My resolution of Apple wireless keyboard failure.

Question

I’ve seen a lot of posts on this Forum pertaining to wireless keyboard disconnect problems. There are many, many suggestions for how to resolve (rebooting, removing plists, updating firmware, suspicions about Leopard, disconnecting all USB devices, etc., etc.), and none that I’ve read about seem to do the trick consistently/reliably.
Rather than posting this tale at the end of another topic, I thought I’d post a new topic indicating my problem/resolution. First of all, I have an iMac, 20”, Intel Core 2 Duo, 1GB, running Leopard 10.5.5. This was purchased Oct. 2006 and I have the wireless white plastic keyboard (which includes the numeric keypad) and mighty mouse. Over the past 2 years the wireless keyboard and mouse have worked very reliably, until recently. Several weeks ago my keyboard disconnected unexpectedly and I had a tough time getting it back “online”. I did all the logical things: replaced batteries, rebooted, removed plist files, made sure all software/firmware was up to date, etc. In some cases in trying to pair it, it would be seen, I would type in the passcode, it would connect, but only to disconnect shortly thereafter. Finally, it stayed connected and I thought I was home free.
Then, yesterday it disconnected again. I did all the things done previously to no avail. This time the keyboard was never seen. i.e., I never got to the point where the Bluetooth Assistant asks for a passcode, it just never saw the keyboard. By the way, the keyboard light blinked when I turned it on just like it should, and I should mention that throughout this process, my Apple wireless mouse worked fine.
At this point I decided, enough! Fortunately, I live close to an Apple store so I made an appointment to talk to a “genius”, which I did this morning. I brought in my computer and wireless mouse and keyboard. Since the mouse worked fine, I was convinced the problem was with the keyboard, but I brought in my iMac just to make sure the problem wasn’t there.
With the access to other wireless keyboards, Macs, etc.) available at the Apple store, it was pretty easy to trouble-shoot the source of the problem. My keyboard would not pair with another Mac in the store, but my iMac would pair just fine with a different wireless keyboard. My batteries were fine so the problem was obviously some sort of failure with my keyboard. The genius guessed the Bluetooth antenna went bad.
Even though my system was out of warranty, the genius told me I could buy a replacement keyboard at a discounted price of $45, which I did. So, that is my “resolution”. Not quite as satisfactory as finding some sort of magic bullet that would fix my old one, but I now have a working wireless keyboard, at a fair price, and I can quit tearing my hair out trying a myriad of unproductive “fixes”.

Answer 1

Hi there!
Just received brand new iMac 21" yesterday. Unboxed it, turned it on and none of both bluetooth devices (keyboard and magic mouse) managed to get paired.
I was able to connect a USB mouse to log into the Mac. Did all turn off/on Bluetooth, turn off/on iMac several times with no luck. Weird thing is that when I lift keyboard on a 30 degree angle above my desk it seems to actually pair with the iMac but then when back to original position it disconnects.
I've tried the magic mouse with my 2008 Macbook and works flawlessly. After several attempts never managed to pair magic mouse with iMac and as said earlier keyboard is not working on a standard position on my desk. It is frustrating to have paid close to 2,000$ for something that does not even work out of the box... Any ideas or suggestions?
I'm planning to take it today to nearest Apple Stores but have a bad feeling about "genius" folks being able to help me out. Would be worth changing iMac for new one?
Thanks a lot in advanced!