Bluetooth Pairing Unsuccessful
An alternate method that might make your Bluetooth device connect with your iOS device.
Can’t get your Apple Bluetooth keyboard to pair with your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch? I couldn’t either. My A1255 keyboard wouldn’t connect at all. The iPhone would find the keyboard, but wouldn’t update the name of it, nor ever present the four digit code for pairing. I could only get this error:
Pairing Unsuccessful
Make sure “Keyboard” is turned on, in range, and is ready to pair.
I tried a bunch of fixes I read about online and none of these worked in any combination nor configuration:
- turning Bluetooth off and on
- rebooting the iPhone
- holding the power button on the keyboard
- deleting other Bluetooth device pairing from the iPhone
- clicking ‘Forget This Device’
- connecting to another device and then my iPhone
- replacing the batteries
- holding the V, A, and R keys while powering on the keyboard
- turning off Bluetooth on any other nearby devices
It seems Bluetooth under iOS 7 is broken. Lots of people are having issues with Bluetooth on iOS 7 that weren’t there in older iOS versions. Unfortunately, Apple is apparently ignoring this problem.
The Fix
Here’s how I finally connected my keyboard to my iPhone.
- Switch off Bluetooth on iOS device under Settings > Bluetooth.
- Shut off the keyboard by pressing and holding the power button for 3 seconds.
- Switch on Bluetooth on iOS device.
- Turn on the keyboard by pressing and holding the power button until it green light blinks.
- The keyboard should appear listed under the DEVICES heading in the iPhone Bluetooth settings screen with “Not Paired” in gray next to it.
- Now at this point you’re supposed to just tap on the listed device on the iPhone to begin the pairing process, but when I would do that it would time out with the “Pairing Unsuccessful” alert. Here’s the trick: repeatedly tap on the listing (maybe 5-6 times) and hopefully the “Bluetooth Pairing Request” alert will appear with the four digit code you’ll need to enter.
- The pairing may fail the first time. Try again.
- I also found that subsequent attempts to connect after forgetting the device worked much better after that initial connection.
I hope this fix works for you. Let me know if it does.
11 Comments >
Still problem. Looks like my keyboard loses its power in the process of pairing.
Jemy, keep trying. I too had issues at first, but eventually this does work…hopefully. 😉
I don’t know the brand of the bluetooth keyboard I have. There isn’t an “on/off” button. I’m getting the same code you posted above. When I put the iPad mini onto the keyboard, it a green light appears briefly and the bluetooth light appears for about 9 seconds. I don’t know if it’s a matter of actually shutting off the keyboard…if that’s the case, I have no idea how to…
This work for me after trying 2 times with my iPhone 6 and isound headset. Thank you
Thank you so much! This worked!
It worked! Thank you so much.
This did not work for me. My keyboard was actively connected to another device already. Even though the “keyboard” device would appear on all of the iOS devices when in pairing mode. I would always receive the pairing unsuccessful error message. Solution was to first “forget device” on the iOS device which was actively paired to the keyboard.
I get the 4-digit code every time, but when I enter it on the keyboard nothing happens. The keyboard is fully charged. Has this happened to anyone else?
My keyfolio for Apple 5 will not pair. The device stops blinking after three blinks. I have tried all of your suggestions but am wondering if it is the battery. Nor do I know where to get it repaired if that is the case. Thank you
Thanks for the tips. Finally, I got the keyboard paired successfully, especially after 5-6 taps on the device name. Thanks for your help.
I tried this whole litany of solutions and finally I turned off Bluetooth on all other nearby devices…phone, laptop, Rokus. Then pairing on the ipad worked instantly.