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Can I use a bluetooth keyboard to enter BIOS and edit the values there? I'm thinking of two scenarios:

  1. A new machine - no OS (yet). So to me seems no possibility to pair the keyboard. Hence no access to BIOS?
  2. I have booted to an OS (Windows/Mac) once and paired the keyboard with the computer. Will the keyboard work before OS drivers are loaded?
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5 Answers

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A keyboard using Bluetooth cannot access the BIOS. Logitech Bluetooth keyboards get around this by having a dongle that pairs with the keyboard in a more basic, non-Bluetooth mode until the driver kicks in and switches modes. Microsoft might be similar mode with their keyboards and dongles, but I cannot confirm that.

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Any idea how for example new iMac owners are supposed to access BIOS - it comes bundled with the Apple wireless keyboard (which I think uses Bluetooth) – Siim K Feb 8 '11 at 22:50
I didn't even know Macs had a BIOS. – Joseph Feb 9 '11 at 4:09
Thinking about it, Apple probably either has a separate mode to bind their keyboards and mice like Logitech or they have a Bluetooth driver in their BIOS to recognize Apple keyboards and mice. I don't know if it would recognize non-Apple products. – Joseph Feb 19 '11 at 0:31
While EFI is not entirely "BIOS", it's still a lower-level system than OS X and doesn't understand Bluetooth. – grawity Mar 11 '11 at 18:12
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@grawity Actually, it does understand Bluetooth. OSX is that tigtly integrated with the hardware. – kinokijuf Feb 13 at 12:48
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up vote 3 down vote

According to Microsoft, "some" of their keyboards work in dual mode:

Devices with Bluetooth wireless technology generally do not work until the operating system is loaded. However, some Microsoft products start up with 2.4 GHz, and then switch to Bluetooth, so you can use your keyboard and mouse before the operating system is loaded.

If you're happy using a dongle, you might as well just use the proprietary 2.4 GHz protocol. But if you have a laptop with built-in bluetooth you can save a USB slot. Use the dongle when you need to access the BIOS, but use the built-in bluetooth normally. This would work great, as long as you don't lose the dongle!

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Some bluetooth adapters can store the keys in the adapter which facilitates this.

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up vote 1 down vote

I don't have enough reputation to post this as a comment, so...

With regards to some bluetooth adapters storing the keys in the adapter, I know that older D-Link DBT-120 adapters used to support this. But then they cut costs and newer ones don't. I never heard of any other bluetooth adapters that will do this, so I'd be interested in model numbers.

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the feature is called HID proxy mode – Brian Chavez Sep 5 '11 at 7:12
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up vote 0 down vote

Try using a Bluetooth adapter that supports "HID Proxy" mode.

A bluetooth adapter that seems to support Kebyoard & BIOS access support is the RocketFish RF-MRBTAD.

http://www.rocketfishproducts.com/products/computer-accessories/RF-MRBTAD.html

Users who have confirmed HID-compatibility:

http://community.rocketfishproducts.com/t5/Computer-Accessories/yet-another-RF-MRBTAD-problem/m-p/2837

http://tonymacx86.com/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=28826

It appears any "WIDCOMM Bluetooth" chipset should work.

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