Dell laptop keyboard not working on startup

Are your Dell laptop keys not working, and youre wondering how to fix them? Perhaps you need to unlock your Dell keyboard, or perhaps you have no idea what the issue is?

You can relax! Yes, there are many different issues that could cause your Dell laptop keyboard to be locked, but there are also simple solutions that you can easily do at home.

Today, well be covering six different methods for unlocking your Dell laptop keyboard. No matter what your problem is, youre sure to find at least one method that can unlock your Dell laptop keyboard!

Method 1: Restart Your Laptop

The first step you should take to unlock your Dell laptop keyboard is to restart your laptop.

To properly restart your Dell laptop, you can follow these easy steps:

• Click on the Start Menu icon.
• Click on Shut down.
• Wait until your laptop is turned off.
• Unplug the power cord from your laptop.
• Take out the laptops battery. You may have to unscrew a panel to remove it.
• Push the power button and hold it down until your laptop is completely drained of power.
• Leave the laptop to cool down if its heated.
• Turn your laptop back on.

Method 2: Unlock the Fn Key

One of the possible reasons your Dell laptop keyboard isnt working could be that the Fn key is locked.

To unlock the Fn key on your Dell laptop, you can follow these simple steps:

• Locate the Fn key on your keyboard.
• If you have a NumLock key on your keyboard:
  • Press the Fn key.
  • While holding the Fn key, press the NumLock key. This should unlock the Fn key.
• If you dont have a NumLock key on your keyboard:
  • Press the Fn key.
  • While holding the Fn key, press the Esc key. Your Fn key should now be unlocked.

Method 3: Unlock the NumLock Key

If your Dell laptop still doesnt work, the problem may be a locked NumLock key.

To unlock your NumLock key, you can follow these steps:

• Click on the Start Menu icon.
• Choose Settings.
• Navigate to the Ease of Access section.
• Click on the Keyboard option.
• Turn on the On-Screen Keyboard setting.
• If there is no NumLock key on the on-screen keyboard:
  • Press the Options key.
  • Check the box for Turn on numeric key pad.
  • Press OK. You should now see the NumLock key on the on-screen keyboard.
• Finally, press the NumLock key on the on-screen keyboard.

Method 4: Update Your Keyboard Driver

To update your Dell laptop keyboard driver/s, you need to follow several steps.

Step 1: Remove External Keyboard Drivers

• Connect your laptop to a secure WiFi source.
• Open your laptops Device Manager.
• Press the arrow in front of Keyboards to expand the menu.
• If youre using one or more No products found.:
  • Locate the driver for each external keyboard.
  • Right-click on each keyboard driver.
  • Choose Uninstall device.
  • Reboot your laptop.
  • Check if your keyboard is now working. If not, go to the next step.

Step 2: Uninstall the Built-In Keyboard Driver

• Locate the driver for the built-in keyboard.
• Right-click the keyboard driver.
• Choose Uninstall device.
• Reboot your laptop.
• Windows should automatically reinstall the keyboard driver.
• If this still doesnt work, go to the next step.

Step 3: Update the Built-In Keyboard Driver

• Right-click the driver for the built-in keyboard.
• Choose Update.
• Click on Search automatically for updated driver software.
• Continue the process until your driver is updated.

Method 5: Optimize the System

To optimize the system on your Dell laptop, you will need to follow several steps.

Step 1: Do a System Scan

• Click on the Start Menu icon.
• Press Shut Down.
• Turn the laptop back on.
• Tap the F12 key at startup. If the Boot Menu opens, that means its not a mechanical problem.
• Navigate to Diagnostics and press Enter. This will conduct a full system scan.
• Press the Esc key to pause the scan.
• Click on the Next button.
• Choose Keyboard from the components list. This will conduct a scan on your keyboard only.
• If you receive any error codes:
  • Note down the details.
  • Contact a Dell tech support agent on Facebook or Twitter.
• If no errors were detected, go on to the next step.

Step 2: Check Your Keyboard in BIOS

• Click on the Start Menu icon.
• Press Shut Down.
• Turn the laptop back on.
• Press the F2 key as soon as the Dell logo shows on the screen. This will let you enter BIOS.
• Click on Security to expand the menu.
• Choose Admin Password and use the text field to check if your keyboard works.
• If your keyboard doesnt work in BIOS, continue to the next step.

Step 3: Run SupportAssist

• Click on the Ease of Access icon.
• Select On-Screen Keyboard.
• Log into your profile.
• Click on the Windows icon.
• Search SupportAssist and open the program.
• Go to the Home tab.
• Click on Run All.
• Continue the process until your laptop is fully optimized.
• If prompted, restart your laptop.

Method 6: Update Your BIOS

If nothing else works, the BIOS on your Dell laptop may be outdated.

To update your BIOS, you can follow these steps:

• Click on Windows Search on your Taskbar.
• Search bitlocker.
• Click on Manage BitLocker from the results.
• Select Suspend protection.
• Choose Yes if theres a pop-up.
• Go to www.dell.com/support.
• Choose Detect PC.
• Click on Drivers & Downloads.
• Choose BIOS as your category.
• Download the latest BIOS update, and run the file when its done.
• Click Update in the application window.
• Continue the process until the BIOS is updated.

Note: If you have an ASUS laptop instead of Dell, then we have a guide on fixing your ASUS laptop keyboard.

Conclusion

Although it may seem intimidating, fixing your Dell laptop keyboard can actually be easy if you just follow the instructions above.

Whether you just needed to unlock the NumLock key or update your BIOS, we hope that this article helped you if your Dell laptop keyboard was locked!