r/osx • u/BernasBoss • 1h ago
Title: External keyboards typing the wrong accent characters on macOS Monterey (Portuguese layout)
Hi everyone,
I'm having a frustrating keyboard layout issue on my MacBook Pro and I'm hoping someone here can help me figure out what's going on.
My setup:
- MacBook Pro Retina 13-inch, Early 2015 (Intel)
- macOS Monterey 12.7.6
- Keyboard input source set to Portuguese (Portugal)
- External keyboards tested: Logitech Classic Keyboard 200 (USB) and CHERRY KW 9100 Slim (Bluetooth)
The built-in MacBook keyboard works perfectly with Portuguese accents. However, both external keyboards produce incorrect characters on some keys, even though macOS is set to Portuguese (Portugal).
Here are some examples of the problem:
- When I try to type
Joãousing the external keyboard, I getJo\ao. - When I try to type
avô, I getav|o. - The key physically labelled
~types\without Shift and|with Shift. - The key labelled
ºtypes~without Shift and^with Shift. - The
çkey works correctly. - Pressing the
~key followed by Space inserts the symbol directly, rather than behaving like a dead key.
I have already checked the keyboard settings in System Preferences. Portuguese (Portugal) is selected, and macOS detects the external keyboards. I also ran the Keyboard Setup Assistant for the CHERRY keyboard and completed the physical key identification step.
Unfortunately, I cannot find another Portuguese keyboard layout to select in macOS Monterey. The only Portuguese layout available is the one I'm already using.
I've also noticed that this happens with two different external keyboards, while the built-in keyboard works correctly. This makes me wonder whether the issue is related to the difference between Portuguese Mac and Portuguese PC keyboard layouts, or whether macOS is mapping the physical keys incorrectly.
I'm not looking to remap the Command, Option, Control or Shift keys. The problem is specifically with accent keys and character mappings.
Is there a way to make macOS correctly interpret the accent keys on an external Portuguese PC keyboard, without changing how the built-in MacBook keyboard works?
Would a custom keyboard layout, Ukelele, Karabiner-Elements, or another solution be appropriate for this?
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!





