Using Logitech K400 wireless keyboard with Linux

40 Comments Posted by on October 30, 2011


Besides the camera, I also bought a very basic computer yesterday equipped with the Logitech K400 wireless keyboard. It will be placed at home beside the LCD TV and be used as a media player and for some light-weight computing tasks. Linux is my favorite OS but I’m not sure whether the Logitech K400 can be used. The Logitech website only specify it supports MS Windows. This post is to confirm that K400 does work with Debian and Ubuntu. It works out-of-the-box with no configurations required.

debian, linux, computing

40 responses to “Using Logitech K400 wireless keyboard with Linux”

  1. Pingback: Ride2Esc » Using Logitech K400 wireless keyboard with Linux

  2. Arnaud Diederen November 9, 2011 at 8:42 pm

    Dear Sir, I thank you for your informative post.
    On my way to buy one…

    Reply
  4. Alex January 9, 2012 at 8:20 am

    ?? Mine doesn’t. lsusb returns the logitech unifying receiver, but no functionality beyond that. Am I missing something?

    Running xubuntu 11.10

    Reply
    • Arnaud Diederen January 9, 2012 at 6:48 pm

      Alex,

      this is somewhat asking you to blow the dust (http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/customerservice.html), but .. did you set the small switch on the keyboard side to “on”?
      If so, please post the results of an lsusb; I’ll try and have a look this evening at home.

      A.

      Reply
      • Alex January 10, 2012 at 11:31 am

        hah, yes, I did.

        Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
        Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
        Bus 001 Device 009: ID 0bc2:5031 Seagate RSS LLC
        Bus 002 Device 006: ID 046d:c52b Logitech, Inc. Unifying Receiver
        Bus 002 Device 007: ID 046d:c049 Logitech, Inc. G5 Laser Mouse
        Bus 002 Device 008: ID 046d:c316 Logitech, Inc. HID-Compliant Keyboard

      • Arnaud Diederen January 15, 2012 at 5:45 pm

        Alex,

        [sorry for the delay]
        [also, sorry for properly replying to _your_ message, but for whatever reason, it has no ‘reply’ button]

        Here’s my lsusb:
        —–
        Bus 005 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
        Bus 003 Device 002: ID 046d:c52b Logitech, Inc. Unifying Receiver
        Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
        Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
        Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
        Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
        —–

        As you can see, we seem to have somewhat similar info on the wireless keyboard.
        (You have other logitech devices, though, and I hope they don’t .. interfere. Have you tried removing the other devices, just for testing purposes?)

        Otherwise, here’s the verbose version of lsusb for the k400:
        —–
        Bus 003 Device 002: ID 046d:c52b Logitech, Inc. Unifying Receiver
        Device Descriptor:
        bLength 18
        bDescriptorType 1
        bcdUSB 2.00
        bDeviceClass 0 (Defined at Interface level)
        bDeviceSubClass 0
        bDeviceProtocol 0
        bMaxPacketSize0 8
        idVendor 0x046d Logitech, Inc.
        idProduct 0xc52b Unifying Receiver
        bcdDevice 12.01
        iManufacturer 1
        iProduct 2
        iSerial 0
        bNumConfigurations 1
        Configuration Descriptor:
        bLength 9
        bDescriptorType 2
        wTotalLength 84
        bNumInterfaces 3
        bConfigurationValue 1
        iConfiguration 4
        bmAttributes 0xa0
        (Bus Powered)
        Remote Wakeup
        MaxPower 98mA
        Interface Descriptor:
        bLength 9
        bDescriptorType 4
        bInterfaceNumber 0
        bAlternateSetting 0
        bNumEndpoints 1
        bInterfaceClass 3 Human Interface Device
        bInterfaceSubClass 1 Boot Interface Subclass
        bInterfaceProtocol 1 Keyboard
        iInterface 0
        HID Device Descriptor:
        bLength 9
        bDescriptorType 33
        bcdHID 1.11
        bCountryCode 0 Not supported
        bNumDescriptors 1
        bDescriptorType 34 Report
        wDescriptorLength 59
        Report Descriptors:
        ** UNAVAILABLE **
        Endpoint Descriptor:
        bLength 7
        bDescriptorType 5
        bEndpointAddress 0x81 EP 1 IN
        bmAttributes 3
        Transfer Type Interrupt
        Synch Type None
        Usage Type Data
        wMaxPacketSize 0x0008 1x 8 bytes
        bInterval 8
        Interface Descriptor:
        bLength 9
        bDescriptorType 4
        bInterfaceNumber 1
        bAlternateSetting 0
        bNumEndpoints 1
        bInterfaceClass 3 Human Interface Device
        bInterfaceSubClass 1 Boot Interface Subclass
        bInterfaceProtocol 2 Mouse
        iInterface 0
        HID Device Descriptor:
        bLength 9
        bDescriptorType 33
        bcdHID 1.11
        bCountryCode 0 Not supported
        bNumDescriptors 1
        bDescriptorType 34 Report
        wDescriptorLength 148
        Report Descriptors:
        ** UNAVAILABLE **
        Endpoint Descriptor:
        bLength 7
        bDescriptorType 5
        bEndpointAddress 0x82 EP 2 IN
        bmAttributes 3
        Transfer Type Interrupt
        Synch Type None
        Usage Type Data
        wMaxPacketSize 0x0008 1x 8 bytes
        bInterval 2
        Interface Descriptor:
        bLength 9
        bDescriptorType 4
        bInterfaceNumber 2
        bAlternateSetting 0
        bNumEndpoints 1
        bInterfaceClass 3 Human Interface Device
        bInterfaceSubClass 0 No Subclass
        bInterfaceProtocol 0 None
        iInterface 0
        HID Device Descriptor:
        bLength 9
        bDescriptorType 33
        bcdHID 1.11
        bCountryCode 0 Not supported
        bNumDescriptors 1
        bDescriptorType 34 Report
        wDescriptorLength 98
        Report Descriptors:
        ** UNAVAILABLE **
        Endpoint Descriptor:
        bLength 7
        bDescriptorType 5
        bEndpointAddress 0x83 EP 3 IN
        bmAttributes 3
        Transfer Type Interrupt
        Synch Type None
        Usage Type Data
        wMaxPacketSize 0x0020 1x 32 bytes
        bInterval 2
        can’t get device qualifier: Operation not permitted
        can’t get debug descriptor: Operation not permitted
        cannot read device status, Operation not permitted (1)
        aundro@ribbon:~
        —–

