Disable A Laptop Keyboard: You may need to deactivate your laptop keyboard to order to utilize an external keyboard if yours has broken, been damaged by spilled drinks, or is otherwise unworkable.
How to Turn Off or Disable a Laptop Keyboard
Temporarily disable the laptop keyboard while an external keyboard is connected (Windows)
Because the laptop trackpad and keypad will be disabled using this approach, you must also have an external mouse. Use this procedure when your external keyboard and mouse are connected.
However, this approach was publicized by YouTuber ‘Try it Studio’, but be aware of the potential risks to your laptop and that there are safer methods to disable your keyboard that won’t harm your laptop’s operating system.
Step 1
When the “Start” button is clicked, enter “Device Manager” into the search box.
Step 2
Open the Device Manager. –
Step 3
Under the ‘Keyboards’ menu, look for your keyboard.
Step 4
On your laptop’s keyboard, choose right-click.
Step 5
Please click on “Update driver.”
step 6
You may search your computer for driver software by selecting ‘Browse my computer.
step 7
You may choose from the list of device drivers that are already installed on your computer.
step 8
Select “Show suitable hardware” from the drop-down menu.”
step 9
Select a manufacturer that is NOT the manufacturer of your laptop on the right-hand side (anything goes as long as it is not the manufacturer of your laptop).
step 10
Select a device from the list on the left, then click “Next.”
step 11
If you see a warning, choose “Yes.”
step 12
Select ‘Close’ after it’s finished installing.
step 13
In case of a restart
Restarting your laptop will not reactivate your laptop’s keyboard, unlike Method 1. When the improper driver was used instead of the right one, this resulted in your computer not working properly. When Windows detects the presence of a driver, it will ignore it if it is the proper one.
Because your laptop’s trackpad will be disabled as a result of this procedure, you’ll also want an external mouse in addition to your external keyboard.
Instead of choosing ‘Browse my computer for driver software,’ choose instead ‘Search automatically for driver software.’ This will allow you to use the keyboard that came with your laptop.
After a restart, Windows will look for and install the correct driver from your laptop’s manufacturer. Using this approach may result in a blue screen of death for HP customers.
You may be intimidated by some other internet tips that go into great detail about how to deactivate your keyboard. That’s not a problem! Don’t be alarmed; most people find it terrifying.
In this tutorial, you will not be required to do any coding or command execution. This article will show you how to temporarily or permanently deactivate your keyboard, depending on your preferences.
If you want to disable your keyboard, the method you use will be dependent on the operating system you’re using. In this article, we’ll be discussing both Windows and Mac computers.
It’s a good idea to have an additional mouse on hand in case any of the ways on this list deactivate your laptop’s trackpad.
How to Make Use of the Device Manager in Windows (windows)
While this approach is the quickest and most effective way to deactivate your laptop’s keyboard, it is only effective until you restart your machine.
Step 1
In the “Start” box, enter “Device Manager” and press Enter.
Step 2
Launch device manager.
Step 3
In the ‘Keyboards’ drop-down menu, locate your keyboard.
Step 4
Click “Uninstall device” in the context menu that appears after you’ve done Step 4.
Not only does it remove the driver for the keyboard, but this is a temporary repair since it removes the keyboard itself, not the driver for the keyboard itself.
The generic driver will be automatically installed by Windows when your laptop restarts after it has detected the missing one. If you restart your computer, your keyboard will be activated again and you will need to conduct this workaround again to deactivate it.
In order to permanently deactivate the keyboard, see Method 1 in the Permanently disable part of the keyboard.
Changing the Computer Configuration (Windows – Permanently) option
Step 1
Select start and type gpedit,com
Step 2
This is the second thing you need to do. You need to go to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Device Installation > Device Installation Restrictions.
Step 3
Enable the option by right-clicking and selecting Edit and Enabling it from the list of choices.
If you’ve completed this step, then go to Method 1 at the top of this page. Windows will not automatically restore the disabled driver when you restart, thus this solution works. As a result, the keyboard on your laptop will not automatically reinstall itself if you restart it.
With Keyboard Cleaner (Mac)
You may use Keyboard Cleaner, a free, third-party tool for Mac that lets you turn off and reactivate your keyboard anytime you choose.
As a Mac program, it was meant to turn the keyboard off when it required cleaning, but was rejected by the App Store because Apple thought it was ‘not helpful. It’s a good idea to have this preprogramming hand if the event that your keyboard malfunctions.
Making Use of the Options for Making Things More Accessible (mac)
It is possible to use the mouse when the keyboard is partly disabled. When a user presses the mouse keys, the keyboard is not disabled.
Step 1
To begin, go to System Preferences and choose Accessibility.
Step 2
Secondly, click on the Mouse & Trackpad icon in the left-hand column.
Step 3
To enable mouse keys, go to the top right of the screen and click on the Options button next to the checkbox.
Step 4
Select Ignore Built-in Trackpad When Mouse Keys is on and click OK.
Step 5
Finally, press the Option (Alt) button five times to exit System Preferences.
Step 6
Tap the Option key five times to reactivate the keyboard.
The Mac keyboard can’t be permanently disabled as it can on a PC. You may switch off your keyboard anytime you want and turn it back on whenever you need to using Keyboard Cleaner instead of the Mouse Keys technique.
Final thoughts
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