What to do When Laptop Keyboard is Not Working ?

It started with a particular key and now the malfunctionality has engulfed the entire keyboard. A defective keyboard can ruin your overall productivity. Has your laptop keyboard suddenly stopped responding? It can be a specific key or a bunch of keys that are taking ages to respond to. 

So, you may have to handle the situation on your own before calling an expert. As a matter of fact, many users have tried some proven fixes and they helped eradicate the issue from the laptop keyboard. Hence, you can try those tried-and-tested solutions and check if your keyboard is restored to its maximum potential.

Let’s get started, shall we?

Things to Do When the Keyboard Stops Working

Faulty keyboards can be a hazard. After all, it’s not a joke why Apple faced a lawsuit worth $395 just for its controversial Butterfly keyboards. However, Laptop Repair Dubai professionals have pointed out a few reasons behind your keyboard acting crazy. 

• Outdated keyboard driver or relevant issues
• Accumulated dirt on the keyboard
• Spilling a drink on your laptop keyboard
• Loose ribbon or connector between the keyboard and the motherboard
• Incorrect settings

So, it’s not always a hardware tantrum that can cause a keyboard malfunction; they can be software-related too. Hence, chances are that you may be able to mitigate them on your own. Let’s review some well-known troubleshooting tips before you give up on your keyboard.

1. Restart Your Laptop

Rebooting your computer is one of the most successful random tricks that you can apply in any situation. Indeed, a quick restart or reboot can resolve sudden unexpected glitches in your laptop components. Have you tried rebooting your device?

If not, do it now. A forced power-off and restart might be necessary in case your computer appears to be frozen. So, press and hold down your computer’s power button for 10 to 15 seconds or until your device shuts down.

Next, you can press the Power button again to turn on the laptop and see if the problem persists. Another hack that might be handy to see if the keyboard problem is universal to your device is to boot the laptop into Safe Mode. some applications might be interfering with your keyboard if all keys work perfectly fine in the Safe Mode.

However, you can proceed with the following troubleshooting steps if the keyboard still stays unresponsive in the Safe Mode.

2. Look for Dirt and Debris

When was the last time you cleaned your laptop keyboard? If you can’t remember then chances are that your keyboard needs a deep cleaning. Previously spilt drinks, excessive dirt and dust, etc. can make your keys jammed.

So, cleaning is the only way to restore your laptop keyboard’s functionality. Make sure that you unplug your laptop from the power outlet and turn off the device. Now, you can flip your laptop upside down with its lid open and shake the device gently. 

On the other hand, you can take a piece of lint-free cloth or a microfibre one. Wipe the keyboard gently with the piece of cloth. For best results, you can use a compressed air canister to remove stubborn debris from your keyboard.

3. Diagnose the Source of the Malfunction

Hitting the target in the dark will never give you fruitful output. Similarly, without understanding the cause you might not fix the keyboard menace. Find out whether your laptop keyboard suffers from a hardware failure or software glitch. With Windows laptops, you can enter the BIOS or UEFI setup to check what is preventing you from successful keystrokes.

Now, entering the computer’s UEFI or BIOS setup may vary from one brand or model to another. Typically, it requires the Delete, Escape, and some specific keys at the same time to launch the BIOS setup for most Windows laptops.

It’s a hardware problem for sure if you can’t enter and navigate the BIOS menu with the built-in keyboard. Otherwise, the problem lies with your Windows system. Ensure that you don’t make or save any changes while in the BIOS setup. Furthermore, carry on your fix with the following steps.

4. Detach Your Laptop’s Battery

Now, this hack might sound weird but many users have benefitted from it. However, the trick is exclusive to laptops that come with removable or external batteries. Here’s what you have to do:

• Turn off your laptop.
• Next, take the laptop’s battery out of it.
• Now, plug your laptop into the power outlet and power on your laptop.

