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New Apple keyboard, doesn't sync or charge ipod nano

M

mahonmeister

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 9, 2006
297
0
Redlands, CA
I hooked up the new Apple keyboard and installed the software and everything works great. I love the new design, slim keys and usb 2.0. It states on Apple's site that you can connect an iPod, camera, etc. but I get a 'USB Low Power Notice' (see attached images). Connecting my camera and mighty mouse works just fine, but not an iPod. I was surprised that they claimed it is usb2.0 without a dedicated power supply for the keyboard.

So what's the deal? I have the keyboard connected to a 2.0 port on my PowerBook.

Update: Apple changed their description of the keyboard on their site. Full USB 2.0 functionality only works with the new aluminum iMac as you can see with that wonderful symbol called the asterisk.

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I'm pretty sure that's how all of Apple's keyboards are...they don't have power via the USB. That's why Apple always tells you to plug the iPod in a USB port other then the ones on the keyboard.
 
I have the new wired keyboard. It won't charge or sync my iPod Mini via the built-in USB2 ports either.

Naughty Apple... how long will it take them to realise they haven't "thought of everything" and remove that statement from their website?
 
Luigi239 said:
I'm pretty sure that's how all of Apple's keyboards are...they don't have power via the USB. That's why Apple always tells you to plug the iPod in a USB port other then the ones on the keyboard.
Click to expand...
That's what I thought, but Apple specifically claims that you can connect any iPod (which implies you can sync and charge, I hope). This was actually a big selling point for me.

liketom said:
is it a shuffle ?
Click to expand...
1st gen nano 2GB.

Can anyone else try connecting their iPod and see what it does please?

I tried this on my powerbook and the family Mac mini. Same error on both.

EDIT:
CortexRock said:
I have the new wired keyboard. It won't charge or sync my iPod Mini via the built-in USB2 ports either.
Naughty Apple... how long will it take them to realise they haven't "thought of everything" and remove that statement from their website?
Click to expand...
Thanks for testing that. Apple seems to be falsely advertising an ability that the keyboard doesn't have. They will be hearing from me very soon.
 
I wonder if the new iMacs have a more powerful USB2.0 set up or something? I mean, the keyboards were released with them, so *technically* if this doesn't happen with the new machines, Apple could probably get round the issue - just blame the old technology!
 
mahonmeister said:
Apple seems to be falsely advertising an ability that the keyboard doesn't have. They will be hearing from me very soon.
Click to expand...

Me too. Just sent this using the iMac Feedback form...

I have an Intel iMac CoreDuo 20" Rev. A and have just purchased the new Apple wired keyboard. I have updated to the latest version of OS X, and downloaded the Apple Keyboard Update 1.1 as advised.

I am disappointed to find that the USB2 ports on the keyboard do NOT work as advertised on your website or as mentioned by Steve Jobs in his recent keynote. It would appear that the USB2 ports on the keyboard are not powered sufficiently to connect an iPod for syncing or charging.

I would like this matter to be raised with whoever is most appropriate, and for the misleading advertising on the website to be corrected at the earliest opportunity.

Thank you for your attention - an otherwise satisfied Apple customer!
 
works with mine

Hmm...

I have a 2nd gen. Nano 4 GB, and I was able to reformat (from PC to Mac) and sync my Nano today using the left USB port on my 2 day old iMac wired keyboard.
 
then for what???!!!!

Then what the heck are the extra two USB ports on the keyboard for if they can't sync and ipod nor read usb flash drives?
 
Update

Alright folks, I was able to get some help from AppleCare and here is what I learned:

So far I have:
1. Restarted with no peripherals plugged in ... didn't fix it
2. option - ctrl - shift - power button ... nope
3. command - option - P - R - power button ... nope

She is now consulting with another source. I asked if she had access to the new keyboard and an ipod, she said they don't yet. I even dictated the 'Low USB Power Notice' message to her, I guess she hasn't seen it before.

If you connect a powered usb hub to the usb 2.0 port of the new aluminum keyboard, you can charge and sync an ipod.

