The Logitech K400 keyboard is considered by many, including myself, to be the best Fire TV keyboard. It is the best selling keyboard on Amazon, and for good reason. It’s a great balance of compact size and comfort, without giving up any functionality. Logitech just announced an updated version of the K400 keyboard, called the K400 Plus. Does the new keyboard improve on the current model, as the name would imply? Lets take a closer look at the differences to find out.
The new Logitech K400 Plus is very similar to its predecessor, with only minor design changes. The Plus uses the exact same USB based Logitech Unifying Receiver as the K400, so it should work just as well with the Amazon Fire TV. The new model drops the old aqua blue color highlights in exchange for a little bit of yellow found on the mouse button and trackpad.
The K400 Plus has reduced the size of the UP and DOWN arrow keys to fit within one key row in order to increase the size of the right-shift key to better match the layout of standard full-sized keyboards. Considering the arrows keys are used as the primary way to navigate the Fire TV interface with a keyboard, this change alone makes me prefer the old keyboard over the new one, for Fire TV use.
The dedicated buttons in the upper left of the K400 which, depending on which version you have, are either volume keys or Music/Home/Lock keys have been moved to over the trackpad on the K400 Plus. The new location is more convenient considering your hand will likely be resting there for touchpad use.
As for the touchpad, the mouse buttons are thinner on the new model than on the K400. They’re also now the same size instead of having the left mouse button slightly larger than the right mouse button.
The two keyboards are so similar, both will make great Fire TV keyboards. Having not used the new keyboard yet, if I had to recommend one over the other, I would personally choose the K400 over the K400 Plus for Fire TV use. The larger arrow keys, larger mouse buttons, and proven track record of the Logitech K400 keep it the reigning king of Fire TV keyboards.
Thanks toDave Zatzof ZatzNotFunny
@AFTVnews
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Picked up 2 of the K400’s at Sam’s Club a couple of months ago for $9.99 each.
So did I.
that’s a great bargain!
Is there a reason they won’t just go bluetooth on these things? I really don’t want to spend my single USB port on a receiver for a rarely used peripheral when BT is built in…
Agree. Would be nice, although I do also like the single receiver option for logitech products generally. I have one of these for my fire tv, and works perfectly with my thumb drive, flirc and logitech receiver plugged in. http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00D5K05UW?tag=ukaftvn-21&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage.
Yes. There is a reason.
The target audience here are PC users, where bluetooth keyboards fall short. The main problem is that bluetooth is not active while a PC is booting. You cannot use a bluetooth keyboard to do anything, like access the BIOS, until the full operating system loads. You need to keep a wired keyboard around for that.
On the other hand keyboards with a dongle work just like wired keyboards during the boot process. So you can toss your wired keyboard completely.
Interesting, thanks
Excellent point I should have considered. However that does mean that these really aren’t ideal for HTPC/STB solutions.
You can expand your usb ports as much as you want cheaply. Like 4 or 5 bucks buys you a usb hub on amazon.
Is there software on a PC or otherwise which allows you to boot into the bios without using a keyboard? Ideally you might even get into there with some drivers active.
Philip
If you have Windows 8 you can follow these instructions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGiG1oljjZI
Very neat.
I own a Fire TV Stick. Is it possible to use either of these keyboards with it? I purchased the K400 Plus yesterday and attempted to connect it to my FTV Stick via settings.apk and bluetooth, but it doesn’t even show up on the bluetooth list when I search. Is this not actually a bluetooth device?
Do these keyboards only work with the FireTV (non-stick) when you plug the receiver directly into the usb port on the FTV?
Are there any known bluetooth keyboards/mice that work with the FTV Stick?
Thanks in advance.
If you have enabled “USB Debugging” in the Developer options, disable it and try again. Turning it on will actually disable the USB port.
