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Hi,
I have one of these keyboards at home and at the office, in the office I have the whole desktop including the mouse, but at home I only have the keyboard. I upgraded from the Microsoft Ergo 4000 keyboard that I've used for many years. So far I'm enjoying the keyboard but I have an issue that I was wondering if there was a way to fix?
The one at work doesn't seem to have this problem although I use the keyboards differently, at work it's mainly for typing and coding, at home I use it for typing and gaming.
The issue:
The Shift, Alt, and Control buttons when pressed numerous times seem to stick even when they aren't being pressed. For example if I have 3 out of 5 files I want move from one folder to another, if I push and hold control, select the files in the 1st, 3rd, and 5th position with my mouse, after I drag them to the other folder and release the control button, if I click on the 2 remaining files in the original folder, both files are selected even though I'm not holding control down so you'd expect only 1 to be selected.
Same issue happens in games where I've bound hotkeys to use modifiers such as shift, control, or alt. If I'm alternating between 1 and shift-1, eventually just pressing 1 will result in shift-1 being registered. I initially thought that maybe stickey keys was being turned on but I've confirmed that is not the case.
Both cases are resolved by simply pressing the button that's sticking and that fixes it, but when using multiple modifiers, it's hard to determine which one is sticking so it usually results in pressing each of the buttons, alt, control, and shift once until it's back to normal.
Additional Information:
None of these problems seem apparent on my work desktop. I'm using windows 8.1 Pro at home and windows 7 pro at work. At work, my receiver is plugged into a usb switch as I use it for 2 pcs, the switch is 2 ft away from my keyboard position in line of sight.
At home, the usb receiver is plugged into the back of my desktop under my desk, out of line of site? (could this be a problem?)
Any ideas you have to solve either of these issues would be most appreciated.
Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.
I've found a solution:
Open Device Manager
Under Human Interface Devices, locate the Microsoft Hardware USB Keyboard
Right click, Properties
Power Management Tab, Uncheck allow the computer to turn off this device to save power
That fixed it for me, no need to uninstall/change drivers.
No, it's not sticky keys. I think this is definitely a hardware flaw, maybe to do with the wireless link. On my end it's no longer just the modifier keys, but sometimes the arrow keys and other keyssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss.
"Set up Sticky Keys" is not the issue. Microsoft is not listening. Here's how to repro: Hold down any modifier for 10 seconds or so (maybe less time, I'm not sure). Release it. It stays "held" (i.e., my windows don't get a Key-Up event). This doesn't happen on any other keyboard I know of - not even other Microsoft keyboards. I hold down modifier keys that long often - for example when I Alt-Tab through Windows (It takes more than 10 seconds to pick a window). Then, when I start typing into a text box, the Alt key is "held" (or so the software thinks), and my windows start bouncing everywhere! This is so irritating, the keyboard is unusable. I gave up the keyboard and for now going back to the old keyboard, but I really would like an ergonomic keyboard instead of the old one. (And I can't stand the F-Lock issue of the old keyboards that the Sculpt finally fixes, but the sticky modifier key problem is way worse. Other MS keyboard users know what I mean).
Folks,
I've had mine at work for about 6 months (with Wni 7 x64, first an HP laptop now a Dell).
I've found the F5 key sticks, mechanically, and it is hard to tell visually.
What is curious is I can go about my day without noticing for some time. The only reason I was here reading the support pages, is "shift-v" was not working (of all things). All other key combinations were, from what I could tell, just fine. Somehow F5 plus shift-v was giving Notepad, Word, and Outlook a headache.
Other than this issue, I'm quite pleased with the keyboard. Nice and quite, and wireless too.
Keep an eye out for your function keys sticking mechanically.
I'm experiencing the same issue with item 1 (not 2, though). IT Pro here, so all the troubleshooting suggestions in this thread were either too base-level or obvious. It's not a Sticky Keys feature issue, it's not drivers of any sort. I feel like it might be a wireless interference issue, with the system failing to acknowledge that the key's been released. But quite consistently, if I hold Ctrl for more than a few seconds while selecting multiple files, it stays pressed as far as the system is concerned. Scrolling causes me to zoom at that point, or trying to select anything individually shows I'm still in Ctrl. Would love someone to acknowledge and find an ACTUAL fix for this issue instead of running us through tier-0.5-level troubleshooting guides.
