All of us laptop owners have gone through this. You start to use your device for a while, and all of a sudden, the arrow keys stop working. Fortunately, any problem could get fixed, and that includes this one.
Reinstall your Keyboard Driver
In some cases, your arrow keys malfunctioning could be because of your keyboard driver. It may be experiencing some problems that may lead you to reinstalling it. To reinstall your keyboard driver, hover over the Start menu in the bottom left corner of your screen. Right-click on it and a pop-up menu will come up. Click on Device Manager in the menu to open it.
Now that you’re in the Device Manager box, locate and double-click on Keyboards. Right-click on your keyboard device and click Uninstall device. Once the uninstall finishes, you can restart your computer so that it could automatically install the keyboard driver. Check and see if your arrow keys are back to working. If your keys still aren’t working, here’s another tip you can try.
Update your Driver
When you tried reinstalling your keyboard driver and that didn’t work, it may be out of date. Try giving it an update and see if that solves the problem. Consider downloading and installing Driver Easy to speed up the process. Driver Easy is a program that will automatically recognize your system and find the correct keyboard drivers for you.
This program has a Free and Pro version. Once it’s installed on your laptop, start running Driver Easy and click the Scan Now button. When it’s done scanning your laptop and detecting any out-of-date or missing drivers, you can click the Update All button. After it has downloaded and installed the correct drivers you need, restart your laptop. This will allow the changes to take effect.
Test your keys to see if your problem has been solved. If not, try this next tip in fixing your arrow keys.
Adjust your Settings Based on Windows Version
If reinstalling or updating your keyboard driver doesn’t work, try making a few adjustments. You can do this by disabling a feature in Windows called Filter Keys. There are several steps you must follow based on the Windows version you use. If you’re using Windows 7, the settings adjustment process is different from when you’re using Windows 8 or 10. Here are some outlined steps based on the Windows type you use.
Windows 10
- Once you press the Windows key on your laptop, type in filter in the search box and click on Filter out repeated unintentional keystrokes.
- The Keyboard section within the system settings box will appear. Under Use Filter Keys, make sure the toggle is set to off.
- Check to see if your arrow keys are working.
Windows 7
- After clicking on the Windows key, type in filter. This time, you will click on Ignore repeated keystrokes using FilterKeys.
- Once you’re in the Ease of Access Center, you will be taken to a page called Set up Filter Keys.
- If the first option Turn on Filter Keys under this heading is checked, uncheck it and click the Apply and Ok buttons below.
- Check the functioning of your keys now.
Windows 8
- After typing in filter in the search box, click on Turn filter keys on or off.
- If it is on, turn the Filter Keys toggle off.
- Test your arrow keys.
Of course, if you tried one of these methods based on the version of Windows that you used and still have no success, try reseating your laptop battery. Here’s how you can start doing that.
Reseat your Battery
If all of those methods have fallen through, try reseating your laptop battery. This form of troubleshooting has helped many people dealing with broken keys on their laptops. This may sound difficult to do, but it actually isn’t. You just have to make sure you know how to properly remove the battery. If not, be sure to refer to a manual before opening the back of your device.
- Turn your laptop off and disconnect the charger.
- Carefully remove the battery from the back of your laptop.
- Wait a few seconds and recharge your laptop.
- Turn it back on and start testing your broken arrow keys.
That’s all you need to do for this method. Reseating your battery is often a good step to take when all of the previous ones have failed. However, if this still doesn’t fix your broken arrow keys, this may be a hardware problem. You probably would be better off getting a professional to handle this.
If your laptop key is just loose or your keycap is broken, there are some steps you could follow to fix it manually.
Fixing a Loose or Broken Laptop Key
There are three components of a laptop key that you must know: the keycap, key pad, and key retainer. When the keycap is just loose, a quick fix of just pressing down on it is often needed. Once you hear a snap while pressing down on the keycap, you know that it is re-attached. Sometimes, you may need to remove the keycap altogether and then re-attach it.
In some cases, a keycap could be completely broken and you can’t re-attach it. Try following these steps to fix this problem:
- First, insert the key retainer into the laptop.
- Insert the keypad into the retainer.
- Make sure the retainer is lying flat and able to flex.
- Position the keycap over the retainer and keypad. Press down lightly.
- The keycap should snap easily into place on all corners.
Get your Laptop Keyboard Back in Order
There are multiple processes in getting your laptop keyboard back to normal. Choosing one to follow depends on the condition of your laptop. If you think your driver needs to be reinstalled or out of date, follow the first two methods above. If this isn’t the problem, try fixing your arrow keys manually. Choose the right method that is best for maintaining your laptop’s condition.
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