Keyboard locked in Caps

Question

Level 1

3 points

Keyboard locked in Caps

Hi all,
I have a small problem on my MBA (Late 2010) which is kind of annoying. Sometime, the keyboard decides to lock itself in Caps, and this without pressing on the shift or caps lock keys. In the middle of a sentence, if will decide to lock itself and that sometimes stays for a long time. Try to restart it when it does that, and it will boot in safe mode (as when you press shift during the starting process), minimze app and it will do that in slow motion, as when you press Shift. Not sure it is hardware as it does it without pressing the Caps keys at all.
It just appeared after upgrading to 10.6.7... not sure it is releted?
Any idea (I am not going to be near an Apple store and maintenance Center for a month at least).
thx

MacBook Air (Late 2010), Mac OS X (10.6.7)

Posted on Apr 3, 2011 10:16 PM

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Answer 1

Mar 18, 2017 4:10 PM in response to JulienSey

Good to hear your problem was resolved.

I sometimes have a similar issue, and it usually isn't related to hardware failure, but the connection. I have my MBP connected to a Thunderbolt Display. I believe the setup can be a bit wonky at times when connecting, so will have the ALL CAPS issue on the attached USB keyboard. Normally, disconnecting the Thunderbolt cable and reconnecting takes care of this.

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Answer 2

rkaufmann87

Level 10

148,440 points

Apr 3, 2011 10:27 PM in response to JulienSey

First thing I'd try is a SMC reset:

_SMC RESET_

• Shut down the computer.
• Plug in the MagSafe power adapter to a power source, connecting it to the Mac if its not already connected.
• On the built-in keyboard, press the (left side) Shift-Control-Option keys and the power button at the same time.
• Release all the keys and the power button at the same time.
• Press the power button to turn on the computer.

_PRAM RESET_

• Shut down the computer.
• Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step
• Turn on the computer.
• Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
• Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
• Release the keys.

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Answer 3

JulienSey Author

Level 1

3 points

Apr 3, 2011 11:26 PM in response to rkaufmann87

THANKS A LOT FOR THE QUICK REPLY.
DID THE SMC RESET AND TRIED THE PRAM. NOT SURE THE SECOND ONE WAS SUCCESSFULL AS I DID NOT GET ANY RESTART. THE COMPUTER JUST STARTED ASKING FOR MY PASSWORD. IS THIS BECAUSE THE COMPUTER THINKS THAT SHIFT IS ALSO PRESSED?
IN ANY CASE THAT DID NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM AS YOU CAN SEE...

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Answer 4

JulienSey Author

Level 1

3 points

Apr 3, 2011 11:37 PM in response to JulienSey

I WOULD LIKE TO ADD THAT IF I USE THE KEYBOARD VIEWER, and press on it twice the caps lock key, i am able to get back to small letters, BUT AS SOON AS I USE THE KEYBOARD, I'M BACK TO CAPS ON BOTH THE KEYBOARD AND THE KEYBOARD VIEWER (until I press on the viewer CAPS LOCK twice).
By using an external keyboard, no problem. Hardware or software?

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Answer 5

rkaufmann87

Level 10

148,440 points

Apr 4, 2011 6:39 AM in response to JulienSey

Try doing the SMC reset 2-3x. Also if your keyboard is wireless remove the batteries for a couple of minutes.

If this still doesn't help create a new user account (call it Test Account) and do not make any changes to it in any way. Then log into that account, if the problem doesn't occur there then you know you have a software problem in your user account and just have to track it down.

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Answer 6

JulienSey Author

Level 1

3 points

Apr 5, 2011 4:08 AM in response to rkaufmann87

I will try again the SMC reset and if it does not work create the new account. In the mean time, I am using Paralells6 with Windows7, and also there it is locked in caps.
The keyboard I am using unfortunately is not an apple on, but a USB PC keyboard.

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Answer 7

rkaufmann87

Level 10

148,440 points

Apr 5, 2011 6:52 AM in response to JulienSey

The keyboard I am using unfortunately is not an apple on, but a USB PC keyboard.

OK, it's possible that might be the problem. If you can get your hands on another keyboard try it. I have successfully used generic USB wired keyboards on my iMac but only up to 10.6.6. If cost is an issue you can usually find used Apple USB keyboards at Ebay or Craigslist and also www.macsales.com.

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Answer 8

JulienSey Author

Level 1

3 points

Apr 6, 2011 5:59 AM in response to rkaufmann87

Thanks again for your replies. In fact, the USB keyboard is not and cannot be the problem, not sure I was very clear before. I used to use my MBA only with its own keyboard (no external keyboard plugged). Since I bought it, late december, I had absolutely no problem, but after doing the 10.6.7 update (and I am not saying that there is a relationship), I started having this problem of the Caps (SHIFT key) being locked. This is not all the time, but most of the time. For example today, it worked fine for 5 ours, and then in the middle of the afternoon, the keyboard locked itself in Caps (however, yesterday it was locked the whole day in Caps).

The consequences, despite the fact that I write with caps, are that:
1) minimizing any windows will be done in slow motion as if you press the SHIFT when doing so
2) when I restart the computer it will start in Safe boot mode as if SHIFT was pressed during start up.
3) I cannot select one file, email or folder, but it will select everything from the beginning to the one I clicked on, as if SHIFT was pressed when you select a file, mail or folder.

The only way I am able to use normally my MBA at the moment is by plugging a USB keyboard to it (and I only have a PC one, but this is not an issue). So the USB keyboard is not the cause, but a temporary (I hope) solution to my problem. I am sorry for not being clear enough in my previous post.

I did run a hardware test, I did run the disk utility, did the resets... but still the same problem is happening. I created the Test account, and same thing, when it is locking itself, I will have Caps only on both accounts, as well as on Windows 7 running under Parallels 6.

It is a pity because I love my MBA, which is my first Mac experience... Really annoying though when you are in a small country with no Apple reseller or maintenance center.

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Answer 9

JulienSey Author

Level 1

3 points

Apr 13, 2011 11:45 PM in response to JulienSey

I guess it is hardware... Now it is always only in Caps/Shift key being on all the time. I am going to Europe and USA soon, hope i can get it fix quickly. Too bad for my first Mac ;-(

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Answer 10

Apr 14, 2011 11:17 AM in response to JulienSey

My MacBook Air, late Dec 2010 model, has a similar problem to yours - keyboard misbehavior. Try this : Quit all applications, then force quit Finder to get it to relaunch, and follow IMMEDIATELY by a shutdown (preferably not restart) of MacBook. Startup.

These steps restored some normalcy to my keyboard function. But the letters in the qwertyuiop row are still not 100% right.

I suspect a Finder bug (together with Safari 10.6.7) is causing the problem. See if this works for you too.

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Answer 11

JulienSey Author

Level 1

3 points

May 10, 2011 3:19 AM in response to JulienSey

Problem fixed! Apple replaced my computer with a new one.

Thanks Apple! Best customer service ever...

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