Apple Keyboard

Resources

Installation

Kernel

Important
When using Linux 4.0 or lower, the Apple HID driver is enabled by default as a built-in module, and is only visible when the kernel is configured in expert mode.

KERNEL Enabling the Apple HID driver for Linux 4.1 or higher

    Device Drivers --->
          HID support --->
                  Special HID drivers --->
                    <*> Apple {i,Power,Mac}Books

Configuration

Behavior

The behavior of the function keys (F1-F12) defaults to their special functions (screen brightness, volume control, etc.). To change the behavior of the function keys to their traditional functions (F5 - page refresh, F11 - full screen, etc.), set the fn key mode to function keys first:

root #echo 2 > /sys/module/hid_apple/parameters/fnmode

When using a non-English layout, the < and > keys may be mapped to the ^ and ° keys. To correct this, disable the hard-coded ISO layout of the keyboard:

root #echo 0 > /sys/module/hid_apple/parameters/iso_layout

If the Apple HID driver is built into the kernel, create the following local.d script to have the module parameters set at boot:

FILE /etc/local.d/hid_apple.start

#!/bin/sh

# set fn key mode to function keys first
echo 2 > /sys/module/hid_apple/parameters/fnmode

# disable iso layout
echo 0 > /sys/module/hid_apple/parameters/iso_layout

Set the local.d script as executable:

root #chmod +x /etc/local.d/hid_apple.start

If the Apple HID driver is built as a module, add the following to /etc/conf.d/modules to have the module parameters set at boot:

FILE /etc/conf.d/modules

module_hid_apple_args="fnmode=2 iso_layout=0"

External resources