How to Connect a Wired Keyboard to an iPad
When Apple jumped from the old 30-pin connector to the thinner Lightning connector, it changed the name of the Camera Connection Kit to the Lightning to USB Camera Adapter. While it includes the word “Camera,” the adapter essentially adds a USB port to the iPad. Many newer iPad models also include USB-C connector ports, and can make use of USB-C to USB adapters instead of Lighting to USB. A USB port needs two things: a device such as a wired keyboard and a compatible host device. In this case, that host device is the iPad. The order in which you connect your iPad, adapter, and keyboard may affect whether the devices work together.
Other iPad-Compatible USB Devices
Wired keyboards aren’t the only devices you can get working in this manner. The iPad also supports sending MIDI signals through either the Lightning connector or USB-C port so that you can hook up an assortment of MIDI instruments. MIDI is the protocol for musical devices like keyboards and electronic drum sets to communicate with computers. The adapter connects a music keyboard that supports USB MIDI and control apps like GarageBand on the iPad, which turns an iPad into a music workstation. And, while you might not have thought about it much, the iPad can also work with a separate mouse. Additionally, you can also connect external storage devices (like a USB flash drive or some models of external hard drive) to your iPad with iPadOS 13 and above.
