Gordon,
Not sure if it a help or not.
Had a similar thing with a Chinese Android, a Bluetooth Keyboard was paired but wouldn't work off the bat.
Ended up there was an "Input Method" selector app that allowed me to select the keyboard.
Can't remember what it was called.
Sorry its a bit vague, it wasn't my tablet (I was just doing a favour) and the user has long since replaced it with another.
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