10 Ways to Fix the Malfunctioning Keyboard on Your MacBook
Occasionally, you might encounter strange problems when using your MacBook’s keyboard. Maybe a key won’t respond, or all the keys at once suddenly stop working.
Perhaps, when you press a key, a different letter or symbol appears on the screen. Fortunately, if your keyboard isn’t actually broken, there are a few ways to troubleshoot and fix the problem.
1. Clean Your Keyboard
This may seem far too simple; however, it’s often just the fix you need to get your keyboard working perfectly again. Occasionally, dust and debris get trapped underneath these keys. And an abundance of them in those crevices can be responsible for one or two keys not working well or generally feeling sticky.
Now, you have to be very careful when cleaning your keyboard. You don’t want to cause further damage to your MacBook. So, follow our detailed guide oncleaning your computer’s keyboard.
2. Update macOS
There’s a reason Apple rolls out macOS updates— primarily to fix bugs or introduce new, cool features. If you’re running a much older macOS version, there’s a chance it’s associated with whatever keyboard problems you’re facing.
And updating your MacBook’s software might just be the fix you need to have a properly functioning keyboard again. If you’re not sure where to start, feel free check out our detailedguide on updating macOS.
3. Disable Mouse Keys
If, after cleaning your keyboard and updating your macOS, the problem persists, it may be time to tweak some notorious options in your MacBook’s settings accordingly. Enabling something called “Mouse Keys” reconfigures your keyboard so certain keys move your pointer instead of displaying the relevant text.
Here’s how to disable Mouse Keys on your MacBook:
4. Disable Slow Keys
If that doesn’t do the trick, then something else called “Slow Keys” might be responsible. If this option is enabled on your MacBook, then none of the keys will respond unless you press and hold them down for an extended period.
To disable Slow Keys on your MacBook, do the following:
5. Disable Sticky Keys
Sticky Keys is a feature, which ideally, saves you the stress of holding down multiple keys to complete an action. However, if you somehow forget to disable this feature, it may seem like your keyboard is acting up. For example, without holdingCommand + B(the shortcut for boldfacing text) at once, the text appears in bold.
Follow these instructions to disable Sticky Keys:
6. Reconfigure Modifier Keys
There are five keys known generally as modifier keys: theCaps Lock,Control,Option,Command, andGlobekeys. Now, one or all of these keys may suddenly not work as expected. And this is usually because they may have been configured to complete actions different from their default function.
For example, theCaps Lockkey may suddenly not respond anymore. Or weirdly, when you press theShiftkey, it works as if it’s theCaps Lockkey. In that case, you need to reconfigure all five modifier keys, and here’s how:
7. Check Keyboard Layout Setting (Input Sources)
Suppose you only use the U.S. keyboard layout set in English, but a friend or colleague, who occasionally uses your MacBook is more comfortable working with a different keyboard layout and language. They may have added their preferred setting underInput Sources.
While they may have set it back to the former layout when handing the Mac back to you, at any point where you pressControland theSpace bar, the keyboard layout switches back instantly. This might explain why the keys no longer respond as you expect.
So, follow these steps to check your keyboard layout setting:
If a different language aside from English has been added, you’ll find it here too. You can follow the same step to remove it from your list of keyboards.
8. Reset NVRAM and SMC
If you use an older Intel-based MacBook, and none of the aforementioned fixes work, then you might have to reset some components of your Mac called the SMC (system management controller), PRAM (parameter random access memory) and NVRAM (non-volatile random access memory) respectively.
We’ve already coveredhow to do an SMC and PRAM/NVRAM reset on your Macif you’re unsure where to start. You don’t need to do all this if you use any of the modern Apple silicon MacBooks. Instead, you can simply restart your computer.
9. Uninstall Recently Installed Apps
We generally advise you to install and download apps with great caution. If your MacBook starts acting funny shortly after installing a third-party app, you shoulduninstall that app from your Macimmediately. While the app might be harmless, it won’t hurt to uninstall it just to see if that’s what caused the keyboard to malfunction.
10. Contact Apple Support
Now, if all the options listed fail to work, your best bet would be Apple Support. Try to schedule an in-store visit and have a skilled professional take a look at your MacBook. If it’s a serious hardware problem, they are in a better position to offer a viable solution.
Keep an External Keyboard for Emergencies
MacBooks come with one of the most comfortable keyboards. So, it can be quite frustrating when you cannot use the keyboard as you desire. So, try all the fixes we listed till you find the one that works for you.
However, you could go one step further by getting an external keyboard. You may be surprised at all the benefits of having one on your desk, especially when the built-in one starts malfunctioning.
Is it worth buying an external keyboard to protect your laptop?
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