
FAQs
How do I use the Touchpad?
There are variety of different touchpad commands. Scroll down the page to the Touchpad section.
How do I change profiles on my keyboard?
Use the Profile Switch to toggle between Profile 1 (White) and Profile 2 (Blue)
If you are using the keyboard in Wired mode the Profile LED will illuminate Green and all keystrokes will be sent over USB to the connected device regardless of the position of the Profile Switch.
How should I charge the battery?
The Form uses a custom, rechargeable lithium-ion 2100 mAh battery.
Connect the keyboard to your PC using the included USB A-to-C cable. A full charge should take 8-10 hours and when the keyboard is connected to a power source it will run off of USB power. While charging the keyboard will send all keystrokes to the PC so we recommend charging overnight.
Charging and Safety
For best results connect the keyboard directly to a USB-A port on your PC. If you are charging from a non-PC, make sure the charger is rated not-to-exceed 5V/500mA to ensure the keyboard does not receive more power than it can safely handle. Charging from a high-powered source can damage the battery, void your warranty, and potentially render the keyboard unsafe.
Battery Life
Battery usage will vary from user-to-user and will depend greatly on your settings. To extend your battery life try dimming or disabling the backlighting using the command Mod + F7. The battery is only rated for a given number of charge cycles so we recommend charging the battery only when necessary to maximize its life span.
To check the current battery charge level, use the command Mod + F12 and the indicator LEDs will display the status of the battery:
- Green: More than 80%
- Yellow: 51-79%
- Orange: 21-50%
- Red: Less than 20% (Charge soon)
Battery end of life
All Lithium-Ion batteries like those used in the Form eventually reach their end of life. The battery will stop holding a charge and it may even expand and press the keyboard case apart. If you notice that your battery is expanding, please stop using the keyboard, turn the power switch off and contact Kinesis immediately.
Which version of firmware should I run?
Developing a driverless keyboard with an integrated touchpad meant that it was impossible to optimize the keyboard performance for all operating systems simultaneously.
- The factory installed firmware was optimized for use with Windows by enabling support for multi-finger gestures.
- Mac users may wish to change the modifier key layout to a conventional Apple keyboard in which case they should install the 6 additional keycaps and flash the Mac firmware (available below).
- Living room users may prefer to use a simplied version of firmware (available below) where the touchpad operates as a basic mouse for pointing and clicking.
What do the indicator LEDs mean?
- Profile LED Solid Green: Keyboard is sending keystrokes over USB.
- Profile LED Off: Keyboard is currently connected to the device in the active Profile.
- Profile LED Flashing Rapidly: The active Profile is ready to be paired with a new Bluetooth device.
- Profile LED Flashing Slowly: The active Profile is currently paired BUT the Bluetooth device is not in range. If that device is on and in range, “try clearing” the pairing connection and starting again.
How do I extend my battery life?
The best way to extend battery life is to disable/reduce backlighting when not strictly necessary. Use the command Fn + F7 to reduce the backlighting level until it’s off, or at the lowest acceptable level.
How do I access the media keys?
Each of the 12 F-Keys feature a special secondary function which is legended on the lower half of the key. These functions can be accessed by PRESSING AND HOLDING the Fn Key and then tapping the desired key. Release the Fn key to resume normal use. Note: Not all operating systems support all special actions.
F1: Volume Mute
F2: Volume Down
F3: Volume Up
F4: Previous Track
F5: Play/Pause
F6: Next Track
F7: Keyboard Brightness Down and Off
F8: Keyboard Brightness Up
F9: Laptop Screen Brightness Down
F10: Laptop Screen Brightness Up
F11: Clear the Bluetooth connection for the Active Profile
F12: Display Battery Level
Troubleshooting
If your FORM keyboard is not working as expected, you have several options.
Step 1: Reference the FAQs above and the Troubleshooting Tips at right for targeted tips.
Step 2: Power Cycling is a common fix for almost any problem:
- Disconnect the keyboard from a USB connection (if applicable) and slide the Power Switch to the Off position.
