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Magic keyboard trackpad stopped working

Used a new Apple Magic Keyboard with my 2018 iPad Pro 12.9” (iPadOS 14.0.1) without any issues for the last couple months...until today, when the trackpad stopped working and the cursor disappeared. Restarts and reattachments didn’t work...while the MK remained plugged into power. Fortunately, I found this thread (thanks all!), unplugged the MK, restarted and reattached the iPad again, and the MK trackpad & cursor are back. So, an MK power cycle was the key to working around this Apple bug. Apple, these threads show this problem has been going on all year, in both iOS 13 & 14...past time to squash this MK bug!

For almost 2 years I used the Apple Smart Keyboard Folio with my iPad Pro, but it started producing “Accessory not supported” errors, requiring a restart/reattachment each time. Apple Support had me do a full iPad reset/restoration from factory defaults—didn’t help. Got so frustrating that I finally upgraded to MK (which I liked much better, until today). So, I guess, “well done” Apple?! :-/
 
My frustrations grow with the Magic Keyboard on my IPAD2020. The keyboard stops working especially when working on certain software e.g. email , office , certain websites.
I have visited Apple Stores in Singapore who deny there is this problem.
instead of trying to find a fix, Apple is denying the problem exists. And yet so many of you have the same issue.
Detaching the IPAD 2020 from the keyboard does not work for me.
When the problem occurs, I have to power off the IPAD 2020 and power back on again to regain connectivity with the keyboard.
Apple : you owe us users an explanation. Please advise your staff at Apple stores not to deny the problem any more. Such a shame on you
 
I have Magic Keyboard for a couple of months now using with iPad Pro 11-inch 2018. Occasionally all keys on the keyboard stop working while the trackpad is functional. No ”power cycle” suggested here works unfortunately. Keys start to work at random. I contacted Apple phone support but they can’t figure out the solution. I scheduled to visit Apple store in a few days so hopefully they can fix it.
 
Moonday2024 said:
So, an MK power cycle was the key to working
Click to expand...
There is no power to cycle on the Magic Keyboard with cursor. The ipad provides the power to the keyboard. It is possible that keeping the ipad plugged in through the keyboard or directly into the ipad could cause a problem. I’ve never used it that way. However with 14.2 there has occurred an issue with, at least in Mail and the Kindle app, various keys being unresponsive. But with the Magic Keyboard case, with trackpad, there is no power cycling possible.
 
Over at Apple Forums,, the problem of Trackpad, pointer is a well known problem, that no one for sure has managed to figure out how to fix 100%, other than really turn off Assistive Touch. Some people swear by keeping Assistive touch, but Disabling Perform Touch gestures as a cure. So far, I keep running into roadblocks on all sorts of attempts to deal with the Pointer problem. I have the MK for iPad, and it pains me to know that there is little attention being paid to fix this connection problem, either from connectors point of view, or other. What is weird that there are so many well known Vloggers out there, that should have great visibility to get Apple working on a solution, yet maybe these people didn’t spend their own money to acquire their MK , or either they aren’t experiencing the problems that we have. I find it difficult to imagine that these people didn’t experience this problem of pointer and Assistive touch I occasionally waddle back and enable Assistive touch to see if anything has been resolved, but last time I did this, the other day, my iPad temperature ended up getting affected. If you think you get things fixed,, try going into other apps that require key input, and you will find your pointer zig zagging everywhere.
 
Do you guys have problems with this if power isn't plugged into the Magic Keyboard? Trying to see if the problem occurs if the power is plugged vs not plugged in to the Magic Keyboard directly vs charging the ipad.

I bought the 11" one a few days ago and just came across this topic. I'm most likely not gonna keep the usb C plugged into the Magic Keyboard at the same time when I use the ipad.

Edit: I'm not excusing Apple or anything by asking if the problem occurs when it's plugged in. Just want to see if I want to keep the keyboard or not, especially for the price.
 
