How to connect a keyboard to an Android tablet

Tablet computers are available in abundance in the digital technology market. Samsung, Acer, Prestigio, Huawei, Asus, Chuwi, Irbis, Dexp, Texet, Iwork, iPad pro - and, quite possibly, a new one has already appeared in Asian countries and have firmly taken their place in the life of the modern generation. Reading books, games, the Internet, various programs and this is an incomplete list of the tablet’s capabilities. But let’s imagine a situation where you need to print large text, but you don’t have a laptop or PC at hand. Typing a voluminous document by clicking on the sensor is extremely inconvenient. Let's figure out how to connect a keyboard to a tablet and significantly increase its functionality by using it as a full-fledged monitor.

Methods

In order to connect a regular computer keyboard to a tablet, there are several ways.

OTG adapter.
Bluetooth.
Branded docking station.
Wi-Fi.
IR port

The described methods are successfully suitable for such brands as: Wacom, Perfeo, Exeq Vido, Oysters, Prestigio Multipad, Huawei, Chuwi, Digma, Irbis, teXet, Vertex, Wexler, Mystery, Qumo, Ginzzu, Arnova, Explay, Colorfly, Ainol, Ramos, BQ, FNF, PiPO, Onda, Teclast, Cube, as well as more expensive models: Samsung Galaxy Tab, Lenovo, Sony, Microsoft, Asus, Apple (iPad).

Some of them are not very convenient. The option with an infrared port is hopelessly outdated and will not work on modern devices. Let's look at each in detail.

Dell INSPIRON 5379

Chipset : 4-core Intel Core i5 8250U, clock speed 1600 MHz (3400 GHz with Turbo Boost)
Operating system: Windows 10 Home
Memory (RAM / User): 8 GB / 256 GB
Display: 13.3 inches diagonal, resolution 1920×1080

Price: from 44,997 rub.

Dell's INSPIRON line deserves attention, if only because the devices belonging to it were the first transformers to receive Kaby Lake R processors, which in Turbo Boost mode are capable of operating at a clock frequency of 3.4 GHz. The modern hardware of the device and a large amount of RAM (8 GB) provide impressive performance - INSPIRON 5379 is also suitable for working with graphics (for example, in Photoshop). The gadget is equipped with hinges, so you can easily turn it from a tablet into a full-fledged laptop - or use it in presentation mode, turning the keyboard into something like a stand.

INSPIRON 5379 is suitable for a gamer, but, unfortunately, not for an aesthete. Users in the reviews note that the transformer from DELL has a boring and banal design - as if the company's designers took the developments of 2010 from dusty shelves. At least the decision to equip a device with such a price with a plastic case and deprive it of USB Type-C ports cannot be called anything other than strange.

Advantages:

Good performance.
Has a face unlock system.
Powerful acoustics – the gadget is equipped with 2 speakers that support WavesMaxxAudioPro technology.
Comfortable island keys.
Lots of user memory (level of a full-fledged laptop).
Capacious battery (up to 7 hours of web surfing).

Flaws:

No USB Type-C ports.
Plastic housing.
The screen is quite faded (brightness up to 240 cd/m2).

Bluetooth

Bluetooth technology has replaced the well-known IR port. Its main advantage is the absence of any wires. The only condition for a trouble-free connection is the presence of a Bluetooth module on your device. Today, this module is present almost everywhere. Thanks to this, a Bluetooth keyboard connection can be made with almost any mobile or computer device.

Pros:

A Bluetooth keyboard can be purchased at a reasonable price here (depending on the manufacturer).
Wireless connection.
Compatible with other digital equipment.

But there is one significant drawback - high energy consumption. The Bluetooth keyboard itself is powered by several regular batteries. The low cost of such batteries will not hit your pocket hard. The same cannot be said about the energy consumption of the module. During long connection sessions, the tablet's battery will quickly discharge. Alternatively, you can work on constant recharging.

It is worth remembering the guaranteed data transmission range – up to 10 meters. This is quite enough to perform everyday tasks with documents, surf the net, and play games.

Teclast X4

Chipset:
Quad-core (Intel Gemini Lake N4100) 1.1 GHz (max 2.4 GHz)
Operating system:
Windows 10
Memory (RAM / User):
8 GB / 128 GB or 8 GB / 256 GB
Display:
11.6 inches diagonal, resolution 1920×1080
Cameras (main / front):
5 MP / 2 MP

Price: from 26,200 rub.

