Upgraded to Sonoma last night. This morning my external USB Apple keyboard is not working, afterI sign in to the machine. Everything else on my USB-C hub works (monitors/printer). I use the external keyboard to type my password to sign in to the machine, but after that it doesn’t work. Rebooted twice. Super frustrating. Anyone have ideas?
That’s so weird! And totally annoying.
What does System Settings say in the Keyboard panel? Anything suspicious?
Do you use any keyboard remapping tools?
No remapping tools. I don’t see anything unusual in the Keyboard settings. Now my displays are getting wonky. Something is definitely up.
It sounds like a problem with your hub, since displays (connected through the hub) are now “getting wonky”. Did you try connecting the keyboard through some other path than through the hub (like a USB-C to USB-A adapter)?
IMHO probably not Sonoma because my keyboard is connected via USB on Sonoma with no issues.
Displays are ok now, so just the keyboard. Unfortunately I don’t have an adapter so I have started looking at bluetooth keyboards…or praying it magically starts working again. The hub is almost brand new, I think it’s definitely a Sonoma thing.
Printer works on both USB ports, keyboard doesn’t work on either. Starting to think the keyboard is bad, except I can type in the password to log into the computer. Ugh.
My experience says it’s not the keyboard. They either work or they don’t, and clearly yours is functioning.
On the other hand, hubs are notoriously finicky. Some die at a young age, sometimes just a port goes, sometimes they last for years. It’s really annoying that we don’t have a super-reliable manufacturer of basic USB hubs (USB-A had this problem, and now USB-C does).
I think your next step should be to connect the keyboard directly to the computer as a test. Alternatively, test the keyboard with another Mac.
You could buy a new Bluetooth keyboard, but that is adding more stuff to the mix and wouldn’t be the best way to tell if the hub is going bad. (And Bluetooth itself is notoriously finicky, so….) But it might be the quickest solution.
Let us know what you find out.
I ended up buying a wireless “Magic” keyboard and had it shipped same day (Amazon Prime to the rescue). It is working fine, plugged into the same USB hub, so for $95 the problem is solved. But the mystery remains…
I still think it’s something with Sonoma upgrade due to the timing but its beyond my expertise.
Whew, that’s a relief that you got something to work!
Keep an eye on things over the next week. If you don’t see any more quirks, then I say forget about it and move on! Maybe a future update of Sonoma will address it.
Thanks for updating us.
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It’s wireless but plugged into a hub?
Instructions say to plug it in to set up the wireless connection. Weird, right? Though it was a good way to test things I guess.
I just had this same thing happen with my new M2 Studio and a several-year-old wired Apple keyboard. Plugging direct into the Mac and into various hubs made no difference. If you search around, you find this has been an issue for many years - back to 2013!
The easiest solution that peps recommend is to connect your keyboard using a USB extension cable (like the one that comes with the wired Apple keyboard) - via a hub or direct. Apparently, the issue has something to do with the low voltage draw of the keyboard not being recognized by the Mac and the extension cable increases the draw enough that it will be recognized.
I’m still experimenting to see if this solution works in my case, but many people report success.
Old discussion: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5470234
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Thanks, I will try this out and let you know. Though I have to admit the new wireless keyboard is pretty sweet!
This just happened to me. I don’t think it’s a hub problem, as my keyboard is normally plugged into my thunderbolt display. If I instead plug directly into macbook pro using USB to lightning adaptor it still doesn’t work. I don’t think the USB extension cable is the issue, as I’ve used one for years to address the same low voltage draw issue referenced above. So it appears to be a Sonoma upgrade issue. I too will solve my problem for $95 with a new bluetooth keyboard, but I’ll be resentful for at least a few days 
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It’s weird right? I’m glad I’m not the only one but sorry you have to shell out for a new keyboard.
Add me to the list on this one. I switched to the Apple Keyboard for the TouchID when I got my M1 Mac Studio, but 2 years later I have had enough of that keyboard and dug my KeyChron C2 out (full sized wired keyboard). it will be fine for hours, and then it will just stop working.
No one ever found a fix I assume? I have Thunderbolt hub I could try hooking up, but from searches I don’t think that will work either.
Maybe it’s time to upgrade to a nice bluetooth mechanical keyboard instead?
Maybe check with KeyChron to see if there is a firmware update first?
Sorry, didn’t mention it, but already did both (emailed them and updated the firmware), thanks.
Well, it doesn’t help but my K8 pro works great. If you did it wired, then the wire could be bad. However, here is a good reason to upgrade. 
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This Mac Studio has had little “issues” since I got it, even if there is nothing technically wrong with it and it works. This same keyboard had a year or more use on a M1 MBP without issue.
Keychron has some pretty fancy keyboards now, looking at the Q Max/Pro series…but $210 for a keyboard…
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