# External keyboard connection



## joangolfing (Sep 12, 2010)

Do all the new Fire models have the ability to connect to an external keyboard?

Will there be an update for the old Fire units to have this ability.


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## Finished (Feb 14, 2009)

Only the new models (HD) will have the capability to use an external keyboard (with Bluetooth).
Bluetooth is a hardware, not a software, feature. Therefore, the original Fire cannot be updated to provide Bluetooth.


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## JimC1946 (Aug 6, 2009)

Just Wondering said:


> Only the new models (HD) will have the capability to use an external keyboard (with Bluetooth).


I'm not certain, but I'm thinking you could use a USB keyboard with one of the cheap (<$1.00) converter cables with a female USB plug on one end and a micro-USB plug on the other end.


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## Xopher (May 14, 2009)

The USB port on the Fire is a Slave port, not a Host port, so you can't connect other Slave devices to it (like a mouse or keyboard).

It will be interesting to see how well bluetooth devices work witj the new Fires. I have a Motorola bluetooth keyboard I use with my PlayBook and gTablet. It makes a world of difference when needing to type out a lot of text.


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## Ronald (Sep 8, 2010)

The OTG cable is supposed to work with Android 3.2 and up.
I don't own a Fire but I use one on my Nexus 7 to plug in additional USB storage.
The N7 also only has the mini USB charging port. It also works with keyboard.
It does take a three dollar program off the market to enable it so data can be read but not written to the thumb drive. 
It doesn't need anything for the keyboard.
Ron


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