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iPadPro 11” 2nd gen and Magic Keyboard model 0009, iOs14.3. purchased August 2020. Keyboard stopped functioning Jan.1,2021. Tried cleaning contacts between ipad and keyboard, turning off and on several times, with no luck. Then tried unplugging from power and keys worked but not the trackpad. Kept it unplugged and closed it for an hour. Trackpad functioned again.
During initial problem (no functions) I separated the two and powered off and then on again. Then put keyboard and iPad together again. Trying to power back on I’d be asked to use the 6 digit password and using the keyboard I could get the first two numbers input before it stopped functioning again and the ‘not supported ‘ message would reappear.
 
Moonday2024 said:
Apple, these threads show this problem has been going on all year, in both iOS 13 & 14...past time to squash this MK bug!
Click to expand...
Andrew Kwek said:
Apple : you owe us users an explanation. Please advise your staff at Apple stores not to deny the problem any more. Such a shame on you
Click to expand...
Just an FYI that Apple support doesn't officially read or respond to posts here on Macrumors. Using Apple's official feedback (apple.com/feedback) or via Apple Support is the way to provide feedback directly.
 
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ipadpro11in2gen0009$$$ said:
iPadPro 11” 2nd gen and Magic Keyboard model 0009, iOs14.3. purchased August 2020. Keyboard stopped functioning Jan.1,2021. Tried cleaning contacts between ipad and keyboard, turning off and on several times, with no luck. Then tried unplugging from power and keys worked but not the trackpad. Kept it unplugged and closed it for an hour. Trackpad functioned again.
During initial problem (no functions) I separated the two and powered off and then on again. Then put keyboard and iPad together again. Trying to power back on I’d be asked to use the 6 digit password and using the keyboard I could get the first two numbers input before it stopped functioning again and the ‘not supported ‘ message would reappear.
Click to expand...
Reading through these posts it seems the majority if not all of the issues relate to having the iPad connected to power while in use. The Magic Keyboard is only powered from the iPad so it does not need or even use anything plugged into it.

I’ve never used my iPad Pro while it was plugged in and I’ve never had any trackpad issue. The one issue that kept the backlighting of the keys on while the iPad was in sleep was fixed in one of the iOS 14 releases. And the problem with the delete key not working in Mail was fixed in 14.3. Anyway since the Magic Keyboard was released I’ve never had a trackpad issue but I never use the device while it’s connected to power.
 
The iPad Magic Keyboard is designed to be plugged in or not. A feature of the Magic Keyboard is that the iPad will be charged when mounted if the keyboard is plugged in to power- hence it is natural to have it plugged in. If the trackpad issue is related to having the power cable connected to the keyboard that would be good to know. I'm curious if that makes any different for me, I'll try that just to see what happens in my case. However, having power plugged in should not matter normally, in either case Apple still would need to fix it because that is still a bug
 
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Tulipo said:
So my trackpad just stopped working. I restarted my iPad, disconnected and reconnetted and it still won‘t work. I don’t even see the cursor anymore. Any tips or ideas on how to fix before I reach out to apple support?

Thanks
Click to expand...
It sounds like your experience is a little different than mine (but we had the same symptom - trackpad stops working) I have an iPad Pro 2nd gen as of last April and got my Magic Keyboard in June. I've had the problem intermittently. In my case, the workaround to unplug + unmount works every time but the symptom returns within a day to 3 days. I have been hoping SW updates or maybe firmware would fix it. So far it has not, going on 7 months. The bottom line is that Apple needs to address this. I just updated to iOS 14.4 today so I'll see if it helps or not (I should know within 4+ days). If anyone is experiencing this issue (with just the trackpad not working), call Apple at least to report it and get a case number. (Also, it helps to add to the Apple Discussions - Apple also uses the issues in discussions to help size issues).
 
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Skyfisher said:
I just updated to iOS 14.4 today so If anyone is experiencing this issue (with just the trackpad not working), call Apple at least to report it and get a case number. (Also, it helps to add to the Apple Discussions - Apple also uses the issues in discussions to help size issues).
Click to expand...
There haven’t been any posts in a while so I’m curious how widespread the issue is. In posts here and other forms as well as my own experience this never seems to happen when the device is not plugged in. So, many people either have never experienced it or just don’t use it that way.

