Recover macOS with no mouse, keyboard only

January 24, 2018

A recent macOS upgrade to High Sierra mysteriously broke the Apple mouse Bluetooth connection. Despite the computer showing the mouse as paired, no motion of the cursor or response to clicks. The keyboard alone can reconnect the mouse if no wired mouse was available.

The frequently used Apple ⌘ key is equivalent to the ⊞ key on a PC keyboard.

1. open the Go To folder dialog with Cmd Shift g
2. type /Applications
3. highlight (select) System Preferences with the arrow keys
4. Cmd o to open System Preferences
5. Select Bluetooth. You may see your mouse already paired.
6. Use Tab to select the “x” (it’s hard to see the highlight due to the flat color scheme.
7. press Space to delete the mouse pairing
8. Cmd n to setup new device. Flip mouse power switch off, then on again if it doesn’t show up.
9. select the mouse and press Enter.