Keyboard test

How to test your keyboard

1. Choose the layout that matches your keyboard: ANSI (wide Enter, common in the US) or ISO (tall Enter and an extra key beside left Shift, common in the UK and Europe). Pick Mac if your keyboard has Command and Option keys.
2. Press every key once, slowly. Each one should turn orange while you hold it and green when you let go.
3. Press Start full capture to test keys the browser normally uses itself, such as Tab, Space, the arrows and F-keys. Press Esc twice quickly to stop.
4. Use List keys not tested yet to see what is left.

Reading the result

• Green: the computer received both the press and the release. The key works.
• Stays white after several firm presses: the press never reached the browser. The switch, the connection or a stuck membrane are likely causes — or the key is one that browsers cannot see (see limits below).
• Stays orange after you let go: a release was not received. Press it again; if it repeats, the key may be sticking.
• Dashed border: the page lost focus while the key was held, so its release could not be seen. Press it again.
• A different key lights up: the keyboard reports a different physical code. This happens with damaged circuits and with keyboards whose layout differs from the map; the event log shows the exact code received.

Limits of a browser keyboard test

• The Fn key, most media and brightness keys, and some laptop-specific keys are handled by the keyboard or the operating system and are never sent to web pages.
• System shortcuts such as Ctrl+Alt+Del, the Windows key alone on some systems, or Cmd+Tab on a Mac are taken by the operating system first.
• On a Mac, while Command is held the browser does not report releases of other keys. The test marks them released when you let go of Command.
• Typing on a phone's on-screen keyboard does not test physical switches. Connect a real keyboard to test it.
• The map shows the key labels of your active layout when the browser makes them available (Chrome and Edge), otherwise US labels. The physical position is what counts.

If a key does not work

• Test with another USB port, without hubs or adapters, and with fresh batteries or a cable for wireless keyboards.
• Remove crumbs: turn the keyboard upside down and use compressed air around the key. For spills, disconnect it and let it dry completely before testing again.
• Check the same key on another computer, or another keyboard on this computer, to find out whether the keyboard or the computer is at fault.
• On mechanical keyboards with hot-swap sockets, a bent switch pin is a common cause of a single dead key.