Logitech MX Keys Mac

[Rick Cornish]

Hey gang…..
Do any of you Mac users drive the Logitech MX Keys Mac keyboard?

I’m looking for a new keyboard and this one looks intriguing.


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[geoffg]

I own one. It's a good keyboard, similar to an apple extended keyboard. It feels a _little_ different, not better or worse, just different. If you can go to a best buy or similar store you might be able to feel the keys.

There is one small thing that could be a bother that has to do with the bluetooth. It has built in bluetooth connectivity which is great. However, using filevault (I think most mac systems will be set up to use it) there's a problem when you restart your computer: Your MX keys won't work until you're logged in, and you can't login without typing on a keyboard, so that's a mess - a chicken and the egg problem. Luckily Logitech provides a small wireless usb dongle that you can use instead of running it over bluetooth, and that has always worked fine for me. But it means you'll need an extra usb dongle plugged into your machine if the bluetooth/restart thing is an issue. And if you want to use it with more than one machine (which is kind of a cool feature - there are buttons to select from up to 3 computers) you only get 1 usb dongle. To be clear, once you're logged in, the bluetooth is fine. So if it's a laptop you're using, you can use the laptop's keyboard for logging in. Hope all of that makes sense.

Good luck.

[bayswater]

Unlike others, I've never been that impressed with Logictech. The keyboards always seemed to have a little too much latency over bluetooth. I've gone back to USB keyboards. I have a MX Anywhere 2 mouse and it did not play well with my 2018 Mini or Mojave. When it did work, latency was also a problem. Logitech support told me it would not be updated and couldn't be improved so just get a new mouse. I did get the cheapest new Logictech mouse (M325?) I could find and it works very well -- better than the pricey MX, and no noticeable latency. So for me Logitech is hit and miss.

[HCMarkus]

The MX Master 2 mouse is, for me, simply essential. The side scroll wheel (for horizontal scroll)and free-roll (no-click natural inertia) scroll wheel make navigation DP soooo much easier and faster. Don't know what the MXM3 brings to the table, for (currently) $40 more than the last of the MXM2 inventory.

[Rick Cornish]

I own one. It's a good keyboard, similar to an apple extended keyboard. It feels a _little_ different, not better or worse, just different. If you can go to a best buy or similar store you might be able to feel the keys.

There is one small thing that could be a bother that has to do with the bluetooth. It has built in bluetooth connectivity which is great. However, using filevault (I think most mac systems will be set up to use it) there's a problem when you restart your computer: Your MX keys won't work until you're logged in, and you can't login without typing on a keyboard, so that's a mess - a chicken and the egg problem. Luckily Logitech provides a small wireless usb dongle that you can use instead of running it over bluetooth, and that has always worked fine for me. But it means you'll need an extra usb dongle plugged into your machine if the bluetooth/restart thing is an issue. And if you want to use it with more than one machine (which is kind of a cool feature - there are buttons to select from up to 3 computers) you only get 1 usb dongle. To be clear, once you're logged in, the bluetooth is fine. So if it's a laptop you're using, you can use the laptop's keyboard for logging in. Hope all of that makes sense.

Good luck.

Thanks, geoffg. This is exactly the input I was looking for. I may give it a try. I don’t use FileVault, so that shouldn’t be an issue for me, but it’s good to know they have a work-around (and I have loads of open USB ports). I live in the wilderness, hours away from any electronics retailers, but it so happens I’ll be near a Best Buy in the coming week, so I may try to check it out. Good suggestion. Thanks again.


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[mothra]

I love mine. I have the MX Keys and the MX Anywhere 2 mouse, both great. Mine comes in really handy now that Im working from home. I have the switching setup to go from my Mac to my iPad Pro and to my Lenovo laptop for work. Wake up in the morning, do all my playing around before work on the Mac, then once its time to clock in, switch my keyboard and mouse over to the laptop and off to work. Definitely feels very 'Mac Pro keyboard' to me, the days I have to go into the office throw me off because I have a 'normal' generic HP keyboard there and I hate the taller keys and action on that thing after using the MX Keys for a year.

Aside from the FileVault issue, there is one other 'quirk' about the Bluetooth. It doesn't work in Recovery mode either. You either have to get out the USB-C cable or dongle and plug it in, or you have to use your Mac's keyboard, but that's an issue with Apple's in general with BT keys and mice.

[Rick Cornish]

Aside from the FileVault issue, there is one other 'quirk' about the Bluetooth. It doesn't work in Recovery mode either. You either have to get out the USB-C cable or dongle and plug it in, or you have to use your Mac's keyboard, but that's an issue with Apple's in general with BT keys and mice.

Ahhh…. Good to know about this. Makes me wonder: would there be any downside to just using the dongle 100% of the time?

[mothra]

Aside from the FileVault issue, there is one other 'quirk' about the Bluetooth. It doesn't work in Recovery mode either. You either have to get out the USB-C cable or dongle and plug it in, or you have to use your Mac's keyboard, but that's an issue with Apple's in general with BT keys and mice.

Ahhh…. Good to know about this. Makes me wonder: would there be any downside to just using the dongle 100% of the time?

Nah just another USB port taken up really. I haven't had any issues really with my BT stuff like other Mini users had so I just kept them there. On the rare occasion I do have to boot to recovery or reset the NVRAM I still have my old pro keyboard here I pull out and plug in. Now that I think about it, the dongle might be the 100% safe bet though. Nothing Bluetooth other than Apple stuff works in Recovery mode, and the MX Keys only charges when its plugged in via USB-C. If the battery dies on you, you have to wait til its got juice before you can use it again. The new MX Anywhere and Master 3 mice are the same, but the older version 2's with the micro USB connector DO work when plugged in to charge. The dongle at least will save you having to dig out cables and/or other keyboards and mice when you need to use Recovery or whatnot.