        If you have something similar, then there’s always the possibility that you were sold a defective unit, and your only option is obviously to return it.

  5. Vinícius January 14, 2012 at 2:14 am

    Thank you friend!

    I was thinking to buy one and this information was very important to me!

    I’ll put it in a ATOM mediacenter pc i use.

    Reply
  6. don February 29, 2012 at 11:32 pm

    does multitouch (pinch to zoom) work for you in ubuntu?

    Reply
  7. guinioul March 24, 2012 at 8:09 pm

    hello,

    I just bought this keyboard !

    I can confirm that both vertical and horizontal scrolling with two finger swipe are supported out of the box on ubuntu 11.10, that’s really cool 🙂 (only right clic with two fingers tap don’t work) .

    volume keys works too, and the home button open nautilus .

    pointing speed and acceleration are adjustable directly in mouse settings of the system, really cool too . scrolling speed is not adjustable but is ok on a big flat TV (scrolling is not too slow ! )

    Don : if you need the zoom feature you can use the combo “ctrl”+”scoll”, it work on any touchpad that support scrolling .

    a good product to conbtrol an htpc !

    bye

    Reply
  8. Anders Runeson April 13, 2012 at 12:30 am

    Thank you. Just bought one for a kitchen computer.

    Reply
  9. marc June 30, 2012 at 9:40 am

    I could’t get it to work until I unplugged my Bluetooth dongle.

    Reply
  10. nerdo August 2, 2012 at 12:51 pm

    re: “if you need the zoom feature you can use the combo ctrl+scoll, it work on any touchpad that support scrolling”

    Ha! Never knew you could do that … that works on the K400 in a mozilla browser … on Puppy linux, even.

    Reply
  11. monsto November 24, 2012 at 4:41 am

    I’m standing in best buy right now lookin at this kb and wanted to know this. thanks for the post!

    Reply
  12. waterman77 January 17, 2013 at 1:19 am

    I use the 2012-12-16-wheezy-raspbian OS. My K400 worked straight away after 1st installation and boot. But it stopped working after doing the “expand_rootfs” command in raspi-config to expand root partition to fill my 16GB SD card, and i had to reconfigure the keyboard settings to make it work again.

    Reply
  13. Alex March 7, 2013 at 3:22 am

    I know this post is old but, can anyone tell me how far is the reception distance?

    Reply
  14. ahmadmuzakki29 March 25, 2013 at 12:31 pm

    I know this post is old but, I really wonder if shortcut key like next music or set brightness works well on ubuntu
    your response would be very much appreciated

    Reply
  15. akatran April 7, 2013 at 1:20 am

    Nice sharing that information with us. I’ll buy one ASAP!!!
    (ubuntu 12.10 user)

    Reply
    • Arnaud Diederen April 8, 2013 at 6:54 pm

      For what it’s worth: since I was happy with the keyboard, I bought a simple Logitech USB wireless mouse, and it just works as well (Debian Squeeze; 6.0.6).
      Oh, and it has a terrific range, too.
      Logitech FTW!

