After reading my guide on the best wireless keyboards, you’ve opted to purchase a Bluetooth keyboard, which you have just received. Now you want to connect it to your computer—also to eliminate the annoying cable of your old keyboard—but since you’ve never done anything like this before, you’re not quite sure how to proceed. Is that right? Well, if you want, I can help you achieve your goal.
If you want to discover how to connect a Bluetooth keyboard to PC, just keep reading: throughout this guide, I will be sure to explain the steps necessary to communicate your new keyboard with the computer, whether it is a Windows PC or a Mac.
So, what are you waiting for? Take some time for yourself, get comfortable, and read carefully everything I have to explain on the subject: I am sure that, by the end of this guide, you will have acquired the necessary skills to succeed in your small—but important—task. That said, I just have to wish you a good read!
Table of Contents
- Preliminary Operations
- How to Connect a Bluetooth Keyboard to Windows PC
- How to Connect a Bluetooth Keyboard to Mac
Preliminary Operations
Before proceeding with the pairing between the Bluetooth keyboard and computer, you need to perform some preliminary operations, which I will outline below.
Check for Bluetooth Availability
The first check to make concerns the availability of Bluetooth technology on your computer; generally, it is integrated into almost all recent laptops and Macs (both desktop and portable), however, Bluetooth support may be absent on desktop PCs or on laptops that are a few years old.
To check if a Windows PC has Bluetooth connectivity, first try expanding the notification area (by clicking on the up-arrow icon near the clock) and check if the Bluetooth icon, a sort of stylized “B” on a blue background, is present near the clock or in the panel that appears on the screen.
If not, if you are using Windows 10, click on the speech bubble icon present next to the clock, then on the Expand item located at the bottom of the panel that opens and check if the quick-action button for turning Bluetooth on/off is present in the quick actions area. On Windows 11, on the other hand, you can access the quick actions area by clicking on the notification area, which contains the Wi-Fi, volume, and battery icons (if present), for example.
If you couldn’t locate the Bluetooth icon and it’s a notebook, try to see if there’s a Bluetooth button on the keyboard (marked with the same logo of the stylized “B”) and try pressing it, possibly alongside the Fn key, to enable the technology in question. On some particularly old notebooks, Bluetooth can be activated using a physical switch.
As a last resort, you can check for the presence (or absence) of Bluetooth using the Device Manager utility, which you can access by pressing the Win+R key combination on the keyboard, typing the command devmgmt.msc in the text box that appears on the screen, and pressing the Enter key.
What you need to do once in the dedicated window is to check that at least one device of type Bluetooth or Bluetooth Radio is listed among the devices connected to the computer: if the check is successful, it means the computer natively supports Bluetooth.
If not, you can be almost certain that the Bluetooth module is absent, or that the “built-in” one is no longer functioning. Don’t despair though, as you can easily remedy the situation by purchasing a USB Bluetooth adapter: such devices, which are fairly inexpensive, plug into any free USB port and allow Bluetooth support to be added to computers that are not equipped with it.
Activate Pairing Mode on the Keyboard
Another step to take before proceeding to configure the computer consists of activating pairing mode on the keyboard: this operational system allows the keyboard to become discoverable by external devices and able to establish new connections. The pairing mode then automatically disconnects once the accessory is connected to the computer.
To set up a newly purchased keyboard in pairing mode, it is almost always sufficient to turn it on for the first time after installing the batteries or removing the protective seals (if necessary): new devices automatically enter pairing mode upon initial power-up.
If you want to set up a Bluetooth keyboard that has been passed on to you or that has previously been paired with another device, you may have to press the power button longer, use a specific pairing button, perform a reset of the keyboard (by pressing for a few seconds the Reset button located at the back of the keyboard with a pointed object), or toggle a dedicated switch.
