All my F (F1...F12) keys do not work

Question

Level 1

6 points

All my F (F1...F12) keys do not work

So all my F keys do not work, instead they make a rather annoying noise when pressed, and I've tried google, youtube, and the settings, but nothing works. They do work for about 15 seconds after I start my computer but then start to make annoying sounds, the best I acheived was that they were not in sync but that lasted about 2 minutes before they started to make annoying sounds again. I am using the newest MacBook Pro Retina 15" with OSX Mavericks. Please help.

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Mavericks (10.9.1), Top Spec

Posted on Jan 16, 2014 7:29 PM

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Answer 1

Melophage

Level 5

7,213 points

Jan 20, 2014 10:00 PM in response to ERROR404MAC

ERROR404MAC,

have you tried resetting your MacBook Pro’s System Management Controller? (Use the method given in the “Resetting the SMC on portables with a battery you should not remove on your own” section.)

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Answer 2

Melophage

Level 5

7,213 points

Jan 18, 2014 2:25 PM in response to ERROR404MAC

ERROR404MAC,

what happens now if you press Fn F1 or Fn F2? What happens now if your press F1 or F2? Do any of these keypress combinations affect your display’s brightness?

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Answer 3

Melophage

Level 5

7,213 points

Jan 16, 2014 8:00 PM in response to ERROR404MAC

ERROR404MAC,

if you open the Keyboard pane of System Preferences, and select the Keyboard tab, you will find a checkbox labeled “Use all F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys”. Is it checked, or is it unchecked?

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Answer 4

ERROR404MAC Author

Level 1

6 points

Jan 17, 2014 2:02 PM in response to Melophage

It is unchecked but even if I check it, my keyboard still doesn't work. As of right now, my F11 key (volume down) shows desktop, and my F12 (volume up) jumps to dashboard (the one with all the widgets).

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Answer 5

Melophage

Level 5

7,213 points

Jan 17, 2014 6:58 PM in response to ERROR404MAC

ERROR404MAC,

if you look in the Keyboard pane of System Preferences, select its Shortcuts tab, and select Mission Control on the left-hand side, you’ll see Show Desktop and Show Dashboard checkboxes on the right. They’re probably checked at the moment, and set to F11 and F12 respectively. To disable these two shortcuts, uncheck their checkboxes.

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Answer 6

Melophage

Level 5

7,213 points

Jan 18, 2014 7:28 PM in response to ERROR404MAC

ERROR404MAC,

all of the F… keys will work in the same manner — either the F… key by itself, or the F… key in conjunction with fn. So neither F5 and F6 (key brightness) nor F10 through F12 (volume) display anything on screen to reflect their current settings when you press them?

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Answer 7

ERROR404MAC Author

Level 1

6 points

Jan 20, 2014 12:18 PM in response to Melophage

None of the F5 to F12 is working, I have been trying to find the key bindings but I have yet to find any. As for functionality, when pressing any keys from F5 to F12, they immediatly select an item on the desktop with a name that starts with U

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Answer 8

Melophage

Level 5

7,213 points

Jan 26, 2014 8:39 PM in response to ERROR404MAC

ERROR404MAC,

be sure to make an appointment, so that you don’t have to kill time waiting for someone there to become available to take a look at it. Whatever the resolution might be, be sure to post it in a reply here, so that others will learn from your experience if they’re observing a similar issue.

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Answer 9

ERROR404MAC Author

Level 1

6 points

Jan 30, 2014 10:37 AM in response to Melophage

Hmmm...This is rather interesting, I didin't have time over the week to go to a retail store and interestingly, I restarted my computer several times until the buttons started to work again...so, um...restart your computer repeatedly until everything works again?

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Answer 10

Jul 8, 2014 3:57 PM in response to ERROR404MAC

recently I also faced same type of problem, I tried reset by SMC mode but nothing changed then I went to apple store and said about the problem they fixed it... so if u r also facing same type of problem then don't search more just go to your nearest store and get it fixed.

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Answer 11

ERROR404MAC Author

Level 1

6 points

Jan 18, 2014 12:44 PM in response to Melophage

I have and now F11 and F12 does nothing

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Answer 12

ERROR404MAC Author

Level 1

6 points

Jan 18, 2014 7:13 PM in response to Melophage

After fiddling with the settings, i have managed to get F1-F4(brightness, all dektops, all apps) working but nothing else is working, even if I press fn+F(insert number here).

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