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18thNitrox

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 10, 2022
1
0
Hi,

since my old Apple wired keyboard stopped working, I am thinking of buying a new Apple Magic Keyboard (with numeric keypad). I realised that there are two versions:
- An older version released sometime 2017, shipping with a lightning to USB-A cable (still sold as "Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad")
- A newer version released in 2021, shipping with a lightning to USB-C cable (available as "small" version with and without Touch ID and as "Magic Keyboard with numeric keypad and Touch ID").

For various reasons (different function keys, bluetooth version, etc) I would like to stick with the newer version released in 2021 (with Touch ID), even though I currently do not own an Apple Silicon Mac and will get a Mac Mini only later this year.

However until then and also for other reasons (using it for my raspberry pi from time to time), I need to be able to use the keyboard as a standard wired USB keyboard with a USB-A type cable. So my question is: Is it possible to use the newest (2021) Apple Magic Keyboard with a lightning to USB-A cable or USB-C to USB-A adapter as a USB keyboard?

This thread seems to indicate, that the keyboard wont charge with the lightning to USB-A cable. However, other threads on the internet seem to indicate that it might work.

Maybe somebody has tried this or owns a 2021 Magic Keyboard and could try and connect it with an old iphone charging cable. Many thanks in advance!
 
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