Apple Magic Keyboard 2 Not Working Properly Over Bluetooth (16.10)

16.10applebluetoothkeyboard

I've already taken a look at these posts:
How do I get the Apple Wireless Keyboard Working in 10.10? and
How do I get the Apple Wireless Keyboard Working in 10.10?, but none seem to resolve the problem I'm facing.

In brief, I am able to connect to the keyboard and the keyboard works just fine. But after I shutdown the system and turn it on again, the keyboard won't be connected to the system anymore.

My guess is that Apple Magic Keyboard 2 thinks it's connected to the system so it's not in pairing mode anymore and hence not receiving any connections, but actually it's not connected. (Maybe ubuntu lost connection ? Maybe when shutting down last night, ubuntu forogt to properly disconnect the keyboard) ?

First when it was not connected (after I turned on the PC), it was listed in bluetooth devices and present in bluetoothctl devices. Also info showed it as paired and trusted, but not connected. I first tried to issue connect MAC_ADDR, but the following was thrown:

bluetoothctl:

Failed to connect: org.bluez.Error.Failed

syslog:

Can't get HIDP connection info
connect error: Host is down (112)

I then tried removing the device and connecting it back again, but after I removed it from bluetoothctl, It's not even detected anymore ! (That's why I guessed the keyboard is not in pairing mode anymore and thinks it's connected)

Do you have any idea how can I get it to work reliably ? I can't waste an hour every day or so after each Off/On of the system.

Thanks !

Best Answer

Okay, answering my own question here, I seem to have found a way that works, consistently.

Everytime the bluetooth has problems connecting, do the following:

Remove the already paired device from bluetooth UI (select it, and click -, this step is definitely important)
Do the following in a terminal:

bluetoothctl
->power off
->power on
->scan on // this should find the keyboard in seconds, if It didn't, turn the keyboard off and on again.

->trust MAC_ADDR
->pair MAC_ADDR
->connect MAC_ADDR

This procedure has worked consistently for me. You might be able to remove the devices also from the bluetoothctl's CMD (remove MAC_ADDR), but it didn't work for me once and I found removing from the UI more consistent.

Hope this helps someone.

Related Solutions

Apple Wireless Keyboard Pairs but Won’t Connect in Ubuntu 15.10 – Fix

This was a pain in the button to get working. I really wanted to make a precise answer but I think the tech is a little flaky and the tools are a little trying. I did it once successfully, went to do it again from my notes to make sure my answer was sound and it took me another hour of trying to get it to take. These are the steps I followed on Ubuntu 16.04 (derived from @phireph0x and @danielfbm's answers).

Install bluetoothctl:
```
 sudo apt install bluetoothctl
```
Run bluetoothctl. You should see an initial list of connected devices like so:
```
[NEW] Controller 23:34:17:64:AF:0E ChromeLinux_A00F [default]
[NEW] Device 00:19:32:D3:38:01 Pico the Keyboard
```
It's ok if you don't see the Apple keyboard initially. You should see it by the end of step 5 in the next section.

The remaining steps are from the bluetoothctl command prompt:

Set the agent:
```
agent KeyboardDisplay
default-agent
```
Turn off the Bluetooth keyboard by removing the batteries. Hold the power button in and wait 10 seconds.
Scan for devices: scan on.
Turn on the Bluetooth keyboard by reinserting the batteries holding the power button in for 10 seconds. If you don't see the keyboard power light blinking continuously, it's not trying to pair. Try again.
Wait for your Bluetooth keyboard to appear in bluetoothctl. This will happen asynchronously while you wait at the prompt. My keyboard popped up after 20-30 seconds.
Remove any previous attempts: remove 00:19:32:D3:38:01. Replace 00:19:32:D3:38:01 with your keyboard that popped up in step 5.
Wait for your Bluetooth keyboard to pop up again. This will probably take 20-30 seconds.
Make a connection and pair the Bluetooth keyboard: connect 00:19:32:D3:38:01. Replace 00:19:32:D3:38:01 with your keyboard that popped up in step 5 and 7.
If you're on track, you should see your prompt change from: [bluetooth]# to [Pico the keyboard]: .
Now, on your Bluetooth keyboard, type 1234 and press enter. That's five keystrokes on the Bluetooth keyboard: 1, 2, 3, 4, and the carriage return.
If that worked, you should see the prompt change to:
```
[agent] Enter the pin code:
```
On your other keyboard, not your Bluetooth keyboard, type 1234 and press enter.

If all works well, you should see Connection successful. If the connection failed, turn off the keyboard and try again from step 2.

Troubleshooting:

The keyboard seems to mate for life and will try to pair with any Macs it has paired with in the past. Make sure they're off.
Restart your PC if all else fails. I was surprised to find that I didn't seem to have much trouble with the Ubuntu Bluetooth stack. I did restart a couple times but I don't think it's what got things working in the end.

Ubuntu – Ubuntu Mate 16.04 doesn’t ask for pairing code to connect Apple Keyboard

Still without a solution I can't get it wroking.

These are the last actions I did:

I changed the name of keyabord connected on a Mac
Remove the file /etc/bluetooth/hcid.conf which contains information about the old name keyboard, something like: auth enable and encrypt enable
Assigned (Or I think so) permisions to my user to bluetooth services: sudo usermod -G bluetooth -a albert

I don't know which one of these actions is the winner, but I hope can help someone, to avoid stay so long for fixing it

23/05/2016

After that, I had problems when connecting at startup. I have lost connection to keyboard, and so now, the problem persists

21/05/2016

Solved:

folowing this instruccions, I did:

# bluetoothctl -a 

[bluetooth]# pair 10:9A:DD:9C:3D:DA
Attempting to pair with 10:9A:DD:9C:3D:DA
[CHG] Device 10:9A:DD:9C:3D:DA Connected: yes
[agent] PIN code: 882876

[bluetooth]# trust 10:9A:DD:9C:3D:DA
Changing 10:9A:DD:9C:3D:DA trust succeeded

connect <address>

And with this way, in terminal, asked the pin number to me.

To reconnect the keyboard, each time I startup the PC, first turn on PC, and then press the side power button, and wait for 5 - 10 seconds. Now seems to be more stable

12-12-2016 . another episode in my AppleKeyboard life:

The same as I explained above, but

1- With Networking disabled

2- without asking the pin number to me, I typed the pin number "blind" when I see "Attempting to connect to ..."

Best Answer

Related Solutions

Apple Wireless Keyboard Pairs but Won’t Connect in Ubuntu 15.10 – Fix

Ubuntu – Ubuntu Mate 16.04 doesn’t ask for pairing code to connect Apple Keyboard

Related Question