Keepad Quick Start Guide

Updated: 1/27/2025

Intro

Thanks for purchasing a Keepad! This guide will help you get started using it. Before you continue, make sure you have the following:

  • Dongle
  • Cable (Included with dongle)
  • iPad running iOS 17+

Connect the dongle

Hold the dongle so you are looking at both USB ports on the right side.

Keepad Dongle Ports

The second usb port from the right is the main one you will use to connect the dongle to your computer. In most setups this is the only one you need. The other port is used together with the main port when auxiliary power is needed. When connecting to a computer you may be need to grant permission(s) for the connection. On MacOS, you can close out of the keyboard configuration wizard that shows up.

Note

It can take about 15 to 30 seconds for the dongle to fully power up.

Configure the dongle

It is recommended that you disconnect the computer from any internet connections during this step. Then, with the dongle connected and fully powered up, open your web browser and navigate to one of it's internal addresses:

You should see the options page with fields to set the network name and password for the wireless connection the dongle will create for you to connect to from the iPad.

Keepad Configuration

You will need this info in the next step. While connected to a mac, windows, or linux computer, the dongle creates a network over usb to serve the configuration web app. This allows you to change the dongle's wifi network name and password securely.

Note

The network created over usb can sometimes take precedence over your other network(s). This can make it seem like the internet is not working. To fix this, you may disable the Keepad's network connection after configuring the wifi settings. Or, you can adjust the "service order" on OSX or manually set the interface metric on Windows. The usb network connection is only used for securely configuring the dongle's wifi name and password.

Install the App

Using your iPad, open the camera and scan the QR code below to download and install the Keepad app.

Keepad App Store QR Code

If you are unable to do that, you can just search for "Keepad" on the app store and make sure you install the one with this logo

Keepad App Icon

Connect the iPad to the dongle

To connect, open the WiFi settings in the iPad. Choose the one with the name you set when configuring the dongle and connect using the password. You should be all set, and ready to use the Keepad app. In the app, you can check the connection status in the settings view.

If it's not connected. Go back to the iPad's wifi settings and ensure it is still connected to the right network.

Note

Sometimes the iPad may automatically disconnect from the dongle's wifi if it doesn't detect internet access. You can work around this by disabling the auto-connect option for your other networks and leaving it on for dongle's network.

Internet sharing (optional)

When the dongle is connected to a computer with an internet connection you can share the computer's internet network with the dongle's usb network. Automatically, the dongle will forward the internet access it is provided on the usb connection with the dongle's wifi connection.

It's possible that this can cause lag, or missed keypresses since it is served over the same connection that handles communication for the app to talk with the dongle.

Using the Keepad app

Keepad will always load and display in the landscape view. It will rotate top or bottom, but currently it doesn't support a vertical layout. The top row of icons are used for switching or toggling the various modes. They are among the few buttons that can't be customized except for the colors.

Here is a general breakdown of the modes from left to right:

  1. Keyboard: Switches to the keyboard.
  2. Touchpad: Switches to the touchpad.
  3. Macropad: Switches to macropad.
  4. MIDI: Switches to MIDI.
  5. Main Layer Toggle: Toggles the layers of the current mode.
  6. Aux Layer Toggle: Toggles the layers of the key strip (strip of buttons just below the top row of icons) or the right side of MIDI mode for more buttons and 4 sliders.
  7. Edit Toggle: Toggles edit mode. When this is on, pressing a button will open it's editor.
  8. Settings: Display's the main settings for the app
Keepad Macro View

Icons

When editing buttons, the very first option is for adding icons (sf symbols). The SF Symbols are Apple's baked in icons. You can learn more about them here:

https://developer.apple.com/sf-symbols/

There's also this app you can use to look them up on the iPad:

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sf-symbols-reference/id1491161336

Hyper

In the list of commands you can choose, there is one titled "hyper." This key will press all of the right-handed modifier keys (Right shift, Right ctrl, Right option/alt, Right command/meta). It is often used in place of a caps-lock key, to give you an extra modifier key for shortcuts.

Recommended Apps:

The following apps are recommended for unlocking the true power of shortcuts and to leverage as many buttons on your Keepad as possible:

MacOS

Windows

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