You came across an issue with your dell keyboard that refuses to work, and you probably have tried everything you can to resolve the problem but nothing seems to work. You've never had any issues with your dell keyboard before but somehow it decided not to work when you needed it to.
Did it stop working after update, or right after you put your computer to sleep? A faulty keyboard can actually prevent you from controlling brightness on Dell laptop.
Today, I will share with you every possible thing that can go wrong with your laptop keyboard and how you can fix it. This tutorial is targeted mainly for Windows 10, 8, and 7 users.
There are several reasons that can go wrong. These reasons are:
Reasons Why Your Dell Laptop Keyboard Stopped working
- Driver Issues
- Not properly connected
- Spilled liquid
1. Driver Issues
Keyboard Driver is one of the most common reasons for keyboard issues, it could be caused by your computer not shutting down properly or simply that your drivers need to be updated. This driver problem could happen on both laptop and desktop. So, if you own a Dell desktop and your keyboard stopped working, it could be a result of driver issues as to why you are having problems with your keyboard.
Updating your driver is extremely easy and I am going to show you how to do that soon.
2. Not Properly connected
Yes, your dell keyboard could simply not be connected properly. There are lots of cases of desktop users figuring out there keyboard hasn't been working because it wasn't properly plugged or plugged in at all. For laptop users, the keyboard could be disconnected due to the laptop falling down or hitting something.
I am here to tell you everything that could possibly go wrong with your dell keyboard. So, if you can just take a minute to check if your keyboard cable is connected to your computer properly, that will be great.
For laptop users, you will need to open your laptop with a screwdriver and try to check if the cable is well plugged in. If the cable is well plugged in, remove the cable and put it back in properly. If the cable is not plugged in, then you know where the problem is coming from.
If you don't know how to open a laptop, I recommend you give someone with experience to help you. Don't try to do it yourself when you don't know how to.
Please note that Bestsoltips won't take any responsibility if you damage your computer.
3. Spilled Liquid
Spilling of liquid on a keyboard is a common problem most laptop owners go through. A spill could be a water spill, coffee, tea or any kind of liquid.
There are sometimes that a keyboard recovers after it was spilled and continued working like nothing happen and there some times where a laptop keyboard dies totally when liquid is spilled on to it. There are also times when just a few of your keys won't work anymore.
If you are in a situation where just a few of your keys are working, you should try drying your keyboard under the sun, if it doesn't work, then you need to replace it.
Again if you don't know how to open a laptop, give it to a professional.
How To Fix Your Dell Laptop Not Working
Now that we have little knowledge of what could cause your Dell keyboard not to work, let's dive into how we can fix it.
Restart Your Dell Computer
Let's start by performing a simple restart on your computer. Turn your computer off and then turn it back on. Once your PC finally boots up, proceed by using your keyboard to check if it's working. If it doesn't work, you shouldn't worry, there a few more things to try.
If the simple restart works for you and your keyboard is finally working, then you don't need to the next time.
Check Your Keyboard Cable And Plug it in Properly
I mentioned this earlier, if you didn't perform what I told you to do, well here's me telling you again. If you are a desktop owner and your keyboard isn't working, check your keyboard cable to see if it is properly connected.
If it is properly connected, try removing it and plugging it back in. If you are a laptop owner, you will have to open your computer to confirm if your keyboard cable is properly connected. if it is connected, remove the cable and plug it back it properly.
If you don't know how to open a laptop, let a professional with experience help you.
If this first and second method didn't work for you, you have nothing to worry about, the third and fourth will.
Uninstall Dell Laptop Keyboard Driver
Now let's battle with the driver. Things are going to be a little bit technical from here but it's nothing you can't handle. I will make this method as simple as possible. Now let's get to it.
- Click on the Windows Menu and search for Control Panel.
- Open The Control Panel Program shown in the search result.
- Once the Control Panel is launched, Click on Device Manager.
- Look for the Keyboard Section among the list and expand it.
- Inside that drop down, Right Click on the keyboards driver and click Uninstall device. If there are multiple drivers in the drop-down list, make sure you uninstall everything.
- When the uninstallation is complete, restart your Dell laptop.
Windows should automatically reinstall the drivers. Now check if your keyboard is working, if it works then my work here is done. But if it doesn't work, The next one will.
Update Your Dell Laptop Driver
By updating your Dell laptop driver, Everything should work fine as long as your dell keyboard on its own hasn't gone bad. This method will require you to connect to the internet. Let's get started.
Automatic Dell Driver Update
With this method, we want windows to help us resolve the keyboard problem for us checking for a recommended update and installing the update is available.
- Click on the Windows Menu and search for Control Panel.
- Open The Control Panel Program shown in the search result.
- Once the Control Panel is launched, Click on Device Manager.
- Look for the Keyboard Section among the list and expand it.
- Inside that drop down, Right Click on the keyboards driver and click Update Driver. If there are multiple drivers in the drop-down list, make sure you Update Everything.
- Once you click on update, a pop up should come up asking you how you want to search for drivers. Click on Search Automatically for Updated Driver Software.
- Your windows should start searching for drivers online. Wait for it to finish.
- Once it finishes searching, you might get a result like "The best drivers for your device are already installed". If you get that message, proceed by searching for drivers on windows update. If otherwise, windows should automatically show you download progress of the new keyboard driver.
- When your updating is complete, restart your Dell laptop.
If the automatic update didn't work, please proceed to the manual update.
Manual Driver Update
This update should fix the problem without any doubt if your Dell keyboard is working fine.
To perform a manual update, you need to download your Dell keyboard driver from the official Dell website.
- When you are on their website, Enter your computer model or let them auto-detect your computer for you.
- Once your computer is detected, select your computer.
- A list of all your drivers will be displayed and you have to locate your keyboard driver.
- Now download and then install it.
- After installation, restart your computer
If you have tried all these methods and it didn't work for you but you are desperate to use a keyboard, I suggest you use the on-screen keyboard.
To access the on-screen keyboard, click on the windows many and search for the on-screen keyboard, a program named on-screen keyboard should appear in the search result. Click on the program and start typing with your mouse.
Conclusion
All these methods I mentioned should work for you as long as your keyboard itself isn't damaged. If this method I mentioned above didn't work for you, I'm sorry to tell you but you might have a damaged keyboard that needs to be replaced.
I strongly advise you to give a professional to help you check it out before wondering to change your keyboard.