- Wait 30 seconds and then connect the keyboard to your PC or slide the Power Switch right to the On position. Repeat as necessary.
Step 3: Profile Cycling is a common fix for occasional Bluetooth Connectivity Problems:
- Toggle the Profile Switch to the alternate position, and then toggle it back.
- Wait 5-10 seconds to see if the Profile LED goes off to indicate a successful re-connection. Repeat as necessary.
Step 4: Connectivity or Touchpad Problems may require re-pairing the keyboard from scratch:
- Use the Bluetooth Clear command Fn+F11 to erase the connection for the Active Profile on the keyboard.
- Navigate to your PC’s Bluetooth and select the “Remove” or “Forget” device option.
- Once you have erased the connection at BOTH the keyboard-side and PC-side, then try re-pairing the keyboard from scratch.
Step 5: If you still need help, use the link at the bottom of the page to submit a Trouble Ticket to Kinesis.
Open up a text editor program and use the command Fn+V to print-to-screen the firmware version:
- TV-Optimized: 20240529-mous-24f4716
- Mac-Layout: 20240527-mac-45352ca
- Windows Default: 20240527-wind-eca58b8
Unfortunately the FORM touchpad does not have a physical click mechanism or haptic feedback.
Not all operating systems support a keyboard with an integrated touchpad. If the touchpad is not working, download and flash the TV-optimized firmware file to convert the touchpad into a simple mouse for pointing and clicking.
https://kinesis-ergo.com/support/form/#firmware
Linux Note: The FORM is compliant with all relevant Linux specifications regarding feature reports and multi touch. And the touchpad works well on many, but not all distributions of Linux. Typically performance is better over USB than BLE. We have positive reports from Ubuntu users and some negative reports from Fedora users.
The main Linux Bluetooth Stack (BlueZ) had a long-standing bug that prevented HID feature reports from working.
- Disconnect and then re-connect the keyboard to a PC using the USB cable and allow it to sit for 30 minutes in the event of a dead battery.
- After 30 minutes test for basic keyboard function.
- If the keyboard works, disconnect it and slide the Power Switch to the right to the On position. Observe whether the Profile LED flashes rapidly, slowly or is solid and then turns off after 5 seconds.
If the Profile LED flashes rapidly, the keyboard is not paired in the Active Profile (White or Blue).
If the Profile LED flashes slowly, the keyboard was previously paired in this Profile but is not able to re-connect with that device. The device may be powered down, out of range, or just struggling to connect. Try toggling the Profile Switch several times to “jog” the connection.
If the Profile LED turns off, the keyboard is connected to the previously paired device for the Active Profile and everything is in working order.
In any case, you will want to charge the battery for 8-10 hours at your earliest convenience.
Toggle the Profile Switch to change the active device.
The keyboard will always send keystrokes to whichever computer it is plugged into, regardless of profile or pairing status. If you want to send key strokes to a device wirelessly, the keyboard cannot be connected to any other computer via the USB cable.
If your computer doesn’t have native support for Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) devices you have several options:
- Connect the via USB and use the FORM exclusively as a “wired” keyboard. .
- Purchase a 3rd party Bluetooth dongle that can connect to your PC. Finding a dongle that will work well with your PC and our keyboard can be tricky but we recommended the TP Link UB4A (Available from Amazon).
Certain users may perceive a subtle flicker in the backlight at lower intensity levels. Try using the combination Fn + F8 to increase the brightness until the flicker goes away.
When the Profile LED flashes slowly it means that the keyboard has stored a Bluetooth connection for the active Profile, but that particular PC is not in range (or not available to connecT). Check that PC and confirm that it is powered on and Bluetooth is enabled. Then try Power Cycling and/or Profile Cycling.
If those don’t work, you should remove the keyboard from the device in it’s Bluetooth menu AND then use the Bluetooth Clear command on the keyboard (Fn+ F11) and try re-pairing from scratch.
