iPad Pro Smart Keyboard not working

I had the same issue and then I discovered that Apple extended the warranty on these keyboard covers from the normal one year to three. I made an appointment with the Genius Bar and after showing them the issue they replaced it on the spot.

If people are having this problem I recommend trying to return the cover.

My keyboard stopped working intermittently after 3 years.

I took it back to the apple shop. They checked the serial number and told me it was from a batch with a known error. There was no replacement cost (even after 3 years).

Step one - I’d check its not from a faulty batch.

Hard restart resolved it for me. For now. Hope. This will solve the prob;em in the long term too.

thank you, I removed swiftkey and the ASK is working fine .....for the time being.

I have found that if i clean the contacts, my keyboard starts working. So it might just be dirty.

My keyboard started working again after restarting the iPad as mentioned in this post. However, I use this iPad exclusively for school and taking lecture notes in very fast progressing classes. It would be a huge inconvenience if the keyboard were to stop working during class!

I updated my iPad yesterday to the latest OS so perhap this is the issue - please fix ASAP!

This is back to haunt me. When this first arose the end of 2016 I went the go to the Genius Bar route and had my “old” key board replaced. All was then OK. Now its 11 months later, upgraded to iOS 11 and it’s back.

Have read several posts. I have tried the Apple Recommended, remove the key board, re-boot the iPad, reconnect the IPad and keyboard. Some times that works, some times it does not.

Have tried the “clean the contacts”, by and large does not work. Have watched the YouTube video of slightly “jiggling” the iPad to reseat the connection, made absolutely no difference. Have tried the loss of magnetism idea and had the most success with that. The idea that the gutter has lost if strength in the magnet so when you connect to the “type” configuration that it does not have enough magnetic strength the flip the switch. Have taken a magnet and stroked the gutter to re-magnetise. That has been the most effective.

But, still disappointed in the performance and lack of a good Apple solution or lack of anything less than a replacement key board.

The problem seems to be with the software / firmware controlling the directional accelerometer As I’m assuming the ipad uses this to work out the orientation and degree of ‘lean’ on the keyboard, along with the magnet stuff to identify that it is in typing position. Next time you get the problem and you have the software keyboard on the screen, pick up your iPad and keyboard (still in the folded typing position) and tilt it backwards. The software keyboard will disappear and normal service resumes.

I made a discovery. I have the Apple Smart Keyboard and one by Logitech that also uses the Smart Connector. When I got out the Logitech, the problem disappeared. My Apple keyboard would increasingly fail to get recognized by the iPad, and the software keyboard would pop up. It also caused the charging chime to occur at random times when it was attached to the iPad and the iPad was closed. Also, it occasionally would show the message that this accessory is not supported. The Apple Smart Keyboard had failed after a year.

Hi, ask the store to double check. Your keyboard might be like mine, part of a large production batch with faults. Apple knows about it but didn’t recall as not all keyboards in those batch have issues. They’ll replace it for free. However, if it’s not, then I’m not sure what they’ll do. Try the online support (chat), and they might be able to help.

The “incline tip” appears to be working. I.e press down on the front of the keyboard slightly. Then the keyboard gets activated.

@apple - should that be the use case for this accessory? It’s almost like ”miss connection“ between the keyboard and the iPad Pro 😟

— STOP HERE—

—APPLE HAS A NON-PUBLIC REPLACEMENT POLICY FOR FAULTY SMART KEYBOARDS.—

If you have a a genuine fault - show Apple support this transcript.

https://9to5mac.com/2017/05/08/apple-smart-keyboard-ipad-pro-repair-program-stic king-keys-functional-issues/

— THEY’LL CAVE! —

Took me four attempts with Apple Support to get an honest response.

First three attempts reporting the fault, they made me jump through all kinda hoops to make the keyboard work again.

Each attempt failed, or initially was a temporary fix.

On my fourth attempt to get someone to admit the keyboard might be faulty, I sent them the link to that article.

PRESTO.

They admitted they had a replacement policy and extended warranty on genuinely faulty keyboards.

I still had to take it into an Apple dealer to have it physically tested, but it was much more of a real support response than any of my other attempts.

Talking to the Apple dealer (3rd party) they said it wasn’t uncommon for Apple to have non-public replacement policies.

— SHORT SIGHTED APPLE—

Talk about treating your customers with contempt.

Instead of looking after me from the get go, I was forced to tolerate a throughly frustrating and unreliable product that ruined my whole iPad Pro / Apple experience, despite my repeated attempts to get help on what was obviously a known fault.

Don’t get me started about what it was like trying to deal with their 3rd party resellers here in NZ. In a word ‘abismal‘!

I have also been struggling with this problem for some time, it’s very frustrating!

However, I watched a YouTube video tonight which seems to have come up with a simple solution that has sorted it for me.

Even when the keyboard isn’t working the “Command” button seems to still work. Press it a couple of times then use “Command + Tab” to cycle through the open Apps and, low and behold, it works.

This is the first time for months that my keyboard has worked ... don’t know how long that will last though!

Give it a try and report back and let us all know if it works as well for you as it seems to have for me.

I bought a new keyboard, worked with the new keyboard perfectly then I tested it by switching to the old keyboard which was intermittent and it didn’t work. Concluded it must therefore be a hardware failure and a design fault with something probably in the hinge between the magnetic strip and the joint holding the rest of the cover. I’ve cut the old keyboard open to try to figure out if it’s a case of a wiring fatigue but there doesn’t seem to be a solid connection to investigate. Apple should be fixing this and issuing a product recall because at £169 it should live up to Apple’s usual standards. From reading everyone else’s issues this ought to be resolved by Apple sooner rather than later.

I have found that when this happens and i connect it and put it into TYPE position, I have to then tilt the iPad forward a bit if it doesn’t connect. That seems to have fixed my problem with the non-connection!