Laptop keyboard does not work: How to fix it

reer Re The laptop keyboard is an essential part of the laptop. Without it, almost 50% of the device is rendered useless. If your laptop keyboard doesn’t work and you don’t know how to fix it, in the following post we show you how to fix it. Use laptop in bed without overheating

Here we will give you the best tips to fix your laptop keyboard without having to go to specialized and technical centers that involve a large outlay of money if your laptop is not under warranty.

Important : In the following steps to fix the laptop, you will need the touchpad to work correctly, otherwise, we will have to connect an external USB mouse and/or an external USB keyboard .

If we don’t have an external keyboard, Windows offers us a keyboard built into the laptop screen itself to be controlled with the mouse.

How to activate the on-screen keyboard in Windows 10

Windows incorporates a tool to be able to use the keyboard on the PC screen and manage it with the mouse. To access it we will do the following:

In the search bar at the bottom left of the screen, we type: On-screen keyboard.
We can use the keyboard on the screen through the mouse. It is not the most comfortable thing in the world, but it does not save you from trouble.

Now, if what we want is to fix the laptop keyboard, we will take into account the following.

What’s wrong with my laptop keyboard?

There are several types of cases and problems that can occur on a laptop keyboard. We show you the most common among which you surely feel identified:

The keyboard does not respond.
The keyboard responds by itself.
I press one key and it looks like I have pressed 10 at once.
A particular key does not work.
The key combination does not work.
The key that I am pressing does not correspond to the one that appears on the screen.

How to fix laptop keyboard if it doesn’t work

There can be several cases if the laptop keyboard does not work. First we must check if it is a physical or hardware problem or if it is due to software . This will be key to fix it.

How to fix it if it’s a software problem

Turn the laptop on and off

Sometimes the simplest solution is the most effective. For this reason, we recommend that the first thing you should do if the laptop keyboard does not work is to restart the computer to verify that it is not a specific problem.

Check Windows Components with Command Prompt

If our laptop doesn’t work because of the software, the first thing we should check is that all the Windows components work correctly. To do this, we will do the following:

In the search bar at the bottom left of the screen, we write: CMD or Command Prompt and run it as Administrator.
Once the window is open, we execute the following command: sfc /scannow
This process will check all Windows components. When finished we must restart the computer.

Update keyboard drivers or controllers

To update the drivers or system controllers , we will do the following:

In the search bar at the bottom left of the screen, we type: Device Manager .
We access the Keyboards or Keyboards section.
We select the devices that are within the section and by right clicking we give Update driver.

Reinstall keyboard drivers

If updating is not enough, we will try to reinstall the keyboard drivers. To reinstall the drivers, we must do the following:

In the search bar at the bottom left of the screen, we type: Device Manager .
We access the Keyboards or Keyboards section.
We select the devices that are within the section and by right clicking we give Uninstall driver.
We reboot the laptop so that Windows will automatically install the uninstalled driver at the next power on/boot.

Check that the keyboard is configured in our language

The fact that the keyboard does not work well can also be because it is not configured in our language. To check/configure it, we will do the following:

In the search bar at the bottom left of the screen, we write: Regional and language settings.
We check the language that is selected and if necessary we change it.

Install an antivirus os drivers or keyboard drivers

Viruses can affect all the components of a computer, so it will be essential to run the antivirus to check that there is no malware or malicious file affecting the operation of our laptop’s keyboard.

Here we leave you two posts with the best antivirus that we can find for free online:

How to fix it if it’s a hardware problem

If the problem is not with the software, it is probably a hardware problem (failing wiring or keys) and things get complicated here , because it will probably require a specialized service and professional technicians to solve the problem.

Check if it is a hardware problem: we enter the BIOS with the keyboard

To check if it is a hardware problem, the first thing we can do is enter the computer’s BIOS as follows:

We turn on the equipment and immediately press: DELETE + F2 , F8 or F12. If the laptop enters the BIOS, then the keyboard is fine and works properly and we surely need to format the computer.
If we cannot enter the BIOS following the steps above, then surely the problem of the keyboard not working is due to a hardware error.

Two solutions if the problem is hardware

This is the most recommended option, especially if the laptop is under warranty . Not only could we damage the computer, being able to take it to a specialized service at no cost , but when we open the laptop, we could lose the guarantee .

And if it is not under warranty, we should never open our laptop if we have not done so before, since it is such a delicate material, any error could render the rest of the equipment useless.

If we are not used to doing this kind of thing, our recommendation is that you leave it in the hands of an expert.