My keyboard won't sync to my new Mac mini. It was paired to my iPad but I unpaired it and it still won't connect. Any mouse button I can hit to bring up utilities or something. Don't haveva USB keyboard to finish setup.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Can't connect Apple keyboard on first startup.
- Thread starter RKilbane20
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I'm afraid not. You will need to get a USB keyboard. This issue has already been covered in the following thread ...
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1210004/
and here ...
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1206120/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1210004/
and here ...
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1206120/
Unfortunately, you are going to have to find a USB keyboard. I am lucky enough to work in a building with about 350 tech people, and all of them running either Unix/Linux/Mac systems. Oddly enough, it still took me about 3 hours to find somebody not using a wireless keyboard...
It felt very Microsoft-ish dealing with this issue, however.
It felt very Microsoft-ish dealing with this issue, however.
The Apple Magic Mouse probably won't work either as it uses Bluetooth. You will probably need to get an Apple Mighty Mouse or any other USB mouse. I used the Apple Mighty Mouse which I still had lying around.
I experienced the same problem that other people have had with pairing the BT magic mouse and the magic trackpad with my Mac mini during the initial setup. I had to use a USB mouse and keyboard. I bought the magic mouse and trackpad new at the same time that I purchased the Mac mini. It was not a case of having paired the devices with another Mac computer.
If you download and read the PDF instruction manual it recommends using a USB mouse and keyboard during the setup process. My BT accessories paired very quickly once the setup was complete.
If you download and read the PDF instruction manual it recommends using a USB mouse and keyboard during the setup process. My BT accessories paired very quickly once the setup was complete.
yeah, sorry that is exactly what I meant, the USB mouse. Went and bought one last night and was able to complete the start up no problems. Will keep the mouse as a back up if needed.
Once again one has to congratulate Apple management on a monumental achievement of quality control. They probably have a team of hundreds of people responsible for designing the Mac Mini and its interaction with OS X, of which there are probably at least a dozen responsible one way or another for quality control. Each of them probably gets paid in excess of six figures. And none of them tries to turn that damn computer on just to see if the end-user would be able to actually use it without buying a friggin' USB keyboard? What are they paying these people millions of dollars for? To pick their noses? This is ridiculous.
I had the exact same problem that my new Mac mini server wouldn't detect my wireless keyboard, ended up buying a USB keyboard just to complete the setup.
We setup a new mini server today too and also had to end up using a USB keyboard to do the internet recovery and setup after installing a new SSD.
I am not sure what is up with this, but clearly it has something to do with the new Bluetooth 4.0 that Apple went with on these bad boys.
I am not sure what is up with this, but clearly it has something to do with the new Bluetooth 4.0 that Apple went with on these bad boys.
I have a spare usb (12 bucks or less/used) just for "just in case" problems
just for your know.. the Bluetooth keyboard and mouse works just fine during a Linux install or win7 install
just got to mouse click the screen once.. and it will figure itself out.
(2011 macmini) (2010 mini server) (macbook pro sold to a college hopeful)
just for your know.. the Bluetooth keyboard and mouse works just fine during a Linux install or win7 install
just got to mouse click the screen once.. and it will figure itself out. (2011 macmini) (2010 mini server) (macbook pro sold to a college hopeful)
Has anyone bought a new mini that came with 10.7.1 and still having the same setup issues.
Just wondering if the update may have fixed this for new users.
Just wondering if the update may have fixed this for new users.
Well it's 2013 and I had to replace my dead mini. It had set up great with wireless. These many years later, I need to drive out and get a USB to complete the setup because nobody tests things. It just works! Yeah, they make money and make chumps out of us. What a scam! It just works.
Try booting into recovery, turning the keyboard off then back on, it should pair, then restart.
It paired fine after I plugged in a USB and got to the desktop and then added a second keyboard.
How would I boot into recovery if the system didn't detect a keyboard in the first place? Recovery requires a keyboard shortcut, right?
How would I boot into recovery if the system didn't detect a keyboard in the first place? Recovery requires a keyboard shortcut, right?
Strange I've used my BT keyboard and track pad on multiple macs all during initial setup with little to no issues. 1st I make sure they are unpaired with the pervious machine and then when the setup keyboard screen comes up I just have to hit the power button on the keyboard a couple times until it pairs. Most of the time it does it with the first power off/on but sometimes I have to do it a couple times. Always works....
The system should detect it. I've had this happen to many people where their Bluetooth keyboard doesn't pair. Hold down cmd r and that gets them into recovery.
That works even when the keyboard is not yet detected and paired?
The reason why they were still paired with the old machine is it died and I couldn't unpair them, it being dead and all.
The reason why they were still paired with the old machine is it died and I couldn't unpair them, it being dead and all.
I bought a USB keyboard and mouse set off Amazon for the princely sum of £4. It's a small price to pay for hassle free setup, and it even seems to be adequate quality.
I had the same problem. I bought a Mac mini with wireless keyboard and a TRACKPAD I reiterate TRACKPAD. I went out and bought a UBS keyboard to finish set up only to find out later that when I was on the select a language I wasn't pressing on the trackpad hard enough on the arrow below; I had it on my knee it needs to be on a hard surface. I only found this out later when I used the UBS keyboard(pressed "enter" for English) then got to the region section that if I pressed hard enough on the trackpad( out of 2 hours of frustration) the arrow button worked.
So in short when you get to select a language put the trackpad on a hard surface and press hard on the arrow(I'm only assuming this will work for I used the USB keyboard here) then you will get to region where you should repeat pressing hard and then it will tell you to sync you wireless keyboard.
I hope this works and you found this answer quickly unlike me who wasted hours of their life setting up their Mac mini.
Goodlucl
So in short when you get to select a language put the trackpad on a hard surface and press hard on the arrow(I'm only assuming this will work for I used the USB keyboard here) then you will get to region where you should repeat pressing hard and then it will tell you to sync you wireless keyboard.
I hope this works and you found this answer quickly unlike me who wasted hours of their life setting up their Mac mini.
Goodlucl