Smart Keyboard not working since ios11.

I started getting the maddening "Accessory Not Supported" error message after installing iOS 11. 2 on my 12.9 inch iPad Pro Gen2. This is actually my second Smart Keyboard. Apple replaced my first one in May of this year. Not only did the error message occur multiple times but when typing it would hesitate and then would come a burst of all the characters I had typed.

After a text chat with Apple Support, they agreed to send me a replacement Smart Keyboard. (I could have gone to the Apple Retail Store for an exchange but things are crazy there this time of year.) Of course, I had to ship them the offending keyboard after receiving the replacement or they would charge me another $169.

So the "Accessory Not Supported" no longer appears and there is no hesitation --- when it is working. Seems that it is not always detected by the iPad Pro. And when it is detected, in the middle of typing a sentence, the virtual keyboard pops up and the Smart Keyboard no longer responds. I've tried connecting and reconnecting. I've tried rocking it back and forth. I've tried cleaning the contacts. I've growled at it. Eventually it starts working again. I'm beginning to think there is an issue with iOS 11.2.

I think it’s in the software. I’ve followed the suggestions in the thread. It’s only since the new iOS that I’ve had this problem. Very frustrating as I use my iPad Pro for work. Does anyone know if Apple is tracking down any issues with the software?

I agree. This never happened in iOS prior to 11.2. I’m in the Apple beta testing program and have submitted the issue through their Feedback app and I bet I’m

Not the only one to submit this problem. Beta testers in this thread, please also submit the issue through Feedback.

The Smart Keyboard has become so flaky that I put it away and pulled out the Logitech Create keyboard/case. It uses the same Smart connector as the Apple Smart Keyboard. It's working perfectly. Go figure. It offers a bonus, too. It's backlit.

Hi everyone, I’ve had my iPad Pro and Smart Keyboard for 18 months... since updating ios11...my Smart Keyboard was working on and off, went to Apple Sydney, they changed it...the new one worked for the first day, then stopped working, ....went back in, they gave me a new one and we tested it before leaving Apple store, it worked fine....the next day....it’s stopped working again! I‘m pretty sure it’s got to be the new ios11 system?!...Can’t see how 4 smart keyboards, with a different batch number on them, would be the issue....Apple 🍏 really needs to get this sorted and get to the root of the problem because my next option offered to me is to replace the iPad Pro, and I don’t want to have to do that, though I’m covered under Apple care. 🍎

Yes. Logitech makes at least two keyboards that connect to the Smart connector instead of Bluetooth. And they are backlit. I have the original one called the CREATE. A second one was released called the SLIM COMBO. Go to Logitech.com and search for "iPad Pro Keyboards." Some Apple Retail Stores carry them.

One caution. Lately my Logitech CREATE has been going to 'sleep' in the middle of typing. It 'wakes' after a few seconds which leads me to believe the problem is with iOS, not the Smart Keyboard itself.

Because of the Logitech starting to misbehave, I giving the brand new Apple Smart Keyboard another try. stopped working briefly a few minutes ago. I rocked it back and forth and it starting working again.

I encourage you all to send a note to Apple Feedback in the iPad section. And send them a link to this 10 page discussion. If you have Tim Cook's email, send him a 'greeting.' I saw a picture recently of him holding an iPad Pro but there was no keyboard attached. Maybe he is unaware of this issue. Time to bump it up the chain of command.

I am an iPad developer with 7 years experience.

I have both the first 12.9” iPad Pro with Smart Keyboard and the first 9.7” iPad Pro with smart keyboard

Both keyboards stopped working with iOS 11

I will complain to Apple, this is clearly a problem in iOS 11, the silence from Apple suggests they know about the problem but don’t know how to fix it.

I will also report the issue to their developer bug tracking database.

Yup. Same issue here. Although my keyboard was flaky prior to ios11. It would drain the iPad by flickering power on and off many times even with the lid shut. I’m off to get another one. Less than one year old.

