Keyboard Tests

Which keyboard test do you need?

Start with the keyboard tester if you want to know whether every key works. It draws a full size, TKL or 60% layout, lights up each key as you press it and keeps it green once it has registered, so a key that never responds or one that fires on its own stands out at once. The same page shows how many keys the board can register at the same time, which is the practical rollover and ghosting check that gaming keyboards are sold on.

Use the spacebar clicker when the question is speed rather than function: it counts presses per second and over a set time, and it doubles as a quick check that the spacebar does not double-register or stick on one side.

For typing problems that only show up in one program, run the key tester first. If every key goes green here, the keyboard is fine and the fault is a shortcut, a layout setting or the program itself.

What the tests can find

• Dead keys: a key that never lights up. On laptops a whole row or cluster of dead keys usually means the ribbon cable, not the keys.
• Stuck keys: a key that stays lit or lights up without a press, almost always something under the keycap.
• Key chatter: one press typed twice, common on worn mechanical switches.
• Ghosting and limited rollover: a third or fourth key that is ignored while two others are held. Budget membrane boards do this on some combinations; gaming boards should register six or more keys at once.
• Layout mismatches: the key lights up in the right place but types the wrong character. That is a system language setting, not hardware.

Before you blame the keyboard

Try another USB port or a different cable, turn Bluetooth off and on for wireless boards, and close any program that remaps keys, such as game launchers or macro software. If an external keyboard works but the laptop's own does not, the problem is inside the laptop. Media keys, the Fn row on some laptops and a few special keys are handled by the operating system and never reach the browser, so they can look dead here while doing their job elsewhere.

Tests that go well with these

If a key feels slow rather than broken, the reaction time test and the CPS test give you a feel for input latency against a known number. Once the keyboard checks out, measure how fast you type with the typing speed test or the 1 minute typing test. Mouse owners with a similar problem should start at the mouse tester.