Keyperch Get the App

Troubleshooting

Most problems come from how the phone was first paired with the PC. Start with the section that matches what you see.

Pair the Phone With Windows

Do this once for each PC. It takes about a minute. The first time you open Keyperch, it walks you through the same steps.

Paired This Phone With the PC Before?

If the phone was already paired for calls, music or Phone Link, remove that pairing first. Windows will not add the keyboard to an old pairing. See Re-Pair From Scratch.

  1. On the phone, open Keyperch and keep it open until you finish.
  2. Go to SettingsPC KeyboardMake Visible. Android asks whether the phone may be visible to other Bluetooth devices. Allow it.
  3. On the PC, open SettingsBluetooth & devicesAdd deviceBluetooth. Windows 10: SettingsDevicesBluetooth & other devicesAdd Bluetooth or other device.
  4. Pick your phone from the list.
  5. Both screens show a pairing code. If the codes match, confirm on both.
  6. Back in Keyperch, the top of the deck shows your PC's name next to a filled dot. Tap a tile to test it.

Why the Pairing Order Matters

Windows learns what kind of keyboard the phone is only once, at the moment of pairing. Three rules follow from that.

  • Pair while Keyperch is open. If the phone pairs while Keyperch is closed, Windows records it as a phone or a headset, and keys never arrive.
  • One keyboard app per phone. If another app on this phone has acted as a Bluetooth keyboard for this PC, Windows keeps that app's description and quietly drops Keyperch's keys.
  • An old pairing never upgrades itself. A phone paired for calls, music or Phone Link has to be removed from the PC and paired again with Keyperch open.

In each case the fix is the same: re-pair from scratch with Keyperch open.

Keys Do Not Arrive on the PC

Work down this list. Most problems end at the second or third step.

  1. Look at the top of the deck. Your PC's name should show next to a filled dot. If it says PC Not Connected, go to SettingsPC KeyboardReconnect.
  2. Check that Bluetooth is on for both devices and that the PC is awake. Keyperch does not promise to wake a sleeping PC, so wake it with its own keyboard or mouse.
  3. If the deck shows your PC's name but keys still do not arrive, the PC was paired the wrong way. Re-pair from scratch.
  4. If Settings says Couldn't register, another app on the phone holds the keyboard role, such as another Bluetooth keyboard or remote app. Close or uninstall it, then tap Reconnect.
  5. If one shortcut does nothing while others work, try the same keys on the PC's own keyboard. The program in front may not use that shortcut, or another program may have claimed it.
  6. If only typed text goes wrong, see Caps Lock and Text Comes Out Wrong.

Re-Pair From Scratch

Use this when keys never arrive, after Phone Link or an old pairing, or when Windows lists the phone with a driver error.

  1. On the PC, open SettingsBluetooth & devicesDevices, find your phone, open its menu and choose Remove device. Windows 10: SettingsDevicesBluetooth & other devices, select the phone, then Remove device.
  2. On the phone, open Android's Bluetooth settings, tap the gear next to your PC, and choose Unpair (Samsung) or Forget (Pixel and most others).
  3. Open Keyperch and go to SettingsPC KeyboardMake Visible.
  4. On the PC, open Add deviceBluetooth again, pick the phone and confirm the matching codes.
  5. If you use Phone Link for calls or messages, you may need to set those up again in Phone Link.

The Phone Cannot Act as a Keyboard

Keyperch needs Android's Bluetooth keyboard role. SettingsPC Keyboard says what is wrong.

  • Needs the Nearby devices permission: tap the button shown there, or allow Nearby devices in Android's SettingsAppsKeyperchPermissions.
  • Bluetooth is off: turn Bluetooth on.
  • This phone doesn't offer the Bluetooth keyboard role: the phone's maker switched the role off, and no app can turn it back on. The keyboard cannot work on this phone, so Keyperch does not offer Pro on it. Home Assistant tiles, now playing and PC stats from the Windows app still work.

