Laptop Keyboard Test

To test a laptop keyboard, click on this page and press every key once: each key on the compact diagram turns amber while held and green once it has registered, so a dead key stays dark and a key that repeats or sticks turns red. The only key you cannot see here is Fn, which never leaves the keyboard, and the section below shows how to test it through the volume keys instead.

The diagram above is a notebook layout. The top row holds Escape, F1 to F12 and Delete with no gaps, and the bottom row runs Ctrl, Fn, Windows, Alt, the space bar, Alt, Ctrl and the arrow keys. There is no number pad or navigation block, as on most 13 to 15 inch Windows laptops. If your laptop has a full number pad on the right, switch to the keypad test after this one. If it is a MacBook, use the Mac keyboard test, which has Command and Option in the right places and explains the keys macOS handles itself.

How to test a laptop keyboard

1. Click anywhere on the page so it receives key presses. Close any program that uses global shortcuts, such as a screen recorder or a game launcher.
2. Pick the diagram that matches your laptop. Laptop is the default. Choose TKL if your laptop has a separate navigation block, and ISO if the Enter key is tall and there is an extra key beside the left Shift.
3. Press each key once, row by row, including both Shift keys, both Ctrl keys and the arrows.
4. For the top row, press each key on its own first, then again with Fn held. One of the two presses registers as F1 to F12, and the other performs the printed function such as volume or brightness.
5. Watch Tested. When it matches the total, every key the browser can see has registered. Hover over any key to see its code and press count, and read the log for the hold time of each press.

How do I test the Fn key?

Fn is not a key in the normal sense. The keyboard's own controller reads it and uses it to change what the other keys send, so the operating system and the browser never receive a Fn event. That is why Fn is drawn with a dashed outline and never changes colour, and why it is not counted in the total.

To test it, hold Fn and press the key with the speaker or sun icon on the top row, and watch for the volume or brightness overlay on screen. A working Fn key changes the setting. If nothing happens, try two more combinations before blaming the key, because each laptop maps Fn differently:

What to press	What a working Fn key does	Notes
Fn and the volume key	Volume changes and an overlay appears	The clearest test on almost every laptop
Fn and the brightness key	Screen brightness steps up or down	Some laptops bind this to the arrow keys instead
Fn and F1 to F12 while the test is open	The key registers as the plain function key, or performs the media function, depending on the mode	See the next section
Fn and Esc	Toggles Fn Lock on laptops that have it, often with a small LED	Not every laptop has this
Fn and a key with a small number on it	Types a digit from the embedded number pad	Reports as a Numpad code on the diagram's Full layout

Hotkey mode and Fn Lock

Most laptops ship with the top row set to its printed function, so pressing F5 alone lowers the brightness and only Fn and F5 together send F5 to the browser. Manufacturers name this differently: Lenovo calls it Hotkey Mode, HP calls it Action Keys Mode and Dell offers Fn Lock. The setting lives in the BIOS or UEFI, or behind a Fn and Esc shortcut, depending on the model. The test does not care which mode you are in. For each top-row key, one of the two presses lights up the diagram and the other changes a system setting, and together they prove the key is working.

The embedded number pad

Many 13 and 14 inch laptops hide a number pad on the U, I, O, J, K, L and M keys, turned on with Fn and Num Lock or a dedicated Num Lk key. When it is active, those letters send Numpad codes instead and the laptop diagram shows them as dark while the Full layout lights up its number pad. If letters suddenly type digits, this is the usual reason. Press Fn and Num Lock again to switch it off, then use the keypad test to confirm every number key.

Common laptop keyboard faults and what the test shows

Symptom in the test	What it usually means	What to do
One key stays dark	Debris under the scissor mechanism, a worn dome, or a cracked scissor clip	Blow out the gap around the key; if the keycap wobbles or sits low, the clip is broken
One key turns red with chatter in the log	The dome contact bounces	Clean under the key; a bouncing dome on a laptop usually means the keyboard needs replacing
Key stays amber after you let go	Keycap jammed under its neighbour, sticky residue, or a failed release	Press it again, then clean the edge of the key
A whole row or column stays dark	Broken matrix line, loose or corroded ribbon cable	Reseat the ribbon cable if you are comfortable opening the laptop; otherwise replace the keyboard
Random keys across the board fail	Liquid damage or corrosion	Power off, dry fully, then have it inspected
Keys type the wrong character	Language layout, embedded number pad or a remapping tool	Check the layout indicator in the taskbar, press Fn and Num Lock, uninstall remapping software
Keys work for a while, then stop	Ribbon cable loosening with heat or flex	Hardware repair
Nothing registers at all	Keyboard disabled in Device Manager, cable disconnected, or Filter Keys with a long delay	Try an external keyboard, then check Device Manager

Laptop keys use a scissor mechanism: a plastic X under the keycap that collapses onto a rubber dome, which presses a contact on a membrane. The scissor breaks when a keycap is pulled off carelessly, and the dome wears out. Whether one key can be repaired depends on the model: some sell the keycap and clip separately, on others the whole keyboard or top case is one part.

Is it the keyboard or the laptop?

The fastest way to tell hardware from software is to plug in any USB keyboard and run the same test on both. Compare the results:

• External passes, built-in fails on the same keys. The built-in keyboard hardware is at fault. Software cannot break one row on one keyboard and not the other.
• Both fail on the same keys. The problem is in the operating system or an application: Filter Keys, Sticky Keys, a language layout, a remapping utility or a game's keyboard hook. Start with the keyboard keys not working guide, which walks through those settings for Windows and macOS.
• Both pass here but a key fails in one program. That program has a shortcut or setting on the key. Check its keyboard settings rather than the laptop.

Typing without a working laptop keyboard

Windows 11 has an on-screen keyboard that lets you type with the mouse or touchpad while you wait for a repair. Press the Windows key, Ctrl and O together, or open Settings, then Accessibility, then Keyboard, and turn on On-screen keyboard. The touch keyboard icon in the taskbar is a second option on laptops with a touch screen. On macOS, the Accessibility Keyboard under Settings, Accessibility, Keyboard does the same job.

Both are workarounds rather than fixes. For anything longer than a password an external keyboard is faster, and a laptop with a broken row is usually worth repairing: on most Windows notebooks the keyboard is a replaceable part, on thin designs it is part of the top case and costs more. Get a quote, and run this test again after the repair to confirm every key came back.

Related tests

The keyboard test on the home page covers desktop keyboards with the full layout and number pad. The keypad test checks a laptop's embedded or dedicated number pad with Num Lock on and off, and the Mac keyboard test handles MacBooks, where the Fn key doubles as a Globe key and the top row behaves differently.