Since there are numerous models of Bluetooth keyboards, unfortunately, I cannot provide you with the exact position of buttons and switches, nor precise instructions on what to press/activate: if you have difficulties, consult the user manual of the device you have, or try searching for phrases like pairing mode [brand and keyboard model] on Google.
In any case, the successful entry into pairing mode should be visually indicated, since the keyboard’s status LED should start flashing rapidly; if it is not connected to any device, the keyboard remains in pairing mode for a variable time between 60 and 120 seconds (depending on the model), after which the input device automatically turns off for safety reasons.
How to Connect a Bluetooth Keyboard to Windows PC
Once you have completed the preliminary operations, let me show you how to pair a Bluetooth keyboard to any PC running the Windows operating system.
Windows 10 and Later
If you are using a recent edition of Windows, such as Windows 11 or Windows 10, you can pair keyboards, mice, and other Bluetooth devices directly from the Settings of the operating system.
To access these, click on the gear icon located in the Start menu, or press the Win+I key combination on the keyboard, then click on the Bluetooth & devices/Bluetooth item or icon and, if necessary, toggle the switch for Bluetooth to ON.
Alternatively, you can access the same screen directly from the quick actions panel in Windows: to open it, click on the notification area (in Windows 11) or on the speech bubble icon (Windows 10) located near the clock, click on the Expand item (if necessary) and, if it was off, press the button related to Bluetooth to turn the technology on. Then, right-click on the Bluetooth button and select the Go to Settings option from the menu that opens.
Now, click on the Add device button or on the Add Bluetooth or other device option, click on the Bluetooth tile in the next screen, and wait for the name of the keyboard to appear among the detected devices. Finally, click on it and then on the Connect button to complete the pairing.
From now on, whenever the keyboard is on and within range of the computer, you will be able to use it just like any other input device, without needing to pair it again.
Windows 8.1 and Earlier
On editions of Windows prior to 10, on the other hand, the pairing of the keyboard must be done from the Control Panel, which you can access through the corresponding option available in the Start menu or in the Start Screen. Before proceeding, I invite you to consider updating the computer to a supported version of Windows, as all operating systems predating Windows are now unsupported and, therefore, exposed to potential security and data integrity risks.
That said, after opening the Control Panel, click on the View devices and printers option under Hardware and Sound (if you don’t see it, set the dropdown menu View by in the upper right to Category) and, once in the dedicated window, click on the Add device button at the top.
At this point, wait for the name of the keyboard to appear among the detected devices, click on it and press the Next button to establish the connection. Once connected, the Bluetooth keyboard should be operational immediately, and will work every time it is turned on and within range of the computer.
How to Connect a Bluetooth Keyboard to Mac
On Mac, the steps to follow are quite similar to those seen on Windows. To start, open the Control Center of macOS by pressing the button with switches located near the clock, click on the Bluetooth button, and then on the Bluetooth Settings… option located in the panel that opens.
Alternatively, you can access the same window directly from the System Preferences: open these by clicking on the gear icon resident on the Dock, or from the corresponding option available in the Apple menu, and then click on the Bluetooth option on the left.
Once in the dedicated window, toggle the switch labeled Bluetooth to ON and wait a few seconds for the name of the keyboard to appear in the list of nearby devices; when this happens, hover the mouse over it and click the Connect button, which should appear on overlay.
Once the connection is established, the name of the keyboard should be automatically moved to the My Devices list, and the accessory should immediately be functional, without any additional configuration needed.
If the keyboard to be connected is a recent generation wireless Magic Keyboard, the process is even simpler: after turning on the keyboard using the appropriate switch, connect the input device to the Mac using the provided USB charging cable.
Following this step, the keyboard should automatically pair and thus appear in the My Devices list of the Bluetooth Settings window: you should receive an informative notification directly on the Mac. To use the Magic Keyboard wirelessly, you just need to physically disconnect it from the computer.
Even in the case of Macs, after the first pairing, subsequent connections between the computer and keyboard will be automatic if the typing device is within range of the Mac.