external mac keyboard not working with maverick on macbook air

I'm having a similar issue. Macbook Pro, running 10.9. If I completely shut down the system, I can plug in a wired/usb apple keyboard after boot and it is recognized.

If I unplug the keyboard, that's the end. I try plugging the keyboard into the port on the left or right side of the laptop, it will not get recognized.

If I plug in my coworkers PC keyboard, it is recognized and it works.

Add me to the list of folks haing issues with an extermal USB keyboard on Marvericks. In my case I have the Apple keyboard connected to a Thunderbolt Display. I never had an issue with the keyboard not being recognized until upgrading to Mavericks. Now, more often than not, when I connect my MBP Late 2011 to the display, I can't get the keyboard to work unless I unplug it for 20-30 seconds then reconnect it. Sometimes I have to repeat this 2 or 3 times for it to finally start working. USB attached harddrive works fine. As someone said, not the end of the world but extremely frustrating. BTW, in my case, rebooting does not cure the problem. The only thing that seems to work is unplugging the keyboard a bit then reconnecting.

Same here. Mid 2013 Macbook Air running Mavericks will not recognize Apple USB keyboard. Billing my client for repeatedly unplugging, waiting 30 seconds, and plugging back in!

Thanks, pal!

I was facing the same issue — Apple USB keyboard attached to MBA Mid2013 with Mavericks (latest updates installed so far) was iether working or not. It`s a real puzzle to figure out the logics it starts working. Have just tried extension cord and it`s working fine now.

Same problem here. Mid 2013 MBA, up-to-date Mavericks and external Apple USB keyboard. Very frustrating.

Thanks for that workaround! Found an old usb-extension, tried that too... WORKS!

Also through my Thunderbolt-Display....

I have the same issue - any idea when this will be fixed and what I can do in the meantime? And does anyone know if the same issue occurs with apples bluetooth keyboards?

No idea about the Bluetooth keyboard... But try to connect your keyboard using an usb-extension... Worked fine for me. But I have no clue why....

I've just tried it with an extension cable too and what do you know! It now works. I've had some minor communications with Apple about this and they have said if I take the keyboard back to the shop I bought it from they will exchange it.

So next time I'm in, I will...

I had the same problem with a brand new mac book air. One day the external keyboard worked and the next it didn't. Follwing the advice above I connected a short USB extension cable and it works! Thanks to whoever first identfied this fix, although I do wonder about how they ever thought to try this.

I can confirm that connecting the Mac USB (new) keyboard via a USB hub makes the keyboard work, whereas a direct connection does not work. (new MacBook Pro Retina 15", Mavericks)

Does anybody know if this USB issue could be related the laptop freezing when trying to wake it up after the screen locks or it sleeps?

Kudos to Sean Mantey - the extension cable totally works.

Here's some more details to add to this bizarre effect.

- Brand spanking new MBP 13" Retina

- Mavericks 10.9.1 installed out of the box

- Apple Keyboard version 0.74 won't recognize at all on either USB port

- Apple Keyboard version 0.69 recognizes just fine (and works fine) on either USB port

--> Add the Apple UBS Extension Cable to the version 0.74 setup and Hey, Presto! It works perfectly.

What the heck did they do to the USB drivers???

I don't understand why just adding a short USB extension cable works, but it does. In my case id found a short (9") USB extension cable, plugged my keyboard into it and the extension into the Thunderbolt monitor. No more problems with the Mac not seeing the external keyboard. Wht this works makes no sense to me. Maybe someone smarter than me can 'splain it.

Had the same problem. Plugged in a usb extension between my rMBP 13" and my aluminum keyboard...and it worked immediately. ***???

Spoke to apple care on the phone and they were surprised! The original person I spoke to called someone higher up on the food chain, who said I need to get to a genius bar so they can run some diagnostics. They are thinking it's a power supply issue in the usb controller (I don't know what that means, or if I repeated it correctly). I'll update when I get back from the genius bar tomorrow night.