Teclast X4 is one of the best Chinese Windows tablets available on Aliexpress. The speed of a device can be judged by its advanced characteristics. If you have previously used a laptop with Windows, then when you switch to this hybrid tablet, you are unlikely to notice a difference in operating speed.

Advantages

High resolution tablet matrix.

Flaws

Weak built-in speakers.
Windows installed by the manufacturer is not fully translated into Russian.

Branded docking station

ASUS ZenPad 10 Audio Dock A
very useful, but at the same time extremely expensive attachment for a tablet. A branded docking station can cost about half the cost of the device itself. It is produced, as the name implies, by the manufacturer, and significantly increases the functionality of the device. Equipped, as a rule, with all known ports.

A big plus is the ability to recharge the tablet from the docking station while working. There is also a touchpad, which laptop devotees are accustomed to. Unlike a keyboard case, the docking station cannot be connected to any gadget. A certain set-top box works with a specific brand of tablet, phone or smartphone.

The average user will not have to struggle with the settings of such a set-top box or installing drivers. This applies to both Android OS and Windows.

The Apple company also has similar stations for both iPhones and iPads, equipped with a Lightning connector. The cost starts from 3000 rub.

Keyboard Case

Another option widely presented by the Chinese manufacturer. Differs in versatility. You can connect with almost any Android gadget. But it doesn't differ in quality. Fails quickly.

Which tablets can be used for: how to determine

Many people ask how to determine whether a wired or wireless keyboard can be connected to a tablet. Note that this connection is supported by almost all models of tablet PCs on Android (Lenovo, Samsung and others), as well as iPad. The main thing is that the device has a USB connector (driver support is needed), the ability to connect via WiFi and/or Bluetooth.

When purchasing, you can ask the seller to select a tablet to which you can connect a keyboard. But this is not necessary, because almost all models are equipped with USB connectors and Bluetooth. In the case of WiFi, everything is more complicated, because the device must work as an access point and be able to install a SIM card (this option is not necessary).

WiFi connection

This is one of the rarest ways to synchronize the data input device and the tablet. Of course, if voice typing doesn’t suit you for some reason, and you can’t turn on the on-screen keyboard, you can try setting up an external physical one via the Wi-Fi protocol. But it should be remembered that dancing with a tambourine cannot be done here.

Not every user will be able to perform a similar connection procedure. And choosing the appropriate mobile gadget that could connect to peripheral devices via Wi-Fi protocols will not be easy.

It should be noted that every year there are more peripherals with Wi-Fi.

Connecting an external keyboard via Bluetooth

From the point of view of greater mobility due to the absence of unnecessary wires, as well as ease of communication, you can connect a Bluetooth keyboard to the tablet. In addition to the usual keys, this peripheral device is equipped with a built-in Bluetooth module, which is activated by a special button.

The design and location of the button may vary for different models. To use a Bluetooth keyboard on a tablet, you need to be able to turn it on. The procedure for synchronizing devices is as follows:

enable the keyboard and Bluetooth function on the tablet;
In the tablet settings in the Android Bluetooth section you need to find the connected peripherals.

There are also cyberboards with a radio interface on sale. A USB receiver is included with this device. This element is connected to the tablet via an OTG adapter. Further actions involve searching for and synchronizing with the connected keyboard through the “Wireless Connections” section in the tablet settings.

Infrared port

As we wrote above, this method is extremely outdated. You won't be able to play Tanks with it. Even typing a short message will be difficult for an unprepared user. Another disadvantage is the fact that most Android devices (except Xiaomi, Leagoo and other Chinese) have completely abandoned such an interface, just like Windows-based devices.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Tablet (Gen 3)

Chipset:
4-core Intel Core i5 8250U with a clock frequency of 1.6 GHz (maximum 3.4 Hz); Can be supplied with other processors
Operating system:
Windows 10
Memory (RAM / User):
8 GB / 128 GB, 8 GB / 256 GB, 8 GB / 512 GB, 16 GB / 512 GB or 16 GB / 1 TB
Display:
diagonal 13 inches, resolution 3000×2000
Cameras (main / front):
8 MP / 2 MP

Price: from 138,000 rub.

