[Q] Apple Wireless Keyboard on (rooted) EVO? - EVO 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hello all. Is it possible to pair the Apple Wireless Keyboard with a rooted EVO? Of course, a ROM supporting HID would be necessary (CM6?). I would love to use my EVO to take notes in class. I know that there are keyboards such as the Freedom Pro, but I already own an Apple Wireless and would rather not buy another keyboard if at all possible.
Thanks!

I don't see why not. The Ctrl key won't work, and neither will the Apple-specific keys (Option/AppleKey/Whateveryouwanttocallit).

Great to hear. Every time I've attempted to root I've come across various annoying errors (mostly "Main Version Is Older") so I gave up for a while. Hearing that the Apple Keyboard works gives me the motivation to try rooting again.
Thanks

This is exactly what I am thinking of doing. Especially with the kickstand of evo and the larger screen I would be able to take notes in class with a portable keyboard instead of an iPad or a laptop. The quesiton is, does it truly work or will I have issues...
I do have CM6 and apparently HID is enabled so I am hoping nothing goes wrong. I will report back.

Holy ****, I am in love. Got my phone rooted (with CM6) and am currently typing this on my Apple Keyboard.
I am nerdgasming everywhere right now.

Please go in details on what works and what doesn't. Perhaps a video?

I haven't had the time to fully test it, but it works for the most part. You have to get used to the idea of the keys working as if it were a physical version of the on-screen keyboard (things such as pressing shift twice goes to caps lock). One annoying thing is that option-delete won't just backspace through the previous word, but instead will delete the entire row of text. Obviously, all mac-specific keys don't do anything.
Lastly, the arrow keys are mapped differently than you'd think. I think it's "up" to scroll backwards through text in one line (changing cursor character by character), "down" to scroll forward through text in a line, "left" to scroll to the next line of text, and "right" to scroll to the previous line. Bit confusing tbh.
Right now it's very usable, but it'd be really great if someone could find a way to change the keymappings for the little nuisances.

Tickitata said:
Lastly, the arrow keys are mapped differently than you'd think. I think it's "up" to scroll backwards through text in one line (changing cursor character by character), "down" to scroll forward through text in a line, "left" to scroll to the next line of text, and "right" to scroll to the previous line. Bit confusing tbh.
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Click to collapse
Does that change depending on what your screen orientation is?

Good call. You're right, the arrow keys work correctly when the orientation is in portrait mode. Unfortunately, the kickstand makes it so much more convenient to keep it in landscape.
Any devs think it could be possible to whip up an app to fix this?
Sent from my EVO, typed on my Apple Wireless Keyboard

My evo doesn't seem to pair with the keyboard. Any steps?
0000 as the password?

Type a passcode on your EVO, then type that (followed by Enter/Return) on your bluetooth keyboard. It took me a couple attempts, but I got it to work using either 1234 or 0000 (I forget which).
I took notes in my math class today, using VerbTeX (a LaTeX for Android application). It worked really, really well for the most part, except for an annoying bug I noticed: everything seemed to map correctly except for the less-than and greater-than signs (that is, SHIFT-, and SHIFT-.) The keyboard types ";" for shift-"," and ":" for shift-".". Frustrating...
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

Anybody else having these issues? (incorrect mappings for the < and > keys, and the arrow keys in landscape mode)

For those unsure of how to connect mac bluetooth keyboard to EVO. Its similar to actual set on the mac. You have to key the passcode in on your EVO 0000 or 1234 then initiate the same sequence on the keyboard itself and press enter. It will then confirm you are connected to a HID device. I'm using CM7 wish I had a mouse pointer right now.

soxozor said:
Please go in details on what works and what doesn't. Perhaps a video?
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Click to collapse
You wanted a video? Here you go. I'll be updating the vid here soon as I've been using my Evo in the "Desktop" config for a week now and have harld touched my regular PC.