I was then transferred to a hardware specialist who was even more informative. He stated that the new keyboard does have two USB 2.0 ports; however, you can only connect one (1) high-powered USB 2.0 device to the keyboard at a time. The mighty mouse and iPod are both high-powered USB 2.0 devices, so you can't connect 'em both at the same time to the keyboard. You should be able to connect just an iPod and a USB 1.1 device, and still have full functionality of the iPod (charge and sync).

The problem: Even with only an iPod nano plugged into the usb port on the keyboard, it still had that 'low power' notice come up. He assured me that this is not supposed to happen, so he walked me through reseting my power management (or something like that). That involved shutting down, removing ,all peripherals, the A/C adapter and the battery, then holding the power button for 10 seconds. This still didn't fix the problem.

So he has contacted engineering and will be getting back to me within 48 hours. I told him about you guys and how one of you was able to use your ipod through the new keyboard. He will even be reviewing this thread to see what the rest of you have said.

He also put in a request to clarify Apple's web page describing the functionality of the USB 2.0 ports on the keyboard.

Anyways, sorry for the wall of text. I just thought some of you would be interested to know what is going on.

Cheers. :)
 
thanks for posting that. are you sure the mighty mouse is a high-powered device? b/c i can use it with the old apple keyboard, so i'm pretty sure it's not
 
Yeah, the Mighty Mouse works on USB 1.1, so I don't think that that is the final answer.
 
I thought it was a 1.1 device too, but Dan (the hardware specialist I talked with) stated that it was a 'high-power 2.0' device. Maybe he was mistaken, I dunno. You're right though, the mighty mouse does work when connected to the old keyboard, which is 1.1.

I should be able to get to the bottom of this by Monday.
 
I didnt see anyone else mention this.

A USB port only sends so much power through it. If you have two devices plugged into the ports on the keyboard there are 3 devices taking power.

From what I'm reading theres a mighty mouse and ipod plugged in. Try unplugging the mighty mouse (plug into mac) and see if the power is there for the ipod. It could just be that the mouse AND ipod are taking too much for the port.
 
LeviG said:
I didnt see anyone else mention this.

A USB port only sends so much power through it. If you have two devices plugged into the ports on the keyboard there are 3 devices taking power.

From what I'm reading theres a mighty mouse and ipod plugged in. Try unplugging the mighty mouse (plug into mac) and see if the power is there for the ipod. It could just be that the mouse AND ipod are taking too much for the port.
Click to expand...

I should note that when I reported earlier in this thread that syncing my Nano via the keyboard USB port worked, I did not have my mouse plugged into the keyboard at the time. The mouse was plugged into the back of my iMac.
 
LeviG said:
I didnt see anyone else mention this.

A USB port only sends so much power through it. If you have two devices plugged into the ports on the keyboard there are 3 devices taking power.

From what I'm reading theres a mighty mouse and ipod plugged in. Try unplugging the mighty mouse (plug into mac) and see if the power is there for the ipod. It could just be that the mouse AND ipod are taking too much for the port.
Click to expand...
Actually, I did discuss this with the hardware specialist form AppleCare. It's in my long reply above, but I can't blame you for not reading all of it. Here is the deal:

He stated that the new keyboard does have two USB 2.0 ports; however, you can only connect one (1) high-powered USB 2.0 device to the keyboard at a time. The mighty mouse and iPod are both high-powered USB 2.0 devices, so you can't connect 'em both at the same time to the keyboard. You should be able to connect just an iPod and a USB 1.1 device, and still have full functionality of the iPod (charge and sync).
Click to expand...

The problem is that even with only an iPod connected to the keyboard, it still brings up the 'low power' notice.
 
Is it possible that there's a stack-up problem, in the sense that it depends on the computer to which the KB is plugged in to begin with? I noticed the OP has a Mac Mini... is anyone trying this with a new iMac? The Mini already had a reputation of having somewhat underpowered USB ports itself, IIRC. So I wonder if daisy-chaining works more poorly on the Mini than on other Macs?
 
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