The keyboard is undoubtedly the most-used peripheral in our day-to-day life. Whether you’re chatting with a friend, playing a game, or organizing data in your Excel sheet, you won’t be able to continue doing this if the input device stops working.
As with any other laptop, Dell users have complained about their keyboard running intermittently or not working at all! While liquid spill is one of the common causes, you could also experience this problem due to other hardware/software-related issues.
Before You Begin:In some troubleshooting techniques below, you’ll require a keyboard. So, we recommend getting an external one or you’re able to simply proceed with the Windows’ built-inOn-Screen Keyboard.
General Troubleshooting Tips
When talking about the keyboard not working issue, there can be different scenarios. Is thekeyboard not responding at allorjust a few keys are not working? Moreover, you could face a situation where thekeys type different charactersorcertain ones respond too slowly.
Power Cycle Your Dell Laptop
Power cycling resets the configuration parameters and can even solve the laptop’s unresponsive state. This way, any hardware facing power issues is solved and the device is brought back to life. Here’s how to do it on any Dell model:
Run Keyboard Troubleshooter
Windows Operating System has dedicated troubleshooters to fix related issues. One of many is the Keyboard Troubleshooter which helps you detect possible hardware and software-related problems. Also, it diagnoses and ensures that all its settings are working fine.
Run Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter
Sometimes, the problems can be caused by other devices too. Unlike the earlier one, the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter finds issues in the overall hardware components of your Dell laptop and tries to fix them.
However, the option is not available in Windows Settings. Instead, you need to use a dedicatedrun command, and here’s how to do it:
Run Dell SupportAssist Diagnostic
Dell offers its users both online and offline diagnostic tools. You candownload it from their official websitefor free. After installing the Dell SupportAssist Diagnostic tool on your device, you can now scan for possible keyboard issues from the dedicated section:
Additional Tip:Dell also recommends running an online diagnostic test if your keyboard isn’t responding. So, if you’re not interested in downloading the offline tool, we highly recommend using this feature.
Change Keyboard Language Layout
In some cases, you may notice that some of the keys print different characters. Usually, this happens due to misconfigured keyboard layout.
By default, Windows uses English (United States). If you’ve intentionally or unintentionally configured it to a different one (say United Kingdom), you’re likely going to get this issue. This is because the US layout uses the ANSI convention while the UK layout utilizes the ISO standard. Likewise, your preferred one could be using a different one.
Basically, it varies based on different regions. To fix this on Windows 11, here’s what you need to do:
Check the Human Interface Device Service
The Human Interface Device (HID) is one of the Windows services that manage the proper use of hot buttons on the keyboard as well as other peripherals. If your laptop has the HID Keyboard driver, it’s essential for the service to be running. Also, a simple restart can sometimes fix the problem:
Update Your Keyboard Drivers
A keyboard driver is the one that controls your laptop keypad and acts as the interface between the hardware and OS. However, if you’re running an incompatible or corrupted driver, it can cause the keyboard to malfunction. Here’s how toupdate driverson Windows 11:
If updating the keyboard driver didn’t work, you cantry uninstallingfirst and installing it back:
Additional Tip:If updating and reinstalling the drivers from Device Manager didn’t help, navigate toDell’s official driver support pageto search and install it manually. Also, you can try booting in safe mode.
Rollback the Updates
A corrupted driver or OS update is also one of the main causes of a Dell laptop keyboard not working. If you’re also experiencing a similar situation, we advise rolling back both these updates.
Follow the below guide to revert your keyboard driver update in five steps:
Sometimes, Windows updates run without your knowledge. In case, the update is corrupted, you might want to delete the recent one:
If rolling back the updates didn’t help, we recommendrestoring your system. This will revert your Dell laptop’s state to a previous point in time when your keyboard was running fine.
Clean the Keyboard
Over time, your laptop keyboard gets exposed to dust, pet hairs, food particles, and more. When the debris gets stuck beneath the key cap, you might find difficulty in pressing them. So, we always recommend cleaning your keyboard once in a while, which should alsofix the keys that are sticky. Below is a quick guide on how you can do it properly:
Update Dell BIOS
Sinceupdating BIOScan fix related bugs with the specific component, it’s a good idea to flash a new one if available. However, even a slight misconfiguration can cause serious problems. So, kindly follow the exact steps below and avoid downloading any third-party firmware.
Caution:A power failure during the BIOS update can brick your laptop. As a prevention, ensure the battery is fully charged or is connected to a power outlet.
Check for Hardware Issues
If none of the solutions helped, the final solution is to check for possible hardware failure. For some Dell users,reseating the keyboard connectorcan help. But in other cases, you may need to take your laptop to the service center.
According to hardware technicians, the most common cause of keyboard failure issome form of liquid spill. If that’s what has happened, you may have bricked your laptop, which has ultimately caused some or more keys to stop working.
If you have a modular Dell laptop, it’s possible to change just the keyboard panel. But in the worst case, you may require replacing your motherboard.