Related

On-screen keyboard - numbers only

My on-screen keyboard is only displaying numbers, with no option to switch to qwerty. The only qwerty characters available are "p" and "w", which appear to the top right of the keyboard.
Does anyone have any idea how I can get the normal qwerty keyboard back??
itm said:
My on-screen keyboard is only displaying numbers, with no option to switch to qwerty. The only qwerty characters available are "p" and "w", which appear to the top right of the keyboard.
Does anyone have any idea how I can get the normal qwerty keyboard back??
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Did you disable eT9 and to get Auto suggest and auto complete back? If so that is probably what did it.
I had the same problem when I hacked my Tilt 2 to get get auto suggest and auto complete back. Apparently when you do this it works fine until the fallowing happens:
A. You get to a field that triggers you keyboard to switch number entry mode (Nummber pad with P and W)
b. You get to a field that trigger the keyboard to internet entry mode (Keyboard with ".com" and "/" but no spacebar).
Once you enter either mode you can't key you regular keyboard back.
If that is what happened to you, your not the only one.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=526857&highlight=Auto+suggest
I haven;t found a way to make it work without breaking the keyboard. I had to do a clear storage and learn to use T9. It better than a broken keyboard.
Yes that's what I did. If I have auto-suggest but NOT auto-complete on do you know if this will avoid the problem??
itm said:
Yes that's what I did. If I have auto-suggest but NOT auto-complete on do you know if this will avoid the problem??
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Click to collapse
I'm not really sure. I tried several ways and nothing worked, my guess is your are likely to still have an issue. BTW going back an changeing the registry edits back did not fix the issues for me. I had to clear storage and start from scratch each time.
For now I'm learning to live with XT9. I don't like it as much as the original, but it is usable. The alternative is using MS tiny little SW keyboard, and to me, that is even worse.
Now if someone could figure out how to keep the alternate keyboards from popping up, in theory, that should remedy the issue. Unfortunately, I have no such skill.
RojasTKD said:
Did you disable eT9 and to get Auto suggest and auto complete back? If so that is probably what did it.
I had the same problem when I hacked my Tilt 2 to get get auto suggest and auto complete back. Apparently when you do this it works fine until the fallowing happens:
A. You get to a field that triggers you keyboard to switch number entry mode (Nummber pad with P and W)
b. You get to a field that trigger the keyboard to internet entry mode (Keyboard with ".com" and "/" but no spacebar).
Once you enter either mode you can't key you regular keyboard back.
If that is what happened to you, your not the only one.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=526857&highlight=Auto+suggest
I haven;t found a way to make it work without breaking the keyboard. I had to do a clear storage and learn to use T9. It better than a broken keyboard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try this to fix it: start Opera, tap the url field, which will bring up the "search the web" field. Then tap the "search the web" field. This should fix your keyboard (at least it works for me), at least until the next time something triggers the keyboard problem.
levman said:
Try this to fix it: start Opera, tap the url field, which will bring up the "search the web" field. Then tap the "search the web" field. This should fix your keyboard (at least it works for me), at least until the next time something triggers the keyboard problem.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the input, good to know.
That may be a work around for the Internet input issue (maybe), but we still have the issue with the numeric input Keyboard. Thus far the best option, at least for me, is to live with XT9 until a terminate fix is found.
On the bright side, over all I love my TP2/Tilt2!
RojasTKD said:
Thanks for the input, good to know.
That may be a work around for the Internet input issue (maybe), but we still have the issue with the numeric input Keyboard. Thus far the best option, at least for me, is to live with XT9 until a terminate fix is found.
On the bright side, over all I love my TP2/Tilt2!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, this works for the numeric input keyboard issue as well - I have experienced this first hand. addmittedly, it is a bit of a pain to switch from whatever you happen to be doing, to opera, just to fix your keyboard.

[Q] HID Bluetooth keyboard?

