
Missing the Apple key on your third-party keyboard? Here’s how to get it back.
Whether you’re building a Hackintosh or using a non-Apple keyboard (like a mini wireless keyboard) with your Mac, you may find that you need to map the non-existent command key (Apple key) to another button. This will let you use Mac keyboard shortcuts that use ⌘, even on a Windows keyboard.

It’s pretty easy to do. I’ll show you how.
Setup the Command Key on a Windows Keyboard
- Plug your keyboard into the USB port on your Mac, Macbook, iMac, Mac Pro, Mac Mini, or whatever you’ve got.
- Go to System Preferences > Keyboard.
- In the lower-right-hand corner, click Modifier Keys…

- Choose your keyboard from the Select keyboard drop-down. If you are using a wireless USB keyboard, it may show up as something like a “2.4 GHz receiver.”
- Reassign one of the keys to the command key. In this case, I reassigned the control key.

Note that if you have a keyboard with a Windows key, that will usually type the command key by default. If not, experiment with the other options to see which one works best for you.
Did this tip help you out? Tell us what kind of keyboard you used in the comments.