While Keyperch is the PC's keyboard, the phone cannot use its own Bluetooth keyboards, mice or game controllers. Android allows one or the other. To free the role, use SettingsStop Keyperch.

Samsung: Keep Keyperch Awake

Samsung phones can put apps to sleep to save battery. If the keyboard drops while the screen is off, or after a while on the stand, change two settings.

  1. Open Android's SettingsAppsKeyperchBattery and choose Unrestricted.
  2. Open SettingsBatteryBackground usage limits. Make sure Keyperch is not under Sleeping apps or Deep sleeping apps. You can add it to Never auto sleeping apps.

Menu names differ a little between One UI versions. On other phones, look for battery optimization in Keyperch's app settings and turn it off. Keyperch still lets go of the keyboard by itself after 30 minutes off the stand.

The Windows App Cannot Find the Phone

Keyperch for Windows finds the phone over your local network. The Bluetooth keyboard needs none of this, so keys keep working while you sort it out.

  1. Keep Keyperch open on the phone with the deck showing. The phone accepts the Windows app only while the deck or Settings is on screen.
  2. Put the phone and PC on the same network. A PC on a cable works too, as long as it plugs into the same router the phone's Wi-Fi comes from.
  3. Guest, office, school and hotel networks often stop devices from reaching each other. This is called client isolation or AP isolation. The Windows app cannot work through it, so use your home network.
  4. Pause any VPN on the PC or the phone, or turn on its option to allow local network access. A VPN can send local traffic away from your network.
  5. The Windows app opens no listening port, so Windows Firewall needs no change. Some security suites block apps from reaching other devices on the network. If yours does, allow Keyperch.
  6. If the app has never connected and Windows calls your home network Public, set it to Private: SettingsNetwork & internetWi-Fiyour networkNetwork profile typePrivate.

To pair, open Keyperch from the tray on the PC and choose Phones and pairingShow code. On the phone, go to SettingsPC LinkPair a PC and scan it. The code hides after 60 seconds; click Show a new code if it does. If the phone cannot scan it, tap Type the Code Instead and type the 8 digits shown under the code. If the PC says the phone forgot it, pair again the same way.

Caps Lock Must Be Off

Keyperch types text as if Caps Lock is off. If Caps Lock is on, typed letters come out in the wrong case, so turn it off on the PC before running a macro that types. Shortcuts such as Ctrl+C work either way.

Text Comes Out Wrong

Keyperch types through the keyboard layout saved for your PC: US, UK or German in version 1.0. Windows has to use the same layout. If it does not, symbols and some letters come out wrong. On a German layout, for example, Y and Z trade places.

The input language shows in the Windows taskbar near the clock. Press Win+Space on the PC to switch it. Keyperch refuses to save text that the layout cannot type, so this shows up when you build a macro, not halfway through one.

A Key Seems Stuck

If Keyperch thinks a key is still down on the PC, the deck shows Key may be stuck on the PC with a Release button. Tap it. Keyperch also lets go of every key when the connection drops, when a macro stops and when you tap Stop.

If the PC still acts as if a key is held, press and release Shift, Ctrl, Alt and Win on the PC's own keyboard.

Home Assistant Will Not Connect

  • Use the same address you use in a browser, such as http://192.168.1.20:8123 or https://ha.example.com.
  • A plain http address works only on the Wi-Fi network where you set it up. That stops your Home Assistant key from going to a stranger's device that happens to use the same address on another network. Away from home, use an https address.
  • To use a long-lived token, open your profile in Home Assistant, choose Security, and create one under Long-lived access tokens. Paste it in Keyperch under SettingsHome AssistantAdvanced.
  • Free decks have 3 live tiles for lights, switches and scenes. Other kinds show Locked until Pro.

Still Stuck? Email Us

Send your phone model, Android version, PC model, Windows version, what you tried and what the top of the deck said. A screenshot helps.

Email a Problem Report

Or write to adam@upandadamco.com directly.