Question :

I have bought this great Logitech Craft keyboard and it works perfectly. I love it. With it’s backlit keys, it’s programmable crown-dial, it’s USB-C charging, it’s multiple device-switching and it’s very responsive keyboard keys, it’s a joy to work with and a very interesting alternative for Apple’s own Extended Magic Keyboard at roughly the same price point if you shop around.

The only problem is : when I start up (or restart) my Mac, the keyboard isn’t recognized so I can’t type my password to unlock my Mac…

When using the Carft keyboard with my MacBook Pro that isn’t a huge problem, since I can just open the MacBook Pro and use the built-in keyboard to bypass this, but with my new Mac mini… I’m stuck…

The only option I could come up with is to keep an old USB-keyboard connected to my Mac mini and just use it for loggin in only… but that’s not a very tempting solution…

Isn’t there any alternative solution ?

Answer :

Yes, there is… there are actually 3 alternative solutions (option 3 is the most versatile in my opinion) :

1. use your Apple Watch to login on macOS Mojave (of course, this won’t work if you don’t wear an Apple Watch…)
2. use the on-screen keyboard during login (the so called Accessibility Keyboard that you can use when only your mouse or touchpad is recognized)
3. use Logitech’s Unifying Receiver (the 2.4GHz RF-connection USB-plug that came with your Craft keyboard)

1. To enable your Apple Watch to unlock macOS Mojave, do this :

• go to Settings.app
• click on “Security & Privacy”
• in the window that opens, click on the “General”-tab
• put a check mark at  “Allow your Apple Watch to unlock your Mac”
• then use the “<“-button to go back to the main Settings screen
• then exit Settings.app (by clicking on the red dot top left)
• now, you’ll only need to make sure you wear your Apple Watch and have it unlocked before you try to login on your Mac… (this seems trivial, but turns out to be complicated from time to time…)

2. To enable the on-screen keyboard during login, do this :

• go to Settings.app
• click on “Users & Groups”
• in the window that opens, click on “Login Options”
• then, click on the “Accessibility Options”-button
• in the window that opens, put a check mark at “Accessibility Keyboard” and click the “Apply”-button
• then use the “<“-button to go back to the main Settings screen
• then exit Settings.app (by clicking on the red dot top left)

3. To setup the connection with your Craft keyboard using the “Unifying Adapter”, do this :

• find the Unifying Receiver (the USB-plug) that came with your Craft keyboard… it might still be in the original box… if you can’t find it, you can get a new one here or at Logitech (Logitech charges $15 or €13 plus shipping for it)
• plug the Unifying Receiver in one of the USB-ports on your Mac (or in a USB-port of a USB-hub that is connected to your Mac)
• go to Settings.app
• click on “Bluetooth”
• in the “Devices”-list click on the Craft keyboard, the non the X-marked dot that appears on the right side of it (to un-pair the Craft keyboard from your Mac)
• then go to https://support.logitech.com/en_us/downloads and download the latest version of the Logitech Options software
• install the Logitech Options software on your Mac
• then, go to Logitech Options.app and follow the directions to pair your Craft keyboard to your Unifying Receiver
• note that in macOS 10.14 Mojave you will need to also allow Logitech Options.app in the Privacy settings, to do so do this :
  • go to Settings.app
  • click on “Security & Privacy”
  • in the window that opens, click on the “Privacy”-tab
  • then, click on “Accessibility” in the list on the left
  • then, put a check mark at “Logitech Options Deamon” on the right
  • then use the “<“-button to go back to the main Settings screen
  • then exit Settings.app (by clicking on the red dot top left)

That’s it !

enjoy 😉