iPad Pro Keyboard "This accessory is not supported by this device"

I have both the 12.9 and 9.7 iPad Pro. I have the 12.9 Apple Keyboard. It will randomly work with the 12.9, but every time I have connected the 9.7 to it, it has worked. Makes me wonder if there is some sort of issue with the connectors on the 12.9 rather than keyboard issue?

Another earlier post someone said they used a magnet to recharge the magnetic portion and it fixed his problem. Haven't tried it yet. The problem started with mine within 1 month after buying the larger iPad Pro. It seems as time goes by that it gets worse. Everyone has been posting this problem all over the web with no help from Apple. Its not the money just the principal. Just wish they would come up with the fix and stand behind this product. I have always had good response and support for all the other apple product but no response to this particular issue. Middle of last year someone post that they were aware and are coming up with a fix to the problem. That was 8 months ago. I have tried everything but the magnets and voodoo and will try the magnets next. Good luck

When I got this keyboard along with the iPad Pro, I wasn't overly optimistic about its durability. When new It performed better than expected — even though it's not optimal for good typing. I had the Logictech originally (because I wanted a lit keyboard since I work in dark a lot, but I returned that after about a week — I got the extended AppleCare and it covers the keyboard as well.

I don't know why folk are getting in a kerfuffle about this issue. I contacted Support and they are replacing the keyboard. When you think about it, this fairly light and easily detached keyboard is an engineering marvel. Get the AppleCare when you buy this sort of thing and you're covered. When it came out, it was totally new and untested in the public environment. Just insist on your warranty rights. Apple is a big company, replacing your keyboard will not cause it any real distress. Hopefully, they can eventually improve on their innovation.

Yeah, my keyboard wasn't even covered by AppleCare, but because I'd had it for less than a year Apple replaced it for free. **** happens. I guess it would be annoying if I'd had the keyboard for a year and a day, but even then under UK law (and EU law, at least until the UK is out of the EU) I think I could argue my case that Apple should replace the keyboard even if it went back to them outwith the warranty period that they set. Dunno how this would work elsewhere, though.

Ya Jim,

Hard to unnerstand the vicissitudes of warranties these days. Even though it's — admittedly — a premium price the 3 year AppleCare warranty is a must have for me. While I rarely need the warranty itself having 3 years of immediate support — without additional cost — can be a real timesaver.

In this case if you, bought your keyboard WITH your iPad it's covered for the three years of the AppleCare warranty. "Supposedly," the accessories (not sure if Apple only) get the extended coverage of the computer. Over the years, I have had extended areas where I wasn't in need of any coverage — in hindsight — but I'm always glad to pick it up.

Hey All - I booked an appointment to replace my Smart Keyboard and was advised that AppleCare+ does NOT cover the Smart Keyboard, however, they keyboard was covered under a "Quality Program" within Apple. Apparently this issue is fairly widespread and acknowledged by Apple, so if your keyboard is out of warranty, ask about this program to get it replaced.

Apple replaced mine and the new keyboard is working fine so far.

The magnet idea worked, but then the connection is lost again. I contacted Apple support and they said that this is a connection issue of which theyvarr awarr and that there is a repair program whose costs are covered if the device is eligible.

They send you a new keyboard and they refund you when they get the old one or you can get the new one from the store.

I haven't read all of the replies, but I just started having this problem, too. Several times a day.

So this morning I took 2 Q-Tips and some isopropyl alcohol and cleaned the contacts using one Q-Tip each to clean and dry each set of contacts.

Haven't seen that message since.

Something to try.

Dan,

As Mr. Ching pointed out:

Warranty has been extended on the keyboard.

https://www.cnet.com/news/apple-smart-keyboard-warranty-repair-extension/

Sometimes the fixes work, and then it just gets worse. Best to contact support and request a replacement. Hopefully they can fix this so the newer keyboards last longer than five years…

I don't want to discourage anyone from getting their keyboard replaced but my replacement went anything but smooth. First keyboard replacement caused my iPad to go berserk, flashing different elements on screen. Went back and they gave me a new keyboard AND new iPad. That was worse. The new iPad would get streaks across it and suddenly reboot, sometimes making a screeching sound.

They replaced the "new" iPad and now it's all settled down. But it was three trips to the Apple Store. Lucky for me it's only 20 min away but that's 4-5 hours of my life I won't get back.

Randall,

Sorry, but I'm working from the empirical evidence (i.e. what I see and experience from the results of my tinkering), and since my Q-Tip/alcohol experiment I haven't seen that message once, and I've been using this thing almost nonstop since I did that.

Thanks for the link, though. I'll check it out.

But from what I'm reading here on this subject there are too many people whose, once their keyboards are replaced, iPads go out of the frying pan and into the core of a nuclear reactor.

Dan

Add me to the list of those with this problem, although it is only just now manifesting after about six or seven months of otherwise trouble-free use. The "device not supported" message is only just now cropping up occasionally, and I've been ignoring it because the keyboard has been working anyway, but today it came up and the keyboard didn't work and I had to disconnect and reconnect it a few times to get it recognized again. That's when I came here to see if it was a known problem and found it indeed is.

Obviously, it's a hardware problem, since it takes a while to start happening and I'm glad to see there is an extended replacement program too (I bought mine as an "open box" discounted item on eBay, so I don't know if that disqualifies it in Apple's eyes or not. How do we register an accessory with Apple, the way we do with a major item that contains a serial number?) but I'd rather it not get to the point it is so unusable that I'm forced to replace it.

So far, this is just a sporadic, random annoyance. But I've wondered about the long-term effects of constantly flexing the keyboard's material and what that's doing to the integrated circuits and whatever else is inside there that makes the whole thing work. I like Apple's clean design of the keyboard, but I've been worried about durability when noticing the flex marks and frayed edges where it is being constantly bent and bent back.

I had the Logitech keyboard - it started to mark the screen and apple swapped it for the apple keyboard and a new iPad Pro. Apple keyboard las been great, beginning to get buggy now with the not supported error

Thank you for the magnet tip! This fixed it for me! I started having this problem several months ago, maybe back in Jan 2017, and have been irritated but mostly ignored it. Started happening more recently, so I really spent time cleaning all the contact areas and tested the magnet theory from iPodge. That fixed it! The disconnect message had been happening VERY often - every few minutes when I was using the keyboard a lot. Now, it's stopped altogether. Also, I should mention that there was a small nick/blemish on the underside of my iPad just above the 1&2 keys on the keypad - I'm sure this was adding to the problem and I smoothed it out as well.

Hope this is helpful for others.

- Jon

Whoever you talked to is WRONG. I've had mine replaced. Here's the 9 to 5 Mac article that has a screenshot of the policy:

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