For several years now, Apple has been positioning the iPad primarily as a device for increasing personal effectiveness in studies, hobbies or professional activities. At the same time, many owners of an Apple tablet have to enter significant amounts of text, which is not very convenient to do using the virtual keyboard.
If in the smartphone market the iPhone is desperately fighting with South Korean gadgets for the right to be called the best, then in the “tablet” segment a rare specialist will question the superiority of the iPad over its competitors. At the same time, Apple's latest hardware and software innovations turn the tablet, in fact, into a compact ultrabook, not inferior to, and sometimes even superior to, other desktops in its capabilities. However, the basic package of the iPad does not include a physical QWERTY keyboard, which is so necessary for long correspondence, note-taking, writing posts, etc.
♥ ON TOPIC: Car charger for iPhone and Android gadgets: how to choose + 10 best options.
Can I connect a keyboard or mouse to my iPad?
The company did not advertise that its devices would be able to support mice and touchpads. One of the developers, S. Troughton-Smith, determined that the new operating system can work with third-party devices and reported the news on Twitter. Many of the company's clients have begun testing the long-awaited functionality. Practice has shown that iPad OS supports USB accessories and Bluetooth; there is still no official list of compatible devices.
Connecting third-party devices to iPad
For your information! An iPad mouse and keyboard can easily be connected to a device running modern OS.
Types of iPad that support a physical (external) keyboard
Fortunately for users, all types of iPad (iPhone) support such a keyboard; to connect it, the year of manufacture of the tablet, as well as its operating system, does not matter.
At the same time, it is worth paying attention to the choice of the keyboard cover; it should ideally fit the dimensions of your tablet; if the selection of the cover is unsuccessful, using the keyboard can become very problematic.
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How to connect a mouse to iPad or iPhone
How to connect a mouse to iPad:
- After opening the main menu, you need to move to the “Universal Access” subsection. This localization indicates the company’s reluctance to make publicly available functionality. She believes it's needed for customers who struggle with touch input, and mouse support is intended to replace it.
- Go from the “Touch” block to “AssistiveTouch” and back to it again to move to the action area in iPadOS and iOS.
- After scrolling the list, click on the “Devices” item and move to “Bluetooth Devices”. Here they search for the mouse and connect. Once a device is detected, select it and a dark circle will appear on the display, replacing the standard cursor.
How to connect DualShock 4 to iPhone and iPad - detailed instructions
The iPad mouse icon is oversensitive and moves unevenly. Its speed can be adjusted in the AssistiveTouch application menu. There is a special slider “Movement speed”. To fully control the gadget, you must enable this function. Once connected, a virtual Home key will appear on the display. When you click on it, a menu with various options is called up.
With its help, you can go to the “Control Center” and “Notifications” subsections, control volume levels, locking and screen rotation. This type of menu is familiar to anyone who has previously had to work with a non-functioning Home button (on older iPhones).
Note! When using dark themes, the gray iPad mouse cursor may blend into the background. Changing its shade is carried out in the AssistiveTouch utility, submenu “Cursor” and “Color”. When you click on the last section, all valid color tones will be displayed.
The list of devices that support AssistiveTouch functionality includes iPad Air 2 and third generation, mini 4 and 5, standard 5, 6 generation, Pro 9.7, 10.5, 11, 12.9, as well as smartphones starting from the sixth version.
The second method for connecting a mouse requires Jailbreak and almost $5* to pay for an application that helps carry out the operation. BTC Mouse & Trackpad can be purchased from Cydia via PayPal. After installing the application, go to the gadget settings and turn on the mouse. An additional device will appear on the screen, on the left side there is a section “Extensions”, and in it - “Mouse”. There you can make all the necessary settings.
Connection via Bluetooth
Connect the micro-SD card
We will assume that you have already purchased the adapter. When you connect a regular camera, the iPad will open the standard application to view images and videos. Naturally, you will be able to view them, but note that viewed files are always first copied to the iPad's internal memory, which is not entirely convenient.
