Recently, I basically updated my Ubuntu from 17.10 to 18.04 and after the reboot, the keyboard stopped working actually. It works on the lock screen however, once I am logged in, it’s off duty as well. Turns out, this is a really common problem. The keyboard input driver breaks after each and every major update, which causes miscommunication between the Ubuntu OS and the input devices as well. In this article, we are going to talk about How to Fix Ubuntu Keyboard not Working. Let’s begin!
You guys can easily fix this via re-installing the input X Server’s driver again. However, since the keyboard is not working in the first place, this gets a bit tricky actually. So, let’s see is how you can fix the keyboard not working after updating your Ubuntu as well.
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How to Fix Ubuntu Keyboard not Working
Keyboard and Mouse both are working on Lock Screen
If you guys have the keyboard and trackpad both working on the lock screen. Also, you can directly launch a terminal session through tapping Ctrl + Alt + F3 and skip to this step as well.
Ubuntu Keyboard not working, however, Mouse working on Lock Screen
- Well, in this case, log in to the system along with the help of the screen keyboard. You can turn it on via tapping on the Accessibility or Human icon on the top-right corner. When you are logged in, we have to once again turn on the screen keyboard. For that, you need to open the Settings menu through clicking on the arrow at the top-right corner. Next, tap on the gear icon from the extending menu as well.
- Now in the Settings menu, just tap on “Universal Access” on the left-hand tab to go to the Hearing and Typing menu as well.
- On the Universal Access menu, and then navigate to the Typing menu. Tap on the slider beside the “Screen Keyboard” text on the on-screen keyboard as well.
- Now that we have the on-screen keyboard, we also have the terminal to run the command. In order to open the terminal, right-click on the Desktop and choose Open Terminal.
- When you guys have the terminal launched, then just type the following command, and hit Enter as well.
At times Ubuntu might try to go fanatical and then prompt you for the password even after entering sudo. Just use the on-screen keyboard in order to enter the password.
sudo apt-get install xserver-xorg-input-all
It should again prompt for input, just tap on Y and click Enter again.
When we have the X Server keyboard input drivers installed, and then reboot your system. Whenever the system is back up and running, then you should be able to use your keyboard and mouse.
Keyboard and Mouse both are not working | ubuntu keyboard not working
In case, the keyboard, trackpad, and mouse all are not working for you also even on the lock screen, we have to open the terminal during boot itself. In order to do that forced shutdown of the system with the physical keys.
We would also need an external keyboard in order to trigger a few keys during the boot process. However, the system is starting up, hold down the Shift key after the BIOS load and you guys will then enter the GRUB menu. On the GRUB menu, press “e” in order to edit boot options. Search for the line that will look like the following.
linux /boot/vmlinuz-4.18.0-25-generic root=UUID=a98c605-2ac4-4ee3-8070-2560255293fe ro quiet splash $vt_handoff
Insert “/bin/bash” before $vt_handoff and then tap Ctrl + X or F10 to reboot. When you are in the command, then just run the following command, and reboot back the system again.
sudo apt-get install xserver-xorg-input-all
Now upon reboot, you guys should have the keyboard and mouse that is working for you.
Changing the GRUB file is actually temporary change and not persistent. So if the boot crashes, then just restart the system and it should be back to normal as well.
What if re-installing the drivers does not really work?
Well, if none of the above methods work for you, then there are 2 minor tweaks that you guys can do to try and fix the keyword and mouse as well.
Disable the bounce keys and slow keys | ubuntu keyboard not working
Ubuntu basically gives certain accessibility settings such as Bounce keys or Slow keys. In case if you guys don’t know, Bounce keys ignore fast keypresses whereas Slow keys need you to tap on the keys for a certain amount of time. In case a third-party app or you have mistakenly turned on these settings, then it’s may lead to the faulty working of the keyword.
If you want to turn off Bounce and Slow keys, then just head over to the Settings menu. You guys can also access the Settings menu through tapping on the arrow at the top-right corner. Then, tap on the gear icon from the extending menu as well.
- Now on the Settings menu, you have to tap on “Universal Access“.
- Under the Universal Access menu, then scroll down and tap on “Typing Assist (AccessX)“.
- Then from the pop-up menu, just make sure the toggle beside the “Bounce keys” and “Slow Keys” is turned off as well.
Update Ubuntu | ubuntu keyboard not working
Finally, if nothing really works out, you can try and upgrade the Ubuntu packages. This might fix the broken driver and turn on your keyboard and trackpad to function properly.
- In order to upgrade your Ubuntu system, we would have to run a few commands on the terminal. If you want to do that, just right-click on the desktop and then tap on “Open Terminal“.
- On the terminal type the following command to update the package list.
sudo apt update
- Whenever the package list has been upgraded successfully, then we can upgrade all the packages along with the following command. Do note that, this command will actually take a lot of time. So, just sit back and sip it!
sudo apt upgrade
Conclusion
Alright, That was all Folks! I hope you guys like this “ubuntu keyboard not working” article and also find it helpful to you. Give us your feedback on it. Also if you guys have further queries and issues related to this article. Then let us know in the comments section below. We will get back to you shortly.
Have a Great Day!
