Some numeric keys not working

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Level 1

22 points

Some numeric keys not working

I'm on an iMac with High Sierra. I'm using a USB keyboard with numeric keypad.

When typing in e.g. Pages, I get numbers and characters from the numeric keypad with the exception of +, - and * which seem to do nothing. I am not using mouse keys or any other special stuff. In settings, my keyboard comes up as "Swedish - PRO".

Suspecting that this is a hardware failure. Or is there a trick to activate these keys?

Åke

iMac (27-inch Mid 2011), macOS High Sierra (10.13.2)

Posted on Sep 2, 2018 9:40 AM

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Answer 1

rkaufmann87

Level 10

140,580 points

Sep 3, 2018 11:18 AM in response to Eldberg

back-to-back

ˌbaktəˈbak/

adjective

1.

consecutive. "back-to-back homers in a major league baseball game"

adverb

1.
(of two people) facing in opposite directions with backs touching."they sat on the ground, leaning back to back"
2.
consecutively; in succession."the games were played back to back"

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Answer 2

Eldberg Author

Level 1

22 points

Sep 5, 2018 2:11 AM in response to rkaufmann87

Thanks. The way to reset SMC, as described on Apple's support pages, is to shut down the Mac, disconnect it from power, wait, connect, wait and restart. I am guessing that "back to back" means "after restart, don't do anything except repeat the shutdown-disconnect sequence immediately.

I have done the reset 2 times but checked for effect each time. (No change.) Will do 3 resets in sequence and see what happens.

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Answer 3

Eldberg Author

Level 1

22 points

Sep 8, 2018 10:16 AM in response to rkaufmann87

Thanks again. don't know that anything bad happened to the keyboard. Years ago, daughter spilled a glass of fruit juice over a keyboard. I disassembled it, brought the parts into the shower, let it dry for 2 weeks and it worked perfectly. With this one, i'm more like waiting to win an absurd sum of money in the lottery so I can buy a new, astronomically overpriced, iMac.

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Answer 4

rkaufmann87

Level 10

140,580 points

Sep 9, 2018 5:36 AM in response to Eldberg

Keyboards are quite a bit less expensive than a new iMac. By the way, you can buy an Apple refurbished Mac. There is no downside to these, they are identical to a new computer, come with the same 1 year warranty, are eligible to AppleCare and can save hundreds of $. If that is any interest go to Apple.com navigate to the bottom of the page and click the Refurbished section. If you don't find what you want check frequently as the models sell very quickly and inventory changes very quickly.

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Answer 5

rkaufmann87

Level 10

140,580 points

Sep 9, 2018 5:36 AM in response to Eldberg

Try any USB keyboard to see if the problem occurs with the different keyboard.

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Answer 6

rkaufmann87

Level 10

140,580 points

Sep 2, 2018 9:52 AM in response to Eldberg

Reset the SMC 2-3 times back to back with ALL external peripherals disconnected.

SMC Reset

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Answer 7

Eldberg Author

Level 1

22 points

Sep 3, 2018 11:08 AM in response to rkaufmann87

What does "back to back" mean?

And what qualifies as an external? Even the keyboard? I boot the machine from an external SSD, can't start without that.

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Answer 8

Eldberg Author

Level 1

22 points

Sep 6, 2018 5:18 AM in response to Eldberg

Have now done the back-to-back shutdown-disconnect-reboot three times but unfortunately no change.

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Answer 9

Eldberg Author

Level 1

22 points

Sep 8, 2018 6:05 AM in response to rkaufmann87

Connected an old keyboard that used to belong to my Quicksilver. Everything works. Which probably means there is a hardware problem with the keyboard belonging to my iMac,

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Answer 10

rkaufmann87

Level 10

140,580 points

Sep 8, 2018 7:51 AM in response to Eldberg

Yup, Did anyone spill anything on it or clean it recently? If so, that can damage them. If you decide to replace it, check out www.macsales.com, you can find them there used but in excellent shape.

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Some numeric keys not working

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