rakem

Q: Every morning, my keyboard is broken

Every single morning when I connect my macbook up to my thunderbolt monitor my keyboard (mac USB keyboard) is broken.

I then need to do the 'USB Dance' to get ti working again.

 

Connected to the thunderbolt display I have a USB mouse, headphones and the keyboard.  Both the mouse and the headphones always work, but the keyboard never does.  So to get it working, I unplug everything but the keyboard.  Sometimes I need to shuffle the keyboard to a different USB port before it will work.  Sometimes I need to move it three or four times before it works.  Sometimes It just never works and I need to reboot the laptop.

 

This morning was the last straw...  It took about 3 reboots and about 20 minutes of moving the USB port around before it finally started working.  It was the only USB thing plugged in at the time and it literally took about 20 minutes of me moving the USB port around before it came good.  I also was trying to connect it directly to the laptop (rather than via the thunderbolt display) and it still didn't work there.  I took the keyboard out to my windows desktop, plugged it in and it worked instantly.

 

Any suggestions?  I don't think the keyboard is the problem, it seems like some really crappy USB problems with the macbook and thunderbolt.

I have a late 2013 MBP running OSX 10.9.4

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Mavericks (10.9.2)

Posted on Aug 18, 2014 2:55 PM

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Q: Every morning, my keyboard is broken

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  • by Matt_M.,

    Matt_M. Matt_M. Aug 20, 2014 6:35 AM in response to rakem
    Community Operations
    Aug 20, 2014 6:35 AM in response to rakem

    Hey rakem,

     

     

    Thanks for the question. I understand that you are experiencing an on-going issue in regards to the connectivity of your peripheral devices, in this case a USB keyboard. I completely agree that this issue sounds incredibly frustrating. I’d like to ask you a few questions to gather more information on the issue.

     

    Is the USB keyboard in question an Apple device or third-party? If it is the latter, it may be that the USB keyboard requires specific power requirements:

     

    Apple Computers and Displays: Powering peripherals through USB

    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4049

     

    Note: Some USB peripheral devices not manufactured by Apple may have unique power requirements. These may exceed the power allotment on an individual USB port. Those devices may require you connect them to multiple USB ports or may have external power sources that must be present for them to function.

     

    Apple peripheral devices may request more than 500 mA (Milliamps) at 5 V (Volts) from a port to function or to allow for faster charging. Such Apple peripheral devices include:

     

    - Apple MacBook Air SuperDrive (when connected to supported computers)

    - Aluminum Wired Keyboard*

    - iPod

    - iPhone

    - iPad

     

    Also, I understand that you have tested this keyboard with a different computer, however I’d really love to hear the results of a test with another wired keyboard. This will help isolate if the issue indeed lies with the keyboard itself.

     

     

    Thanks,

     

    Matt M.

  • by rakem,

    rakem rakem Aug 22, 2014 4:15 PM in response to Matt_M.
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 22, 2014 4:15 PM in response to Matt_M.

    It is an official apple keyboard.

    I don't have any other wired keyboards to test with...

     

    They keyboard works, it obviously a problem with the crappy USB hub on the back of the thunderbolt

  • by Matt_M.,

    Matt_M. Matt_M. Aug 23, 2014 9:17 AM in response to rakem
    Community Operations
    Aug 23, 2014 9:17 AM in response to rakem

    Hey rakem,

     

    Thanks for the follow up! If your issue persists after following the above resources, you may find more information by using another one of Apple's support channels - https://getsupport.apple.com/GetproductgroupList.action

     

    - Matt M.