Sathesh, Hope all is well and although a couple of years later… thru much, much searching, I thought u might b thrilled to know that your knowledge (info) to disable “USB Debugging” in settings SOLVED MY PROBLEM after spending several day’s of surfing the web and I remain most grateful.. again, thought you should know. Peace!!!
thank you for this ingenius fix
THANK YOU!!!
Is anyone gonna take a stab at answering Jason’s questions they’re questions many of us have ??
If you have enabled “USB Debugging” in the Developer options, disable it and try again. Turning it on will actually disable the USB port.
I am facing the same issue as Jason. I picked up a K830 keyboard from Bestbuy. It didn’t show up in the bluetooth list. When I debug through the logs it was showing error like “EID number invalid”.
I exchanged it for a K400 plus keyboard. Now this also doesnot work in the Fire Tv. Can some one please guide how to make the k400 plus keyboard work with Fire tv or the stick.
Just google myself and found that turning off the “USB Debugging” option inside “Developer Option” will enable the USB port.
To answer everyone that as a the question about trying to connect the K400 plus to your Fire TV Stick….
YOU CANT!!! why? Cause the K400 ITS NOT a blue-tooth device…
The K400 comes with a mini USB dongle that you need to attached to the Fire TV Stick but Fire Stick doesn’t have an USB connector. So therefor you cant use the keyboard.
Hope it answers your question.
Read this before you speak in authoritative tone:
http://www.aftvnews.com/how-to-connect-a-usb-keyboard-or-mouse-to-a-rooted-fire-tv-stick-with-an-otg-cable/
Thanks a million Greg. Finally someone gave a solution.
Yes Jason.. Amazon offers a keyboard just for Amazon fire Stick and Five Tv.
http://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Bluetooth-Keyboard-Android-Devices/dp/B005OOKNP4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1452735325&sr=8-2&keywords=Amazon+Fire+Tv++Keyboard
I purchased a k400 keyboard the other morning since they are allegedly the best keyboard for the amazon fire TV . I have a Fire TV Stick (Gen2) and 1 micro USB port, i dint wish to have to be messing about enabling OTG every time i start my device, i selected the Fire TV Stick for the simplicity and lack of cabling required, now it seems, my next step is to have to purchase an OTG, Lead a USB Hub and so forth,
Is there no way i can connect this keyboard Via App, without the need to type adb commands each time it starts, not to mention all the additional cables and peripherals. I know i should have done my research a little more thourgh, but in maplins, the keyboard was identified as bluetooth, works with Smart TV’s etc.
Unfortunately its so slow with my daughters Toshiba TV its quicker to use the onscreen keyboard, also turns out it isn’t actually bluetooth.
Help please.. the receiver should only be for computers without bluetooth capabilities.
is there a compatible keyboard for fire stick (not fire tv so can’t have a usb connector) that has a trackpad? or alternatively a mouse?
Yes the k400 plus works great with the fire tv just turn off usb debugging and it works
Just how do you connect it to the amazon fire tv then? I’ve been trying for an hour here and I have had no luck. Are there files that need to be add to the fire tv? I have the USB debugging turned off when I added kodi. There has to be something else here…
I’m with Larry…I have a Logitech K700 that came with my Logitech Revue I’ve had for a while. It is compatible with Logitech’s unifying software, yet when I plug the tiny unifying usb dongle into the Fire TV (yes, debugging is off) it won’t see they keyboard when I go to pair it. I’ve tried turning the power to the keyboard off and then back on again, as Logitech suggests, but hitting the wall here. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!
From what I remember, you don’t need to pair anything once you plug the dongle into the fire tv. Just give it a second to sync and start using your keyboard.
can I scroll with two fingers using the touchpad on the k400 ? best
I’m having the same issue… I had the USB debugging enabled but have changed that. I unplugged my aftv abs still no luck. I did try the keyboard on my computer… When’s immediately. I’m so confused. I’ve been so frustrated for days trying to figure this out. I thought maybe I needed the unifying software from logitech by getting that on the aftv is almost impossible. Any idea what I am doing wrong? On a side note… It picked up a headset I didn’t realize was around.