Compared to its predecessors, the second and third generation ThinkPad X1 Tablet, the new tablet, has undergone some changes. The device received an updated display with a larger diagonal. Accordingly, its resolution has also become higher. Despite its larger size, the tablet and keyboard weigh only 1270g, which is even less than most 12-inch netbooks.

Since the ThinkPad X1 Tablet (Gen 3) uses a modern 4-core processor from Intel, its performance should be quite impressive. In addition, as before, you can choose between two modifications with different amounts of RAM: 8 GB and 16 GB.

Advantages

Decent performance.
Very high resolution screen.

Flaws

Outdated DDR3 RAM type.

Why doesn't the keyboard on my tablet work?

There are various reasons for the difficulties in transforming a standalone gadget into a laptop. You need to figure out why the problem occurred. This will not only help eliminate trouble in the present, but will also help avoid difficulty in the future. Any universal tablet keyboard may not work for the following reasons:

incorrect interaction between two gadgets;
technical failure of the installed software;
faulty components;
spilled liquid inside the gadget body.

Lenovo Miix 520 12

Chipset: 4-core Intel Core i5 8250U, clock frequency 1600 MHz
Operating system: Windows 10
Memory (RAM / User): 8 GB / 256 GB
Display: 12.2 inches diagonal, resolution 1920×1200
Cameras (main / front): 8 MP / 5 MP

Price: from 103,000 rub.

Modern transformable tablets from the MIIX line from Lenovo are no longer toys for students and teenagers, as, for example, the 300th model with a modest price was. The 520 is a powerful web design tool with decent features and a price to match.

The manufacturer positions the gadget as a device for creative people, emphasizing that the kit includes an Active Pen 2 stylus, and this is a really useful addition. It recognizes 4096 pressure variations and allows you to draw on the screen as if using a pencil on a canvas. However, something else is much more important: the Miix 520 is about 20% more productive than its predecessor model, the Miix 510, which received unsatisfactory ratings precisely for its slowness. The device has a 4-core Intel Core processor (optional i5 or i8), up to 16 GB of RAM and a PCIe solid-state drive.

The manufacturer's decision to offer many configuration options looks very reasonable. The price of the device depends on the amount of RAM and hard drive (as well as the presence of an LTE module) and ranges from 70 to 120 thousand rubles. From the point of view of the ratio of price and functionality, it is most advisable to take the 8 GB / 256 GB model.

Advantages:

Original metal design.
High performance processor from Intel.
Powerful Intel HD 630 video chip, which allows you to work with graphics without problems.
Availability of smart stylus Active Pen.
High resolution rear camera.
Cortana voice assistant support.
High sound quality provided by Dolby Atmos speakers.

Flaws:

The display lacks brightness.

HDMI

Carrying a tablet with you, and even having a keyboard and mouse connected to it, you will probably want to hook it up to the HDMI port of your TV or AV receiver. In principle, everything here is simple and boringly convenient: plug in the cable and get a picture on the big screen. But there are several interesting points that I would like to talk about.

Tablet, HDMI and TV

Screen blanking. One of the most frustrating aspects of implementing HDMI support in Android is the need to keep the screen on. As soon as you press the tablet's power off button, the HDMI is de-energized and the “big picture” disappears. You won’t be able to disable this behavior using Android itself, but you can use the excellent Screen Standby program, which forcibly turns off the backlight of the screen, so you can safely watch videos, play games or surf the Internet without being distracted by a copy of the image on the tablet.

Screen Standby has many very useful settings, for example, it turns off the backlight automatically when you plug in an HDMI cable. To do this, just enable the “Auto HDMI/MHL Detection” option in the “HDMI Detection” section (there are also settings to turn it off when launching an application or placing it in the dock). Another very interesting feature is switching the tablet into touchpad mode, when a cursor appears on the monitor screen and the tablet screen turns into a large touchpad. It is included in the menu “Settings -> Touchpad setting -> Use touchpad function”, but this function did not work for me, which is predictable, given the limited support for models.

Joystick and control panel. A tablet connected to a monitor or TV can be controlled not only using a keyboard and mouse, but also using a smartphone on the same Android. It is not necessary to log into the tablet via SSH or other means to do this. You can use the BT Controller virtual joystick from the market. This program allows you to turn your smartphone into a virtual blue-toothed joystick, control panel or even a keyboard - whatever you need.