Has anyone managed to connect a Bluetooth keyboard using the HID protocol? This worked on Honeycomb, and it looks to be supported in ICS too, but I'd love to hear from someone who's actually gotten it working.
(I've got a Stowaway Ultraslim HID keyboard that I'm totally attached to, and I'd like to be confident that it will work with the Galaxy Nexus before buying one.)
Thanks!
Alan
You can see me use a bluetooth keyboard and mouse here:
Brilliant! Thank you so much for posting that. It's great to see.
Best, Alan
thanks, and may i say you have an extremely loud clock
catpunt said:
thanks, and may i say you have an extremely loud clock
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Click to collapse
Yup, it's a grandfather clock that belonged to my great grand father.
Also I recorded that at like 1am so had quiet surroundings.
This may not be a timely response. But i just tested this out on my nexus. I have a thinkoutside stowaway Bluetooth keyboard and i sucessfully synced. Steps taken
1. Put keyboard in pair mode (ctrl+ blue fn key + green fn key) green light in top row of keyboard will begin flashing slowly.
2. Hit search for devices on nexus screen under Setting-> Bluetooth. Keyboard will appear with keyboard icon and mac address.
3. Click device on nexus screen.
4. You will be instructed to enter a passphrase on the keyboard. Passphrase will be displayed on ur nexus screen. Hint: the pass phrase is 4 digit number so dont forget to use the blue fn key to type as there are no dedicated numbers on the stowaway keybaord. I had to repeat step 3 and 4 twice as the first attempt said incorrect passphrase even tho i had enter it correctly.
Not sure about HID but I bought my gn a Logitech Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, the one for honeycomb + and it even has android specific hot keys. Super simple to pair and works perfect when I am connected to my HD tv through the mhl adapter! God I love this phone!
Sent from my GSM Galaxy Nexus - (thank God my signature says that)

keyboard one handed operation toggle?

HI all,
I'm so confused about this. I know you can go to settings (both one handed operation and keyboard setting) and turn on/off one handed operation, but how do you toggle back and forth without going into settings?
Apparently pinch to zoom on the keyboard works for some people. It does NOT work for me.
others saying you need to hold shift, then press space then "L", again never worked once for me
I've also seen people saying use 2 fingers to slide left or right. Not working for me.
Some saying it switches on its own while typing (which annoyed them), but they are not sure how it happened.
Does anyone know? One handed is useful in some situations, but going to settings to change it just seems too hard.
Thanks,
You are not alone with this problem. I first read about the pinch toggle feature in a forum post and decided to try itiimmediately. No luck. No luck. No luck. Success. It was just as hard to toggle back to the normal keyboard. I had the most luck pinching my fingers together near or on the spacebar.
I personally use a wierd but brilliant keyboard called "messagease". I have the 4.2 android keyboard installed, SwiftKey Flow, Keymonk and Samsungs stock Swype keyboardbut I still end up using messagease for 90% of my writing.

screen shot with aftv remote?

