You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!

When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Magic Keyboard Function Keys

Bought Magic Keyboard to replace a broken one. My iMac is late 2013 with software macOS Catalina 10.15.7 The Function keys do not work. Also I don't see 'Use F1, F2, etc keys as standard function. Help please

Posted on Oct 9, 2021 7:59 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Nov 3, 2021 7:17 AM

Same issue here. So we can't buy the old version of magic keyboard and the new one does not support function keys for our mac on latest available update (Catalina 10.15.7)? This is exactly the opposite of why I decided to buy Mac. I hope we will get software fix because it cannot be rocket science.

13 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Nov 3, 2021 7:17 AM in response to JontyC16

Same issue here. So we can't buy the old version of magic keyboard and the new one does not support function keys for our mac on latest available update (Catalina 10.15.7)? This is exactly the opposite of why I decided to buy Mac. I hope we will get software fix because it cannot be rocket science.

Oct 9, 2021 9:38 AM in response to JontyC16

To be sure, you should find the function key option in System Preferences > Keyboard under the Keyboard tab, though I'm not certain the option is there with the external wireless keyboard – I don't have mine at hand at the moment.


If rebooting your Mac doesn’t fix things, see if the problem still happens in Safe mode (hold the shift key down at startup). It can take much longer to safe boot (10 min) so be patient.

How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support 


Safe mode forces the OS to clear certain caches and logs and do other miscellaneous housekeeping. It's non-destructive to user data so is safe to do. Very often certain weird software behavior is corrected by simply logging in this way as a troubleshooting method. When you're in safe boot, the machine will not be at its best performance, especially with graphics, but that's expected.


Does the problem persist while in Safe mode?


Exit safe mode by restarting your Mac normally and re-evaluate the issue again.

If the problem is still unresolved, please return here and post a reply and we’ll see what else we can come up with for help.

Magic Keyboard Function Keys

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.