Keyboard/System - NOT BLUETOOTH - Problem.

[GovtLawyer]

I have a late 2013 iMac 21 inch, running 10.13.6 High Sierra. For several mon†hs, perhaps longer, I have been plagued by a poblem I †hough† was with my wireless keyboard, or the Blue†oo†h connection. As yop can see, the keyboard fails †op recognize certain characters and generates other strang ones. It some†times doesn't recognize a ke¥ s†rose at all, and all I hear is a †hump sound indicating a problem. The underline above was no† intention†ional.

So, seeing as how I occasionally have signal problems wi†h my Blue†oo†h headphone connection, I †hough† I† was †he Blue†oo†h. I bough† a wired keyboard and I have the very same problems wi†˙ that one. Therefore, this must be a problem wi†h my iMac and no† a Blue†oo†h/keyboard connects†ion issue.

I could use some help here. Any clear, detailed oganizd suggestions on how †ø †roubleshoo† the problem? My iMac is way pas† its warranty and I'd like tø see what I could do on my own beforeI shell ou† money for repair.

Thanks - Steven

 

[Mr.Fox]

I have a late 2013 iMac 21 inch, running 10.13.6 High Sierra. For several mon†hs, perhaps longer, I have been plagued by a poblem I †hough† was with my wireless keyboard, or the Blue†oo†h connection. As yop can see, the keyboard fails †op recognize certain characters and generates other strang ones. It some†times doesn't recognize a ke¥ s†rose at all, and all I hear is a †hump sound indicating a problem. The underline above was no† intention†ional.

So, seeing as how I occasionally have signal problems wi†h my Blue†oo†h headphone connection, I †hough† I† was †he Blue†oo†h. I bough† a wired keyboard and I have the very same problems wi†˙ that one. Therefore, this must be a problem wi†h my iMac and no† a Blue†oo†h/keyboard connects†ion issue.

I could use some help here. Any clear, detailed oganizd suggestions on how †ø †roubleshoo† the problem? My iMac is way pas† its warranty and I'd like tø see what I could do on my own beforeI shell ou† money for repair.

Thanks - Steven

This is your Option button stuck ) Tap the Option /Shift key . Next time use Keyboard Viewer to find out what's missing. If the problem persists,you can do a reset opt+command+p+r ,if this did not help - parsing the keyboard and cleaning it from debris (dirt could get in) if this did not help-replacing the keyboard

 

[garevans]

When you tested the wired keyboard, did you turn off the wireless one? As Mr. Fox says, it definitely looks like a stuck option / alt key

What’s interesting is you get †† when you typed Bluetooth, but didn’t get øø which is alt O.

 

[Mr.Fox]

It doesn't look like a controller failure - then the nearby keys didn't work correctly.

 

[GovtLawyer]

Yes, I †urned off the wireless keyboard. Some of what you see have my corrections. Some†times an unwanted menu opage opens up, as I am sur the impope enry was thcaus. The "e" key woks occasionally.

This is definitely†ely no† the keyboard and I am sure it is no† the Bluetoo†h. I already retune e wied one. Hee o see my "r" key on the Fitz, and a code foundelining (UNDERLINING)

 

[Mr.Fox]

First,try connecting a different keyboard to your computer, even for windows. Borrow from a friend,neighbor,take at work, etc. If there is no problem,then the problem is at the software level and do a reset, as I wrote above, while holding down the opt + command + p + r key

 

[GovtLawyer]

First,try connecting a different keyboard to your computer, even for windows. Borrow from a friend,neighbor,take at work, etc. If there is no problem,then the problem is at the software level and do a reset, as I wrote above, while holding down the opt + command + p + r key

I stated in my original post that I had swapped keyboard for a wired one and had †he same problem.

 

[Mr.Fox]

Failure of the driver's operation of the keyboard. Run the Apple Diagnostics program to avoid guessing on coffee grounds.
▪️ Disconnect all peripherals from your Mac. You need to disconnect wired printers, drives, disk drives, any third - party audio or video equipment, and external video cards.
▪I recommend leaving only the keyboard, mouse, and trackpad connected
▪ Make sure that your Mac is connected to the network via Wi-Fi or an Ethernet cable. In some cases, you may need to download additional files for testing.


Take a screenshot of the test result.

 

[DeltaMac]

Do you see the same issue if you log in to another user on your iMac?
If you don't have another user account, this would be an ideal reason to make another account, just for troubleshooting.

What other devices do you use with your iMac, especially those that use USB?

