How to turn off Sticky Keys when laptop is locked

Isn’t it frustrating when a Sticky Keys Prompt appears out of nowhere and interrupts your work? 

Well, the sticky keys dialog box appears on the screen if you have clicked the Shift button multiple times, five to be exact. This is because you have the sticky keys turned on in your settings.

So, without further delay, let’s learn how to turn off sticky keys to avoid possible inconveniences.

What Are Sticky Keys?

Sticky keys is an accessibility feature that allows the users to press the keys one after another rather than pressing multiple modifier keys at once to perform a keyboard shortcut. This feature is particularly useful for people with some physical disabilities.

Why You Would Want to Turn Off Sticky Keys

The sticky keys feature has various applications and can prove useful in many cases. However, at times it can be unwanted and annoying. 

For instance, if you are a person who uses shortcut keys a lot for productivity purposes, you may have to press the Shift key numerous times. This can trigger the sticky keys dialog box and can slow you down.

Furthermore, it can also affect your gaming experience. Most games played with a keyboard have reserved keys like Shift, Alt, or Ctrl for a particular function like shooting or jumping. And, whenever you press the Shift key multiple times, the Sticky Keys prompt appears on the screen.

This can be quite unpleasant as your gameplay is interrupted, and at the same time, you could lose the game because of it.

How to Turn Off Sticky Keys on Windows

There are various ways to turn off the sticky keys feature. You can use the Shift key and disable it in settings. However, we have compiled a list of possible ways to turn off the sticky keys. So, let’s learn about various ways in more detail.

Using the Shift Key

You can use the Shift key to turn off sticky keys easily. For this,

1. Press the Shift key quickly five times.
2. Click on Disable this keyboard shortcut in Ease of Access keyboard settings.
   
3. Toggle off the settings, “Press one key at a time for keyboard shortcuts.”
   
4. Uncheck the Allow the shortcut key to start the Sticky Keys checkbox if you don’t want to see the Sticky Keys prompt after pressing the Shift key multiple times.

Alternatively, you can disable sticky keys by pressing two modifier keys simultaneously if you have checked the Turn off sticky keys when two keys are pressed at the same time checkbox.

Using Ease of Access From the Control Panel

You can also access the Ease of access using the control Panel. For that, follow the steps below:

1. Press the Windows + R key, type control, and press Enter.
2. Then, navigate to Ease of access > Ease of access center.
3. Under the Explore all the settings section, click on Make the keyboard easier to use.
4. Again, under the Make it easier to type section, click to uncheck the Turn on Sticky Keys checkbox.
   
5. Click on OK.

Using the Settings App

1. Press Windows + I key to open the Settings app.
2. Click on Ease of access.
3. Scroll down to the Interaction section and click on the Keyboard option.
4. Look out for Press one key at a time for keyboard shortcuts field and click the toggle switch below it to set it as Off.

From the Lock Screen

You can use this method to turn off sticky keys without navigating anywhere on Windows easily. Here’s how you can do it.

1. Press the Windows + L key to lock your PC.
2. Click anywhere on the lock screen to prompt you to enter a password.
3. On the left of the Power icon, click on the Ease of access/ Accessibility icon.
4. Click to set the Sticky keys toggle button to Off.
   

How to Turn Off Sticky Keys on Mac

Like the Windows operating system, you can turn off the sticky keys on Mac as well. Follow these steps below:

1. Click on the Apple icon at the top left of the desktop screen.
2. Navigate to System Preferences > Accessibility.
3. Then, click on the Keyboard tab and uncheck the “Enable Sticky Keys.“
4. Click on OK.
5. Additionally, you can also click on the Options and disable the Press the Shift key five times to toggle Sticky Keys option to avoid the sticky keys prompt whenever you press the shift key multiple times.

What to Do if Sticky Keys Can’t Be Turned Off

Sometimes, even if you have configured all the settings, the sticky keys won’t turn off or turn on automatically after restarting your system. In this case, you may need to reinstall your keyboard device drivers or even scan your system for viruses. 

Reinstall Keyboard Device Drivers

Here’re the steps to reinstall your keyboard drivers:

1. Press Windows + R key and type devmgmt.msc to open the Device Manager.
2. Double-click on the Keyboards option to expand the dropdown.
3. Right-click on your keyboard device and select the Uninstall device option.
4. On the Uninstall Device prompt, click on the Uninstall button
5. Restart the system to apply the changes and see if your issue has been solved.

Alternatively, you can even select the Update driver option to update your keyboard device and see if it works.

Scan Your System With an Antivirus

Sometimes it may be the case that a virus or malware has infected your PC. These viruses can target your keyboard and infect the keyboard drivers causing the keystrokes to malfunction. So, it is likely that your sticky keys are turning on themselves due to viruses.

Hence, you need to run a reliable antivirus application to remove the viruses. Alternatively, you can enter the safe mode and scan your system if you use a Windows machine.