siniang
Level 1 (4 points)
Desktops

Q: Magic Trackpad 2 and Keyboard 2 show up as battery empty

Hi,

 

recently, first our Magic Trackpad 2 and later the Keyboard developed issues on our iMac (27" late 2015). At first we thought it was some kind of bluetooth interference, but we highly doubt it. Both the keyboard and the trackpad show up as connected, but with an empty battery, in the bluetooth settings, or disconnect shortly after connecting (probably because of that 'empty' battery). No input can be made during any of the times (probably because the iMac thinks both devices are empty)

 

In the meantime, an older Apple bluetooth keyboard is working flawlessly at the same iMac. The Magic Keyboard 2 is working fine on an older Macbook.

 

Troubleshooting so far:

- both batteries are full

- turned Bluetooth and devices off and on a million times

- removed devices from bluetooth list and paired again a million times

- plists in library/preferences and ~/library/preferences/ByHosts deleted

- PRAM reset

- reset bluetooth module and factory reset both devices through the bluetooth debug menu

- no other USB devices connected

 

It appears to be a software glitch, but how can we fix it?

 

Any help very much appreciated!

iMac, OS X El Capitan (10.11.5)

Posted on Jun 27, 2016 7:31 PM

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siniang

Q: Magic Trackpad 2 and Keyboard 2 show up as battery empty

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  • by Lindsay_B.,

    Lindsay_B. Lindsay_B. Jun 28, 2016 12:32 PM in response to siniang
    Community Specialists
    Jun 28, 2016 12:32 PM in response to siniang

    Hi, siniang!

     

    Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities. Based on what you've explained, I am understanding both your Magic Trackpad 2 and Apple Wireless Keyboard are being displayed with low battery on your iMac, and are disconnecting. This is happening even though you've charged them, and they work without issue on another Mac computer. It looks like you've even done some troubleshooting to try to resolve the issue already.  I rely on my iMac every day, so making sure its peripherals are working is important and I'm happy to offer some additional troubleshooting that should help!

     

    1. Reset the System Management Controller. Use the the article below to get more information on what the System Management Controller can help with, and how to do a reset of it.

      Reset the System Management Controller (SMC) on your Mac

       
    2. Test in safe mode. Safe mode will run a check of your system and disable certain software that may be causing conflicts with the devices, and the article linked below will help you use safe mode (even though the title isn't specific to your exact issue).

      Try safe mode if your Mac doesn't finish starting up

       
    3. Set up and test in a new user account. The following article will go over some information on why this is a good step to take, and how to set up a new user account if you need help.

      How to test an issue in another user account on your Mac

       
    4. Back up your Mac, then reinstall OS X. You can go through the instructions in the following article to get help backing up using Time Machine.

      Use Time Machine to back up or restore your Mac

      The article linked below will then help you reinstall OS X.

      How to reinstall OS X on your Mac

      Follow the "Reinstall from OS X" instructions first, then test the Magic Trackpad 2 and keyboard. If they continue to present a problem, move onto the "Erase your drive and reinstall OS X" section and test again.

     

    Have a lovely day! 

  • by siniang,

    siniang siniang Jun 28, 2016 6:55 PM in response to Lindsay_B.
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Desktops
    Jun 28, 2016 6:55 PM in response to Lindsay_B.

    Hi,

     

    thank you very much for your reply. Yes, you understand correctly. In addition to the two devices not working on the iMac, but working on another Macbook, I had an older (1st gen) wireless keyboard working with this particular iMac without any problem for many days - until this afternoon. Now I get the pairing prompt (where you have to press a certain sequence of numbers), but it doesn't actually recognize any input.

     

    SMC reset and safe mode didn't change anything. We have a second account on the iMac that has the same problems.

     

    So I guess, the only thing I can really do at this point is reinstalling OS X? Is there any way to reinstall the bluetooth driver, first?