If you remove the memory card from the camera and put it in the card reader, the situation will not change - the iPad will also obediently detect media files.
So, in order for your tablet to read media files correctly, you need to create a similar folder structure, for example, “DCIM>100DICAM”, and after that the iPad will think that these are files created using the camera. Also, all videos in folders must be converted to MPEG-4 or H.264 format and have the names DSC_0001, DSC_0002, etc.
Of course, this is a little inconvenient, because it is not always possible to remember what kind of file is hidden under these incomprehensible names, but if a person really wants more memory, then this moment will not stop him.
Fig.2
How to connect a keyboard to an iPad or iPhone
Keyboards from third-party manufacturers can connect to the gadget like other software. When using a new device, it is added after the installation process is completed. Experts recommend performing the following algorithm of actions:
- Go to the App Store and find the program for your device.
- After clicking on the “Get” shortcut, you must follow the installation instructions.
- Enter your password for your Apple ID account or use the Face ID/Touch ID functionality. The latter options are used when available.
- Add a new keyboard by following the path: from the main menu to the “Basic” section, then to “Keyboards” and “New keyboards”. There they find the desired shortcut and confirm the action. In the future, you may need to configure the device to gain full access to its functionality.
Installing and uninstalling Whatsapp for iPad and iPhone
To delete a device, you need to return everything back: from the settings go to “Basic”, then to “Keyboard”, from there to “Keyboards”. Clicking the "Edit" button will bring up a list in which you will find a round red "minus" label. The action is confirmed with the “Done” button.
Note! The second method of deletion is to delete the application downloaded from the AppStore. At the same time, information will be deleted from the main menu.
The operating system allows you to switch to a different keyboard from a third-party developer or language type. To make changes, you need to click on the “smiley” icon and hold it for a few seconds until a selection from all available devices appears. Among them, they select the device they are going to connect.
To change the order of additional accessories, from the main menu go to “Basic”, then to “Keyboard” and “Keypads”. Click on the “Edit” subsection, click and hold the shortcut in the form of three horizontal lines. This approach helps to carry out the move. By clicking the “Finish” button, the operation is confirmed.
The inability to connect third-party devices from other manufacturers is due to one of the reasons:
- the developers of the application used do not allow the installation of devices from other companies;
- using not standard, but digital technology;
- with input into a secure password text field where letters and numbers are replaced with periods.
Important! The default keyboard will be used in each case until you complete text entry.
Connecting a typing device
Connect a flash drive and an external hard drive
If you are specifically interested in how to connect a flash drive to an iPad, then read on. Here the situation is somewhat more complicated, because flash drives and external hard drives require additional power, at least 1A, and if it is not provided, they will simply refuse to be read by the tablet. The only exceptions are 1-2 GB flash drives with low power consumption, but these are rarely seen these days. Therefore, the option of connecting standard flash drives and external hard drives, unfortunately, is no longer available.
If you don’t mind the money, then you can purchase a special Leef iBridge drive, which has two outputs “on board” - USB and Lightning. The first of the connectors is designed for connecting to a computer, and via Lightning the flash drive can be connected to the iPad and viewed media files directly from it. The only downside we note is the increased cost of such a device. Versions of 16, 32, 64 and even 128 GB are available for sale.
The photo shows the connection to an iPhone, but the connection to an iPad will also work without problems.
How to customize the keyboard on iPad
Changes and addition of new input languages are allowed, including Russian. In this case, the dictionary used for correction, the number of letters and the location of the keys will automatically change. The keyboard language will determine the dictionary used for predictive text typing.
How to roll back an iOS update on an iPhone or iPad
To make changes you need to perform a number of actions:
- After entering the main menu, move to “Universal Access” and “Keyboards”.
- They activate the functionality: showing only the upper case keys, their repetition frequency, sticking, etc.
