Finding faults on your keyboard can be frustrating, but it’s not the end of the world. With that in mind – how do you fix keyboard arrows that are not working?
There are several reasons why your keyboard arrows need to be fixed.
A dirty keyboard is one of the most common causes of stuck or temporarily broken arrow keys. You should also check for hardware issues and may need to reinstall your keyboard driver or replace the batteries if your keyboard is wireless.
Read on to find out what you need to know about broken arrows on your keyboard and how you can try and fix them yourself.
What’s the Main Cause of Broken Keyboard Arrows?
For most people, the cause of broken keyboard arrows is a dirty keyboard. If dirt or debris has become lodged beneath the keys, it can prevent them from working entirely or make them less responsive.
This is likely to be a problem for people who regularly eat at their keyboards, as you will find that crumbs can quickly get beneath the keys, leading them to affect the sensors that are fundamental for the operation of the keys.
You can easily clean your keys with a cotton bud or swab and temporarily remove them to clean underneath them.
This will resolve the issue for most people and ensure that your keys are no longer causing a problem.
But what if you’ve cleaned your arrow keys and are still not working?
How to Check Your Arrow Keys for Hardware Issues?
The next thing to check is that your keyboard hardware is working. In other words, if your keyboard is not correctly installed or connected to your computer, it can cause the arrows, and some other keys can malfunction.
The best way to resolve a hardware issue is to unplug the keyboard by removing its USB cable from your computer.
You can leave it disconnected before restarting your PC and checking whether that resolves the issue. Also, consider plugging it into a new USB slot in case the slot itself is the cause of your problem.
A good way to diagnose whether there’s an issue with your computer’s keyboard is to use an online keyboard tester. Ultimately, if there’s a problem with the hardware, you might need to replace your keyboard.
What About the Keyboard Driver?
Another thing to be aware of is that seemingly broken arrow keys can result from a faulty driver. Fortunately, it’s relatively simple to uninstall and then reinstall the driver, as explained below:
- Head to the taskbar and select “Device Manager.”
- Double-click “Keyboards” and right-click “Uninstall Device.”
- Then, click “Uninstall.”
- Upon completion of the process, restart your computer. Windows will automatically reinstall the driver, and your keyboard should be working afresh.
Sometimes, a faulty driver can cause specific keys on your keyboard to fail, not necessarily through anything you’ve done.
If uninstalling the keyboard driver fails to resolve the issue, you must ensure that your drivers are up to date, as illustrated in the next section.
Do You Need to Update the Keyboard Driver?
Using the latest keyboard driver is essential, as using an old (or faulty) driver may cause the arrow keys to malfunction. Helpfully, updating the keyboard drivers on your computer is an easy process.
You can install Driver Easy software to check that your drivers are up to date. Driver Easy is a Windows driver update that ensures that all of your drivers – keyboard included – are up-to-date and operational.
Once you’ve downloaded Driver Easy, perform a scan and update any recommended drivers – it’s as simple as that.
Windows regularly perform driver updates, but installing Driver Easy and running the updates manually is the best way to ensure that your keyboard driver is up-to-date and functional.
How to Know if a Keyboard Is Damaged?
The above fixes will help you determine whether or not your arrow keys aren’t working because of a hardware or software issue.
If you run the above fixes and your arrow keys still aren’t working, it could be time to replace your keyboard.
Unfortunately, computer keyboards are not designed to last forever and must be replaced after a while.
One final thing you can do before replacing your keyboard is to check the USB ports, as a damaged USB on your keyboard will cause specific keys to malfunction.
Ultimately, the arrow keys not working on a keyboard is a relatively common issue many experiences, so it’s nothing to worry about.
But if you’ve run the above fixes and your arrow keys still don’t work, it’s time to replace your keyboard.
Conclusion
The arrow keys on your keyboard could be damaged or broken for several reasons. In most cases, dirt and debris can cause the keys not to work as they should, and cleaning your keyboard should fix the problem.
However, you should also check the keyboard drivers to ensure they’re up to date. If all else fails, it could be time to buy a new keyboard.