I purchased the Smart Keyboard for my iPad Pro 10.5 on the first day it was available. It worked well for about 2 years and I don’t remember from when it suddenly stopped working. Nothing happens if I connect it to my iPad. After some googling I found that this seems to be a common problem encountered by other Smart Keyboard owners. But no reliable solutions to this problem can be found. The only thing that’s clear is that Apple doesn’t admit this product has a defect and only launched a recall for Smart Keyboards of the first generation iPad Pro. Since my iPad Pro 10.5 is the second generation and the keyboard is out of warranty, I didn’t bother to go to the apple store for a repair. Instead, I just put the keyboard in my draw.
However, yesterday I took it out and tried to see if I can make it work again, since I’ve been at home for a long time due to the COVID-19 situation. It turns out that the problem is indeed a design defect. It’s caused by the “smart connector” of the first generation of Smart Keyboard. Good news is that this problem is easy to fix.
If you remove the small plastic cover around the three metal connectors of the smart connector, you can see that there are three thin metal slices. It’s probable that after one or two years, they had some deformation which makes the connection between the keyboard and the iPad less reliable or, in my case, not working at all. The solution is easy and straightforward - just lift them a little bit with a needle or knife. Now, my “Smart” Keyboard works perfectly again.
Hope this helps other owners of the “Smart Keyboard”.