I’ve had this problem constantly since the 11.1 beta and I reported it in the beta program several times. It was intermittent before that. Now my keyboard works for a while and then either disappears or becomes an unsupported device. Removing and reattaching occaisionally fixes it. Rebooting always fixes it, but rebooting 5-8 times a day is very unproductive.

I went back to using my recently replaced Apple Smart Keyboard. It's been working almost constantly. Sometimes the virtual keyboard pops ups and the Smart Keyboard is 'negative function.' I literally rock the iPad Pro backward and forward. It almost always re-activates the Smart Keyboard. I suspect it triggers a reset. I don't think it is a hardware contact issue, but I regularly wipe off the contacts on both the iPad Pro and Smart Keyboard with a microfibre rag just in case there is some invisible schmutz causing less than optimal connection.

I too started having problems once i updated to ios11. I have had both the iPad replaced and the keyboard replaced and the issue still exists. To sit in meeting and have to reboot my iPad multiple times to get it to work is unacceptable. I'm not too sure why apple has its head in the sand hoping the issue will magically disappear? As a iPad business user, this issue has rendered my machine useless! C'mon Apple, if Steve Jobs was around this issue would have been fixed by now!

I guarantee they are by no means ignorance of this. Lol. Apple is silent as a tomb most times. I bet there could be a class action about this lol. I’m not suggesting that at all. They just need to fix this in an update and it would be awesome Apple (if you are reading this) if you could give us a comment. Thanks Apple.

I have this issue as well.

Brand new iPad Pro 12.9. Brand new Smart (not so Smart) Keyboard.

It may be a software issue, but it could coincidentally be a hardware issue too.

I have found that ‘rocking’ the iPad itself, whilst it’s sitting in the keyboard, will sometimes make the keyboard come and go (the software keyboard appears/disappears). If the Smart Keyboard is not recognised and gentle rocking doesn’t work, I’ve found that lifting it away, at one corner, from the magnet ‘grip’ will make it return when the magnets slam back together. Sometimes it seems that the keyboard needs to be on a flat surface, other times not. This all suggests to me that there is something going on with the connectors. As I say, maybe it’s a combination of software and hardware issues.

So far ... with an absolute ‘top-of-the-line‘ specked out iPad Pro 12.9, Apple have failed spectacularly on the ‘out of box’ experience: 2 hours with Apple support trying to get my Messages to sync from an iPhone backup and to date about 6 or 7 hours spent trying to fix it myself (and failing) I’m getting ready to go up the next level of support and to spend more *unpaid* time trying to fix what should ‘just work’. Does anyone believe in resurrection? Any idea how we can get Steve Jobs back on board? And now of course, this issue with the keyboard (which I really like apart from this connection problem ... and the noise that the space bar makes).

Ho hum.

I just got a 12.9 iPad Pro and the Smart Keyboard for Christmas and was confounded by how the keyboard wouldn’t “register” each time I went to use it. Tried restarting with and without the keyboard in place, turning WiFi on and off, nothing would work for long. Saw this video on YouTube and it seems to have done the trick: iPad Pro 12.9" Smart Keyboard Fix - YouTube. Basically, scooch the keyboard a little and voila. Hope this helps someone.

HI gee-eff-ess,

thanks for the advice....the ‘tilt off of the magnet method worked .... for now.

Just got a new 12.9 iPad Pro gen 2 to replace my gen 1 which only had 128 gig memory. Had a smartkeyboard with the first gen IPP, but it stopped working before apple announced the extension of the warranty on the original smartkeyboard last spring. So I purchased the Logitech IPP smartkeyboard last year. I tried it on the new IPP and it worked immediately. Then, I reconnected the new apple smartkeyboard and it worked. But then when I went back to it later, it stopped again. This time, it would respond to removing and reconnecting ,but today, even that failed. So,

I did what you said (tilt and reconnect) and that worked. I think it is a software issue, since simply shutting the iPad off and letting it sit and then restarting it seems to cause problems....if it were a connection issue, it should work if we don’t move the ipad. Either way, it *****.

I hope they acknowledge and fix. I’m tempted to go to apple Store, but I’ve only heard one or 2 people on this forum say that worked.