New Mac Mini and no wired keyboard.

So I had to solve this problem myself today. Setting up a new Mac mini with one of the older Apple wireless keyboards that does not have a USB option. The computer did not detect it and I didn't have a wired keyboard handy. So after about 15 minutes of trying to get the computer to detect it, I plowed forward with only the mouse. You cannot connect to wifi without a keyboard, but you get stuck at the screen asking for a username and password to create an account. I clicked "back" to go back to the legal agreement. Used the mouse to copy the word "DECLINE" from the text, then pasted that into the username and password fields on the next screen. That allowed me to move into the computer interface, from which the computer had no trouble detecting the keyboard and syncing it. From there, I created a new user profile and used that new profile to delete the "DECLINE" profile, and boom, problem solved! I was pretty proud of myself.....

You can go to accessibility, motor, turn on accessibility keyboard. A clickable keyboard appears on screen

Set up your Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse, or Magic Trackpad with your Mac - Apple Support

Connect the wireless keyboard to the Mac with the USB to Lightning charging cable that came with the keyboard. The keyboard wilkl then act as a wired keyboard.

It's a very good idea to have a least one USB mouse and one USB keyboard in standby for this very sort of reason.

Thomas Sullivan2 wrote:

I just bought a new MacMini and have an Apple wireless keyboard.

Is it possible to connect this keyboard to the new MacMini? I have heard one must have a wired keyboard to set the MacMini up.

Correct. You need a wired keyboard to set up the wireless one.

I do not have a wired keyboard. I do have a MacBook Pro which has a keyboard however. Is there any possibility of using that to set up the MaMini?

No.

This should be interesting to see if I can get it to work without trying to find a keyboard with a proper wired connection.

Close to impossible.

Do you not have a friend, relative or neighbor you can borrow a regular usb keyboard from for 5 minutes just to set up the wireless one?

If you have a wired mouse, you may be able to bypass the need for a wired keyboard by using the onscreen keyboard with the mouse from the Accessibility menu during setup.

As simple as this, you do have such cable, otherwise you cannot charge the keyboard (until it’s a very old model with batteries?).

find a cheap bundle (mouse and keyboard) either on Amazon or an electronic store (not talking about Staple or Best Buy here, these would have only expensive branded models. One of these no-name bundle (sometimes less than $15) will do the job.

other option: new mac just purchased from Apple ? Get an appointment to the Apple Store

Michael,

as he mentionned an Apple keyboard, i can guarantee you the old ones (around 2008-2010- perhaps as far as 2012) had no cables (i have one of these). AA batteries only.

The most recent models, you are right: these, have a cable

Great work my friend. :) 👍

You the goat

Most wireless keyboards have a cable to charge them, thus making them wired.

So many of these replies completely missed the point. The original poster said there was no wired keyboard option. If you’re just going to answer their question as if they are wrong about the premise of their question, you’re not not helping them. Could they be wrong? Sure. But why not assume they are telling you the truth. Knowing whether they have a wired keyboard or not certainly isn’t a highly technical question, so I think it’s safe to assume that they are telling you the truth. So stop telling them that Here are all the different ways you could actually have a wired keyboard and help to solve this problem without one.

Using set up of the Mac, using your mouse, when it goes over accessibility settings go into Motor Accessibility and turn on the Accessibility Keyboard. This is an onscreen, clickable keyboard that you can use!

You can imagine how impressed my wife was when I showed her your post