How to boot into Recovery with Bluetooth keyboard and mouse

[camner]

I wanted to boot into Recovery so I could reinstall MacOS. Holding down Cmd-R didn't work, because my 2020 27" iMac didn't recognize either the keyboard or mouse. All I got was that alternating keyboard/mouse sequence where the Mac shows you how to turn on the Apple Bluetooth Keyboard and the Magic Mouse.

I presume this happens because the Bluetooth drivers aren't loaded until later in the boot sequence.

So, is one supposed to keep an old wired keyboard and mouse lying around for when one wants to boot into Recovery (and other places, such as to select the boot drive), or is this supposed to work just fine with a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse?

 

[chscag]

Assuming it's the wireless BT keyboard and mouse that came with your iMac, it should have worked once both were paired to the iMac. In any event, just attach the lightning charging cable from the keyboard to the USB port on the iMac and it will work.

 

[camner]

Assuming it's the wireless BT keyboard and mouse that came with your iMac, it should have worked once both were paired to the iMac. In any event, just attach the lightning charging cable from the keyboard to the USB port on the iMac and it will work.

Thanks. Yes, it's the keyboard that came with the Mac. Thanks for the tip; I never would have thought of that.

 

[Fishrrman]

Get a cheap wired USB keyboard.
Sometimes you can even find them at recycling centers...