tobiasagricola
Level 1 (4 points)
Notebooks

Q: Keyboard temporarily not working

Hey everybody,

Since two days I have a problem with my internal keyboard of my MacBook Air (2011). From time to time the keys in the first row with letters (qwertzuiop) are not working. I can't find out a reason for that. It's just coming up and sometimes after a few seconds, sometimes after a few hours or even more than that it's working again. The problem remains after reboot and even exists when typing in the password. Using an external keyboard is working!

Can somebody help me?

 

(Using 10.11.5)

 

Thanks!

Tobias

MacBook Air, OS X El Capitan (10.11.5)

Posted on Jun 18, 2016 12:35 AM

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tobiasagricola

Q: Keyboard temporarily not working

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  • Helpful answers

  • by becky_s22,

    becky_s22 becky_s22 Jun 19, 2016 10:44 AM in response to tobiasagricola
    Community Specialists
    Jun 19, 2016 10:44 AM in response to tobiasagricola

    Hello tobiasagricola,


    Thank you for being part of the Apple Community!

     

    It is my understanding you are experiencing a problem with the keyboard on your MacBook Air.  I know how much we all rely on our computers and what an inconvenience this can be!

     

    The first thing I would do is backup everything that is on the computer. Nothing I am going to suggest should cause any data loss, but it is always a good idea to have a backup.  Your computer has software on it called Time Machine.  It is fantastic software for backing up your computer.  Information on how to use Time Machine is available here: Use Time Machine to back up or restore your Mac.  

     

    Once the backup is complete, the next thing to do is to reset the System Management Controller or SMC on the computer.  Instructions on how to do this can be found here:  Reset the System Management Controller (SMC) on your Mac

     

    If the issue is continuing after the SMC reset, isolating what is causing the issue would be the next step.  You do that by first starting the computer in safe mode. 

     

    Follow these steps to start up into safe mode.

    1. Start or restart your Mac. 
    2. Immediately after you hear the startup sound, press and hold the Shift key.
    3. Release the Shift key when you see the Apple logo appear on the screen.

    After the Apple logo appears, it might take longer than usual to reach the login screen or your desktop. This is because your Mac performs a directory check of your startup disk as part of safe mode.

    To leave safe mode, restart your computer without pressing any keys during startup.

     

    More information about safe mode can be found here:  Try safe mode if your Mac doesn‘t finish starting up

     

    If the issue does not occur in safe mode, that indicates that something that is starting when the computer is run in normal mode is causing the problem.  In this scenario we want to disable login items and startup items. To do this:

     

    1. Click on the Apple Logo in the upper left corner
    2. Click on System Preferences
    3. Click on Users & Groups
    4. Select User in left column
    5. Click on Login Items.
    6. Remove items by highlighting them and clicking on " - " button near the bottom left of the Login Item window.
    7. Restart computer

     

    Have a great day!

  • by tobiasagricola,

    tobiasagricola tobiasagricola Jun 29, 2016 2:02 PM in response to becky_s22
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Notebooks
    Jun 29, 2016 2:02 PM in response to becky_s22

    Hello becky_s22,

    thanks very much for your help! Strangely everything worked out just normal since I wrote here. But from today on the keys "qwertzuio" are not working again. I tried these thinks you told me but its still the same. I can only type these letters using an extern keyboard.

    Do you have another idea?

     

    Thanks!!!