Keyboard Test

About the Keyboard Test

The Keyboard Test shows a full-size keyboard on screen and lights up each key as you press it. Keys you have tested stay marked, so you can work through the whole board and spot a key that does nothing, one that sticks, or one that types the wrong thing.

Use it after spilling a drink, when buying or selling a used laptop, when a new mechanical keyboard arrives, or when a game seems to miss key presses. It also shows how many keys your keyboard can register at once, which matters for gaming and fast typing, and gives developers the exact key, code, keyCode and location values the browser reports.

The on-screen layout is a standard US keyboard with 104 keys, or 87 without the number pad. Keys outside that layout, such as the extra key next to the left Shift on many European keyboards, are still detected and listed. Everything happens in your browser.

How to use it

1. Click the test areaClick the keyboard picture. The status changes to "Testing" and the site's own shortcuts are switched off inside it.
2. Press every keyEach key lights up while held and stays marked once tested. The counter shows how many of the keys on screen you have covered.
3. Check the detailsLast key shows the key value, the physical code, the old keyCode, whether it is the left or right copy, and how long you held it.
4. Test combinationsHold several keys at once and read the Keys held now line to see which ones the keyboard actually reports.
5. Reset or finishReset clears the marks. Click outside the area to stop testing and use the page normally again.

Key features

Examples

What the details mean

You press                    key     code        keyCode  Location
A                            a       KeyA        65       Standard
Right Shift                  Shift   ShiftRight  16       Right
Space bar                    Space   Space       32       Standard
Number pad 5, Num Lock off   Clear   Numpad5     12       Number pad

key is what the key means right now, so it changes with Shift, Num Lock and your language layout. code is the physical position, which stays the same: KeyA is the key in the A position even on a French AZERTY keyboard, where it types Q. keyCode is an older number that is still widely used but deprecated.

Testing combinations

Hold Left Ctrl, Left Shift and K together and the held-keys line reads Ctrl + Shift + K. Try the keys you use together in games, such as W, A and Shift plus Space. If one of them does not appear while the others are held, the keyboard cannot report that combination. This is called ghosting or blocking, and it is common on budget and laptop keyboards.

Keys that are not on the map

Many keyboards outside the US have an extra key between the left Shift and Z. Pressing it adds it to the counter line, for example "7 of 104 keys tested · plus IntlBackslash". Media keys and some vendor keys work the same way.

Tips

• Go row by row, left to right, so you do not miss a key. Then watch the counter reach the full number.
• For a sticky or chattering key, press it once and look at Held for. A normal tap is well under 200 ms; a key that keeps repeating shows "repeating…".
• Uncheck Show number pad on laptops and compact keyboards, so the counter matches the keys you actually have.
• Test with the keyboard connected the way you normally use it. A problem that appears only over Bluetooth or a USB hub points to the connection, not the keys.
• Once every key works, measure your speed with the Typing Speed Test.

Common mistakes and limits

• Expecting the Fn key to light upFn is handled inside the keyboard itself and never reaches the computer. Test it by pressing Fn with another key, such as a volume or brightness key.
• Pressing shortcuts the system keeps for itselfAlt+Tab, Ctrl+Alt+Delete, the Windows key on its own, Cmd+Tab and browser shortcuts like Ctrl+W can be caught by the operating system or browser before the page sees them. Avoid them, or you may close the tab.
• Reading a missing Print Screen as a faultSome systems take Print Screen for a screenshot and only send the release to the browser, or nothing at all. That is normal.
• Blaming the keyboard for the wrong characterIf a key lights up in the right place but types the wrong symbol, the keyboard is fine. The language or layout setting in your operating system is different.
• Testing while a different window has focusKeys only register while the test area is active. If nothing lights up, click the keyboard picture first.

Frequently asked questions