When it shows up in the list, don’t double click it! Instead, right-click on the keyboard device and select “Properties”: When Windows is searching for your Bluetooth devices, put your keyboard into pairing mode (press the button). To start, open up the Control Panel, and go to “Hardware and Sound”.
Even more surprisingly, I was able to obtain useful information from a Microsoft webpage. I know, I had no idea that Microsoft had support forums, either. This solution was found at one of the Microsoft support forums. Try typing characters into vim or gedit, to make sure it’s working properly. Next, we need to manually connect to the keyboard device ID: sudo hidd -connect 00:12:A1:63:34:6EĪfter this command finishes, your keyboard should be working with Linux.
On Ubuntu, you can install it with this command: sudo apt-get install bluez-compat We need the hidd command, which is part of the bluez-compat package.
Copy this code to the clipboard for the next command. This provides us with the device ID, similar to the MAC address of a network card. hcitool scanĠ0:12:A1:63:34:6EÂ Â Â BluePacket Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard Make sure your keyboard is in discoverable mode (push the button) before running the scan command.
Linuxīased on the Ubuntu Community Documentation for Bluetooth Setup, these commands were tested on Ubuntu Lucid Lynx 10.4, but should work on other version of Linux provided you can figure out how to install the necessary Bluetooth utilities.įirst, we need to scan the available devices.
This is useful if you have a broken key on your keyboard, if you want to automate the pairing from a script, or you are building a custom keyboard that doesn’t have all the number keys connected (that’s me!). It's also worth noting that their positions are reversed on the two types of keyboards.This post explains how to connect a Bluetooth keyboard to your Linux/Mac/Windows computer without having to enter a pairing code. For example, the Undo shortcut would use Windows+Z instead of Command+Z.
When using a Windows keyboard on a Mac, the Windows key is used instead of the Command key, and the Alt key is used in place of the Option key. What are the main differences?Īlthough Windows and Mac keyboards feature most of the same keys, there are a few that differ. There's also a variety of custom keyboards available, with most of them made for Windows machines. Perhaps you recently switched from a Windows computer to a Mac and you prefer the feel of your old keyboard. Some people simply prefer to use Windows keyboards. You may also have one lying around the house from an older computer. In most stores, you'll find that there are more Windows keyboards than there are Mac keyboards. One of the main reasons you might choose to use a Windows keyboard on a Mac is that it's more readily available. You can use almost any Windows keyboard as long as it has either a USB or Bluetooth connection. If you want to use a Windows keyboard on your Mac, the good news is it's pretty simple. en/macosbasics/troubleshooting-common-problems/content/ Using a Windows keyboard with a Mac Lesson 13: Using a Windows Keyboard With a Mac