Magic Keyboard for MacBook Air

The Magic Keyboard with Touch ID has built-in features that make it easy to enter emoji, switch keyboard languages, lock your MacBook Air, and perform many system functions with the touch of a key. When you set up Touch ID, you can use your fingerprint to unlock MacBook Air; quickly lock your screen; or make purchases from the App Store, Apple TV app, and Apple Books, and on websites using Apple Pay.

The MacBook Air keyboard showing the row of function keys and the Touch ID (power button) across the top, and the Function (Fn)/Globe key in the lower-left corner.

Set up Touch ID. You can set up Touch ID during setup, or at a later time in Touch ID & Password in System Settings. For more information about Touch ID, see Use Touch ID on Mac.

Turn on your MacBook Air. Lift the lid, press Touch ID (the power button), or press any other key.

Use Touch ID. After you set up Touch ID, when you start up or restart the computer, you need to log in by typing your password. After initial login, whenever you’re asked for your password in the same session, you can just place your finger lightly on the Touch ID sensor to authenticate. You can also use Touch ID to make online purchases securely with Apple Pay. For more information about Apple Pay, see Use Wallet & Apple Pay.

Lock your MacBook Air. Press Touch ID to quickly lock your screen.

Turn off your MacBook Air. To turn off your MacBook Air, choose Apple menu > Shut Down. To put your MacBook Air to sleep, choose Apple menu > Sleep.

Use function keys. The function keys on the top row provide shortcuts for these common system functions:

Brightness (F1, F2): Press or to decrease or increase the brightness of the screen.
Mission Control (F3): Press to view what’s running on your MacBook Air, including all your spaces and open windows.
Spotlight Search (F4): Press to open Spotlight and search for something on your MacBook Air.
Dictation/Siri (F5): Press to activate dictation—you can dictate text wherever you can type (for example, in Messages, Mail, Pages, and other apps). To activate Siri, press and hold , then immediately speak your request.
Do Not Disturb (F6): Press to turn Do Not Disturb on or off. When Do Not Disturb is on, you won’t see or hear notifications on MacBook Air, but you can view them later in Notification Center. See Notification Center to learn more.
Media (F7, F8, F9): Press to rewind, to play or pause, or to fast-forward a song, movie, or slideshow.
Mute (F10): Press to mute the sound from the built-in speakers or 3.5 mm headphone jack.
Volume (F11, F12): Press or to decrease or increase the volume of sound from the built-in speakers, 3.5 mm headphone jack, or Bluetooth audio device.

Note: Function keys can perform actions in specific apps or may have alternative functions—for example, the F11 key can hide all open windows and show the desktop. To trigger the alternative function associated with a key, press and hold the Function (Fn)/Globe key while you press a function key.

Adjust keyboard settings. To specify options for the keyboard and the Function (Fn)/Globe key , open System Settings, then click Keyboard in the sidebar. You can change the keyboard brightness and backlight; select whether pressing the Function (Fn)/Globe key shows the emoji picker/Character Viewer, changes the input source, or starts dictation; adjust keyboard shortcuts; and more. To learn more about keyboard settings, see Change Keyboard settings on Mac.

Use emoji and symbols. Press the Function (Fn)/Globe key to pull up the emoji picker (if you’ve set up this option in Keyboard settings). When the emoji picker is open, explore emoji by categories or with search and insert symbols like pictographs.

Learn about keyboard shortcuts. You can press key combinations to quickly perform certain tasks on your MacBook Air, or to do things that you would normally do with a mouse or trackpad. For example, press Command-C to copy selected text, then click where you want to paste the text and press Command-V. For a list of commonly used shortcuts, see Keyboard shortcuts on your Mac. If you’re new to the Mac, you might also be interested in Are you new to Mac?

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