Enter key is just one of the keys on your laptop keyboard. However, it plays a crucial role in your daily workflow. When it stops working, your workflow can be disrupted and you might feel extremely frustrated. If you find yourself in this situation, fear not. In this post, I’ll provide you with the instructions on how to troubleshoot and fix the ‘enter key not working on laptop’ problem.
Check If the Enter Key is Working on BIOS
First things first, we need to identify if this is a physical damage or a hardware issue. After that, we can determine if we should move on to try the steps. You can do so by checking if the Enter key is working on BIOS:
1) Restart your laptop and enter the BIOS. You can tell which key to enter BIOS on the screen. Some of the most common keys are Esc, Del, F2, F10 or F12.
2) After you enter the BIOS, check if the Enter key is working on BIOS.
3) If the Enter key doesn’t work on BIOS either, it’s probably a physical damage or a hardware issue. In this case, it’s advisable to take your laptop to a computer repair shop for a further check.
If the Enter key works on BIOS, it’s probably a OS issue. In this case, keep reading and learn the specific methods to fix the problem.
What If You Need to Use the Enter Key?
For some reason like troubleshooting, you might need to use the Enter key. You can use an external keyboard as a replacement. Alternatively, you can use the on-screen keyboard instead.
Here’s how to bring up the on-screen keyboard:
1) Press the Windows key + R to open the Search box.
2) Type ‘on screen keyboard‘ into the Search box and then click on On-Screen Keyboard.
3 Methods to Fix Enter Key Not Working on Laptop
To fix Enter key not working on your laptop, you can try the following 4 methods:
Method 1: Remove Your Laptop Battery
Many users have reported that removing the laptop battery can help fix keys not working issue. To do so:
1) Power off your laptop and unplug the charger.
2) Remove the battery from the back of your laptop. You can refer to the manual if you have no idea how to do this.
3) Wait for a few minutes.
4) Plug the charger to the laptop.
5) Power on the laptop.
6) Check to see if the Enter key works.
Method 2: Reinstall Keyboard Driver
Outdated or corrupted keyboard driver can be the culprit behind the issue. You can try reinstalling the keyboard driver and see if it helps fix the issue. To do so:
1) Open Device Manager.
To open Device Manager, right-click on the Start menu button and select Device Manager.
2) Expand the ‘Keyboards‘ category, right-click on the keyboard device and select Uninstall Device.
3) Reboot your laptop to allow Windows to reinstall the keyboard driver.
4) Check to see if the Enter key works.
If the problem persists, try updating the keyboard driver.
Method 3: Update Keyboard Driver
You can go to your laptop manufacturer’s website to download the latest keyboard driver：
1) Identify your laptop model.
2) Visit the manufacturer’s official website.
3）Go to the ‘Download’ page or the ‘Support’ page (the page that allows you download drivers).
4) Search for your laptop model.
5) Download the latest keyboard driver and then install the driver.
Pro Tip: If you don’t have time and patience to update the driver manually, you can do it with Driver Easy. Driver Easy’s free version allows you to update a driver with a few clicks. You can download Driver Easy from the vendor’s website.
Conclusion
In conclusion, a non-functioning enter key can be a frustrating issue, but with the troubleshooting steps in this post, you’re well-equipped to tackle it. If problems persist, don’t hesitate to seek professional assistance. Your keyboard will be back to full functionality in no time. Hopefully you find this post helpful. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to leave a comment below.