Using an Apple Wireless keyboard with an iPad

Last weekend I had this conversation with a friend on how he wanted to use an external keyboard with his iPad. I pointed him to several solutions by Logitech like the Keyboard Case for iPad and the Tablet Keyboard for iPad. There's also the new Ultrathin Keyboard Cover which also doubles as a very thin iPad cover. All very nifty bluetooth based solutions. Wait a minute, bluetooth?

I wondered aloud why a standard Apple wireless keyboard wouldn't work. It does and it's fairly simple.

1. Unpair the keyboard from it's previous host. Simply go to the Bluetooth Preference panel and delete the entry.
2. Now press the on button of the keyboard and go to Settings - General - Bluetooth on your iPad. Switch Bluetooth on and the keyboard should appear in the devices list.
3. Pair the keyboard by entering the 4 digit code your iPad will give and voila... you have an external keyboard to your iPad.

An Apple Wireless Aluminum Keyboard happily paired with an iPad

Apple Wireless Keyboards are a bit of a pain to put in pairing mode. The official Apple way is to unpair it from a previous host which will force the bluetooth device in pairing mode. Which is all nice and well, IF YOU STILL HAVE THAT DEVICE.

I found some support articles on the Apple discussion fora and it looks like this tip from Colin Holgate does the trick:

1. Make sure the "Bluetooth Setup Assistant" application is not open.
2. Press and hold the power button on the aluminum wireless keyboard, make sure the green light switches on. Keep the power button pressed!
3. Select "Setup Bluetooth Device" from the Bluetooth menu icon. The keyboard is certain to be listed.
4. While still holding that button down, click Continue.
5. Don't let go when you see the Connecting message!
6. Soon after, the set of numbers for you to type should appear. Now you can let go of the power, and the sync up should work correctly.