Wireless keyboard not working with Boot Camp

Question

Wireless keyboard not working with Boot Camp

I have a brand new 15" Macbook Pro. I need to run Windows for work so I installed Boot Camp and Windows 8.1. I have a HP wireless keyboard with a USB dongle. It will not work at all. Windows recognizes that I've plugged in the dongle but the keyboard won't work at all. It's a brand-new keyboard and the batteries show full charge. All drivers look good in device manager. When I went thru the Windows troubleshooter, which is typically worthless, it said something about the dongle being USB 2.0 and the Mac's USB is 3.0. But shouldn't it be backward compatible? It has no problem with my old wireless mouse with a USB dongle.

I also notice a significant difference in the clarity on my dual external monitors with Windows instead of OSx. The colors aren't as sharp and the text isn't as clear - kind of fuzzy. Is that just how it goes with boot camp, or is there anything I can do, like maybe an upgraded driver, to get the same clarity on my dual monitors with Windows like I get with OSx?

Any help is appreciated.

MacBook Pro with Retina display, Windows 8

Posted on Apr 15, 2015 9:10 AM

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Answer 1

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Apr 15, 2015 9:17 AM in response to andrefromcarlsbad

Are the BC drivers installed on the Windows side? Do you have any unknown devices (yellow triangles with exclamation marks)?

USB-dongle based keyboards use RF between the keyboard and the dongle. The Mac's Wireless and BT radios can interfere with the RF from the dongle. Can you turn off BT and Wireless on the Mac and test your Keyboard? My son's Logitech causes problems at times.

BT devices are much better than dongles because it save you a USB port.

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Answer 2

Apr 15, 2015 9:22 AM in response to Loner T

Sorry but what are the BC drivers? No yellow devices - all looks perfectly fine.

I'll try turning off the BT and wireless and see if that helps. Won't get to that until tonight. I did think about BT for the very reason of not having to connect a dongle every time. I love my HP keyboard because it's soft touch and extremely quiet. Plus I've been using it for years and it's what I'm used to...

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Answer 3

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Apr 15, 2015 9:25 AM in response to andrefromcarlsbad

BC is short for Bootcamp. Typically, BC drivers are silently installed when Windows is installed on the Mac.

If you are used to the keyboard, who am i to pry your fingers from what you love? 😉

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Answer 4

Apr 15, 2015 9:57 AM in response to Loner T

Is there a way to check to see if the boot camp drivers are properly installed? I didn't receive any warnings or messages that something wasn't installed. I do have the boot camp icon in the system tray.

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Answer 5

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Apr 15, 2015 11:04 AM in response to andrefromcarlsbad

In Device Manager, can you for any devices with a yellow triangle and an exclamation mark?

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Answer 6

Apr 15, 2015 11:28 AM in response to Loner T

No yellow exclamation marks.

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Answer 7

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Apr 15, 2015 12:51 PM in response to andrefromcarlsbad

Did you get a chance to test with BT/WiFi turned off?

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Answer 8

Apr 15, 2015 1:13 PM in response to Loner T

Not yet. I'll do that this evening and get back to you. Thank you for all your help thus far.

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Answer 9

Apr 16, 2015 8:53 AM in response to andrefromcarlsbad

Unfortunately I can't turn off Bluetooth in Win 8.1. I go to the page where i should see the slider and the page just spins and spins. I thought my install might be hosed so I blew it away and did a fresh boot camp install. Still no joy; BT still spins - and I still can't connect to the USB keyboard. I can plug the dongle in and see it in devices, and it says it's ready to go but the keyboard doesn't work. It's brand-new and has worked on a Windows box so I know it's not a bad keyboard. Maybe time to go back to a Windows box and ditch boot camp? 🙂

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Answer 10

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Apr 16, 2015 8:58 AM in response to andrefromcarlsbad

I have a RF Dongle/Mouse on another rMBP. Let me test and get back to you.

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Answer 11

Apr 16, 2015 8:59 AM in response to Loner T

Thanks again for all your help. My co-workers use a Logitech unifying mouse/keyboard, so before I give up completely I'll go to Frys and buy one and see if that works.

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Answer 12

Apr 17, 2015 8:41 AM in response to andrefromcarlsbad

Last night I went to Fry's and bought a Logitech MK710. It works like a champ with boot camp, and with OSx too. So, I guess problem solved. The HP keyboard is obviously inferior in some ways. Too bad because I like the lower profile and soft keys better. But, I like a keyboard that works best.

Thanks again for all your help.

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