Whether it is a Windows laptop or an Apple MacBook, if your keyboard is working erratically or stopped working completely, here are a few hacks you can try before taking it to a repair shop.
How to fix laptop keyboard keys not working?
Restart your laptop
In general, whenever you face issues with your laptop, you should try to restart it. Restarting your laptop will help clean out the computer’s memory and restart all your drivers, programs, and utilities. This sort of refreshes your laptop and helps it work to full operation.
Check for any hardware issues
If restarting your laptop hasn’t helped you much, you could check if the problem is in the keyboard’s hardware or your laptop’s software. The best way to check is to see if it work in pre-boot environment. If the keyboard works well before Windows starts, you can look for software solutions. Otherwise, we recommend you get the laptop repaired by an expert. For Mac users, we recommend you keep troubleshooting as there is no pre-boot environment.
Clean your keyboard
Not all keyboard problems may seem like a serious hardware error. Sometimes your keyboard may not be working properly due to some dirt and debris under the keys. To make sure that it is simply a matter of dirt under the keys, you can use a small brush or microfibre cloth to clean the keys and extract any debris that might have come under or between the keycaps. Additionally, you could dab a cloth with rubbing alcohol and wipe away any dried liquids or stuck-on dirt gently. For more thorough cleaning, you can blast a can of compressed air into the gaps between keys.
Check the keyboard drivers and settings
If your keyboard issues are due to any software issues, you can try updating your keyboard driver. For Windows Laptop; For MacBook;
Get the right keyboard layout
Even though you are tapping the right keys, you get different characters or wrong characters, which may mean that your keyboard layout might have changed accidentally. Check the layout and fix it. For Windows; For Mac;
Use an external keyboard
Despite trying all the above-mentioned hacks, if your keyboard refuses to budge, you can try plugging in an external keyboard. In most cases, regardless of whether your built-in keyboard is facing hardware or software issues, an external keyboard will work. You can consider using this external keyboard till you get your laptop serviced. So, that’s how to fix laptop keyboard keys if not working. Do let us know your experience in the comment section below.
