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Keyboard Mouse Alternatives to Logitch

S

SaguaroSeven

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 20, 2020
349
160
Washington DC
I took the plunge and got Logi K860 Ergo keyboard and a MX Master 3 mouse to use with Mac mini and a PC. Love the build quality and ergo design of both. Much better than Apple Keyboard and Magic Mouse. But neither device can work with Mac over Bluetooth after reboot. Obscure Logitech support page says "When FileVault is enabled, Bluetooth mice and keyboards will only re-connect after login." What?? My Apple Keyboard and Mouse work fine!

Don't worry, Logitech has a solution: "Use a USB keyboard or mouse to login."

I know I can use the Logi dongle, but not excited about that. Logitech had 4 medium severity vulnerabilities in their proprietary wireless dongle, reported publicly in July 2019. Kinda leery of roll-your-own wireless solutions, and this says to me they didn't do their homework very well.

Any good keyboard/mouse recommendations? Multi-device and have to be able to log in to Mac, of course!
 
I’m interested in this thread if it ever starts going...
I have the Logitech k830 and am disappointed with the limited OS X support. Iike the function keys and the windows specific option command Apple setup. (I can live with these)

Did Apple ever offer a keyboard/ trackpad combo?
As this suits lounge room surfers on their Mac mini like me....
 
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I guess there aren't many takers on Logitech devices with Mac. Maybe my poor experience is typical. I have a support ticket in with Logitech but don't expect anything.

I tried a wireless Matias keyboard, which was a good looking 3-device copy of Apple Wireless Keyboard (with num pad). No issues pairing with Mac -- so why can't Logitech get it right? I returned it for quality issues tho: several keys were missing press occasionally and I didn't like feel of key press compared with Apple's.
 
Lots of us use Logitech input devices, but you're correct that you have to work around limitations. For example, your first post tacitly notes that the limitation applies only when FileVault is enabled. Give up that feature, and you're all set. The same thing is true of the dongle. It's a flawed solution to Logitech's fairly poor Bluetooth implementation, but if you need it, you need it.

All that said, you won't have to search for long to see why lots of people nevertheless choose Logitech devices, and often happily so. They make lots of devices that fit real-world needs, have ergonomics that many people like (I greatly prefer the Apple Magic Mouse to Logitech's mice because I am a fingertip user rather than a gripper, but I'm probably in the minority), and increasingly one of the only mainstream manufacturers with a large and updated selection of offerings.

As is often the case, pick the compromise that works for you.
 
Are you willing to go wired? You can get a much better keyboard if going wired (think mechanical) and you wont have to deal with Bluetooth and latency (plus you don't have to deal with Logitech's generally not-always-great Mac support.) There is one Mac-specific wireless mechanical, but it's expensive for what you get.
 
SaguaroSeven said:
I took the plunge and got Logi K860 Ergo keyboard and a MX Master 3 mouse to use with Mac mini and a PC. Love the build quality and ergo design of both. Much better than Apple Keyboard and Magic Mouse. But neither device can work with Mac over Bluetooth after reboot. Obscure Logitech support page says "When FileVault is enabled, Bluetooth mice and keyboards will only re-connect after login." What?? My Apple Keyboard and Mouse work fine!

Don't worry, Logitech has a solution: "Use a USB keyboard or mouse to login."

I know I can use the Logi dongle, but not excited about that. Logitech had 4 medium severity vulnerabilities in their proprietary wireless dongle, reported publicly in July 2019. Kinda leery of roll-your-own wireless solutions, and this says to me they didn't do their homework very well.

Any good keyboard/mouse recommendations? Multi-device and have to be able to log in to Mac, of course!
Click to expand...

I use a Macally magic bluetooth keyboard and a logitech cheap wireless mouse with dongle with my mini mac.
No Issues at all but I never use filevault either.
Really like the macally keyboard though.

ETA: I did have to buy a wired keyboard to get into the restore program. Bluetooth keyboard will not work bfore login screen.
 
user_xyz said:
Really like the macally keyboard though.
Click to expand...
Really? I thought the keys were a little squishy compared with the Apple USB/Wireless keyboards. It looked great, but I sent it back becasues 3 keys that didn't always register, and didn't get replacement because of the key-feel. At least it worked after restarting!
 
SaguaroSeven said:
Part of my problem is I need to control two computers, so wired isn't optimal. I'm willing to look tho...
Click to expand...

That definitely makes it a little more complex...that said, if they are right next to each other, you might be able to get a very reliable USB switching mechanism that is potentially faster than Bluetooth? There are some very nice keyboards available from from makers like Durgod, Vortex, Leopold, Ducky, Filco, and Varmillo to name a few...they are Windows keyboards so they have to be remapped, but the typing experience on them is pretty out of this world. I'm currently using a Durgod Taurus K320 with Cherry MX Blacks and I am blown away by the typing experience (they lubricate their switches in the factory and this seems to make a big difference.) Das is a company that makes good Mac-specific mechanicals, and Keychron makes numerous Mac mechanicals that are capable of both Bluetooth and wired connections (that said, Bluetooth on them can have all the same issues of other Bluetooth keyboards, and you do pay bit for this capability.) The current models they offer are very well-liked by owners. Azio makes a wired Mac mechanical and it is pretty well-made but very expensive for what it is. Logitech does also offer mechanicals. I'm not sure if any of these are of interest but I figured I'd throw them out there, especially if you do not like squishy keys.
 
ght56 said:
That definitely makes it a little more complex...that said, if they are right next to each other, you might be able to get a very reliable USB switching mechanism that is potentially faster than Bluetooth? ....
Click to expand...
Thanks for those recommendations. I was just looking at a Das yesterday. It's a lot to take in ... but this time I will do my research on BT compatability before buying. I'm still in a thread with Logitech about their terrible BT support.
 
"I know I can use the Logi dongle, but not excited about that."

My recommendation:
Use the Logitech dongle (unifying receiver).
It just works.

I've been using a Logitech mouse for years and years now (with the dongle/radio adapter).
Works fine.
No security problems.

I wouldn't use anything else.
 
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