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Mechanical keyboards for Mac

Updated

Any USB or Bluetooth keyboard works with a Mac. The friction comes from small things: the Command key sitting where your thumb expects Option, a quote mark where the @ should be, or keyboard software that only runs on Windows. None of it is hard to fix once you know where to look.

This guide covers the settings that matter, the UK layout question, which keycap sets come with Mac legends, and the boards in our catalogue that are built with Macs in mind.

What works and what doesn't

Typing, shortcuts, media keys and Bluetooth pairing all work on any reasonable mechanical keyboard. What you won't get from a third-party board is Touch ID: none of the keyboards in our catalogue has a fingerprint sensor, so you'll be typing your password or using an Apple Watch to unlock.

The other things to check are the order of the keys either side of the space bar, the layout your Mac thinks you're using, and whether the board's software runs on macOS. The rest of this guide takes those in turn.

Command, Option and the bottom row

A Mac keyboard has Control, Option and Command to the left of the space bar, with Command next to it. A Windows keyboard has Ctrl, the Windows key and Alt in the same places. Plug a Windows board into a Mac and the Windows key acts as Command and Alt as Option, which puts Command one key further from the space bar than you're used to. Shortcuts still work, but your thumb lands on the wrong key for a week.

There are three ways to sort it out.

Use a board with a Mac mode. Many Keychron boards have a small Mac/Windows switch and ship with spare keycaps for both systems; the Keychron V1 Max, for example, keeps a separate layout for each[6]. Flip the switch and the bottom row behaves like a Mac keyboard.

Swap the keys in macOS. In System Settings, under Keyboard, Keyboard Shortcuts, Modifier Keys, you can set Option to act as Command and Command to act as Option[1]. It costs nothing. Swap the two keycaps over too if they're the same size, so the legends match.

Remap in the keyboard's firmware. On QMK and VIA boards you can change what each key sends, and the change travels with the keyboard. That suits anyone who moves between a Mac and a PC with the same board.

UK layouts on a Mac

This is where UK Mac users get caught. Apple's own British layout is not the same as the standard UK PC layout. Apple adds a key for § and ± and moves some punctuation around[5]. A UK mechanical keyboard almost always has PC legends, so if your Mac is set to Apple's British layout, some of the symbols you type won't match the caps.

The fix is to add the British – PC input source under System Settings, Keyboard, Input Sources, and use that with a PC-style UK board. Its tell-tale is the backslash key sitting next to Z, where a UK PC board has it[4]. You can keep plain British for the MacBook's built-in keyboard and switch with the input menu.

The other thing to check is the keyboard type. macOS recognises ANSI, ISO and JIS boards, and opens Keyboard Setup Assistant when it doesn't recognise a new one[2]. It identifies the board by asking you to press the key beside the left Shift. If it guesses wrong, the key below Escape and the key beside the left Shift are the ones that come out swapped[3]. A UK board should be set as ISO.

For more on the physical differences between US and UK boards, see ANSI or ISO: a layout guide for UK buyers.

Keycaps with Mac legends

Most keycap sets print Windows modifiers, or neutral words like Alt and Ctrl. If you want the bottom row to say Command and Option, look for a set that includes Mac modifiers. Akko's Timeline set includes Mac modifiers and an ISO Enter[8], Glorious's GPBT Basics sets come with both Mac and Windows modifiers[9], and Keychron's 219-key Cherry profile sets cover Mac legends and the UK ISO keys in one box.

For what profile and material mean, see our keycap profiles and materials guide.

Software and remapping

Check this before you buy. A lot of gaming keyboard software is Windows-first, and some boards can only change their lighting or key assignments through it. On a Mac you might be stuck with the factory settings.

Boards running QMK firmware avoid the problem: the configuration tools run in a web browser and the settings are saved on the keyboard. That covers most of Keychron's range and NuPhy's Air boards. Browser-based tools usually need Chrome or Edge rather than Safari, as they talk to the keyboard over USB.

Boards that suit a Mac

These boards in our catalogue are sold with Mac support in mind: a Mac mode or Mac keycaps in the box, and software or firmware you can use from macOS.

Logitech lists macOS alongside Windows, ChromeOS, Linux and iPadOS for the MX Mechanical[7]. If you work on an iPad as well, a board with several Bluetooth slots saves re-pairing every time; our wireless keyboard guide covers that in more detail.

Sources

  1. Apple Support: change the behaviour of the modifier keys on Mac
  2. Apple Support: specify a keyboard type on Mac
  3. Apple Support Community: How to fix keyboard type problems
  4. Apple Support Community: keyboard keys in the wrong place
  5. Wikipedia: British and American keyboards
  6. Keychron: V1 Max product page
  7. Logitech UK: MX Mechanical product page
  8. Akko EU: Timeline keycap set (151 keys)
  9. Glorious UK: GPBT Classic White Basics keycaps