magic keyboard volume function keys mis-assigned

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Level 1

9 points

magic keyboard volume function keys mis-assigned

Continuing this thread... magic keyboard numeric volume keys not working

...I am running El Capitan 10.11.6 with a new magic keyboard with numeric keypad. Same symptoms as murf1970 reported. Have zapped the PRAM and reset to default all keyboard settings in System Preferences without success. Found the darkness/brightness controls had migrated to F14 and F15, which I managed to reset back to F1 and F2. But there is no obvious way to reassign F10 to mute, F11 to volume down or F12 to volume up (screengrab 1 below). I can control volume by digging into Sound preferences (screengrab 2) but that's a pain. This is an office iMac I can't upgrade without losing legacy apps.

Posted on Sep 28, 2018 7:12 AM

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Answer 1

sterling r

Community Specialist

Sep 29, 2018 9:56 AM in response to dabelson

Hello and welcome to Apple Support Communities, dabelson!

I understand you're unable to use the function keys correctly on your new Magic Keyboard. I can understand how this may be upsetting, especially when trying to quickly control your settings. I'd be happy to provide information that may help you out.

Try the steps in this article: If your Apple wireless mouse, keyboard, or trackpad isn't working as expected
You can try the following steps for the function keys.

Your keyboard has one or more keys that don't respond

Use the Keyboard Viewer to test whether the keyboard keys are responding correctly when they are pressed.

Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then select Language & Region.

Click the Keyboard Preferences button.

Click on the Input Sources tab.

Make sure that the keyboard language that you use is listed on the left side. If it's not, click and choose from the languages that appear.

Select the checkbox next to Show Input menu in menu bar.

Click on the Keyboard tab, then select the checkbox next to Show keyboard and emoji viewers in menu bar.

Choose Show Keyboard Viewer from the Input menu in the menu bar. The Keyboard Viewer showing the keyboard layout appears on your display.

Type the key on the keyboard that doesn’t respond and see if the corresponding key highlights on the Keyboard Viewer. If it does, that key is functioning correctly.

If you enable the Mouse Keys feature, many keys might not respond as you expect. Here's how to turn off Mouse Keys:

In OS X 10.8 or later, choose Apple menu > System Preferences. Click on Accessibility, then choose Mouse & Trackpad from the list on the left side. Then deselect the Enable Mouse Keys checkbox.

In OS X 10.7.5 or earlier, choose Apple menu > System Preferences. Click on Universal Access, then select the Mouse & Trackpad tab. Then select the Off button next to Mouse Keys.

If issues with keys persist, try starting up your Mac in single-user mode to see whether a software issue is causing the problem.

Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.
Have a great day!

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Answer 2

dabelson Author

Level 1

9 points

Oct 1, 2018 8:57 AM in response to sterling r

This wasn't helpful because there was no discernible Show Keyboard Viewer command in the Sierra menu bar. When I hit function keys while the keyboard layout is showing in Input Sources tab, all I get are the same results as before - F10 moves the active window to center of screen, F11 hides all open windows, F12 does nothing.

I'm hesitant to reboot in single user mode because this is not my personal iMac and I don't want to do something inadvertently that I'll regret. We have a troubleshooting IT service but they visit the office infrequently.

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magic keyboard volume function keys mis-assigned

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