symbols on MacBook Air show up on different keys

evangeline183 wrote:

Why do symbols on MacBook Air show differently when key is typed?

You probably have the wrong input source active. Go to system preferences / keyboard / input sources and make sure there is only one item on the list, and that the name of that item is “us” or whatever your keyboard is.

if you tell us which keys are producing which wrong symbol, we can tell you more exactly what input source is needed,

Hello evangeline183,

Welcome to Apple Support Communities!

We want to make sure the MacBook Air keyboard is working as expected for you.

Try the steps here to see if you have any modifier keys that are causing the issue.

"Change the behavior of the modifier keys on Mac

You can change the action that modifier keys, such as Control or Option, perform when you press them.

1. On your Mac, choose Apple menu  > System Settings, then click Keyboard  in the sidebar. (You may need to scroll down.)
2. Click Keyboard Shortcuts on the right, then select Modifier Keys in the list on the left.
3. For each modifier whose default action you want to change, click the pop-up menu, then choose the action you want performed when you press the key, or choose No Action.
4. For example, if you’re used to a keyboard that had the Control key where the Caps Lock key is located on an Apple keyboard, you could click the Caps Lock pop-up menu, then choose Control to have that action performed whenever you press the Caps Lock key."

This Apple Support page has the full details: Change the behavior of the modifier keys on Mac - Apple Support

This Apple Support page can help check for any other issues in the keyboard settings: Change Keyboard settings on Mac - Apple Support

If the issue continues, does this happen with all keys or only certain ones?

The more details you can provide about the situation, the better equipped we are to assist.

Cheers!