How to Fix Laptop Keyboard Not Working | Windows 10, 8, 7

First, it’s important to mention, that laptop keyboards are designed to auto-configure from the BIOS, so they are basically plug-and-play kind of hardware that should function even without Windows installation.

However, after installing Windows, they do install some drivers (also automatically) to enable them to interact with the different Windows features. You can also install the keyboard language package to further define the functions of different keys.

Generally, keyboard operations are rarely obstructed by any kind of updates. The suggestions below cover both hardware and software related issues that could be causing such a problem with your keyboard.

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Solution 1: Check Hardware Components

Since this is more commonly a hardware related issue, and depending on the recent events before you started experiencing this problem, is advisable to start off by checking the hardware components related to your keyboard. This is more so if you started experiencing this problem after making some hardware repairs on your PC.

Here you can consider reseating the keyboard cable connector to be sure is properly put in place before any other troubleshooting. Needless to say, that if this is the issue, then no matter what other solutions you try to implement, the problem won’t go away.

So open your laptop till you’re able to access the keyboard connector cable,(If you can’t do this yourself, then you can seek the help of a specialist). Detach the cable connector using an appropriate tool, clean the connector with a dry cotton, reattach the cable firmly, couple back your laptop and test again to see if your keyboard now works properly again. If that doesn’t resolve the issue, then you can proceed with the other suggestions.

For the following suggestions, you can try to use only the mouse as much as possible, if you have access to an external USB keyboard, then that can help you get through some of these steps a bit faster, but if you don’t have any, then you can also use the default onscreen keyboard provided in Windows.

With that, if you are still on this login screen, then click on this ease of access button on the right-end corner and select on-screen keyboard. That should pop up a virtual keyboard like this, use that to type in your password and login to your PC.

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Solution 2: Run Complete Windows Update

Although quite rare, there could be times when you end up with some kind of partial updates, where certain applications, systems files or drivers are updated while others are not, or worse still, some drivers get partially updated and end up being corrupt.

In such situations, running a full Windows update can be the quick and easy way to resolve this issue. To do that, from the start button, click on the gear icon to open your Windows settings.

Here click on update and security. Then check for updates.

This could take a while depending on the speed of your connection and how much updates it needs to download. But afterward, you should have a message like this saying you’re up to date, and then you should restart your computer and see if that resolves the problem.

If you encounter some errors trying to run Windows update, check out our article on How to Fix Windows 10 Update Error 0x80080008.

 Solution 3: Reinstall Your Keyboard Drivers

Again, you can do that using only the mouse, so right-click on the start button and select device manager. On the device manager, go to keyboards and click on the drop-down. Here right-click on this standard PS2 keyboard and select uninstall device. On this pop-up, click uninstall. After uninstalling, it will prompt you to restart your computer. Here ensure you’ve saved your works and closed your applications, then hit yes to restart your computer and check if that resolved the issue.

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Usually, upon restarting, the keyboard drivers would be installed automatically, but if that doesn’t happen for you, then you might need to install the drivers manually, to do that, go back to the device manager page. Here you will need an internet connection, so ensure, you’re connected to the internet. Right-click on the keyboard and select update drivers.

Here choose search automatically for updated driver software and wait for the driver to download and install. After that restart again and see if that resolved the issue.

Solution 4: Check Your Keyboard Settings Under Ease of Access

To do that, go to the start menu and click on the gear icon to open your Windows settings.Here click on Ease of Access.

Then on the left pane here scroll down to where it says keyboard and click on it. Then on this keyboard settings page, first check to ensure that you have these default settings correctly in place.

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Then next go to where it says Use Filter Keys, by default it should be switched off. Here we will first switch it on, restart the computer. Return back to this settings page and switch it back off and see if that resolves the issue.

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Solution 5: Check for Synaptics Drivers and Uninstall Them

There’s a widespread claim that the updated version of this driver doesn’t work well with Windows 10, and could cause such problems as your keyboard not working.

Here you should uninstall whatever version of the Synaptics driver you may have, and restart your computer. Upon restarting, Windows will automatically install the older version of this driver which is more compatible with Windows 10.

To do that, go back to the device manager, and search for Synaptics drivers, not all computers have this driver, so you can skip this fix if you don’t find it in your device manager. But if you find it, then simply right-click and select uninstall, then restart your computer and see if that resolves the issue.

If everything else fails, then consider replacing your keyboard entirely. You might need the help of a technician to do this, if you decide to order one yourself, then ensure you use the exact specifications of your laptop to ensure you order the right keyboard. And while you wait you can, of course, be using an extern keyboard for the time being.

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Please share your comments, questions, and feedback in the comment section below.

The following video demonstrates the solutions in this tutorial.