What the Symbols on the Back of a Keyboard Mean

While working on the label for our own box, I turned over the keyboard on my desk, a Lofree Flow 2, to see how someone else had done it. Along the bottom edge there's one line of text and a row of seven symbols. Most people never look at them. Each one is there because a country requires it, and most of them tell you something useful.

The bottom of a Lofree Flow 2. One line of text, seven marks.

The symbols

Reading left to right along the Flow 2:

FC (the FCC logo). United States. The Federal Communications Commission regulates anything that sends or leaks radio signals, which covers every wireless keyboard and, to a smaller degree, every wired one. The logo itself is optional; no product has needed it since 2017. What matters legally is the FCC ID in the text, which we'll get to below.

CE. European Union. It means the maker declares the product meets the EU rules that apply to it: radio, electrical interference, electrical safety, and restricted chemicals. For most electronics there is no government inspector involved. The manufacturer tests (usually through a lab), signs a declaration, and applies the mark. It isn't a quality rating.

The "10" inside a circle of arrows. China. This is China's RoHS mark, about hazardous substances such as lead, mercury and cadmium. The number is the "environment-friendly use period": the number of years the maker says the product can be used normally without those substances leaking out. The numbered version means the product contains at least one of them above the limit, which is common in electronics (lead in some solder and brass parts, for example). A product under every limit gets a green "e" in a circle instead. Neither means the keyboard is unsafe to use. They are mostly about what happens at end of life.

The crossed-out wheelie bin. European Union and UK. Don't throw this in household rubbish. Electronics and batteries go to e-waste collection, and the producers (makers and importers) have to fund that. The bar under the bin means the product was put on the market after 13 August 2005.

IC. Canada. Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) is Canada's version of the FCC. Its approval numbers still start with "IC", after its old name, Industry Canada. Like the FCC logo, the matching ID number in the text is the important part.

The circle with a lightning bolt. Japan. This is the Giteki mark, Japan's radio approval. It's a stylised version of the Japanese postal symbol 〒 with a lightning bolt through it, and it gets mistaken for a little rabbit a lot. Without it, a Bluetooth device can't legally be used in Japan.

R in a box, then 219-259350. Also Japan. The R says this is a radio equipment approval, and the number is the certificate. The first three digits identify which certification body issued it.

The text

The line of text carries the IDs and ratings the symbols refer to.

FCC ID: 2AC59-OE928. The part before the dash is the grantee code, the company that holds the approval. The part after is the product code it chose. Every FCC ID is public, and this is the most useful thing on the label for a curious buyer: type it into fcc.report or the FCC's own search and you can usually see the test reports, the user manual, external photos, and internal photos of the circuit board. Some of those are held back as confidential for a while after approval, but most are there.

IC: 32474-OE928. Canada's equivalent. Company number, then product number. Note that Lofree used the same product code, OE928, for both. That's common and it makes life easier for everyone.

CMIIT ID: 25J4483KB456. China's radio approval (often called SRRC), issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). In the current format, used since 1 December 2023, the first two digits are the year the application went in, so this one was filed in 2025. Older IDs start with a four-digit year instead. Any Bluetooth product sold in China needs one.

执行标准 Certified: GB/T 14081-2010. Chinese labelling law asks products to state the standard they're made to. GB/T 14081 is China's general specification for keyboards. The "/T" means it's a recommended standard, not a mandatory one.

Model, battery and input. Model OE928. Battery 3.7 V / 2000 mAh, which is about 7.4 Wh (volts times amp-hours). Input 5 V ⎓ 1 A, where the ⎓ symbol means direct current. Carriers and marketplaces like Amazon care about the battery rating because lithium batteries are regulated in shipping.

Made in China, and the maker's name. Country of origin marking is a legal requirement for imports into the US and many other countries, and it has to be permanent and visible to the end customer. The company name tells you who is responsible for the product.

On the box

The box has its own set of markings, aimed more at warehouses and shops than at you.

• A barcode. Usually a UPC (12 digits, North America) or EAN (13 digits, most other places). It identifies the product, not the individual unit. Amazon sometimes adds its own barcode sticker, but brand owners can now have Amazon scan the maker's barcode instead.
• The battery rating in Wh, for the same shipping reasons as above.
• A California Prop 65 warning on many electronics sold in the US: "WARNING: Cancer and Reproductive Harm - www.P65Warnings.ca.gov." California requires it when a product can expose people to a chemical on a long state list above a set level, and cable insulation and plastics often contain them. It's a disclosure rule, so it shows up on a lot of everyday products. Under rule changes that took effect in 2025, products made from 2028 that use this short form also have to name at least one of the chemicals.
• ® or ™ next to a brand name. ® means the trademark is registered in that country. ™ just means the company claims the name. Using ® before registration isn't allowed.

You may also see a rectangular lithium battery mark with "UN3481" on shipping cartons. That's for freight handlers. A retail box holding one keyboard with one built-in battery doesn't need it.

Quick reference