New M4 iMac 24” refurbished from Apple. MacOS 26.5.2 update. Wanted to use a full-size Apple A1243 wired keyboard. Attached it to one of the four USB ports on the iMac using an Apple USB-C to USB adapter. Upon restarting (and with the “Magic Keyboard” turned off) the iMac does not see the wired keyboard. It does see the wireless mouse. Many articles online say this should work. The iMac is Part No. G1K56LL/A SN:KX0R4KQW9M Model No. A3137 if that helps.
I do not want to buy a full-size wireless keyboard! But I do not like the small “Magic Keyboard” with no keypad.
It definitely should work. If it doesn’t, either the keyboard is bad, the adapter is bad, the port on the Mac is bad, or something isn’t fully plugged in.
It sounds silly, but I’ve done it a few times myself: make sure the keyboard cable is fully inserted into the USB adapter. Also, be sure to try the other USB ports on the Mac. Do you have any other wired devices you can try? Do you have any other computers you can try plugging the keyboard into?
This happened to me a few months ago with an M4 Mac mini and a USB-A cable (plugged in to a USB-A to USB-C converter) for a UPS. I had it plugged in to one of the Mac’s USB ports, the Mac could not communicate with the UPS, and plugging in to another USB port on the Mac fixed it.
I should have mentioned that sometimes the issue isn’t that a part is “bad,” but rather that the connector is dirty, preventing an effective contact.
If there is fuzz or other gunk on a connector, it can interfere with operation. If that’s the case, a plastic spudger or a plastic toothpick (including soft “interdental” picks) can help.
In my case, the problem occurred very infrequently. My solution: use the mouse to switch to the ‘guest’ account, which doesn’t need a keyboard to log in. Then open Notes app and type some characters from the keyboard. If it works, then log out and switch to the regular user account.
I have heard that the cause might be the signal that recognize the keyboard at startup is so low-powered, and is sometimes missed. Wait for the Mac to warm up, and then restarting might work.
I’ve got also a refurb M4 on 26.5.2, and in setting it up I used a wired keyboard from our G3 iMac and an Anker usb a-c connector. Worked fine so I don’t see why your setup should not, after trying the other troubleshooting tips listed in this Topic.
If the keyboard works with other computers, and with the same adapter, then those parts should be ok and then one has to wonder what is up with the Mini. Try all the Mini’s ports, and with other devices as well. If other accessories work in all the Minis usb-c ports, hm, quite the head-scratcher. Try to anticipate how Apple would troubleshoot it if you sent it in for replacement and do those steps before time runs out to return/replace it.
When I was in training as an Apple Specialist way back, we were told refurbs could very well be more reliable than any random one off the assembly line, as every refurb went thru detailed QC before selling, but mass produced new items were only spot checked. Don’t know if that’s still (or even then was) true but I’ve personally bought various Apple refurbished items, maybe 4-6 over the years and they have all been reliable and even later had some trade in value at Apple on other purchases.
Hi James. Sorry for my late reply. I know you have solved this but just in case this is handy to you, or someone else…
david_blanchard and I have also sometimes had problems with using an A1243 keyboard. See previous thread here: Wired USB-A keyboard issue. In my case, adding a USB extension cable resolved the issue. But david_blanchard needed to remove an extension cable to get it to work (!). There are other suggestions at the Stack Exchange question I linked to in that thread, including plugging a USB memory stick into the keyboard, to increase the current draw.