[SOLVED] Keychron Keyboard Not Working

Since their introduction in 2017, the popularity of Keychron mechanical keyboards has been growing. These keyboards are well designed, engineered and versatile – operating in both wireless and wired modes. The mechanical keyboards are a good alternative to Logitech.

Despite their popularity and features, these keyboards are far from perfect and the main weakness is their Bluetooth connection. Without a reliable connection, using the keyboard is a frustrating experience.

So in this article, we described Keychron’s Bluetooth connectivity problems along with the best workable solutions.

Table of Contents

Products Covered In This Article

Keychron K1, K2, K3, K4, K6, K8, K10, K12 and K14

Basics Of Keychron Keyboards

All Keychron keyboards come with dual connectivity modes

  • Wired – Connection with Windows PC or Mac through a USB-C cable
  • Wireless – Connection with Windows PC or Mac via Bluetooth
Keychron K12 60% Layout RGB Hot-Swappable Bluetooth Wireless/USB Wired Mechanical Keyboard with Gateron G Pro Brown Switch Aluminum Frame, Compact 61-Key Computer Keyboard Compatible with Mac Windows

How To Connect The Keychron Keyboard Via Bluetooth?

  • Switch the keyboard to the Bluetooth option
Switch to Bluetooth
  • Hold the fn + 1 (NOT F1) keys until the Bluetooth Indicator flashes on.
  • Turn on your device’s Bluetooth and search for the keyboard to connect it
Keychron Connecting Bluetooth

Keychron Frequently Does Not Register Input

Update Windows Keyboard Drivers

  • In the search box on the task bar, enter device manager, then select Device Manager.
  • Select a category to see the names of the devices, then right-click (or press and hold) the one you would like to update.
  • Select search automatically for updated driver software.
  • Select Update Driver
  • If Windows does not find a new driver, you can try looking for one on the Keychron website under the specific product page and follow their instructions.

Update Mac Software

  • Click on the Apple icon and select System Preferences
  • Click Software Update
  • Any available updates will be listed here, or you will be told your software is up to date

Power cycle the Keyboard

  • Turn Keyboard Bluetooth off by switching to Cable
  • Disable Bluetooth on PC
  • Then turn the Keyboard’s Bluetooth On keyboard
  • Enable Bluetooth on PC
  • Reconnect keyboard to PC again as described above

Power Management

  • Go to Device Manager.
  • Right Click on your Bluetooth adapter.
  • Select Properties
  • Select Power Management
  • Uncheck Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power

Keychron Bluetooth Disconnects While Working

Use a USB extension cable with Bluetooth Dongle

Sometimes Keychron keyboard Bluetooth disconnects itself due to Radio Frequency interference from other signals around the PC. This could be signals from a Wi-Fi router or a USB 3 port. So in order to resolve the issue, keep Bluetooth dongle away from PC and closer to the Keychron keyboard.

  • Disconnect Bluetooth Dongle from PC USB Port.
  • Connect Bluetooth dongle to one side of USB extension cable.
  • Connect the other side of USB extension cable to PC USB port.

Amazon Basics 2-Pack USB-A 2.0 Extension Cable, for Printer, Mouse or Keyboard, Male to Female, 480Mbps Transfer Speed, 3.3 Foot, Black

Disable Auto Sleep Mode on Keyboard

  • Hold Fn+S+O for 3 seconds to disable the Auto Sleep Mode.

Disable Windows ability to turn off this Specific Bluetooth Device

  • In the search box on the task bar, enter device manager, then select Device Manager.
  • Select Human Interface Device
  • Select Bluetooth HID device
  • Go to Properties
  • Go to Power Management Tab.
  • Uncheck Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power

Keychron Starts Lagging

One reason the keyboard experiences lag is due to RF interference that is not continuous but instead occurs at regular or irregular intervals of time. That’s when the keyboard’s wireless connection is impacted.

To solve this problem:

  • Remove any Wi-Fi access points, wireless routers and cell phones near your PC
  • Use a Bluetooth dongle instead of the Bluetooth that’s inside the laptop
  • For even more reliable performance, use a USB extender to bring the dongle closer to the keyboard

Keychron Giving Multiple Random Letters Output While Using In Bluetooth Mode

This is an issue that has been reported with the K8 that occurs due to poor or unreliable connectivity between the keyboard and PC.

