Buying a non-Apple keyboard in Japan

[Henry Richardson]

Does a Windows keyboard work on a Mac?

Several months ago I locally bought a keyboard for my M1 Mac Mini at a store here in Japan that had a good selection of about 50 keyboards. All Japanese JIS keyboards, of course. Some were wired, some were wireless with a tiny USB-A receiver, and some were Bluetooth. Based on my poor experience with the Bluetooth Magic keyboard and mouse with the M1 iMac I had earlier this year I decided I did not want Bluetooth (not Apple brand, not 3rd party brand) for the keyboard and mouse. I decided to get a wired keyboard and a wired mouse. I knew when I bought the keyboard that I would hope to replace it with a U.S. keyboard later.

Some of the keyboards at the store said they were for Windows and some said both Windows and Mac. I ended up getting this one that said it was for both, is wired, and is not huge with a number pad that I never use:

https://www.elecom.co.jp/products/TK-FCM113SKBK.html

I spent a few minutes at the store playing with the several keyboards that were for both Windows and Macs and that were wired. This one seemed acceptable until I can get a U.S. one. Unfortunately, I have grown to hate it. :-( Every computer keyboard I have used over the last 40+ years has been acceptable, including Japanese keyboards I have used in the past. But for this one, I hate the key typing feel, the somewhat small keys, and that the keys are too close together. Constantly mistyping. Also, the constant annoyance of a Japanese keyboard (no need to go into that though).

Right now I am looking at Amazon U.S. keyboards. A small number of them are available for shipping to Japan with an additional shipping charge.

My main question is: Can I use a keyboard that does not specifically say it can work with a Mac? Most of the keyboards only mention Windows. Yes, I know that the Windows keyboards have Control and Alt keys, whereas Mac has Command and Option keys. This keyboard I have now has those keys marked both ways. I have no idea if this dual Windows/Mac keyboard is nothing more than a Windows keyboard with those keys having both markings or if there is some internal difference. Anyone know?

--
Henry Richardson
http://www.bakubo.com

 

[Philip Eihuyar]

Yes.

How To Use A Windows Keyboard With A Mac

How To Use A Windows Keyboard With A Mac

www.addictivetips.com

Bridge the Tech Divide: Make Your Windows PC Dance with a Mac Magic Keyboard

Connect a Mac Magic Keyboard to Windows effortlessly and remap keys with PowerToys. Follow our guide for a seamless setup and optimized keyboard use.

www.lifewire.com

 

[CAcreeks]

I would call it an ANSI keyboard, and yes MacOS seems able to recognize various layouts.

Why don't you use your PC keyboard, or do you own only laptops?

It is difficult to find a good external keyboard nowadays, and the minimalist ones (no numeric keypad) are almost always wireless.

 

[lcubed11]

all the current apple keyboards and trackpads work just fine in a wired mode (bluetooth not required). just run the USB-lightning cable used to charge the keyboard directly into the mac.

(my former place of employment did not allow the use of wireless anything, so wired magic keyboards and trackpads were the approved work-around)

 

[Henry Richardson]

Yes.

https://www.addictivetips.com/mac-os/use-a-windows-keyboard-with-a-mac/

https://www.lifewire.com/use-magic-keyboard-on-windows-pc-5197318

Thank you for that info.

 

[Henry Richardson]

My main question is: Can I use a keyboard that does not specifically say it can work with a Mac? Most of the keyboards only mention Windows. Yes, I know that the Windows keyboards have Control and Alt keys, whereas Mac has Command and Option keys. This keyboard I have now has those keys marked both ways. I have no idea if this dual Windows/Mac keyboard is nothing more than a Windows keyboard with those keys having both markings or if there is some internal difference. Anyone know?

I had forgotten about this one thing concerning the Japanese JIS Windows/Mac keyboard I bought a few months ago. The instructions had this step after plugging it into the computer. It says to press the Fn + W to select for use with macOS. (Fn + Q to select for Windows) I have no idea what that does, but I did it when I first bought the keyboard and Mac. Any ideas what the keyboard is doing or changing when you follow this setup instruction?



When I bought it at the store with about 50 keyboards I narrowed my selection down to the keyboards that were wired and also indicated that they would work on a Mac -- about 3 keyboards to choose from. If a keyboard that says it is for only Windows will work as well then I have more choices to select from at stores and the internet. I am still wondering why my keyboard tells you to configure it for Mac or Windows though?

--
Henry Richardson

http://www.bakubo.com

 

[D00M]

The position of the modifer keys on Windows and Mac are different:

• Windows (left to right): Ctrl, Window, Alt
• Mac (left to right): Ctrl, Option, Cmd

And function keys and Fn modifier are also different:

• Windows: Function keys are F1, F2, etc. Fn+Function keys provide OS commands
• Mac: Function keys are OS commands.

I suspect switching the Windows and Mac modes changes these behaviors.