Magic Keyboard not charging

I have an iMac running Ventura and a new magic keyboard. The keyboard will not charge, even though I have tried several cables (including the new one supplied with the keyboard), several power sources and different ports.

I have rebooted the iMac, switched the keyboard on and off, but nothing indicates the keyboard charging.

Any ideas? or is it a keyboard fault?

iMac 21.5″ 4K, macOS 13.7

Posted on Dec 5, 2025 7:24 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Dec 6, 2025 11:51 AM

AFAIK, Apple states that the very latest (2024) A3118 & A3119 models are designed to specifically work with Silicon Macs, running macOS Sequoia 15.1 or newer operating systems.


Since you are trying to use one of these keyboards with an older Mac, that is running macOS Ventura, there may be more issues than the keyboard not supporting Touch ID ... like this macOS version may not fully recognize or manage the battery the way it does on supported Apple-silicon systems.


However, before going any further, it would help if you can provide us with the exact model of your iMac.


In the mean time, I suggest you try the following:

  • Connect the keyboard directly to a standard USB-C power adapter, like the one used for an iPhone or iPad. This helps determine whether the keyboard is able to take a charge independently of the iMac’s USB-C ports.
  • If possible, switch to a different USB-C cable, ideally one designed for charging. Some Thunderbolt or high-speed cables don’t reliably provide power to accessories.
  • Test the same USB-C port on your iMac with another device to confirm the port itself is supplying power.


Keep in mind that on macOS Ventura, battery level reporting for this specific keyboard isn’t fully supported, so the keyboard may be charging even if the system doesn’t show a percentage.


If the keyboard still doesn’t charge even with a dedicated USB-C power adapter and a known-good cable, that points to a hardware problem with the keyboard itself.

5 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Dec 6, 2025 11:51 AM in response to rodcoppock

AFAIK, Apple states that the very latest (2024) A3118 & A3119 models are designed to specifically work with Silicon Macs, running macOS Sequoia 15.1 or newer operating systems.


Since you are trying to use one of these keyboards with an older Mac, that is running macOS Ventura, there may be more issues than the keyboard not supporting Touch ID ... like this macOS version may not fully recognize or manage the battery the way it does on supported Apple-silicon systems.


However, before going any further, it would help if you can provide us with the exact model of your iMac.


In the mean time, I suggest you try the following:

  • Connect the keyboard directly to a standard USB-C power adapter, like the one used for an iPhone or iPad. This helps determine whether the keyboard is able to take a charge independently of the iMac’s USB-C ports.
  • If possible, switch to a different USB-C cable, ideally one designed for charging. Some Thunderbolt or high-speed cables don’t reliably provide power to accessories.
  • Test the same USB-C port on your iMac with another device to confirm the port itself is supplying power.


Keep in mind that on macOS Ventura, battery level reporting for this specific keyboard isn’t fully supported, so the keyboard may be charging even if the system doesn’t show a percentage.


If the keyboard still doesn’t charge even with a dedicated USB-C power adapter and a known-good cable, that points to a hardware problem with the keyboard itself.

Dec 6, 2025 5:19 PM in response to rodcoppock

If you tried all of my suggestions, especially when using a power adapter, then yes, the keyboard may be faulty. However, it still may be possible that it is not compatible with your Mac. Regardless, I would strongly suggest that you contact Apple Support directly for your next steps. You can do so simply by selecting the "Support" link on the lower left-hand side of this forum's web page. Good luck!

Dec 6, 2025 12:37 PM in response to Tesserax

My iMac is a 3 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5 with 8GB memory, serial C0*****1G5 running macOS 13.7.8.


The keyboard is a magic keyboard model A3203 serial F0*******GQQ.


The information supplied with the keyboard simply says it "requires the latest version of macOS".


The iMac shows a slow loss of charge, so I assume that battery level reporting is ok.

The keyboard works perfectly well with the iMac.


I have tried charging with several cables using different sources, and nothing seems to recharge it.

From your comments, my assumption is therefore that the keyboard is faulty.


Thanks for your support to date.



[Edited by Moderator]

Magic Keyboard not charging

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