Use a Bluetooth dongle instead of relying on the Bluetooth chip connected to motherboard as described above.

TP-Link USB Bluetooth Adapter for PC, 5.0 Bluetooth Dongle Receiver (UB500) Supports Windows 11/10/8.1/7 for Desktop, Laptop, Mouse, Keyboard, Printers, Headsets, Speakers, PS4/ Xbox Controllers

Keychron Loses Connection After 1-2 Minutes Of Not Typing

This again is an issue that has been reported with the K8. To solve this problem follow the step below.

Disable Auto Sleep Mode on Keyboard

Hold fn+S+O for 3 seconds to disable the Auto Sleep Mode

PC Does Not Detect Keychron K10 Keyboard

First make sure that you have enabled the Bluetooth option with the switch. If the problem still occurs then try the following:

  • Bring the keyboard closer to the laptop and see if it is detected
  • Try using an external Bluetooth dongle
  • Remove any sources of RF interference – includes Wi-Fi access points, routers and cell phones. Also make sure that you don’t have a hard drive connected to the USB 3.0 port and exchanging data – this is also a source of interference.

Keychron Bluetooth Latency

Use Wired Mode

In some situations such as when you are playing some online competitive games – quick response times are required.

In such situations when using Keychron keyboard in Bluetooth mode you might experience a bit of lag in the response time. To solve this problem try using it in wired mode.

The latency of Keychron keyboards is 70 ms to 80 ms in Bluetooth mode. In wired mode its latency is much lower at just 20 ms to 35 ms. So in such cases it is recommended to use Keychron keyboard via USB-C cable.

Remember to switch to the cable mode for this to work.

Keychron Bluetooth Connected But Not Working

Forget And Reset the Keyboard and Connect it Again

  • Open Windows settings.
  • Open Devices
  • Select Bluetooth and Other Devices
  • Click on Your Keyboard in the device list and a Remove Button will expand.
  • Click the Remove Device Button.
  • Click YES to confirm.
  • Turn Off the Keyboard.
  • Turn it back On.
  • Switch the keyboard to the Bluetooth option.
  • Hold the Fn + 1 (NOT F1) keys until the Bluetooth Indicator flashes on.
  • Turn on your PC’s Bluetooth and search for the keyboard to connect it.

Change the Battery

Sometimes rechargeable batteries, despite of showing full charging are not giving required power to the keyboard. So Non-Rechargeable batteries or new rechargeable ones are recommended in this case.

Factory Reset The Keyboard

Now the question arises what if all the solutions mentioned above (Updating Keyboard Drivers, Rebooting the Keyboard, Power Management, Use of USB extension cable, Disabling Auto-Sleep Mode, Disabling Windows Ability to Turn Off Specific Device, Using Bluetooth Dongle and Change of Battery) do not work?

In such case, which we hope don’t arise, we suggest a complete factory RESET of the Keyboard. For this procedure follow the steps indicated below.

  • Turn On the Keyboard.
  • Switch Keyboard to Bluetooth Mode.
  • Press and Hold Fn + Z + J for 4 seconds.
  • Press and Hold Fn + 1 until the Bluetooth Indicator Flashes On.
  • If Bluetooth indicator does not turn on then try Fn + 2 or Fn + 3 as some devices are programmed to different channels.

Summary

In this article we summed up different issues you can encounter while using Keychron keyboard in Bluetooth mode, with solutions. Follow the steps outlined in the article for Keychron K1, K2, K3, K4, K6, K8, K10, K12 and K14 keyboards:

  • Update Keyboard Drivers
  • Reboot the Keyboard
  • Power Management
  • Use USB extension cable to with Bluetooth Dongle
  • Disable Auto Sleep Mode on Keyboard
  • Disable Windows ability to turn off this Specific Bluetooth Device
  • Use a Bluetooth dongle instead of Bluetooth chip connected to motherboard
  • Use Antenna with the Bluetooth chip on the motherboard.
  • Forget And Reset the Keyboard and Connect it Again
  • Change the Battery
  • Factory Reset the Keyboard.

Keychron K2 75% Layout Bluetooth Mechanical Keyboard with Gateron G Pro Red Switch/White LED Backlit/Anti Ghosting/N-Key Rollover/Compact 84 Key USB C Wired Computer Keyboard for Mac Windows-Version 2