BT Controller should be installed on both devices that are already connected via Bluetooth. Next, on one of the devices, press the “Connect” button, after which a message will appear on the screen asking you to select the device function: Controller or Host. Click Host on the tablet, after which an information plate appears in the upper right corner, symbolizing a successful connection and the functionality of the components. Tapping on the “KB Enabled” line on the sign will take us to the input method settings menu, in which we should select BTController, and tapping on “KB Active” will allow us to switch to BT Controller instead of the standard keyboard.

When all these operations are completed, you can use the joystick that appears on the screen. The free version of the application has only one interface option - a SNES joystick, which is quite convenient to play games with, but is not suitable for other purposes

The paid version of BT Controller allows you to choose between more than thirty different joysticks, remotes and keyboards and, more importantly, create a new remote control yourself using a special editor

The case with the built-in keyboard turned out to be great...

Lenovo Miix 300 10 32 GB

Chipset: 4-core Intel Atom Z3735F, clock speed 1330 MHz
Operating system: Windows 10
Memory (RAM / User): 2 GB / 32 GB
Display: 1 inch diagonal, resolution 1280×800
Cameras (main / front): 5 MP / 2 MP

Price: from 14,700 rub.

Lenovo Miix 300 will certainly appeal to buyers who do not have enough budget to buy Asus Transformer 3 and the like. A tablet with a keyboard has a modest price, but this does not mean that it is bad.

The gadget runs Windows 10, a rather demanding operating system. However, there is no talk of lags or freezes - the device is equipped with a powerful 4-core chipset from Intel, which, coupled with 2 GB of RAM, provides decent performance. The screen is not capable of boasting an impressive resolution (it has only 1280x800 pixels), but this is not necessary - the well-proven Bay Trail video processor is responsible for the image quality.

The disadvantage of the Lenovo Miix 300 is considered to be the design - laconic, one might say, boring. Although a business person who does not want his laptop to sparkle like a Christmas tree, the modest appearance will most likely even be to his liking.

Advantages

Productive processor.
MicroSD card support.
Availability of Bay Trail video processor.
Built-in accelerometer.
5-point multi-touch.

Flaws

Low screen resolution.
Modest, primitive design.

ASUS Transformer 3 T305CA 4Gb / 128Gb

Chipset: 2-core Intel Core M3 7Y30, clock frequency 1000 MHz
Operating system: Windows 10
Memory (RAM / User): 4 GB / 128 GB
Display: 6-inch diagonal, resolution 2880×1920
Cameras (main / front): 13 MP / 5 MP

Price: from 39,990 rub.

ASUS Transformer 3 T305CA is not just another gadget with flagship characteristics, “stuffed” with innovative technologies; the manufacturer calls this device revolutionary and is proud of it – and deservedly so!

The key advantages of Asus Transformer 3 are assembly and design. The tablet is the best confirmation that a metal product can be light and compact. Despite the fact that the gadget is actually an aluminum beam, its weight is only 695 grams and its thickness is 6.9 mm. When creating a case, more than 100 high-precision milling operations are performed - at the final stages, circular grinding is carried out, thanks to which the gadget receives a beautiful cut of the edges.

An entire article is not enough to describe all the outstanding technical characteristics of the Asus Transformer 3 - so we will focus on the main thing. The gadget boasts a phenomenal screen resolution (3K) and excellent pixel density, but what is more interesting is that the user is offered an increased color space coverage - 121% sRGB ! This means that the tablet conveys shades more accurately and richly than any other current gadget. The advantages of Transformer 3 also include a high-performance processor from Intel, surround stereo sound provided by 4 speakers, a fingerprint sensor and a proprietary Asus Sleeve Keyboard, which is included in the kit.

The tablet has only one drawback - the price is impressive ; Not everyone is able to allocate about 40 thousand rubles to purchase a “pill”.

Advantages

Premium metal design.
The presence of a digital pen that recognizes 1024 levels of pressure.
A large number of various ports - from USB0 to VGA and HDMI.
Supports SonicMaster Premium technology for premium sound.
Large screen with outstanding resolution.

Flaws

Impressive value.