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

It took me almost a month to find out that my keypad was bad - enough time to make the warrantee expire. I found some web articles saying Apple extended the warrantee for those, but Apple's site asked me when I bought it. I was honest and it says the warrantee has expired.

It took a lot of effort, close-up photos, scrutiny under bright lights and about fifteen different wrong tries, but I finally was able to correctly discern the serial number on my affected Apple Smart Keyboard. Only then was I able to contact Apple Support and tell them of my problem with this keyboard that I've only had for about 7 months.

There was a lot of waiting on the phone while the rep talked to others about the issue and I was transferred to a specialist who informed me I was to receive a replacement. I got it the next day and sent my old one back, as instructed. The $7 shipping was the only cost and now I have a keyboard that does not pop up an error about being an unrecognized device every time I open the iPad case.

Hopefully, that one was just part of the legendary "bad batch" and it is not a problem endemic to all these keyboards, which will show up after a few months of use and normal flexion, wear and tear, etc. Either way, I'm making a note of the serial number of this model while it is still readable...

I had this problem for a while before taking my iPad to the apple store. Both my keyboard and iPad are out of warranty, and I didn't purchase AppleCare. It took less that 20 minutes for the Genius Bar rep to order a replacement at no charge. He explained that this is a known problem, I believed he called it a "serialized problem." A week later and I'm using my new keyboard. I don't know if it will be that easy for everyone, but its certainly worth a try.

Way back "in the day," I built and serviced PC's. One big problem we saw, especially when a PC was located in a harsh environment (hot, muggy, etc), was devices suddenly failing. Replacing the offending board would work, but it's expensive. I noticed that removing a card from the motherboard and reinstalling it would fix an issue. Looking at the contacts on the daughter-board, I could see scratches, indicating that a fine layer of something -- dirt? rust? corrosion? had been scratched off, and the board would begin working again. Cleaning the contact with alcohol helped for only a short time. I found that using a soft pencil erasure on the contacts, then cleaning them with alcohol provided a much better long-term solution.

I just did that on the 3 dots on the iPad, and the 3 pins on the keyboard. It immediately began working better. Give that a try!

Thanks for this! I've had this issue for a couple years and just got fed up enough to search for a solution. Your tip did the trick. One addition. On my keyboard the magnetic couplers in the trough above the keys alternate in polarity. My circular magnet will stand on edge between them then flip as it moves laterally. That last (left hand) slot which is above the 1 and 2 keys on your keyboard (it's actually above the tilde on mine) seems to have the switch in the trough that matches a magnet in the mating bar. The point is only that you wouldn't want to repeatedly rub a magnet all the way across the mating piece, lest you risk further reducing the flux of the magnets with opposite polarity. But placing a strong magnet against the magnet in the mating bar above the switch, and leaving it there for a bit, seems to have worked.

Thanks so much for posting.

I use an ink eraser -- more abrasive than a standard #2 pencil eraser. It seems to work better. Take your time, look closely at the contacts. I needed to scrub mine a few times, but it is working better.

Thanks iPodge.

Like others in this thread, I started to get this issue after about a year of use. It started out as an intermittent problem and I was able to resolve it by reattaching the keyboard, or rebooting the iPad. But recently, it simply stopped working.

So, frustration brought me here.

I tried your magnet trick (with a bit of trepidation - I have always been taught that computers and strong magnets don’t mix - but frustration trumps caution), which did not work the first time. I did not get the same behaviour you described where the onscreen keyboard disappeared. But it may have helped. I also took a close look at the three contact points on the bottom of the iPad itself and there was a bit of wear.

I polished these points up with a lint free car cloth and it seems to have done the trick for me. If could be both steps that helped.

Does anyone know what proof of purchase Apple requires to receive the replacement? I’ve had my keyboard a little over a year, I purchased the iPad from a former colleague of mine & the keyboard from someone off of craigslist. Will have to provide proof of purchase when asking for a warranty replacement on the keyboard? If the warranty has been extended to 3 years, then it’s only logical that it would still be in warranty as the Smary Keyboards have only been out roughly 2 years now (if i’m Not mistaken)

I had the same issue with 128GB 12.9" iPad getting error message of " This accessory is not supported by this device" for last few months.

I bought the smartkeyboard along with Apple Pen when I purchased the iPad Pro January 2016 from a retailer in Sydney Australia.

It has been randomly worked and frustrating to type with the keyboard.

