Keyboard is not working in Windows 10

Have you installed Windows 10 or upgraded from Windows 8 to Windows 10 then you might experience this problem, this problem happens when your keyboard uses drivers of its own. For example my Cyborg Keyboard from Saitek had this problem when I started Windows 10 for the first time.

If you have a laptop or another generic keyboard then please the built-in keyboard or generic keyboard to follow these steps. If your mouse does not work then please try another USB mouse, since we really need that one for this tutorial.

Help! I can´t sign-in without a keyboard.

This can be a huge problem if your keyboard and other keyboards are not working. However if you have a working mouse then this is not a real problem, Microsoft has added an on-screen keyboard to the sign-in screen which you can use to enter your password.

Onscreen Keyboard Animated
Onscreen Keyboard Animated

The “Wait a few minutes trick”

Their is a possibility that Windows just simply has to download a new driver to run the device on your system. This is what I call the “Wait a few minutes” trick. Why? Because Windows Update will begin scanning your system and determine which drivers need updating and automatically downloads them

Manually Installing Your Keyboard

The next step we’ll have to take is to manually install your keyboard on your system. Please read these instructions carefully and follow them.

1. Right-click the Start button and choose Device Manager.

2. Once in Device Manager locate all devices with a yellow exception mark in front of them. In case of not working keyboards they are most-likely located under Human Interface Devices (HID) and keyboards.

3. Under keyboards right-click a keyboard with a yellow exception mark.

4. Then choose Update Driver Software….

5. Then choose Browse my computer for driver software

6. Then choose Let me Pick from a List of Device Drivers

7. Then choose HID Keyboard Device

8. Click on Next and wait for the installation to complete, there should be no error code!

9. Unfold the Human Interface Devices category

10. Repeat steps 3-8 for any device with a yellow exception mark.

 

 

Once you completed all these steps the keyboard should start working again. Please do make sure you only execute these steps for keyboards, otherwise It could have an unwanted effect upon your system. If your problems are still not gone then please comment below and we will help you as soon as possible!

About the Author

2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Windows
Yuri specializes in troubleshooting (crash analysis and devices), system resource utilisation and system performance. He is also very interested in Customer Security. Yuri can be found as Windows Community Moderator and Wiki Author on Microsoft Answers and is active on different communities all across the web.

30 comments

  1. Hi,

    Thanks Yuri for sharing important information on keyboard and most important all above mentioned Troubleshooting steps very useful actionable advice Actually!

  2. I have gone through the steps yet the keyboard is not working on my pc, what should I do now. please I need help because I have a project which I’m working on now. My system model is hp envy Intel inside core i5. I will be grateful my laptop will work

  3. I have a Sony vaio laptop mod. VGN AR88E running windows 7 no problems.
    Upgraded to windows 10 and the keyboard is completely dead. Mouse works ok
    usb keyboard works ok
    Any ideas?

  4. I have a laptop, HP That’s a month old. It came installed with 10, until yesterday, ither than being slow as molasses compared to my normal laptop, it’s been fine for kids use. Today, the I key, enter and mouse are all that seem to work. I used USB keyboard to get in amd check drivers, no exclamation marks, but went ahead and had it check for updates, it got to the ps/ keyboard, updated “correct” driver, and now nothing works. Can’t access the ease of use icon at login screen, as it just doesn’t pop up, no matter how many times I click on it.

    1. you can go to ease of access settings > keyboard and then toggle off the “Ignore or slow down brief or repeated keystrikes and adjust repeat rates

    1. AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have been killing myself for 3 days trying to get this stupid Logitech wireless keyboard (or any keyboard) to work and it just happened to be the access settings. Wish I had seen this way sooner, but THANK YOU!

  5. Answer could be good but… In device mgr there was no keyboard so no yellow exclamation mark.
    not in hid either.
    ran some diagnostic program but didn’t feel like paying.
    keyboard appeared, but not in hid.
    keyboard works but no idee how.

  6. Hi I bought a new laptop called Lenovo which Currys upgraded to Windows 10, when I’m trying to type an email the letters keep stopping and wont type and a blue circle comes on the screen and makes a pinging sound, everything stops this is so frustrating, can anyone help me on this please, thank you Jan

  7. Prior to reading this, my computer would not recognize any keyboard. I tried wired and wireless, nada. The macros on my keyboard worked fine, but the actual letters, numbers, etc did nothing. After performing these steps on my unidentified keyboard and an unidentified “other” device, I can finally type. I spent hours scouring the internet trying to get this working prior to finding this site, so I must thank you. Thank You!!

  8. The solution recommended here (to get a keyboard to work again) will not work in my case because “Keyboard” no longer appears in my Device Driver list. I found a way to display the hidden drivers and Keyboard came back on with the yellow yield sign. Believing the driver was corrupted, I tried updating – but Win10 replied I had the latest driver. So I thought I would uninstall then reinstall. Did the uninstall, and now Keyboard will not appear at all in my Device Driver list. So I am exploring ways to reinstall the driver manually – including trying to find a driver – but I have no idea if this is the problem. It may not be.

    Anyone else experienced this?

  9. I have installed windows 10 and my keypad does not work properly. I have an asus notepad. which driver do I need to install where do I find it and how do I do it. I am a complete novice and will be most grateful for any help you can give me’

  10. I have updated to windows 10 on medion laptop. can not get keyboard to work correctly , i have checked in device manager and no new updates are available ? do i need to uninstall windows 10 thanks

  11. This happened to be 4 days after installing Windows 10. It had been working fine. Then, both my laptop and desktop keyboards stopped working. This afternoon both started working again without me doing anything. I think it is defiantly weird. The only thing that no longer works is the backspace will only go one space at a time???

  12. I recently updated from Windows 8.1 to windows 10. And the keyboard doesn’t function. I tried the same steps but I don’t get an option HID keyboard. Please help me

  13. I had the same problem. My laptop uses the Microsoft drivers for the keyboard to work. My resolution was to uninstall the driver for my keyboard and reboot. Windows will reinstall the driver and you can login.

  14. I have upgraded to windows 10 and the keyboard is not responding, i have gone threw the above steps but it still does not work. any other options??

  15. after installing window most of my keyboard keys are not working but it works when i press function key before they work why better solve it fast

  16. I don’t have any yellow exception marks. Everything works on my keyboard except the space bar, the number 1 key, the number 2 key and the upper case ! and @. Using the onscreen keyboard is a pain. I have a Toshiba Satellite.

  17. Hi,
    I have a bit of a situation here because of the evaluation copy of windows 10. i haven hp probook 4530s and since i installed this windows the following keys don’t work anymore: “a s d f j k l ; :” also the main enter button. all the other keys are working.
    I can’t understand why only these keys aren’t working.

    Can someone tell me why is this happening? I haven’t spilled anything on my keyboard so there should be no reason why they shouldn’t work.

  18. guys check in the notification tray if your filter key is on/enable or not ( if you hold shift if enable that automatically )

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