Brand new IMac and keyboard only types a few characters

[DenMans64]

Please help. My old IMac 2017 suddenly developed an issue where it stopped typing a lot of the letters on the keyboard. Am certain there is nothing wrong with the keyboard. A virtual desktop keyboard works perfectly.
Anyway, I just bought a brand new IMac 2026 base model imac. Transferred my data to new computer ditectly as an Imac transfer and now I have exactly the same keyboard issue with the new IMac keyboard either not typing at all, or only some keys working or it types weird characters. I can't login to my Apple account at start up because of this. How can I fix it? It must be a software issue! Thanks.

 

[ignatius345]

I would try a different USB keyboard and see what happens.

I can't login to my Apple account at start up because of this.

Can you not use the virtual keyboard you mentioned earlier in your post to log in? I thought it was available on the login screen, but maybe I’m mistaken.

 

[DenMans64]

I would try a different USB keyboard and see what happens.


Can you not use the virtual keyboard you mentioned earlier in your post to log in? I thought it was available on the login screen, but maybe I’m mistaken.

Thank you. No, virtual keyboard not an option at start up, plus I still need to fix the actual new keyboard / software / connectivity issue. It's a brand new, 1 day old computer with new keyboard and the old one had developed the same issue. Can't be a co-incidence. I don't have another keyboard and anyway am 99.9% certain the problem is not the actual keyboard.

 

[chown33]

I think you should treat this problem as if something that got transferred is causing the new keyboard to malfunction.

One approach is to completely erase the new iMac and set it up again from scratch, but DON'T transfer anything yet. Instead, leave the newly created Mac account as-is. It will be an admin account, so it will be able to add users in Users & Groups later.

If the keyboard still malfunctions, then something unusual is happening, because a complete erase should have cleaned out everything.

Here's how to do a complete erase:

Erase your Mac and reset it to factory settings - Apple Support

Use the Erase All Content and Settings feature to quickly and securely erase all settings, data, and apps, while maintaining the operating system currently installed.

support.apple.com

Here's how to enable the on-screen keyboard for login:

Turn on accessibility options in the login window on Mac

On your Mac, turn on certain accessibility features in the login window.

support.apple.com

If the new virgin admin account works correctly, and the keyboard works, only then should you add a new user in Users & Groups and transfer your old Mac's data to that account. You should keep the new virgin admin account so you have it to fall back on.

Exactly what keyboards do you have?
Are they connected by USB or Bluetooth?

 

[DenMans64]

I think you should treat this problem as if something that got transferred is causing the new keyboard to malfunction.

One approach is to completely erase the new iMac and set it up again from scratch, but DON'T transfer anything yet. Instead, leave the newly created Mac account as-is. It will be an admin account, so it will be able to add users in Users & Groups later.

If the keyboard still malfunctions, then something unusual is happening, because a complete erase should have cleaned out everything.

Here's how to do a complete erase:

Erase your Mac and reset it to factory settings - Apple Support

Use the Erase All Content and Settings feature to quickly and securely erase all settings, data, and apps, while maintaining the operating system currently installed.

support.apple.com

Here's how to enable the on-screen keyboard for login:

Turn on accessibility options in the login window on Mac

On your Mac, turn on certain accessibility features in the login window.

support.apple.com

If the new virgin admin account works correctly, and the keyboard works, only then should you add a new user in Users & Groups and transfer your old Mac's data to that account. You should keep the new virgin admin account so you have it to fall back on.

Exactly what keyboards do you have?
Are they connected by USB or Bluetooth?

Thank you for your prompt reply. As I have only just transferred all data from old Imac to new, I will leave your solution till I've exhausted all others, like pointer and keyboard settings etc.
Re keyboards, the 2017 mac is bluertooth and the 2026 one is usb.

 

[chown33]

Make sure the bluetooth keyboard is turned off. The best way to be sure is to remove the battery, if it has a replaceable one.

It's conceivable the new iMac may have paired with the BT kbd if it was on. If the malfunction is due to that keyboard, then taking it completely out of play could be worth doing.

If you have any other BT devices, best to turn them off, too.

 

[DenMans64]

Make sure the bluetooth keyboard is turned off. The best way to be sure is to remove the battery, if it has a replaceable one.

It's conceivable the new iMac may have paired with the BT kbd if it was on. If the malfunction is due to that keyboard, then taking it completely out of play could be worth doing.

If you have any other BT devices, best to turn them off, too.

Thanks. I'll try that.

