Apple’s wireless Magic Mouse, Magic Trackpad, and Magic Keyboard are great for everyday use, but they’re not bulletproof. Batteries die, Bluetooth pairing can fail, and if you ever need to boot into macOS Recovery, that’s a bad time to find out your wireless devices aren’t connecting.
The Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad can both be plugged in via USB-C cable as a workaround, but the Magic Mouse is a different story. It’s completely unusable while it’s charging, so plugging it in isn’t an option.
Here’s an insider tip that IT professionals have quietly relied on for years: keep a basic wired USB mouse and keyboard tucked away somewhere just for situations like this. It’s not glamorous, but it’s one of those things that saves the day when everything else fails. Any brand works, and you don’t need to spend much. If yours has an older USB Type-A connector, just make sure you have a USB-C adapter on hand.
It’s a small thing to keep around, but ask any IT person and they’ll tell you it’s earned its place in the toolkit more than once.
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(Images by iStock.com/ziprashantzi and Rachel Wickremasinghe)