For your information! You can adjust the interval between key presses using the Slow Keys feature.
Settings
Connecting the keyboard
You can also connect a keyboard from your computer in the same way. However, when connecting you will receive a message: “The device cannot be used. The connected USB device is not supported,” but if you ignore it and click “OK,” the keyboard will print just fine. No additional settings are needed - everything works just fine. To switch the language, use the Win+Space key combination.
Setting up a virtual keyboard on iPad
On devices from, you can enable modes that help you enter text when using only one hand. To do this, do the following:
- Press and hold the emoticon shortcut. To move the keyboard to the left or right, you need to click on its icon.
- After completing the location selection, click on the emoticon again. To return to the original settings, press the keyboard sign.
Enabling one-handed input mode can be done from the main menu by going to the “Basic”, “Keyboards” and “Keyboard for one hand” subsections. The application is supported on iPhone 6 and newer models. This functionality is not available for the SE version and iPod touch.
Important! On sixth smartphone models, the function will not work if you change the standard display type to a larger version. On the 6 Plus, it works at any screen magnification. To change the display state, you need to go to the main menu, go to “Display and Brightness” and move to “Zoom”.
Setting up a virtual layout
How to lower the keyboard on iPad
How can I lower the keyboard on my iPad to the bottom of the screen? For these purposes, there are simple instructions:
- On the tablet, open any of the available applications (only those in which you can call text messages are suitable) and call up the keyboard.
- In the lower right corner they look for a keyboard shortcut that you need to press and hold.
- If the procedure is completed correctly, a small menu will appear consisting of 2 items: “Pin” and “Share”.
- They press the first option, and the buttons begin to move to the very bottom of the display.
If the user has additional questions, and not just interest in the procedure of how to lower the keyboard on an iPad, then it has a separation functionality. It helps to divide the virtual keyboard into two independent halves and move them to different sides of the display. One will be localized in the right corner, and the second in the left corner. This approach helps speed up typing by using the thumbs of both hands.
How to lower the keyboard
How to combine a split keyboard on iPad
How to connect the keyboard on an iPad if it has split into two parts:
- Touch the text field area.
- Press and hold the shortcut located in the lower right corner.
- Swipe your finger up on the display and tap “Merge.”
In order not to look for an answer to the question of how to connect a keyboard on an iPad, just go to “Basic” from the main menu, move to “Keyboard” and select “Split keyboard”.
Connecting two fields
iPad mice and keyboards have become a great addition to the standard virtual device. They make it easy to type text messages, move around the display, and click instead of just touching with your finger. The new functionality can be used in almost any application; its convenience has been appreciated by many customers of Apple gadgets. The virtual version of the keyboard allows you to combine it, divide it, remove it in different directions (leaving an empty middle) and then reconnect it.
*Prices in the article are for January 2022.
Why buy an Apple Wireless Keyboard?
I don’t know about anyone, but we had to buy a keyboard for the iPad to turn it into a netbook. The thing is that we crashed one of our work laptops and until we could manage to buy another laptop, we needed some kind of device for work, so the iPad became an ideal candidate for turning into a work netbook.
The choice was between two keyboards for the iPad - a regular wireless keyboard that fits any Mac and PC, and a keyboard with a stand that was made specifically for the iPad.
The disadvantages of the second one were obvious to us - firstly, it is heavier, and secondly, we wanted to print not only in portrait mode, but also in landscape mode. There was essentially only one downside to the Apple Wireless Keyboard - it requires batteries. There were fewer disadvantages and we bought the bluetooth option.
This is what its packaging looks like. Inside there are instructions (by the way, a joke was noticed - there are instructions for the keyboard, but there are no instructions for the iPad - apparently the devices are different in class).
We bought the keyboard in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, at the Low Yat Plaza shopping center. There, an authorized Apple store sold it for 229 ringit (2,300 rubles). It’s a little expensive, but we wouldn’t be able to handle the laptop yet, but we have to work somehow.
