sdcictsupport

Q: USB Keyboard stopped working

Hello Apple Community!

 

We currently have a computer suite of 29 Mac computers, these are intel based i7 ,  16Gb DDr3 ram, with OSX version 10.8.5.

 

These machines had been working for most of August 2013, when they were purchased and placed on this IT suite.

 

 

The problems that we are experiencing now is that their USB keyboards no longer work.

 

The caps lock key doesnt light up, and it doesnt matter how many cold boots we do, they do not work.

 

A work around that had been working was to plug the mouse directly to the computer (instead of going throught he keyboard).

 

Also, swapping the 'suspect' keyboards between machines had also worked.

 

Now, we are going through a week were the keyboards just simply dont respond, no matter where you plug them in.

 

The keyboard models are all A1243, EMC No: 2171 5VDC 1A max.

 

Im guessing here that any updates that have been installing over the past few weeks have been causing this, but as this has been a gradual problem for the past month, it is difficult to say which ones..

 

Does anyone have any incling as to what this problem could be?

 

Many thanks for any help.

GarageBand (Mac) '11

Posted on Sep 27, 2013 4:15 AM

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Q: USB Keyboard stopped working

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  • by Eustace Mendis,

    Eustace Mendis Eustace Mendis Sep 27, 2013 5:27 AM in response to sdcictsupport
    Level 7 (25,402 points)
    Sep 27, 2013 5:27 AM in response to sdcictsupport

    Your Macs have a 12 month warranty - you paid for it. I suggest you ask your Apple dealer to test the keyboards and replace them as necessary.

  • by sdcictsupport,

    sdcictsupport sdcictsupport Sep 27, 2013 8:04 AM in response to Eustace Mendis
    Level 1 (1 points)
    Sep 27, 2013 8:04 AM in response to Eustace Mendis

    Hi There,

     

    thank you for your repply.

     

    Under instruction from a colleague, i have plugged in the mac USB keyboard onto a PC and it works...

     

    This problem is now pointing to software issues....

     

    Has anybody else experienced this?

  • by Eustace Mendis,

    Eustace Mendis Eustace Mendis Sep 27, 2013 8:18 AM in response to sdcictsupport
    Level 7 (25,402 points)
    Sep 27, 2013 8:18 AM in response to sdcictsupport

    Did you try the keyboard after you tested on the PC? A recent post here about a kb issue found that bringing the kb back after it was connected to another computer corrected the problem.

     

    See this: https://discussions.apple.com/message/23188534?ac_cid=tw123456#23188534

  • by Jason Eng1,

    Jason Eng1 Jason Eng1 Feb 16, 2014 7:58 PM in response to Eustace Mendis
    Level 1 (15 points)
    Feb 16, 2014 7:58 PM in response to Eustace Mendis

    I seem to have a similar problem. Today I noticed my USB keyboard has stopped working. (Model A1243) I use both a bluetooth Apple wireless keyboard and the USB keyboard, swapping them around depending where I work.

     

    I installed two software updates which which seem to have nothing to do with the keyboard. The updates were the pro codecs update and the most recent Mac OS security update. I am not sure if the updates caused the keyboard to stop working, because it might have stopped working before the updates without me noticing. Anyway after the updates, the keyboard didn't work (it was connected to the iMac. See list below), so I switched the keyboard from the iMac to the 17" MacBook Pro and it doesn't work there either. Then I switched to the 13 inch MacBook Pro and it works…. huh? Moved it back to the 17 inch, Zapped the PRAM and still doesn't work, makes no sense.

     

    But…. here's more.  I use a 22 inch cinema display with my MacBook. On the back are two USB ports which basically provide a powered hub from one of the ports on the MacBook Pro in conjunction with the display connection. If I connect to that port, the keyboard works. Also if I plug the keyboard to a third party USB hub and plug that hub to a USB port on the MacBook Pro…. it works.

     

    Still, the keyboard should work when simply connected directly to my MacBook Pro. But it won't.   Any help?  I am wondering if this is a valid case for replacement.

     

     

     

    Here are my specs:

     

    3 Macs:  

    2011 17 inch MacBook Pro 2.2 GHz quad core i7 (Mac OS 10.6.8)

    2012 13 inch MacBook Pro 2.3 GHz dual core i5 (OS 10.7)

    2007 24 inch  iMac 2.7 GHz core 2 duo (Mavericks)

  • by hnwdemo,

    hnwdemo hnwdemo Dec 30, 2014 10:23 PM in response to sdcictsupport
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 30, 2014 10:23 PM in response to sdcictsupport

    I have the same issue:

    - Keyboard A1243 (USB keyboard + numeric keypad)

    - MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2013)

     

    If i plugin the keyboard it does not work. Pressing the caps lock key also does not light up the green led.

     

    When i plug the keyboard into a Windows laptop it works every time. Then when i plug it into my Macbook it does not work again...

     

    Plugging other USB devices in the USB ports on the macbook works fine (like a mouse for example).

     

    @Apple: Please help us with this issue!

     

    By the way, following the steps on: http://support.apple.com/en-us/TS1996

    Did not help at all.

  • by bernhardfromtraunstein,

    bernhardfromtraunstein bernhardfromtraunstein Jun 16, 2015 2:52 AM in response to hnwdemo
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 16, 2015 2:52 AM in response to hnwdemo

    The problem can be solved by simply using a usb extension cable (bundled with the keyboard)

     

    http://www.zigpress.com/2014/12/30/has-your-apple-mac-external-usb-keyboard-stop ped-working/