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Mac mini (2018)- won't detect keyboard/mouse with Bluetooth or USB.

It had been in sleep mode. I went to wake it up. The Apple track pad wouldn’t connect. The set up assistant opened a window. It offered to continue discovery or not. I figured the good ol reboot would fix it. It didn’t. I then tried to restart in safe mode. The one with the shift key. No hint of safe mode. In fact the usb keyboard that I used was no longer responsive. I got an old usb mouse and plugged it in, nothing. The set up Bluetooth window is back, but without the buttons.

I don’t know what to try next.

Posted on Jul 17, 2023 1:09 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jul 18, 2023 12:40 PM

Hello BriMoPa,



Thanks for choosing the Apple Support Communities. We see you cannot connect a keyboard and trackpad to your Mac Mini. We also see you have done some extensive troubleshooting with no success.



First, let's try following these steps to see if we can get the keyboard and trackpad to connect: If you can't connect your Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse, or Magic Trackpad to your Mac - Apple Support


"Try these steps to resolve issues with your Magic accessories.


Turn the device off and on

Magic Mouse has a switch on the bottom of the device, and Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad have a switch on the back edge of the device. Slide the switch to turn off the device (no green is visible), then slide the switch back to turn on the device (green becomes visible).

Earlier Apple Wireless Keyboard and Magic Trackpad models have a power button on the right side of the device. Hold the button until the green LED on the top of the device turns off, then press the button again until you see the green LED to turn the device on.

Make sure Bluetooth is turned on

Using your Mac laptop's built-in trackpad or a USB mouse, choose Apple menu  > System Settings (or System Preferences), then click Bluetooth. Make sure that Bluetooth is turned on. 

If you don't have a USB mouse and your keyboard is connected, press Command-Space bar, enter Bluetooth File Exchange in the Spotlight search field, press the Return or Enter key, then press the Return or Enter key to turn Bluetooth on.

If you still can't turn Bluetooth on, restart your computer, then try to turn Bluetooth on again.

Connect the Lightning cable

Connect your wireless accessory to your Mac with the Lightning to USB Cable or USB-C to Lightning Cable, wait 1 minute, then disconnect the cable. This pairs the accessory with your Mac and charges the built-in battery. To check your accessory's charge level, click the Control Center icon  in the menu bar, then click Bluetooth.

Earlier models don’t use a Lightning cable for charging, but have batteries that you replace. Learn how to pair those devices with your Mac.

Check for wireless interference

If your accessory won't stay connected wirelessly, there might be interference with other wireless devices. Learn how to resolve Wi-Fi and Bluetooth issues caused by wireless interference."



If that doesn't help, we suggest reaching out to Apple Support to look at additional options. The link below will get you started.


Get Support



We hope this helps.


Cheers!



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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jul 18, 2023 12:40 PM in response to BriMoPa

Hello BriMoPa,



Thanks for choosing the Apple Support Communities. We see you cannot connect a keyboard and trackpad to your Mac Mini. We also see you have done some extensive troubleshooting with no success.



First, let's try following these steps to see if we can get the keyboard and trackpad to connect: If you can't connect your Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse, or Magic Trackpad to your Mac - Apple Support


"Try these steps to resolve issues with your Magic accessories.


Turn the device off and on

Magic Mouse has a switch on the bottom of the device, and Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad have a switch on the back edge of the device. Slide the switch to turn off the device (no green is visible), then slide the switch back to turn on the device (green becomes visible).

Earlier Apple Wireless Keyboard and Magic Trackpad models have a power button on the right side of the device. Hold the button until the green LED on the top of the device turns off, then press the button again until you see the green LED to turn the device on.

Make sure Bluetooth is turned on

Using your Mac laptop's built-in trackpad or a USB mouse, choose Apple menu  > System Settings (or System Preferences), then click Bluetooth. Make sure that Bluetooth is turned on. 

If you don't have a USB mouse and your keyboard is connected, press Command-Space bar, enter Bluetooth File Exchange in the Spotlight search field, press the Return or Enter key, then press the Return or Enter key to turn Bluetooth on.

If you still can't turn Bluetooth on, restart your computer, then try to turn Bluetooth on again.

Connect the Lightning cable

Connect your wireless accessory to your Mac with the Lightning to USB Cable or USB-C to Lightning Cable, wait 1 minute, then disconnect the cable. This pairs the accessory with your Mac and charges the built-in battery. To check your accessory's charge level, click the Control Center icon  in the menu bar, then click Bluetooth.

Earlier models don’t use a Lightning cable for charging, but have batteries that you replace. Learn how to pair those devices with your Mac.

Check for wireless interference

If your accessory won't stay connected wirelessly, there might be interference with other wireless devices. Learn how to resolve Wi-Fi and Bluetooth issues caused by wireless interference."



If that doesn't help, we suggest reaching out to Apple Support to look at additional options. The link below will get you started.


Get Support



We hope this helps.


Cheers!



Reply

Jul 25, 2023 3:07 PM in response to BriMoPa

Thanks, turned out to be a defective USB hub. I bought a new one and everything works now. Part of the problem was the Hideez USB Bluetooth Dongle. I can't place the Bluetooth devices near the Mac Mini so it's plugged into the hub at the end of a long UBS cable. It works great, but in this situation seemed to create a logjam.

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Mac mini (2018)- won't detect keyboard/mouse with Bluetooth or USB.

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