Matias Wireless BT keyboad review

Well I got my Matias BT full keyboard about two weeks ago. It can be paired to 4 devices but I have it only paired to my Mac Pro. I am currently using it to type this review.

My observations:

The look and feel of the keyboard is excellent. Very close to my wired apple keyboard. The layout is identical except for the addition of the four pairing buttons above the number keypad.

It came with a charging cable and the charge is supposed to last a year.

Pairing is easy but..

It will - at random - lose connection. Most of the time pushing the pair button will reconnect it. When this happens and it reconnects there is a noticeable lag in typing. This seems to clear up if you close whatever you were working on and reopen it. It has only happened a couple of times but it is very annoying.

From what I have read it seems it has developed these issues when Sierra came out. I plan to keep it because I have figured out the work a round and for the most part it performs flawlessly when connected.

Would I buy another? Not unless they worked out the random connection lost issue.

Lisa

Thanks for the review Lisa. Have you been in contact with Matias to discuss the disconnect issue?

I've got the Mattias wired Quiet Pro connected to my iMac. I used the wireless included keyboard for a while but when I got to typing on it a lot more, I had to get the Mattias to type properly. Ironically, after that I ended up moving to a MBP as my primary machine and the keyboard is larger but I've managed to adapt to it..

chscag - They have no forum help so I sent an email to their tech support to see if they can offer any suggestions. I have not heard back yet. Will keep you posted.

Lisa

Just an update. After about three weeks now I find the keyboard frustrating. When it works it is great. I love the feel of it when I type.

BUT - I find it will go to sleep if I am not using it and loose connection. I do more work with my trackpad when I am working on videos so the keyboard will sit idle. Some days this is no problem and other days big issues arise. If I go to type and it is asleep sometimes it will wake up and I will see the connected notice and it works fine. Other times I have to push the connect key several times then it connects but it will type very slow or repeat a letter that I only typed once. Yesterday I was trying to go to a site by typing it in and it kept failing as it was adding additional letters. I tend to type in a site fast and hit enter. The letters were lagging behind so I really never noticed the additional letters being added in. I got frustrated and well, maybe I smacked it a few times and well .... all of a sudden my MP was making all kinds of weird noises and I have to use the trackpad to shut it down - which took awhile. After a restart all was good again.

I have emailed the company but have yet to hear from them.

Lisa

Thanks Lisa. I was going to order one but based on your review I think I'll stick with my Apple wired model for a while longer. I also have the Apple wireless model which I really don't care for but it does take up less space on my desk.

Sadly, I would say stay with your Apple wired model. I too have the Apple wireless but I just miss the lack of numeric keyboard and separate arrow keys. I may be forced back to my wired keyboard. I keep wanting to like this Matias wireless keyboard but....

Lisa

I haven't found any Bluetooth extended keyboards that have been uniformly liked by users. Bluetooth itself tends to be problematic, and keyboards tend to be wildly personal things. That said, *some* users really like this one:

Kanex MultiSync Full-Size Bluetooth Keyboard for Macintosh
$53 plus free shipping
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015Z5SBB4/?tag=macforums0e4-20

Have to say the price is right for that Kanex keyboard. That might be something I order and add to my collection of keyboards.

chscag said:

Have to say the price is right for that Kanex keyboard. That might be something I order and add to my collection of keyboards.

Click to expand...

I am using a keyboard that I love to pieces and it was such a good deal that I feel that I should share it with others. However, no one who participated in this thread would likely be interested in it. It's an extended keyboard, but it is wired, and it isn't low profile. It uses old fashioned keys with a good throw and decent feedback, sort of like the Apple keyboards from a decade ago, or modern gaming keyboards with Cherry key-switches. Best of all, it was only $20 shipped.

Matias Optimizer USB Keyboard ($20 shipped)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Matias-Optimizer-USB-Keyboard-NEW-Mac-PC-FK201-/151393705991

You do have to use System Preferences to switch the mappings of the Option and Command keys, but that takes seconds.

So I finally got so upset with the Matias keyboard I pulled out my apple BT keyboard. The Matias got so bad it would loose connection then reconnect but the response was so slow it would be unusable. Then it would respond but would type the same letter or number several times. I finally plugged it in to see if charging might help and continued with the Apple BT keyboard.

The next day I gave it another try - I am nothing if not persistent! So for the last two days it has performed flawlessly although my workload has not been as intense. What is strange is I have four BT devices now running on my MP - two keyboards, a trackpad and a magic mouse. I would have expected conflicts.

I have a big project that I have been working on and next week it will be more involved. I am curious to see how the keyboard performs. I use a lot of keyboard shortcuts in combination with the trackpad when I am editing. In the past the Matias keyboard would drop out and quit working. We shall see how it performs. I really would like it to work as I like the feel of it.

Lisa