Tip (Obsure): Connecting Bluetooth Apple Wireless Keyboard to a PC Laptop

ByL S

This is an obscure tip that very few can use, but someone may be in need as I have not found these instructions anywhere on the web, and certainly no help from Apple or the spartan manual. Connecting the Bluetooth Apple Wireless Keyboard to a Dell Latitude E6400, a Windows XP PC with the WidComm 5.5.0 driver,  can be a frustrating experience (it is real hard to understand why Apple  makes devices that should follow a standard like Bluetooth but are a real pain to use with anything but their own products). Here is the process I found works–but only if you have some patience–get used to pressing the Try Again button a lot:

  1. Make sure the keyboard is “disconnected” from any other device before trying to use it on the PC–pressing the On button should produce a double-blinking pattern on the keyboard.
  2. In the My Bluetooth Places choose Add a Bluetooth Device
  3. Apple Wireless Keyboard (or whatever you have named it) should appear in the Select a Device window: select it and click Next
  4. On the Bluetooth Pairing window, press the On key of the keyboard so it starts blinking and click Next.
  5. If the window says Start Pairing with Apple Wireless Keyboard for 2-3 seconds, press Return on the Apple keyboard. This is where you may have to click Try Again many times and keep pressing Return on the keyboard. You also may have to keep re-pressing the On button for the Apple keyboard.
  6. When you get a random six-digit security code, type it on the Apple keyboard and press Return key–it is important that you memorize the code before you press Return.
  7. The next window asks to type in the passkey for the device. For many Bluetooth devices, this is a pre-set code for the device, but not so for the keyboard. On the PC laptop keyboard (not the Apple), type the same six-digit security code you typed on the Apple keyboard from the previous screen. You should now be connected.

Very few people may need this tip, but for those are having trouble I hope this helps.

Similar Posts