      Reply
  16. Steve July 24, 2013 at 10:36 am

    I have the Logitech K400 Keyboard which was working fine on an older Dell running Ubuntu 10.10 for over a year. Then it suddenly stopped working. I tried replacing the batteries twice. Then I also tried it on a Windows 7 PC. No luck! Seems like it just died. What else can I do to test it?

    Reply
    • Steve July 24, 2013 at 10:40 am

      Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention that I even upgraded to Ubuntu 13. Still not luck! Also, another wireless Keyboard, a Measy Air Mouse + Keyboard I have does not work on the Dell either at this time. Both of these wireless keyboards worked fine with an Android MK802IV setup in the kitchen, but not here!

      Reply
  17. Bob Robertson July 26, 2013 at 12:05 am

    I just bought one, and when I tried it the keyboard would cease functioning every time I left-clicked. Pulling out the USB plug and putting it back in would make it work again, but only until I left-clicked again.

    Very glad to know that it’s just this one that’s broken, I’ll take it back and swap it rather than get my money back.

    Reply
  18. Anna October 3, 2013 at 12:02 pm

    Hi,

    Just got Logitech K400 to use with my brand new ASUS laptop that has Ubuntu on it – it does NOT work out of the box. I checked if it works at all with my desktop w/Windows – it works fine, out of the box. What do I miss here?

    I am not a Pro, I don’t know anything about lsusb and such – is there a SIMPLE way to make it work?

    Reply
    • Oscar October 6, 2013 at 8:38 pm

      Hi,

      Maybe try to upgrade your Ubuntu to the latest version (this upgrade feature is accessible from the usual Ubuntu menus).
      I’m running Debian Linux and it’s working perfectly out of the box (apart from the two fingers right tap which doesn’t paste the selected text…).

      Best regards,
      Oscar

      Reply
  19. Juha Viljanen December 17, 2013 at 12:03 am

    Hello,
    I bought K400R last week and tried it (hard) with Ubuntu 12.4. It works fine assuming you are satisfied with the English keyboard layout. However, my keyboard has Scandinavian keys and there is no method in Ubuntu to make the language settings to coincide with the physical key layout on this keyboard.
    K400R keyboard worked perfectly with a Win-7 laptop and shortly also that, once the USB-socket was transported to it, also on a Ubuntu pc, but only until a system reboot, which returned the English layout settings.
    I try to return the device, since it cannot be used.

    regards,
    JV

    Reply
  20. Terry December 20, 2013 at 5:20 am

    I actually purchased one and opened it in the store parking lot, read the part in the accompanying documentation that Mac OS X and Linux are not supported. Since I only use Linux and Mac OS, I returned it for a refund before even taking it home. Got a GE keyboard with mouse designed for all USB PCs and Macs been so happy with I just bought another. I have been curious about the Logitech ever since. Logitech’s marketing people should solve this by stating something along the lines of: while not officially supported some customers have reported success.

    Reply
  21. jonnynitro138 February 2, 2014 at 9:43 am

    I decided to free up some deskspace and went out to purchase this keyboard. I was a bit conserned that it would not work on my Linux Mint 16 kde system, well because it’s kde. The keyboard works staight out of the box. All functions work on it as well. I didn’t have to do anything other than plug in the wireless stick. Oh and pull out the tape tabs that were used to protect the batteries while at the store.

    Reply
  22. Mrsrail April 27, 2015 at 6:05 am

    The @ sign is not working with my raspberry pi

    Reply
  23. L August 19, 2015 at 6:17 pm

    Thanks for info!

    Reply
  24. thatguy September 7, 2016 at 6:59 pm

    The Plus version (i.e., Logitech K400 Plus) works out of the box on Trisquel 7.0 (Linux 3.13.0-39-lowlatency). Details at h-node (look up Logitech Unifying Receiver, vendor/product ID 046d:c52b).

    Reply
  25. Milfo February 8, 2019 at 3:07 pm

    Thank you. Have you or anybody else tried k400 with Rasberry pi?

    Reply
  26. Paco May 13, 2019 at 4:25 pm

    Hi folks, with my k400+ f1-f12 are multimedia keys by default.
    Pressing Fn + F1-F12 is like pressing just F1-F12, isn’t this anoying?

    To change from X to tty I have to press Ctrl + Fn + Alt + F1

    Reply
  27. sean July 21, 2019 at 8:59 am

    I purchased one for my laptop, running the latest Manjaro. It does NOT work, at all. Even Solaar does not detect the receiver. Very disappointed.

    Reply

Leave a reply to marc Cancel reply