TenSecondCheck

Keyboard test

Click the keyboard below, then press any key. Pressed keys light up and held keys stay marked.

Runs in your browser only

Click here, then press keys

Esc F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 F7 F8 F9 F10 F11 F12 PrtSc ScrLk Pause
` 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 - = Backspace Ins Home PgUp Num / * −
Tab Q W E R T Y U I O P [ ] \ Del End PgDn 7 8 9 +
Caps A S D F G H J K L ; ' Enter 4 5 6
Shift Z X C V B N M , . / Shift ↑ 1 2 3 ⏎
Ctrl Win Alt Space Alt Win Menu Ctrl ← ↓ → 0 .
Held down now 0
Keys tested 0 / 104

Press log

  • Nothing pressed yet.

Some keys never reach the browser: the Fn key, the power button, and shortcuts the system takes first, such as Cmd+Tab on a Mac or Ctrl+Alt+Delete on Windows. If those do not light up, that is a browser limit, not a broken keyboard.

How to use the keyboard test

Click inside the keyboard area, then press keys. Each key lights up while you hold it and stays marked once it has been tested, so you can see at a glance which keys you have not tried yet.

While the test is capturing, keys such as Tab, Space and the arrows do not scroll the page or move focus — otherwise half the keyboard would be impossible to test. Press Esc twice in a row to stop capturing and use the page normally again.

Switch between the full keyboard and the laptop layout to match what you have. The laptop layout leaves out the number pad and shows Fn as a dashed key, because a browser cannot detect it.

A good routine takes under a minute: run a finger across each row from left to right, then press the keys people forget — Esc, the function row, both Shift, Ctrl and Alt keys, the arrows, and the number pad if there is one.

What the counters tell you

Held down now is the number of keys the computer believes are pressed at this moment. Hold several keys together and it should match the number of fingers you are using.

Keys tested counts how many different keys in the current layout have registered at least once. It will not reach the total if your keyboard lacks some keys, such as a separate number pad or a menu key.

The press log lists each key with the time it was pressed. It is useful when a key sometimes works and sometimes does not: you can see whether the press arrived at all.

Pressing many keys at once

Keyboards are wired as a grid, and cheaper designs cannot always tell which keys are pressed when several share a row and a column. The result is ghosting or blocking: a third key is ignored, or a key you did not touch appears. Office keyboards are usually built so that everyday shortcuts work; games that need several movement keys at once are where the limit shows.

To check, hold down combinations you actually use — for example W, A and Shift together — and watch the counter and the highlighted keys. Keyboards sold for gaming often advertise n-key rollover, meaning every key registers independently. Some keyboards report up to six ordinary keys at once over USB, which is plenty for typing.

Keys that type twice

If a key sometimes produces two characters from a single press, the test warns you when the same key fires again only a few tens of milliseconds after being released. A human finger does not repeat that fast by accident, so repeated warnings on one key point to chatter: a dirty or worn switch bouncing when it closes.

Holding a key down is different. After a short pause the system starts auto-repeating it, and the test ignores those repeats deliberately.

Keys a browser cannot see

A few keys never reach any website:

  • Fn, which is handled by the keyboard itself.
  • The power button and most media and brightness keys on laptops.
  • Shortcuts the system takes first, such as Ctrl + Alt + Delete on Windows or Cmd + Tab on a Mac.
  • On some systems, Print Screen opens the screenshot tool before the browser hears about it.

If these do not light up, the keyboard is not at fault. Test them by their effect instead — for example, check that the brightness actually changes.

Common problems and what they mean

  • A whole row or block is dead. On a laptop this usually points to the internal cable between the keyboard and the board, often after a knock or a spill. On an external keyboard, try a different USB port and cable first.
  • Keys stick or feel mushy. Something was spilled. Dried sugar is the usual cause, and it rarely fixes itself.
  • The wrong characters appear. This is a layout setting in the system, not a hardware fault. The test shows the right key lighting up because it works by position.

Checking the rest of the desk? The mouse test covers buttons, double clicks and the wheel. Before you buy a used laptop, run the used device check, which includes the keyboard, and look at My device to compare the specs with the listing.

If it does not work

On your system

  1. Try the keyboard in another program to tell a browser problem from a hardware one.
  2. If a whole row or block is dead, unplug and replug the keyboard, or try another USB port.
  3. On a laptop, check whether Num Lock or a Fn lock has changed what the keys do.
  4. If keys repeat by themselves, the switch may be worn — the press log above shows how fast the repeats came.
  1. Try the keyboard in another app first.
  2. Check System Settings → Keyboard for key repeat settings, and Accessibility → Keyboard for Slow Keys and Sticky Keys, which change how presses register.
  3. For a Bluetooth keyboard, check the battery level and the connection before blaming the keys.
  1. This test is meant for a physical keyboard. An on-screen keyboard sends different events and many keys will not light up.
  2. If you have an external keyboard, check it is paired and selected as the input device.
  1. This test is meant for a physical keyboard connected to an iPad or a Mac.
  2. The on-screen keyboard does not report individual keys the way a physical one does, so most of the layout will stay unlit.

Questions and answers

Why doesn't the Fn key light up?
On most laptops Fn is handled inside the keyboard itself. It changes what the other keys send, but it never sends anything of its own, so no website can see it. Press Fn together with a function key instead: if the combination does what it should, Fn works.
The on-screen key shows a different letter from mine. Is that a problem?
No. The test recognises each key by its physical position, not by the letter printed on it. On a French, German or Spanish keyboard some letters sit in different places, but the key in that position is the one being tested.
What is ghosting?
Many keyboards cannot tell certain combinations of three or more keys apart, so they either ignore one of them or report a key you did not press. Hold several keys down here and watch the counter: if it stops rising for some combinations, that is your keyboard's limit.
Does this test record what I type?
The log shows which physical keys were pressed and when, only inside this tab, and it is cleared when you close the page. Nothing is sent anywhere. Still, there is no reason to type a password here — random keys test the keyboard just as well.
A key types twice. Can it be fixed?
Often. Dust or crumbs under a mechanical switch cause double presses, and compressed air can clear them. If cleaning does not help, the switch itself is worn. On many mechanical keyboards it can be replaced; on a laptop it usually means a repair.