A laptop without a keyboard is a problematic mess, right? The Keyboard is what makes a laptop different than a tablet or desktop. And if it stops working or some of its buttons becomes unresponsive, your laptop becomes somewhat redundant. While facing such issues with the desktop, you can simply replace the Keyboard, however, one cannot do the same with a laptop.
If your laptop’s Keyboard has also stopped working or became partially unresponsive, you would want to fix it quickly. But before finding fixes to get rid of this issue, it will be helpful to discover whether this is a software glitch or a hardware glitch. To get answers for all such questions and learn, “Best ways to fix laptop’s keyboard not working issue,” make sure you read the article till the end.
Reasons- why your laptop’s Keyboard has stopped working?
There could be various reasons that can lead your laptop’s Keyboard to stop working.
- Due to dirt or dust inside the Keyboard.
- Hardware issues.
- Outdated or corrupted keyboard drivers.
- Wrong regional settings.
As you see, the reasons are enough to define that the issue can be due to some hardware or software glitch. That is why before trying any fix, let us find out ‘if this is a hardware problem or a software problem.’
Is the Problem Hardware or Software?
The only attempt to diagnose whether the “keyboard not working” issue is occurring due to a hardware or software glitch is “entering the BIOS”.
Restart your laptop and try to enter the BIOS or UEFI setting. For doing so, press F2, Delete or Esc key. The exact key that will let you enter the BIOS or UEFI will get displayed at the bottom of the screen while your system restarts.
During this process, if you are successfully able to enter the BIOS or UEFI screen, it means the Keyboard not working issue is related to some software glitch. However, if you can’t enter BIOS or UEFI, it indicates that the problem is related to hardware.
How to fix a laptop keyboard not working if it is a hardware issue?
If the problem is due to some hardware glitch, follow the quick fixes given below:
FIX 1: Clean your Keyboard:
Cleaning your laptop or any other device should be a regular ritual so that it does not clog up dirt and dust. For cleaning your laptop’s Keyboard:
- Shut down and unplug the laptop.
- Now in the open position, hold the laptop upside down and tap on its base. If there any dirt or dust particles clogged at the side gaps of the keys, it will come out.
- After that, try to clean the edges with a cotton ear bud softly.
- Alternatively, you can also blow cold air lightly into the gaps beside keys in the Keyboard.
FIX 2: Remove your laptop’s battery:
If the above fix doesn’t work for you, then consider this one:
- Turn your laptop upside-down and remove the battery. Sometimes battery overheating might cause the Keyboard not working issue.
- Here either let the battery rest for an hour, plug-in it again, restart your laptop, and try using the Keyboard.
OR
- Try to use the laptop without the battery directly through the power supply and check whether it makes the keyboard work.
If both of these fixes do not work for you, we recommend visiting a professional. There may be chances that the Keyboard might have disconnected with the motherboard or some internal manufacturing damage.
Note: Opening up the Keyboard by yourself and trying to find and fix the fault can be highly risky, and you might end up damaging the entire device.
How to fix a laptop keyboard not working if it is a software issue?
If the laptop keyboard not working issue is related to any software glitch, then the fixes given below will help you.
Important Note: You would require to attach an external keyboard before using the fixes given below.
FIX 3: Install the Default Drivers:
The default drivers are automatically initialized if your system does not find suitable drivers for your device (while starting the operations). For installing the default drivers:
- Open the RUN prompt by pressing WINDOWS + R
- Now type “devmgmt.msc ” and click on OK.
- On the Device Manager window, locate and expand
- Right-click on Standard PS/2 Keyboard and select the option Uninstall the driver.
- Now restart your laptop.
While starting again, the system will detect the missing driver and will install the default driver automatically. Meanwhile, if you do not see the driver, then right-click anywhere on the device manager window and select Search for hardware changes. It will then show up the default driver.
Also, if you see the keyboard device icon has an exclamation mark (yellow) then right-click on it and then, select Update driver. Later download and install the driver after manually from your laptop manufacturer’s official website.
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FIX 4: Change ease of Access Settings:
At times, some settings that are not configured properly in your system might cause a “laptop keyboard not working issue.” Similar is the “Ease of Access” settings that might affect your Keyboard’s performance. To fix this:
- Open Control Panel and select the option Ease of Access Center.
- On the next window select the option Make the Keyboard more comfortable to use.
- Now uncheck the tick boxes located before the following option;
Turn on Mouse keys
Turn on Sticky Keys
Turn on Toggle Keys
Turn on Filter Keys
- Finally, click on Apply and then OK.
Note: The filter Keys feature has got designed to ignore brief or repeated keystrokes. If turned on by default on laptops, it can cause a working keyboard issue.
Once done with the above steps, you must now check whether the Keyboard is working or not,
Whenever your laptop keyboard stops working, then the fixes mentioned above will definitely help you. If a few of the keys are behaving unresponsive, they are jammed due to some or the other reasons. However, if the entire Keyboard is unresponsive, then the issue would need the fixes mentioned in this article.
So, this was all about “best ways to fix laptop keyboard not working issue.” We hope all the information mentioned in this article provides you helpful and informative guidance. If you have any queries or feedback, please write down the comment in the below comment box.