When I saw the posting of Apple's 3 years warranty offer (1year standard and 2 year extended warranty for Smartkeyboard from 2015), I called Apple support to check if the extended warranty is available in Australia. but Applecare didn't answer the question but ask me to bring it to Genius bar.

After booking the Genius Bar, I took my iPad Pro and Smartkeyboard along with the original case this afternoon. The guy at the Genius bar didn't ask anything but checked if the Smartkeyboard is working without any issue. When he saw the keyboard is not working as intended, he replaced it with a brand new Smartkeyborad straight away.

The whole process was hassle free quick and simple service. Even my keyboard is more than 19months old, they didn't asked but checked the serial number then replaced it with a brand new one at the store.

So don't be bothered fixing by yourself but take it to Apple Genius bar no matter how old the Smartkeyboard is.

Cheers,

Ed

I have a similar problem, the error messages keep flowing in every few minutes, blocking what I do. Mostly they pop up when the keyboard is folded back. In the majority of cases, though, the keyboard keeps working (just had the message a couple of times before typing this). Occeasionally the keyboard stops working but is operational again after a warm start (home button + on/off switch long press).

The frequency of error messages seems to creep up, it is getting quite annoying meanwhile. It is awfully quiet from Apples side about what is a serious flaw that is killing productivity and fun.

I have the same error.

It started as keyboard malfunction almost one year after I bought the device plus the keyboard.

Now it is a nightmare. Neither Apple nor their country representatives care about the problem.

The keyboard is unserviceable. Even if you pay, they can’t fix it.

The only “solution” they present is to “replace” it with new one for the price I bought it.

No, I will not pay an additional GBP150 tax to Apple for a device I took care of like my own eyes.

Farewell Apple, I‘m buying your products for 25 years.

No more.

I know you first reported this problem a year ago, but just thought I would mention my experience.

This message started popping up on my ipad when my Smart Keyboard was about 18 months old. I got both the iPad Pro and the Smart Keyboard when they first came out.

I tried all the workarounds and finally went to the Genius Bar. Maybe because I buy so much Apple equipment, they replaced my Smart Keyboard. They didn’t do any troubleshooting, they just said based on the serial number, it was likely a known problem. The new one worked fine until iOS 11.02. Now both my and my husband’s Smart keyboards keep losing their connectivity (typing on the keyboard does nothing) which I assume must be a software problem with iOS. Am going to make a support call about this...

I went to apple store in California in March 2017 with TWO keyboards experiencing problems described in this thread. ONE was purchased in Japan and the other in california. Only the california purchased keyboard had become unusable. At the apple store, they denied any issues existed and because I had bought it 13 months prior, that it was out of warranty. Now the Japan purchased keyboard is also malfunctioning. I was about to buy a logitech product and saw that apple has finally recognized an issue and has a 'program' to fix it ( http://appleinsider.com/articles/17/05/08/apple-offers-free-ipad-pro-smart-keybo ard-repairs-in-wake-of-functional-issues ) as long as it is within 3 years. Just 5 minutes ago I got off the phone with "nathan" a "senior manager" on the phone support. He declared that they do NOT currently have a program and that they will only deal with issues if it was within 12 months of purchase (i.e. the warranty). I highlighted the websites and this forum to them and they said that they do not acknowledge any issues. Can you believe it!?!? I'm just one guy... but my family has easily purchased 40k usd of prodcuts over the last decade or so between phones, computers, ipads, nanos, etc.... I highlighted that I'm not sure how I will react but that putting our next decade of business at risk over a 129 dollar keyboard with OBVIOUS problems seems to be a silly decision. SO this ONE guy is going to go thru a lot of inconvenience in the coming years and abandon apple products as much as I possibly can. Anyone have the logitech keyboard?

I suffered the same issue with my iPad Pro Smart Keyboard: “Error message: This accessory is not supported by this device”. What worked for me was connecting the iPad to the keyboard flap, but not snapping the flap into the gutter at the top of the keyboard. Then I cleaned out the gutter using a soft cloth. Hey presto, everything worked!

I had this happen tto me his morning on my ipad pro. I resolved it by backing up my ipad to itunes. I then dowloaded 11.1.1 and restored my ipad from my Mac Pro. Now my keyboard works on my ipad keyboard case again. Not sure if it was a bug in the last update of iOS, but I am glad it works again. Paid too much for it not to. Hope this is helpful.