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I've installed elementary OS 0.4 Loki (64-bit) on my desktop PC and I'm using an Apple Magic Keyboard via USB and/or Bluetooth. Everything works fine but I can't use the fn key to get to input things like forward delete and so on...

The keyboard works with no problems via Bluetooth or USB on my MacBook air.

I've been searching on google and this stackexchange page but I can only find people complaining about pairing via Bluetooth and all the links point to this doc page: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/AppleKeyboard None of the solutions there seem to work.

As mike-wild suggested, I tried using xev No matter if I press Backspace or fn + Backspace the output is the same:

KeyRelease event, serial 37, synthetic NO, window 0x2c00001, root 0xf4, subw 0x0, time 138447, (270,71), root:(1194,356), state 0x0, keycode 22 (keysym 0xff08, BackSpace), same_screen YES, XLookupString gives 1 bytes: (08) " XFilterEvent returns: False –

I'm now wondering, do I need any specific driver? How come Macbooks + elementary have the fn key working but mine doesn't?

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  • First of all, which keyboard layout are you using (Settings > Keyboard > Layout)? You will probably want to set this to something like English (Macintosh). Open up a terminal and type xev, this will bring up a window where you can test keyboard input and see the corresponding keycodes printed in the terminal. Press Backspace and fn + Backspace then compare the output. Post it here if possible.
    – Mike Wild
    Jan 30 '17 at 23:40
  • Hello there! I did selected the English (Macintosh) layout. Tried xev but no matter if I press Backspace or fn + Backspace the output is the same: KeyRelease event, serial 37, synthetic NO, window 0x2c00001, root 0xf4, subw 0x0, time 138447, (270,71), root:(1194,356), state 0x0, keycode 22 (keysym 0xff08, BackSpace), same_screen YES, XLookupString gives 1 bytes: (08) " XFilterEvent returns: False
    – CoppolaEmilio
    Jan 31 '17 at 2:03
  • Don't forget to update your question with that output :) On mine I get the output here - notice that it doesn't explicitly mention the fn key being pressed, however the keycode changes to 'Delete'. I thought that the fn keypress doesn't actually make it to the OS, rather it's the keyboard sending Delete instead of Backspace. Have you verified that the fn key works when connected to another machine?
    – Mike Wild
    Jan 31 '17 at 10:29
  • Hello Mike, I added the edit on the question! Yes the keyboard is working on my Macbook with no problems :/ I'm wondering that maybe there is an issue with missing drivers?
    – CoppolaEmilio
    Jan 31 '17 at 14:31

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