Examine if your keyboard functions now. Why should your laptop keyboard work after detaching the battery? Chances are that your laptop battery may overheat and affect the functionality of the keyboard somehow. Later, you can place the battery in your device and see if the issue returns.

5. Modify Keyboard Settings

To be honest, specific software configurations can force your laptop keyboard to stop responding at all.  For example, Fast Startup, Filter Keys, etc. might be tempting for efficient typing but they can carry consequences. As a result, your keyboard or a section of it can fail miserably.

Let’s check out how you can disable the Fast Startup feature for the keyboard:

• Navigate to the Control Panel using the Search entity on your Windows laptop.
• Switch the View by setting it to Category. After that, click on Hardware and Sound.
• Next, choose Power Options. Hit the ‘Choose what the power buttons do’ link.
• Then, select the link that says, ‘Change Settings that are currently unavailable’.
• Uncheck the box next to ‘Turn on fast startup’.
• Now, hit the button called Save Changes.

Additionally, you can turn off the Filter Keys feature using the following guidelines:

• Open the Control Panel and ensure that the View By option is set to Category.
• Next, select Ease of Access and opt for ‘Change how your keyboard works’.
• Uncheck the box next right to the option saying ‘Turn on Filter Keys’.

Then, click the Apply button followed by the OK one to save all the settings. Check if these changes in the keyboard settings bring any improvement to the hardware. On a MacBook, you can turn off the Slow Keys option and see if it works.

6. Reinstall Keyboard’s Drivers

Outdated or corrupted keyboard drivers face difficulty connecting your keyboard to the laptop. Reinstalling the driver may help you get rid of the problem. So, here’s how you can reinstall the keyboard driver:

• Go to the Windows Search box and search for Device Manager.
• Open up the Device Manager. Within the window, locate the Keyboards option.
• Expand the Keyboards icon by double-clicking on it.
• After that, right-click on the keyboard device that is currently in use.
• Choose the Uninstall Device option and let the task be completed.
• Now, restart your laptop.

On rebooting, your computer will install the required keyboard driver automatically. Then, test your keyboard and see if the issue still exists.

7. Run Windows Troubleshooter

Windows operating system offers some self-help in situations that don’t come up with an explanation. Fortunately, you can run the dedicated Windows troubleshooter to diagnose the internal problem and find a solution immediately. So, let’s go through how you can run the Windows troubleshooter to discard the keyboard abnormalities:

• Access Settings with the help of the Windows+I shortcut.
• Next, choose the Update & Security option from the main Settings window.
• Select Troubleshoot from the left panel and go to the Keyboard option on the right panel.
• Hit the ‘Run the troubleshooter’ option.

The troubleshooter will start investigating the matter and tell you what’s wrong. Moreover, it will apply suitable solutions to fix the keyboard.

8. Adjust Your Keyboard Layout

Are you still stuck with the malfunctioning keyboard? It’s time to review the layout settings then. Indeed, apply this hack especially if your keyboard works but gives out a different character whenever you type. Thus, your laptop keyboard is set to a different layout rather than the intended one.

Here’s what you can do to go back to the native layout:

• Start by accessing Settings and select the section called Time & Language.
• Now, locate your language from the Preferred Languages column.
• Next, click the three-dotted option and hit the Languages option.
• Navigate to the Keyboards section and check you have set the right layout.

9. Scan Your Laptop

Malware and virus attacks can make your laptop keyboard vulnerable and misbehaving. Yes, viruses and malware can limit your laptop keyboard’s functionality.

Before it’s too late, run a full scan of your laptop using trusted antivirus software. Otherwise, you can rely on Windows Security or the native tool by Microsoft. You will find it pre-installed on your Windows laptop.

What Else Can you Do to fix the Laptop Keyboard?

As a quick fix, you can connect an external keyboard to your laptop and check if it works. Otherwise, the issue might lie within the motherboard level. Reseating the connection may be troublesome. So, consider laptop repair Duba professionals to restore your laptop’s keyboard as soon as possible.