Getting a Filco TenKeyPad number pad to work with Macs

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Getting a Filco TenKeyPad number pad to work with Macs

Hi,

I have a Filco TenKeyPad mechanical number pad from the days when I was a Windows user. I've since jumped ship to Apple, owning an iMac and a MBP. As neither of these devices has a number pad, I would very much like to use the Filco as I have a lot of data entry to complete.

Is it even possible or worth the trouble? I read somewhere that you can use third party software to re-map the keys, but that seemed a bit daunting to me. Would it make more sense just to buy a Magic Keyboard with included number pad? Does Apple sell a dedicated number-pad?

Thanks.

Posted on Feb 7, 2026 5:18 AM

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Answer 1

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Tesserax

Level 10

160,812 points

Feb 7, 2026 4:16 PM in response to ElHuevo

The good news is that most USB mechanical keypads (including Filco) are essentially standard HID devices. macOS treats them as generic keyboards, so basic number entry should work immediately without drivers or special setup.

You only need software if:

Some keys send unexpected symbols.
NumLock behavior isn’t ideal.
You want Mac-style modifiers or custom macros.

As such, I suggest that you just plug it in first and test before worrying about software.

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Answer 2

ElHuevo Author

Level 1

4 points

Feb 8, 2026 6:53 AM in response to Tesserax

Thanks for the reply.

Yes, I would have thought so too. I have another USB keyboard made by EditorsKeys that works fine. That specified PC/Mac. The Filco specified PC only so no idea what makes it different. It gets power as the number lock light works, it's just most of the keys don't do anything.

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Getting a Filco TenKeyPad number pad to work with Macs

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