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If your Mac’s keyboard has stopped working, the problem is often software-related. We’ll show you what other causes there might be and how you can fix them.
Why the keyboard isn’t working on a Mac
If you’re using a MacBook, you can find out what to do about a faulty keyboard in another practical tip. In the next section, we’ll explain how to fix the problem on an iMac, Mac Pro and Mac Mini.
- To rule out the possibility that the keyboard is faulty, connect it to another device. If it doesn’t work there either, the keyboard is faulty.
- Try a different USB port on your Mac to check whether the port is working or the fault lies with the keyboard.
- If the keyboard has recently been exposed to water or has been in a damp environment, you should wait until it is completely dry.
- If you are using a Bluetooth keyboard, the batteries may be flat. Otherwise, make sure the keyboard is switched on and restart the Mac.
- Try using a different user account to see if the keyboard works there. If it does, you should remove any software recently installed under your own user account.
Mac keyboard has stopped working: here’s what you can do
Connect a different keyboard to your Mac. If the other input device works perfectly, the following tips will help you.
- Open System Preferences and navigate to ‘Accessibility’.
- In the left-hand menu, under ‘Interaction’, scroll down to the ‘Mouse & Trackpad’ sub-section.
- If you see a tick next to ‘Enable Mouse Control’, untick it. Otherwise, you would be controlling your mouse via the keyboard.
