iMac (2013) Catalina: Keyboards not working at login

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iMac (2013) Catalina: Keyboards not working at login

my imac 2013 os catalina cannot get cabled keyboard to connect to it.

It does not recognise the wireless keyboard i did check batteries and that it was on.

I bought a cabled keyboard and tried restarting and also switching off.

The imac starts up and gets to the user selection and the wireless mouse lets me select a user and then prompts for a password and that is as far as i get as i cannot type (no keyboard) it just keeps saying no wireless keyboard connected and is in an endless loup of looking for a wireless keyboard.

In theory the cabled keyboard should bypass the search for a wireless keyboard but it doesnt.

So i have no access to system prefs etc as i cannot get past it asking for the user password.

Any suggestions.

Blue tooth is working - mouse ok.

Posted on Dec 13, 2025 8:58 AM

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Answer 1

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biglouis56 Author

Level 1

8 points

Dec 13, 2025 11:58 AM in response to biglouis56

PROBLEM SOLVED.

Apologies and thank you to all, I got the new wired keyboard to work perfectly.

The keyboard has 2 connectors a USB C and a USB A.

I plugged the USB A into the imac and the keyboard did not work because I was supposed to plug the USB C into the back of the USB A connector whilst it was plugged into the imac.

Sorry but the instructions with the keyboard did not say this.

(I bought the multi connector keyboard as it could be a back up if my new wireless keyboard on the mac mini stopped working!)

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Answer 2

den.thed

Level 10

90,886 points

Dec 13, 2025 10:06 AM in response to biglouis56

What USB keyboard did you buy...?

There were some early Apple USB keyboards that had a goofy notch on the male USB plug.

They required an additional notched extension cable to work with later Mac's.

Plus the new Apple keyboard are not compatible with older Mac's

Most all after-market (Generic/PC) USB keyboards should work when plugged directly into the 2013 iMac.

We have no problem using inexpensive Logitech MK 120 Combo's with all of our old and new Mac's.

for example: > https://www.logitech.com/en-us/shop/p/mk120-usb-keyboard-mouse

If you have an after-market (Generic/PC) USB keyboard plugged directly into one of the iMac's USB ports.

Try resetting the iMac SMC. as per > Reset the SMC of your Mac - Apple Support

Then fire it up and try logging in with the after-market USB keyboard.

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Answer 3

den.thed

Level 10

90,886 points

Dec 13, 2025 11:09 AM in response to biglouis56

biglouis56 wrote:

Thank you for the reply den-thed

You're welcome.

Is there any way to get past the password and into system preferences.

No, sorry.

Regarding the keyboard it is a third party keyboard not apple..

Again, what third-party keyboard..? Edit: Never mind I now see your after-market keyboard info.

Without a keyboard I can't do the keyboard options to reset SMC.

It does not require a keyboard to reset the 2013 iMac's SMC.

You just follow the Desktop Mac directions.

I did try my new apple wireless keyboard which i got for the latest mac mini but it would not connect to the imac 2013.

The later Apple keyboard that came with your latest Mac is not compatible.

Plus you would need a USB-A to USB-C adapter to physically plug that keyboard into the old Mac.

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Answer 4

Dec 13, 2025 9:50 AM in response to biglouis56

If this is an Apple keyboard, did you check its minimum macOS requirements? Apple keeps bumping those up, and I believe the latest USB-C keyboards might require Sequoia!

I am not a fan of this, as keyboards and mice are items you might need to replace on older systems. But I am guessing it is because of “non-standard” behaviors like being able to pair a Bluetooth keyboard, and use it as a wired keyboard, by plugging it in. Maybe that involves device drivers that only get built into versions of macOS released at the same time, or after, a new Magic Keyboard.

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