Obscure random bugs tend to stick around quite a while, like inadvertent screen rotation. That one is still around since at least a year ago. Glad I’ve never had a trackpad problem.
 
papbot said:
There haven’t been any posts in a while so I’m curious how widespread the issue is. In posts here and other forms as well as my own experience this never seems to happen when the device is not plugged in. So, many people either have never experienced it or just don’t use it that way.

Obscure random bugs tend to stick around quite a while, like inadvertent screen rotation. That one is still around since at least a year ago. Glad I’ve never had a trackpad problem.
Click to expand...
As far as the forum goes, it appears this is an isolated bug. Outside of this thread, I haven't seen much talk about it. I haven't had any problems with my Magic Keyboard.
 
There always will be some, I can point you to the threads about screen rotation that have been going on for over a year. It’s just one of those things that’s not that common, not experienced that often and will probably be present for years. But again I have never read of any such complaints if the the ipad or case were not plugged in. Since the majority of people use an ipad as a mobile portable device they may never experience this. Anyway one day in the future you may see this resolved for you or not. I’m still waiting for my screen to stop rotating a couple times a week. One day.
 
Here's what I did:
  1. unplug the charge lead and
  2. restart the iPad.
  3. clean the connectors on the dock and iPad with a pencil eraser.
  4. Power up the iPad and login.
  5. Place it on the dock, lining everything up well
  6. plugged in the charge lead and it works .. at the moment
 
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I fixed mine just by removing it from the dock and disconnecting the power cable, placing the ipad back into the dock it reappeared and then I plugged the USB-C cable back in.
 
This keeps happening to me too. The fix for me is simple at least. All I have to do is remove the iPad from the keyboard and attach it again and it all starts working as it should.
 
PSA!

Apple sent me a replacement MK for iPP and it works. The original was working up to about 3 weeks ago. I tried all the things I could to reconnect, even gently cleaned the brass colored power connections with IPA.
My suspicion is after nearly a year of use the flexible connector at the cover “elevation hinge” wears out. That is the only thing I can think of since I did not drop the keyboard and keep the entire package in a Tomtoc zippered case when not in use.
I know it is not software related because when iPadOS 13.5 was out I did the whole jailbreaking thing for a few weeks and it worked fine. Just to be sure it was not software related did wait till 14.5 was released and did a complete reset of the iPP without success. These keyboards can not be “bricked” in case you are wondering. Look at the iFixit tear down from about a year ago for details.
This over-engineered keyboard case is awesome and I will just purchase another in about a year when this one probably will die.
 
Michael Rebar said:
This over-engineered keyboard case is awesome and I will just purchase another in about a year when this one probably will die.
Click to expand...
I don’t think you’ll be doing that. This is actually the first post I’ve seen of such an issue. My MKB was purchased when they were first released and I’ve had no problems. I’m guessing millions of others can say the same. I have no doubt that something internal can fail. **** happens. But this thing is very sturdily constructed. The only area of concern to me are the external surfaces because my Smart Keyboard Folio developed several roughened patches on the area that sits on the surface you’re using it on. The back surface of the keyboard itself.

Because of that I purchased a skin for the SKF as well as the MKB to prevent that from happening. My SKF was only used on soft or smooth surfaces but still developed those rough spots. I’ve also seen any number of YouTube reviews where I’ve noted the same rough areas on the reviewed keyboards. So that material is vulnerable. But otherwise these are very hardy devices.
 
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I have same problem with white magic keyboard and 2021 ipad pro 12.9 .

Trackpad stops working occasionally and only solution is to remove iPad Pro from magic keyboard case and disconnect usb-c power cable from magic keyboard. And reconnect every thing.

I suspect its bug
 
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All technology has a brain fart occasionally. Sometimes I have to reset my iMac, sometimes I have to soft reset my iPhone. 🤷‍♂️
 
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