broken-keyboard-feature-image

How To Fix Keyboard Not Working In Browsers

I have a desktop that I rarely turn off. Every few days I probably will turn it off for the night. Restarting or powering down my computer is when all my problems seem to start.

Keyboard Not Working

This Sunday morning I got up and turned on my computer and the keyboard and mouse decided not to work. I unplugged my USB mouse and plugged it in again and still it did not work. I did the same thing for my wireless keyboard by unplugging the keyboard dongle that was plugged into the USB port and plugged it in again. Still nothing.

I restarted my system. Turned it off then turned it on again. Keyboard and mouse still not working.

So, I unplugged the keyboard and tried the mouse by itself. With the keyboard unplugged I restarted the computer. The mouse started working. I decided at that point to use the Ease of Access options instead of trying the keyboard.

Ease Of Access

I clicked on the round icon in the bottom left-hand corner. If you put your mouse cursor over it, out pops the words Ease of Access.

ease-of-access

Clicking on that brings up a menu of options.

ease-of-access-options

The option I was looking for was the one to Type without the keyboard (On-Screen Keyboard). This brought up an on-screen keyboard and using the mouse I was able to type in my password to access the system.

on-screen-keyboard

Once I was logged in, I plugged in the keyboard and everything seemed to be OK. Later on that morning I tried going on-line but the keyboard would not work in my browser. I already replaced the batteries in the keyboard when I originally thought that might be the issue. Then I discovered that when I clicked on the Windows key, it opened the Start menu.

So I opened up notepad and started typing. It was working fine. So I tried both Firefox and Chrome and the same problem, keyboard would not work in the browsers. I could copy and paste from notepad to the browser if it came down to it.

My first instinct was that a program I have installed that encrypts what I type to try to defeat key loggers. It’s called KeyScrambler.

I thought it might have gotten corrupted, but an on-line search suggested that a simple reboot might solve my problem. So I went with the simplest option first. I rebooted and the keyboard and mouse worked no problems with the login screen. Keyboard was again working within my browsers.

Other options found on-line in case a reboot doesn’t work:

  • Reinstall drivers —  Remove them from within Device Manager and restart your system. I actually fixed a few erratic mice in the past this way.
  • System restore was also suggested.
  • Update/reinstall browser.
  • Try to replace keyboard and/or mouse.
  • Replace batteries in wireless devices.

Scroll to Top

WHY NOT SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER?

Get great content like this delivered to your inbox!

It's free, convenient, and delivered right to your inbox! We do not spam and we will not share your address. Period!