Been playing around with my new Bluetooth keyboard and really like the easy screenshot option by pressing ctrl + s. Is there anyway to configure the stock remote to do this?
Also, there is one obvious flaw with web browsers Ive tried. The on-screen keyboard pops up, blocking a good deal of the page and its also very awkward. How do i disable this? And while im at it...having a web browser loses some of its convenience when you need to navigate the deep forest of crap that is the fire os ui. How do i get a shortcut in the recent apps section? Would i need to install appstore then sideload a web browser from amazon? Or maybe theres a llama event that can be used?
Id appreciate any tips. Itll save lots of time in trial & error. Thanks.
KLit75 said:
Been playing around with my new Bluetooth keyboard and really like the easy screenshot option by pressing ctrl + s. Is there anyway to configure the stock remote to do this?
Also, there is one obvious flaw with web browsers Ive tried. The on-screen keyboard pops up, blocking a good deal of the page and its also very awkward. How do i disable this? And while im at it...having a web browser loses some of its convenience when you need to navigate the deep forest of crap that is the fire os ui. How do i get a shortcut in the recent apps section? Would i need to install appstore then sideload a web browser from amazon? Or maybe theres a llama event that can be used?
Id appreciate any tips. Itll save lots of time in trial & error. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is not a browser flaw, it works the same way on all android devices. You tap the text area, the keyboard pops up. Some browsers do it automatically on sites if you enter a site that is already setup for you to start typing. Youtube, Facebook and several other sites are already setup for you start typing when you enter the site so they keyboard pops up automatically. A way to stp this is to tap anywhere on the screen before the keyboard pops up. That why I use Maxthon browser cause it does not auto popup the keyboard on those sites like Firefox and Chrome do. Also, if you wanna type without the keyboard popping up all you have to do is hold down on the text area for a few seconds and the little placer and the word paste should popup, then let off the text area and you can type without the keyboard popping up. It works the same way on all android devices except you use your mouse button instead of your finger. So all you have to do is go to the text area you wanna type in and place your cursor there, hold down on the mouse button for a couple seconds, the placer and the word paste will popup, depress the mouse button and you can type without the keyboard popping up. Just like on all android devices this method does not work for all apps, but it does for most apps. I type 90% of the time on the Fire TV without the keyboard ever popping up. Advice, try it on your phone first to get the hang of it. Open your browser, hold down on a text area and you will see that after a couple seconds paste will appear and the keyboard does not popup, which means if you had a keyboard you could type without the onscreen keyboard popping up and it works the exact same way on the Fire TV.
porkenhimer said:
It is not a browser flaw, it works the same way on all android devices. You tap the text area, the keyboard pops up. Some browsers do it automatically on sites if you enter a site that is already setup for you to start typing. Youtube, Facebook and several other sites are already setup for you start typing when you enter the site so they keyboard pops up automatically. A way to stp this is to tap anywhere on the screen before the keyboard pops up. That why I use Maxthon browser cause it does not auto popup the keyboard on those sites like Firefox and Chrome do. Also, if you wanna type without the keyboard popping up all you have to do is hold down on the text area for a few seconds and the little placer and the word paste should popup, then let off the text area and you can type without the keyboard popping up. It works the same way on all android devices except you use your mouse button instead of your finger. So all you have to do is go to the text area you wanna type in and place your cursor there, hold down on the mouse button for a couple seconds, the placer and the word paste will popup, depress the mouse button and you can type without the keyboard popping up. Just like on all android devices this method does not work for all apps, but it does for most apps. I type 90% of the time on the Fire TV without the keyboard ever popping up. Advice, try it on your phone first to get the hang of it. Open your browser, hold down on a text area and you will see that after a couple seconds paste will appear and the keyboard does not popup, which means if you had a keyboard you could type without the onscreen keyboard popping up and it works the exact same way on the Fire TV.
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Click to collapse
Great info! And that's a cool trick (holding down to avoid pop up). Still I have questions just not real techy ones. Essentially android is made for mobile so not being able to disable the keyboard wouldn't make sense. But now that its branched into set top boxes and some people are installing this on PC, not to mention chrome books...I can't believe the os isn't slightly modded for these platforms. If I'm not mistaken, I may have seen a xposed module that let's you do that? But the xposed mods I've tried on aftv have been limited to rbox TV mods and the necessary settings for playstore to work but itll be worth looking into. For now its not a big hardship.
Its not a trick. Android is made to do that. If you hold your finger/cursor over the text area, option will popup instead of the keyboard, and its always been that way.

Pixel C - Physical Keyboard Double Pressing Arrow Keys

I've just last weekend got my Pixel C. So far, I am completely loving the device. After upgrading to Android N, Build 5, the Wi-Fi problems which nearly made me send the thing back are gone. I ordered and received a really cool case by Cooper Cases - the Universal Executive Backlit Bluetooth Keyboard. I have no idea whether this particular keyboard is to blame (though I am thinking not) - but I have reached out to them to ask. The issue that I am experiencing is that the arrow keys (Left, Right, Up, Down) all press twice each time I strike them, making it ridiculously annoying to navigate through text. The only keyboards installed on the device are the default Google Keyboard and Swype. The behavior does not seem to change if I pick one over the other. All other keys work - it is just these 4 keys.
Any ideas?? Is this a known issue with bluetooth keyboards? Is it software related? Anything I can do? It is driving me a bit nuts.
Thanks!
Quick search indicates that you are not alone in having this problem with Android (and Apple) devices and external 3rd party BT k/boards. Allegations of the cause are using k/bd plus BT mouse/track pad, Broadcom wifi/BT chipset and wifi connection at 2.4Ghz causing problems with BT that operates on close frequencies. But only the mouse "suggestion" would affect cursor keys???? Anyone know if BT keyboards handle cursor keys in a different way to rest of the keys - thinking along lines of "auto repeat". In Settings > Accessibility there is a "Touch and Hold" delay settings - does that affect auto repeat?

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