 

[mreg376]

I'm not quite sure what you're saying. You have two physical keyboards -- one from the 2017 iMac, and one from the 2026 iMac. If they both have the same problem on both machines, then you have developed a softtware issue on the 2017 iMac that you transferred over to the new iMac. You should reconsider that you "will leave your solution till I've exhausted all others," and take chown33's advice to reset the new iMac. You're not going to see a a lot of other "solutions." That will confirm whether you transferred a problem from the 2017 iMac. When the new iMac works fine, you can tranefer your apps one by one to see when and if the error recurs. And don't transfer any "settings" from the old iMac. Your time is better spent setting up your new machine carefully than expecting someone to come up with what glitch has occurred in an iMac that has been running for 9 years.

 

[DenMans64]

I'm not quite sure what you're saying. You have two physical keyboards -- one from the 2017 iMac, and one from the 2026 iMac. If they both have the same problem on both machines, then you have developed a softtware issue on the 2017 iMac that you transferred over to the new iMac. You should reconsider that you "will leave your solution till I've exhausted all others," and take chown33's advice to reset the new iMac. You're not going to see a a lot of other "solutions." That will confirm whether you transferred a problem from the 2017 iMac. When the new iMac works fine, you can tranefer your apps one by one to see when and if the error recurs. And don't transfer any "settings" from the old iMac. Your time is better spent setting up your new machine carefully than expecting someone to come up with what glitch has occurred in an iMac that has been running for 9 years.

Ok. Thank you.

 

[Fishrrman]

Remove the old (bluetooth) keyboard from the room the Mac is in.
In fact, move it as far as possible -- even down to the basement, so it can't connect.

Now...
Shut down (all the way off)
Reboot
Try the NEW (wired) keyboard (with the old one "out of the equation").

Any diffference?

If you STILL have the problem...
Go to users and groups and create a NEW, temporary account.
Give it administrative privileges.
Don't set it up beyond a username and password -- that's all you need for testing.
Now, log OUT of your "regular" account and log INTO the new, test account.
Does the keyboard start working as it should?

If that's the case, then there is SOMETHING within your regular user account that is mucking things up. Tracking the offending software or setting down can be easy or difficult. But the above test would indicate that the problem is "localized" to within your regular account...

 

[DenMans64]

Remove the old (bluetooth) keyboard from the room the Mac is in.
In fact, move it as far as possible -- even down to the basement, so it can't connect.

Now...
Shut down (all the way off)
Reboot
Try the NEW (wired) keyboard (with the old one "out of the equation").

Any diffference?

If you STILL have the problem...
Go to users and groups and create a NEW, temporary account.
Give it administrative privileges.
Don't set it up beyond a username and password -- that's all you need for testing.
Now, log OUT of your "regular" account and log INTO the new, test account.
Does the keyboard start working as it should?

If that's the case, then there is SOMETHING within your regular user account that is mucking things up. Tracking the offending software or setting down can be easy or difficult. But the above test would indicate that the problem is "localized" to within your regular account...

Thank you. Yes, the keyboard problem is definitely isolated only within one Imac user account. The others work no problem. I will wipe the new imac and open a new account and start again from scratch. Can't take any more. Have been at it trying to discover the glitch for hours, without success.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP wrote:
"the keyboard problem is definitely isolated only within one Imac user account. The others work no problem. I will wipe the new imac and open a new account and start again from scratch."

If that's the case, it's NOT necessary to wipe the entire Mac.

Just delete the offending account.

BEFORE you do that, you might want to move some of the stuff from the "bad" account to a replacement. Or make a backup copy of the user account folder, so that later on you can "pick things out of it".

I'm going to GUESS that it's really just something very small -- a setting, a file, something -- that is causing the problems.

 

[chown33]

Safe Boot might be another thing to try.

Start up your Mac in safe mode

Starting up your Mac in safe mode may help you diagnose problems with your Mac.

support.apple.com

It does some cleanup, and prevents certain things from loading or starting.

 

[A Hobo]

Remove the old (bluetooth) keyboard from the room the Mac is in.
In fact, move it as far as possible -- even down to the basement, so it can't connect.

This is total hyperbole, every Mac Bluetooth keyboard has either a power switch toggle or a power button you can hold for five seconds.

Ain't nobody got to go and take their equipment to the basement to do troubleshooting, come on now.

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

I've just got the same issue on my Windows laptop yesterday.
Even the laptop keyboard was acting weirdly.
2 bluetooth keyboards were sitting around.

Solution: disconnect all bluetooth keyboards in the set-up, then reconnect 1 bluetooth keyboard.