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I have a macbook pro running OS X v10.13.6 and am using the microsoft sculpt keyboard with it. The keyboard works but would become unresponsive intermittently. This is the setting I see in System Information:

enter image description here

I did some search and found some related links but:

  • This one says its completely unresponsive which is not what I am experiencing
  • This one also does not help
  • Over here I can see 10.13.6 is not listed but am guessing that's just because its outdated and the info needs to be updated
  • This does not help
  • This too did not help

I have listed above links as sometimes I would get a downvote saying what have you tried - so listing them to show I have done some due diligence and unable to resolve the issue.

Further I have turned bluetooth off on my mac to avoid any interference (not that it should matter)

enter image description here

The Keyboard System Assistant (system Preferences -> keyboard -> change keyboard type...) shows this:

enter image description here

Does anyone know how to fix this issue? Thanks

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  • and promptly you get a up vote, and do not get discouraged by some giving you unreasonably hard time.
    – Ruskes
    Commented Nov 20, 2018 at 23:54
  • Did you find any solution?
    – Peter Štibraný
    Commented Dec 16, 2019 at 8:06
  • No. I was forced to use a wired keyboard as I could no longer take it. As far as I understand the problem is with Mac not with the keyboard.
    – morpheus
    Commented Dec 20, 2019 at 17:23

2 Answers 2

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USB 3 hubs can interfere with 2.4 GHz dongles, like the one from your keyboard/mouse. I had exactly the same issue with a Microsoft Sculpt keyboard.

Solution: connect the dongle of the keyboard/mouse to a USB extension wire (one foot, or you can try 10 or 15 cm as well) so it's farther away from the USB C hub.

Lesson learned: never connect a 2.4GHz dongle directly to a USB C hub.

Problematic setup: Mac -> USB C hub -> dongle

Setup: Mac -> USB C hub -> USB extension wire -> dongle

Alternative setup: Mac -> USB C hub -> USB A or B hub -> dongle

Sources: https://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/136g7y/usb_30_has_been_found_to_cause_interference_that/

My setup uses an old (passive) USB hub where I connected the Sculpt dongle plus another one (that showed the same behavior when connected directly to the main USB C hub):

enter image description here

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  • can you post a picture showing the setup?
    – morpheus
    Commented May 26, 2022 at 17:37
  • 1
    btw if one has to use a 1 foot wire, might as well use wired keyboard
    – morpheus
    Commented May 26, 2022 at 17:38
  • Apologies, the setup is under my desk now. I'll update the main post with an extra description. One can use a wired keyboard at any point in time, but in my case, I have a wireless Sculpt keyboard that I want to use.
    – gusgonnet
    Commented May 27, 2022 at 18:43
  • I added a picture now, hope it helps
    – gusgonnet
    Commented May 30, 2022 at 12:32
  • I am using wired keyboard now so no longer able to evaluate if this will solve the problem.
    – morpheus
    Commented May 31, 2022 at 16:40
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I figured out the solution for the same problem. The problem had occurred after I disconnect usb c power delivery cable from my usb-c dongle. As I connected back the power delivery cable to the dongle, my sculpt keyboard started respond to every key typing. I guess without the power delivery cable connection, the usb receiver does not receive enough electricity to work properly. The device chain of my setup are as follows.

My 2020 macbook 13 inch > Anker PowerExpand+ 7-in-1 USB-C PD > Anker 4-Port Ultra-Slim USB 3.0 Hub > microsoft keyboard usb receiver

I trust Anker hubs the most after I have tried several usb-c hubs and usb hubs from various manufactures with the same mac. Usb hubs from many manufactures have some issues when they are connected with my macbook pro but every function of Anker hubs works perfectly so far.

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