Keyboard types + instead of ? or /

[stevefritze]

A school we support purchased a batch of E10-S-10Q laptops. When logged in as an admin all work as expected. However, when logged in as a standard domain user the key for ? and / types a + instead. All other keys are fine and the UK keyboard is the chosen layout.

 

If the standard user logs in without a profile associated (so gets the local default profile) the keyboard works as expected. Normally I'd say it was a user profile issue, however these profiles work perfectly on every other computer and laptop. Only this make and model do this.

 

Profiles are mandatory and I've created a fresh one as a test with no additional software settings but the same fault occurs.

I've also restored one laptop back to factory settings and completed only the necessary Windows questions to reach a desktop. No additional software has been installed, it's just been added to the domain.

The laptops and a test user account have been removed from all group policies so no settings applied there either.

 

What could be causing this behavior?

[Mike8080]

Num lock on?

[stevefritze]

No that's not the case. The keyboard doesn't have numbers over those keys anyway, they're just on their own top line as per a normal keyboard.

[jthompson]

Weird one. I'd be tempted to see if the problem exists on a non-Windows OS, and also whether a USB keyboard plugged into the laptop exhibits the same behaviour as the built-in one does.

[stevefritze]

I don't see what I'd gain using a non Windows OS as I already know that without a mandatory profile attached to the user account the keyboard is fine as a standard user. I did try a USB keyboard and that worked as normal. Dynabook said that would be because the USB keyboard would be using a different driver compared to the built in keyboard.

[ITGuyNW]

I have these types of laptops and experienced exactly the same issue however it only did it as admin and not for a normal roaming profile user so just left it at that!

 

All manner of installing drivers etc never rectified it though and I assume its an inherent issue.

[stevefritze]

Have discovered that it's to do with the Fn key. As a local user pressing Fn + / produces +. So, as a regular user it appears the Fn key is automatically being pressed. I assumed therefore that pressing Fn as a regular user would be the reverse and then type the correct character. Not the case! Appears that the Fn key is effectively being held down. Now struggling to find a way to disable it completely.

 

Update: Found a BIOS setting to change the Fn key function (or force it to be on or "default" off). Again, if the standard user login acts like Fn is pressed, I was hoping this, confusingly, might reverse it. No! It works as far as the F keys are concerned (forcing the Fn function without pressing Fn) but doesn't fix the / key fault.

 

So what we have here is a standard user that regardless of the Fn settings applied insists on being configured with the Fn key pressed.

Edited February 8, 2022 by stevefritze

[CHiLL]

I've found that over the years, I'll (very rarely) come across a keyboard that types ASCII characters instead of the regular keys. It's some form of Alt+??? key combination, but I've never identified which combination it is. Maybe it's linked to your issue?

[jthompson]

Does the keyboard have an FN lock? It does sound like a manufacturing fault, though.

[stevefritze]

Does the keyboard have an FN lock? It does sound like a manufacturing fault, though.

 

There is no key for it. I thought it could be that also. However I did manage to force the Fn function on and off in the BIOS. As I said though, it does set it as specified in BIOS but only affects the F1-F12 keys. Even though the Fn key is definitely being forced on or off it doesn't affect the ? / key. It's like for that key only it's forced on regardless. This is not a fault with one of these devices either. It still looks like a profile fault but I've never changed keyboard settings in a profile (don't even know if you can change that setting) and the profile works for every other computer or laptop keyboard no problems.

[jthompson]

Could it be some helper agent installed with a driver that's not running under affected profiles for some reason, but does for admin? Without that helper agent the keyboard behaves wrongly?

[stevefritze]

Could it be some helper agent installed with a driver that's not running under affected profiles for some reason, but does for admin? Without that helper agent the keyboard behaves wrongly?

 

When the profile is removed from the non admin user (user remains a restricted user via policy, only the profile is removed) the user is then forced to use the local machine profile, the fault goes away. So I don't think it's an admin thing. If I connect a profile to an domain admin user (admin user normally uses local profile) the fault happens with the domain admin too.

[jthompson]

Weird. It's probably not a 'broken' mandatory profile as such, just that the mandatory profile is missing something that gets included in local profiles for those systems. You'd have to see if you can spot any profile-based processes under local profiles that when killed, trigger the Fn key issue, and work from there.