When the Profile LED is flashing rapidly it means the keyboard has not been paired over Bluetooth in the active Profile, but is currently “discoverable”. So you either need to pair the keyboard in this Profile, or toggle to the alternate Profile using the Profile Switch.
Unfortunately because of the way the keyboard “registers” itself with the host-PC, it is not possible to pair the keyboard with both operating systems in a dual-boot environment, regardless of Profile selection.
The best workaround is using one O/S wired and the other O/S over Bluetooth.
In some cases a failure to properly “Remove”/”Forget” a previous Bluetooth connection from the computer-side can result in a failed handshake which causes keyboard or touchpad lag.
If you are experiencing this issue while using the keyboard via USB connection, you will want to navigate to your PC’s Bluetooth menu.
macOS: Find any additional instances of the FORM keyboard and select “Forget this Device”.
Windows: Find any additional instances of the FORM keyboard and select “Remove this Device” .
Touchpad
Your Form features an integrated Windows Precision Touchpad which supports pointing, clicking, scrolling and gestures on Windows 10/11. Non-Windows devices should support basic pointing, clicking and scrolling.
Point
Slide your finger across the touchpad surface to move your cursor. If you find the cursor speed inadequate you can adjust the settings via the connected device. Depending on the operating system, the cursor speed is either adjusted through Touchpad settings (if applicable) or Mouse Settings.
- Adjusting Speed on Windows 10/11: Settings > Devices > Touchpad > Change Cursor Speed
- Adjusting Speed on macOS: System Settings > Mouse
Tap-to-Click
- Single Click: Tap anywhere on the touchpad to click. Note: The touchpad does not have a physical click mechanism or haptic feedback.
- Double Click: Tap the touchpad twice in rapid succession. Double click sensitivity can be adjusted in your Touchpad or Mouse settings
- Right Click: Tap two adjacent fingers at the same time
- Multi-Select/Drag: Double-tap the touchpad rapidly and hold the second tap, then move your finger.
Scroll
Place two adjacent fingers on the touchpad and move them up, down, left or right to scroll. Depending on the operating system, the scroll direction is either adjusted through Touchpad settings (if applicable) or Mouse Settings. Note: Not all operating systems and/or applications support horizontal scrolling.
Multi-Finger Gestures
Gestures on Windows
Windows 10/11 supports a large suite of 3 and 4 finger swipes and taps which can be customized to perform a variety of actions like Volume Control, App Switching, Desktop Switching, Search, Action Center etc.
Configure Here: Settings > Devices > Touchpad
Gestures on non-Windows
Some operating systems, like Chrome and certain Linux distributions, support a limited suite of multi-finger gestures in certain applications for 3rd party touchpads. We look forward to more operating systems expanding their support for gestures.
Unfortunately, Apple has chosen not to support any multi-finger gestures on 3rd party touchpads.
Firmware
Your Form keyboard has been programed with the latest version of Windows-optimized firmware as of its factory build date. We currently offer 2 alternate versions of firmware which can be installed to customize the performance of the Form for Mac and Living Room users.
Firmware Installation Instructions
1) Download the desired file at right
2) Connect the keyboard to your PC over USB, and double-click the Reset button on the underside of the keyboard to mount a removable drive called “FORM”.
3) Unzip and copy/paste the downloaded firmware file on to the “FORM” drive. The indicator LEDs will flash blue while the firmware is installed. When the indicators stop flashing the keyboard is ready to use.
Important Note: Most versions of macOS will report a file transfer “Error Code 36” with Finder but the update will still take place.
Mac-Layout Firmware
Convert the bottom row to the standard Mac modifier sequence
Form Mac-Layout Firmware
Mouse-Mode Firmware
Convert the touchpad to a basic mouse for enhanced compatibility on non-Windows systems
Form Mouse-Mode Firmware
Windows Default Firmware
Convert back to the original factory settings after installing one of the above files
Form Factory Default Windows Firmware

Submit a Trouble Ticket
Not finding your answer?
Submit a trouble ticket and a support technician will respond to you in a timely manner.