Turn your iPad to a mini computer with a wireless keyboard and mouse

If you’ve ever done more than just casual browsing on your iPad you might’ve hoped for the option to use a physical keyboard and mouse. Touchscreen is nice when you’re doing light browsing on the couch but writing anything longer or clicking around for an extended period of time will inevitably make your arms tired. Luckily iPads support wireless keyboard and mice and connecting them is super easy.

How to connect a keyboard and mouse to your iPad

First step is to make sure your keyboard and mouse aren’t already paired with another device. If you buy a dedicated keyboard and mouse for your iPad this shouldn’t be an issue, but personally I only do this occasionally and I’ll grab a keyboard that’s usually connected to my Mac. In order to connect a device with your iPad you’ll need to unpair it first from your Mac. Just open up System Settings and under Bluetooth click the little i-icon on the right side if your listed bluetooth device. A menu will open up where you can select “Forget this device…”. There is an option to simply disconnect but using the “forget” option will make sure you won’t have any connection issues when a mouse or keyboard tries to accidentally connect to a Mac while you’re using them with an iPad.

After unpairing from your Mac just go to Settings -> Bluetooth on your iPad and you should see your keyboard and mouse listed. If you don’t see them, switch the power on your bluetooth device on and off. With official Apple keyboard and mouse that should put them into pairing mode. With third party accessories you might have a separate pairing mode button to click. Once your device is in pairing mode, locate it under the bluetooth menu and connect to it. Boom, your iPad now feels like a mini computer.

Keyboard commands for iPad

Using an iPad with a keyboard and mouse is a little different from the usual iPad experience. Many of the same keyboard commands from your Mac will work with an iPad as well.

Command + Tab will switch between apps.

Command + H will hide the current app and return to the Home Screen.

Command + Space bar will show and hide the search field.

Command + Shift + 3 will take a screenshot.

Command + Option + D will show and hide the dock.

Brightness and Volume keys work as usual.

On Apple Wireless keyboard you can also use the Mission Control key (overview of your open windows and apps) by pressing F3

For more information and instructions on how to customize keyboard shortcuts visit Apple’s support article about iPad keyboard shortcuts

Using a mouse with an iPad

When using a mouse with an iPad you also have the option to share a mouse between your iPad and Mac. Think about it as having your iPad as a second screen next to your Mac. You can seamlessly move the pointer between your Mac screen and iPad screen. For detailed instructions on how to set up a shared mouse between iPad and Mac check out Apple’s support article “Use a keyboard and mouse or trackpad across your Mac and iPad with Universal Control”

In our case we’re using a mouse with an iPad alone. Some functionality might be limited depending on which bluetooth mouse you’re using but if you’re using Apple’s Magic Mouse 2 you’ll get all the usual gestures like scrolling, right-clicking and swiping. An easy way to tell the difference between Apple’s Magic Mouse 1 and Magic Mouse 2 is to look under the mouse. Magic Mouse 1 has a latch for AA-batteries while Magic Mouse 2 only has a small Lighting port for charging. For a full list of mouse gestures on iPad check out Apple’s support article “Mouse actions and gestures for iPad”

And if you want to adjust tracking speed and other mouse settings, check out Apple’s support article about using a bluetooth mouse or trackpad with your iPad