Mac keyboard not charging – How to fix (9 Tips)

Are you unable to charge your Magic Keyboard?  I recently went through the painful process of figuring out what was wrong with my Mac’s keyboard as it stopped charging out of the blue.

After browsing the internet and consulting my hardware-nerd friends for almost a week, I was able to solve the problem. I decided to keep a log of everything I tried and put it together in a simple guide so others like yourself would not have to live through the same agony.

Here’s a list of all the solutions that you can try to fix your Mac keyboard not charging issue 🙂.

Mac keyboard not charging – How to fix (9 Tips)

1. Restart Your iMac

Sometimes a simple restart of your computer is all you need to fix an issue. This is because a computer can temporarily glitch when left turned on for a long time. This normal and is nothing to be worried about.

You can try this fix by first going to the Apple logo that you can see on the top left side of your screen. Then from the drop-down menu, select “Restart” and wait for your computer to reboot.

Hopefully, when your computer starts again the issue will go away and you can see that your device is charging once it’s connected to your computer. 

2. Bad Cable

You will be surprised to know that even on their website, the customer reviews on their “Lightening Cable” has only 2 stars. Their cable is infamous for getting easily damaged and a small pull can result in your money going down the drain. 

Your keyboard uses that very cable to get a charge from your mac. Try charging your device with a different cable. If you see it’s battery percentage going up that means your cable was the reason for your troubles.

3. Clean the Charging Port

At the top of your peripheral, you will see a charging port for your device. Over time gunk and debris can collect in the port which results in an improper connection. This stops your device from receiving any charge from your computer.

Now I know the port is very small and it might seem a little hard to clean, but a toothpick will make the job very easy for you. You can pick out any debris stuck inside the port.

After you’ve made sure that there is nothing stuck inside your port, connect your device with your computer via your cable. See if your device is charging or not.

4. Bad USB Port

This is a continuation of the above two fixes. Even if this doesn’t work, after this we can at least assure ourselves that there’s nothing wrong with the wired connection between your Mac and your device. 

USB ports like any other port can wear out over time which causes these ports to not make a proper connection with the inserted wire. This improper connection results in dropped voltages and low current output of a port.

The ports on your Mac are no different. They too can wear out especially if your Mac has been around for a long time.

For this, try changing the port that you are using to charge your device. This can seem simple but often is the reason for this issue.

5. Switching Your Device Off and On

Peripherals, especially devices like keyboards and mice, which are usually left on for a long time can develop errors that cause irregularities in operation. 

That’s why devices are always keeping track of a set of states which they can later use to bring back a device to its original working condition.

If you turn over your device such that the keys face you, you will see your device’s lightning port and a switch. If the switch has a green background it implies that the device is turned on. Turn off your device and then after a couple of seconds, turn it back. This will restart your device and rid it of any glitches.

Check to see if your peripheral is charging now. If it is, you did it! Otherwise, we can start dealing with the problem at the software level.

6. Unpair and Pair Your Device

Often a messed-up configuration or setting can cause your devices to behave improperly. Don’t worry, I will guide you through all the necessary steps that you need to take to solve your problem.

Let’s start with unpairing and then re-pairing your device with your computer. This will first result in your computer destroying any saved and potentially error causing configuration for your device and then saving new default configurations for it. The process is a little long but I will guide you through all of the steps.

Unpairing Your Device

• First, go to the Apple menu at the top left corner and select “System Preferences”
• Then click on Bluetooth. You will see all the devices connected to your computer.
• Drag your cursor to your device’s name. You’ll see a cross appear next to it.
• Click on the cross. This will result in your device unpairing from your computer.
• Then turn your device off with the switch at top of it.

Pairing Your Device

• First, Turn your device on.
• Then connect it with your computer using a Lightning cable
• Go to the top left side of your screen, there you will see an Apple logo. Click on that and from the drop-down menu select “System Preferences”
• Then again like before go to “Bluetooth” and in the Bluetooth settings, you will see your device come up in the list of paired devices.

Now check to see if your device is charging or not. If it is, you’ve successfully troubleshot the problem! Otherwise, we still have other solutions we can look at.

7. Pairing Issue

Now, this might work for only a few of you out there but if you have paired your peripheral with any other device in the room, it could be the reason why your device is not working properly.

If you remember connecting your Magic Keyboard with any other device that might be in the vicinity, unpair your device from it. This will cause any irregular connectivity issues to go away which might be the root of your problem.

I’ve written the process of unpairing your device in macOS in the above tip. If this was the solution for you, congratulations! If not, we still have two more fixes to go. This is a great mac keyboard not charging fix!

8. Resetting

Resetting your device causes it to return to its factory settings. This will in turn at least at the software make your device seem as if new. Though rarely required it has been known to fix problems just like this.

Apple has made it incredibly easy to reset your keyboard and here’s how you can do it.

• First of all, ensure that your peripheral is connected to your computer.
• Hold down the button Shift and Option at the same time and then click the Bluetooth symbol at the top of your screen.
• Select your keyboard in all the list of devices and select “Factory Reset”.

This will reset your device to its factory settings and then you can pair it with your computer with the help of the steps I’ve described in tip 6.

9. Use with Cable

Now, I know this doesn’t look like a fix but if you’re this much down the line chances are none of the above fixes worked for you. If you use your keyboard on a desk and don’t move it around a lot. You can still salvage it by connecting it with your computer using a wire. It will work as usual but you won’t have the wireless functionality, which in case of the above scenario isn’t such a bad deal.

I know it was a bit hard to keep track of all the steps, but I hope I was able to help you with your issue. If I did, then let me know down below in the comments. Otherwise, you can check with your nearest Apple store and see whether you can get a replacement or at least some further guidance in regards to this issue.  Hopefully one of these mac keyboard not charging fixes works for you!