to consider logging a bug report.

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Cannot use Alt button on power up to choose windows boot

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