 

[GovtLawyer]

Do you see the same issue if you log in to another user on your iMac?
If you don't have another user account, this would be an ideal reason to make another account, just for troubleshooting.

What other devices do you use with your iMac, especially those that use USB?

Why is USB a possible problem? This happens with wireless and wired keyboards.

 

[DeltaMac]

The bluetooth card uses the USB bus internally. I am not familiar with ANY keyboard that does not at some point use the USB bus, so, I will make a guess that ALL keyboards communicate through the USB bus.
You may have some other device attached that (somehow) is causing interference on the USB bus.

However, I suspect that your issue is not with the keyboard.
More likely, you have a software issue... probably something to do with encoding...
Do you have the same key character problem in OTHER apps, such as TextEdit?
Do you have the same problem when you are logged in to another user account on your Mac? (This is REALLY helpful for troubleshooting!)

Open your System Preferences, then Keyboard. Click on the Input Sources tab. What Input Source is selected?

 

[GovtLawyer]

The bluetooth card uses the USB bus internally. I am not familiar with ANY keyboard that does not at some point use the USB bus, so, I will make a guess that ALL keyboards communicate through the USB bus.
You may have some other device attached that (somehow) is causing interference on the USB bus.

However, I suspect that your issue is not with the keyboard.
More likely, you have a software issue... probably something to do with encoding...
Do you have the same key character problem in OTHER apps, such as TextEdit?
Do you have the same problem when you are logged in to another user account on your Mac? (This is REALLY helpful for troubleshooting!)

Open your System Preferences, then Keyboard. Click on the Input Sources tab. What Input Source is selected?

The preferences show my wireless keyboard and the keyboard viewer shows the correct key when I press it. So, it shows the problematic keys as behaving properly. This problem is also in text edit, as well as any app which requires keyboard entry. As I write this, the keyboard is functioning perfectly, which makes no sense to me. I have no idea why.

 

[DeltaMac]

So, now you can say that the hardware is good.
So, it should be a software fault of some kind.
You haven't said if you get the same issue when logged in to a different user... Might be a good time to try that!

 

[GovtLawyer]

So, now you can say that the hardware is good.
So, it should be a software fault of some kind.
You haven't said if you get the same issue when logged in to a different user... Might be a good time to try that!

I am the only user. What would it accomplish by creating a new user?

 

[DeltaMac]

Different user account is a primary software troubleshooting technique on a Mac, and has always been a good troubleshooting tool since the beginnings of OS X more than 20 years ago.
Add a new user in your System Preferences/Users & Groups pane.
Once you have done that, LOG OUT of your present user, then log back in to your new user. All of the user settings will be at defaults in that new user, including any apps that you use, including the variety of settings used by your particular set of hardware that accumulate over time. You won't see ANY of your normal setup for Safari, for example, and your desktop will be the background that is the original native background picture.

So, what does this accomplish? Try out your keyboard problem. Try a couple of different apps that ALWAYS show your "wrong" characters when typing. If it has disappeared, then you know the problem is located within your normal user account. If the problem is the same, typing the various letters produces the same wrong result, then you can assume the problem is not in your user account, but some more basic problem within the system software, perhaps a corrupted extension, or a damaged kext somewhere.
If it is in your own user account (because the problem is gone in your new user), then you would want to discover where that problem is, probably through a process of elimination.
If it is a general system fault (which continues with your new user account), THEN you may get a fix by reinstalling your High Sierra system. Pretty simple to do that by booting to your recovery system, and choosing to reinstall macOS. Or, even better, and a somewhat quicker process, is to have the current High Sierra installer on a bootable external drive. Boot to that, and follow the menus to reinstall macOS. Takes about 30 minutes (maybe less), and your system is rebuilt. The reinstall does not affect YOUR apps and files, it just reinstalls the system. It will replace system files that it detects might be incorrectly installed (or missing), and may often help out with damaged system components. Worth the try, anyway.

If you get nervous about this whole process, and want to just go back to where you were --- before trying that reinstall, just log out of your new user account, and log back in to your normal user. You can also delete that new user that you made when you are back in your normal account.

 

[Fishrrman]

If you haven't tried a WIRED USB keyboard...
... try one.

 

[GovtLawyer]

I know you may not believe this. I tried a few of the things people suggested - not a new user - like turning settings on or off. I could find nothing at all. Both wired and wireless was the same. I am typing this on exactly the same system. as before and everything works perfectly well. I have no idea what I did to accomplish that. If you look at my first post, you can see the difference. I cannot imagine what suddenly fixed itself.