Why won’t my Bluetooth keyboard work in Mac Setup Assistant?
A new Mac has never been paired with anything, so your Bluetooth keyboard has nothing to reconnect to. Apple’s keyboards get around this by pairing over their charging cable. Third-party Bluetooth keyboards often never connect at all.
The reliable fix is a wired keyboard. If you have a MacBook, RigValet makes it one.
What’s going on
Most Bluetooth keyboards work by reconnecting to a computer they were paired with before. A Mac fresh out of the box, or just erased, has no pairings. It needs the keyboard to be discovered and paired from scratch, on a screen you can’t yet type into.
The advice on Apple’s own forum is blunt: “You cannot set it up without a keyboard.” The suggested fix is to buy or borrow a USB one.
What works
- An Apple Magic Keyboard, plugged in. Connect it with its cable and it pairs. Then you can unplug it.
- Any wired USB keyboard. Setup Assistant takes it straight away. The Mac mini with M4 has only USB-C ports, so an older keyboard needs an adapter.
- Your MacBook, through RigValet. RigValet makes the MacBook’s USB-C port a real wired keyboard and mouse. The Mac sees an ordinary keyboard, so nothing needs pairing. RigValet then runs Setup Assistant for you.
After setup
Once you’re past Setup Assistant, pair the Bluetooth keyboard from System Settings, under Bluetooth. It works like any other Mac from then on.
RigValet