Why is my Laptop Keyboard not working properly?
You may suddenly find that your laptop keyboard is no longer responsive or a particular key(s) no longer work. There are several potential solutions to this type of problem which are provided below.
Please note that having a key on your laptop or your laptop keyboard stop working altogether doesn’t necessarily mean you have to replace your laptop with a new one. As stated above, there are some solutions to this problem that you can attempt before calling in an expert or buying a new laptop.
Warranty
If you are one of the lucky ones to still be within the warranty period for your laptop, you need to call the manufacturer’s support line as they can replace a defective keyboard. You will probably have to take it to their service depot and maybe without your laptop for a while. Please make sure that you back up all your data before you take your laptop in to be repaired.
Reboot your Laptop
You may be extremely lucky and find that all you need to do to solve the problem is to reboot your machine. Hold down the power button for around 15 seconds and turn the laptop off, reboot and cross your fingers!
Compressed Air
Buy a can of compressed air and spray the keyboard this will loosen and clean any dirt stuck under the keys which may be preventing your keystrokes from working.
Check your Connector Cable
If your connector cable is loose it can cause your keyboard to malfunction. Open your laptop and push the cable back in very firmly to ensure that it is securely connected.
Temporary Fix
If you are in urgent need of getting some work done and you have a USB desktop keyboard then plug it in and use it until you resolve the problem properly.
Laptop Membrane
There is a membrane under the keys in the keyboard and if the keys were pressed too hard, the membrane may have been destroyed for several keys. If you have experience in laptop repair and are confident enough to open up the keyboard, you can buy a membrane that fits your keyboard and replace it or else call in the professionals to do it for you.
Shake your Laptop
You may have food crumbs under the keys which are preventing them from working properly. Hold your laptop upside-down and give it a good shake – this works best with older laptops but worth a try if you have a newer model.
A Bad Connection
It could be that the keyboard has lost connection with the laptop’s motherboard which can cause the keyboard to only work occasionally or not at all. Unless you have a lot of computer repair experience, it is recommended for this job that you phone a reputable repair company to disassemble your laptop and reconnect the ribbon cable.
Driver Problem
You may have a driver problem if you consistently turn off your laptop without using the shutdown command or if you install third-party software. You need to check the device manager – is there is a yellow exclamation point on the keyboard line or if the keyboard icon doesn’t show at all you need to install the latest drivers for your keyboard.
Pop off the Keys
Firstly check in your manual to see if this is allowed. If it is okay, then you can pop off the keys with a flat-head screwdriver, clean then and put them back on – be very careful as you don’t want to compound the problem.
Summary
Please note that some of the solutions provided above do require some expertise and we do not recommend that they are undertaken unless you have experience in laptop repair.
Affordable Computer Repairs and Service, call us on 3397 1215 or 0409 974 707
