M4 mac mini doesnt recognize apple keyboards

I saw the same issue with my spouse's m4. I thought her keyboard was bad, even though it had been working fine with her M1 Mini. I didn't see the issue on my m4 as I use a 3rd-party keyboard with a KVM with multiple Macs.

A USB-C to USB-A hub didn't work.

Then, I tried using one of my USB-A to USB-C adaptors in the FRONT port. That works. I'm not sure what's going on, but I verified that it has something to do with the rear ports, as plugging in the keyboard to my m4's rear ports didn't work either. Nor did several other Apple keyboards, and they are the most recent wired ones.

Bizarre.

Same issue, I used my wired Apple keyboard for two days, then after a reboot it quit working. It still works in my M1 Mini, but not this new M4. Luckily I had a wireless Magic Keyboard in an unopened box. That's what I am using right now.

Yesterday, I had to unplug the wired keyboard from the front of my spouse's m4 to re-route some cables. Initially, it didn't work when plugged back into the front again, switching front ports finally got it working again. This is pretty bad on Apple's part; in all the years I've had Macs with USB (going back to the original iMac) I've never had an issue with an Apple keyboard not working like this.

It's not like it's an old "crumb catcher" either; this is the most recent wired keyboard. What's worse is if I take my LogicKey accessible keyboard and plug it in, it works just fine on any port.

Experienced the same thing on new Mini M4 with old A1243 wired keyboard. Had to plug and unplug into all the ports using an adapter multiple times and eventually it started working again. Was frustrating because I was on the login screen and couldn't bypass the login without a keyboard. It works fine on Mini A1.

Update. I have a thunderbolt 4 docking station plugged into a non DFU port of the neck of my M4 mini. The keyboard is plugged into an USB A port on the dock and it works fine. It looks better than having it on the front port.

FWIW, I tried a USB-C hub off the rear ports with no luck. This may also explain the issue I had with an m4 mini that went back to Apple with a failed HDMI port: during the troubleshooting, they had me plug in just a keyboard/mouse, and I grabbed a spare Apple keyboard off the shelf so it'd be sure to work. However, it never recognized the Option key for the diagnostics, and I never thought to suspect the keyboard.

(To be clear, that had nothing to do with the HDMI issue; that was just a bad port.)

It's really weird that 3rd-party keyboards work fine, but not Apple's own. Usually it's the other way around, which is why I keep a spare Apple keyboard (or two) for when I need to debug an issue.

Same her with a wired Danish keyboard using either a hub or usb a to usb c converter to connect to the Mini. It doesn't matter what port I use.

The Mini M4 does not recognize my log on password after a reboot and is basically useless. However, I found out that I can log into the Mac mini from a MacBook Air M1 using Remote Desktop.

When I am logged in, the keyboard functions as expected and appears as an Apple keyboard in the usb section of the System Report.

My current setup is Mac M4 mini, wired A1243 keyboard, OWC Thunderbolt 3 dock. The dock is plugged into the right hand USB-C port in the back. [The center USB-C port is for DFU and has a different behavior with some peripherals, but my wired mouse (with -A to -C adapter) works OK there.]

Plugged into the USB-A port on the dock the KB works fine. Also works with the KB plugged into USB-A to -C adapter into front port of M4. I have read that all -A to -C adapters are not equal as far as keyboards are concerned.

I have the same issue. The wired Apple keyboard worked on initial setup of the M4 but after restarting it doesn't work at all

This was my exact problem with a Mac M4 mini and my old wired A1243 keyboard. Didn't work on the back USB-C port but DID work on the front port with the USB A to C adapter. Thanks for this tip!