How do I test a laptop keyboard online?

Open the keyboard test tool and press each key in turn; a key that lights up on the on-screen keyboard is received, and a key you press that does not light up is dead or has poor contact.

How do I know which keys are dead?

Press each key and watch the on-screen keyboard: a key that does not light up green when pressed is a dead key. Remember to also test the numpad, arrow keys and function keys.

Test a Laptop Keyboard Online: Find Dead Keys for Free

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Dead, sticky or misread keys are a very easy problem to miss when buying a used laptop. This post shows you how to test a laptop keyboard online to find dead keys in a few minutes — free, right in your browser.

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Free · the on-screen keyboard lights up as you press keys

Table of contents 5 items

How to Test a Laptop Keyboard Online
Common Keyboard Problems
How Do You Test the Win, PrtSc and Fn Keys?
Is a Laptop with a Faulty Keyboard Worth Buying?
Don’t Forget to Check the Rest

How to Test a Laptop Keyboard Online

Open the keyboard test tool in Chrome or Edge.
Press each key on the physical keyboard in turn.
A key that lights up green on the on-screen keyboard has been received; a key you press that does not light up is dead or has poor contact.
Remember to also test the number keys (numpad), arrow keys, Fn and the function keys.

Test a laptop keyboard online: a 104-key on-screen keyboard lights up as keys are pressed, to find dead keys — **The actual interface:** a 104-key on-screen keyboard, an “x/104 keys received” counter and a line listing the keys not yet pressed. A key whose box does not light up green when pressed is a dead key. The “Fullscreen” button lets it capture system keys too, such as Win, PrtSc and Menu.

Common Keyboard Problems

Dead keys: presses don’t register, or you have to press hard for them to register.
Sticky keys: the key does not spring back up after being pressed, or types multiple characters.
Misread keys: pressing one key produces a different character — usually due to a circuit fault.
Ghost key: when you press a combination of several keys, some of them are not registered at the same time.

How Do You Test the Win, PrtSc and Fn Keys?

Some keys such as Win, PrtSc and Menu may be intercepted by Windows, so the browser has trouble capturing them. Use Fullscreen mode in the tool to capture system keys too. The Fn key in particular usually cannot be detected through the browser — test it directly through its functions (brightness up/down, volume).

Is a Laptop with a Faulty Keyboard Worth Buying?

If only 1–2 rarely used keys are dead and the price is low, it may be worth considering (plug in an external keyboard or replace the keycaps). But if many keys are dead or frequently used keys (Space, Enter, letters) are faulty, you should return the laptop — replacing an entire laptop keyboard is fairly expensive.