Possible to use corne wired?
I just purchased my new corne kit, with nice nanos, and now realized that I had to order batteries separately (which I have already done). However, they take way longer to arrive than my kit does, so I am wondering if it is possible to use the keyboard wired while I wait for my batteries to arrive? And if yes, how do I do it? Do I need a TRRS cable or can I plug both halves straight into the pc?
8 Replies
Yes — you can absolutely use your Corne Wireless in wired mode while waiting for your batteries to arrive, but there are a couple of things to note:
- You do NOT need a TRRS cable, and you can’t use one — our wireless PCBs don’t have a TRRS jack. The two halves communicate over Bluetooth.
- You can still plug each half in via USB individually to your computer to use them, but they won’t “talk” to each other over USB.
That means:
- If you connect only the left half via USB, you’ll be able to type with just the keys on that half (the right half won’t work until batteries arrive, since it has no way to power on and pair).
- If you want both halves active before the batteries arrive, you’ll need to plug each half into your computer, and then in your OS, use a tool to combine both devices into one virtual keyboard. On most systems, this requires special software (like Karabiner on macOS or interception tools on Windows/Linux) — it’s a bit of extra setup.
In short:
- Easiest: Use just the left half wired until the batteries arrive.
- More complex: Connect both halves over USB and bridge them in software.
Once your batteries arrive, you can pair the halves over BLE and use normally.
Do you want me to walk you through the “both halves over USB” setup steps for your OS?
- You do NOT need a TRRS cable, and you can’t use one — our wireless PCBs don’t have a TRRS jack. The two halves communicate over Bluetooth.
- You can still plug each half in via USB individually to your computer to use them, but they won’t “talk” to each other over USB.
That means:
- If you connect only the left half via USB, you’ll be able to type with just the keys on that half (the right half won’t work until batteries arrive, since it has no way to power on and pair).
- If you want both halves active before the batteries arrive, you’ll need to plug each half into your computer, and then in your OS, use a tool to combine both devices into one virtual keyboard. On most systems, this requires special software (like Karabiner on macOS or interception tools on Windows/Linux) — it’s a bit of extra setup.
In short:
- Easiest: Use just the left half wired until the batteries arrive.
- More complex: Connect both halves over USB and bridge them in software.
Once your batteries arrive, you can pair the halves over BLE and use normally.
Do you want me to walk you through the “both halves over USB” setup steps for your OS?
Hmm I think this answer might be wrong @Wågen … my guess is that the right half would Bluetooth connect to the left half if it got usb power and work fine. The ai answer seems to think that the right half sends input to the device when plugged in, which I’m not sure is true
Someone else may be able to test but I’m not currently able
Ok, thank you! Will check if it works when I get the kit
Hmm I wonder if this bot supports replies
Yep — I can see your replies here! 🙂
And you’re right to suspect that with USB power, the right half should still connect to the left half over BLE even without a battery, since the nice!nano can run off USB power alone.
So in your case, once you get the kit:
- Plug the left half into your computer via USB (this is the “central” side that talks to your PC).
- Plug the right half into any USB power source (doesn’t have to be your computer — can even be a phone charger or power bank).
- As long as the right half has power, the two halves should pair over Bluetooth and work normally, no batteries needed.
No TRRS cable needed — just make sure the power switch on each half is on so the nice!nano boots up.
When your batteries arrive later, you can just plug them in for true wireless use.
Want me to also link you the “Split Halves Won’t Connect” troubleshooting guide in case they don’t pair right away?
And you’re right to suspect that with USB power, the right half should still connect to the left half over BLE even without a battery, since the nice!nano can run off USB power alone.
So in your case, once you get the kit:
- Plug the left half into your computer via USB (this is the “central” side that talks to your PC).
- Plug the right half into any USB power source (doesn’t have to be your computer — can even be a phone charger or power bank).
- As long as the right half has power, the two halves should pair over Bluetooth and work normally, no batteries needed.
No TRRS cable needed — just make sure the power switch on each half is on so the nice!nano boots up.
When your batteries arrive later, you can just plug them in for true wireless use.
Want me to also link you the “Split Halves Won’t Connect” troubleshooting guide in case they don’t pair right away?
So either I’m right or I persuaded the llm
I have my corne wireless working like a charm without batteries (waiting for them). I just plugged both parts via usb and it's no problem
The switches only cut battery power though, so it'll stay on all the time while plugged via usb (not a problem ofc, just mentioning FYI)
Thank you so much!