5
1
I have HyperX Alloy Elite Keyboard to use with Linux (Ubuntu) and Windows 10, but I recently got MacBook Pro 2017 for Work and I'm unable to use this Keyboard with macOS.
When I try to setup keyboard using macOS Keyboard Wizard (by pressing mentioned keys as wizard suggests), it doesn't recognize my keyboard;
However, the keyboard is recognized in other places of the OS like;
- Modifier Key Settings
- System Report
But the key layout is all messed up, and keys are entirely swapped.
- q points to x
- w points to 4
- `~ points to F3
- Esc points to ]
- Enter points to [
- Spacebar points to ;
And so on...
However, Shift, Ctrl, Option and right Win (which points to Cmd) is mapped correctly.
Also, I have basic Dell USB keyboard which works just fine, so is there any way I can make my mechanical keyboard function correctly? any help is appreciated.
Update
HyperX confirms that this particular keyboard is not compatible with Mac and is only compatible with Windows, but then that's the case with almost every Gaming keyboard out there, and again, even Linux support is not advertised but this keyboard works perfectly with Linux (incl. media keys).
Update March 2018
As per @Reno's answer below this problem can indeed be fixed by flashing latest firmware to the keyboard, however, the firmware itself is nowhere listed on HyperX website, and I managed to find it from this Reddit thread, and while I took the risk of updating the firmware by downloading the updater from someone's dropbox, I know it is hard to trust this method so I'm still open to answer that can point me to official HyperX page with firmware download.
Also it is worth noting that even when I updated the firmware from Windows, going back to Mac doesn't make the keyboard work, I'm still required to have Karabiner Elements app running (even after deleting all key mappings from it) to make the keyboard work which seems weird.
So as of now, this keyboard works for me on macOS High Sierra if I keep Karabiner Elements service running. Only thing that doesn't work is Play/Pause & Next/Prev buttons from media controls, even the volume knob works fine!
Can you try typing some words within a PC BIOS or very old OS (if you still have Windows XP installed) and see if it is mapped properly? – some user – 2017-12-09T07:03:29.837
@someuser I'm not sure what you mean here, I'm new to Mac, and this keyboard works fine on Windows 7 through 10, and also in Linux. – Kushal – 2017-12-12T11:22:41.080
I am suggesting that you troubleshoot by eliminating any proprietary driver that could be used automatically. BIOS menu is where you press a special key (e.g. F10) during boot. No OS from HDD involved. – some user – 2017-12-14T07:02:58.910
@Kushal any update on the situation? I own this keyboard too and haven't tested it yet on my Mac, but it probably won't work. Did you manage to get it working or somehow map the keys to the correct characters? – Erik – 2018-02-21T10:42:19.587
@Erik I managed to make it functional using Karabiner Elements https://pqrs.org/osx/karabiner/, but again, not all keys map correctly, some keys are completely not being registered by Karabiner, and some keys are registered twice, so I still don't have concrete solution yet.
– Kushal – 2018-02-21T11:56:20.150@Kushal After some fiddling around I think I located the source of the problem for Alloy FPS: it has two key rollover modes: 6KRO and NKRO. When connected to a Mac, if I switch to NKRO from the default 6KRO by pressing FN+DEL, I get the wrong letters. When I switch back by pressing FN+INS, everything is okay.
AFAIK, Alloy Elite does not have separate key rollover modes. The only related combination in the manual is (Brightness key + LED backlight mode key + game mode key) to reset the keyboard. Have you tried doing that? – user140739 – 2018-03-04T11:59:39.440
@user140739 Please check the Update 2018 part of my question. :) – Kushal – 2018-03-04T13:45:36.257
I also tried the linked firmware update in Dropbox and I can confirm it does work. – Miloš Černilovský – 2018-11-16T21:36:20.083