Altgr randomly stops working on windows 8

usually AltGr Works fine on my computer but latelly it stops working. I can still use Ctrl+Alt but it's a pain as I need it to write {} and I'm a c# programmer :S

Any idea on what can happen? If I reboot the laptop everything Works fine. It's not a failure of the key itself becasue when I press it the menus get the _ drawn, so the keyboard is sending the message to the OS.

Thanks in advance.

Ignacio Soler Garcia

Posted 2013-05-31T10:13:01.670

Reputation: 1 729

For me the problem was just that there had been a change in "Text service and input language" in Windows. I fixed it by removing any shortcuts. – jamietelin – 2014-09-15T10:58:14.647

I can confirm that this is still a problem in windows 10. – SoonDead – 2016-04-11T10:23:35.640

What's your keyboard layout? Do you have any other layouts enabled? – gronostaj – 2013-05-31T10:24:59.697

I already checked the layout and it's ok. I have two layouts but almost always I use just one. The issue has stopped a few minutes ago without restarting, It has come and gone. – Ignacio Soler Garcia – 2013-05-31T11:50:27.237

You say computer, I assume laptop, because my first test would be replacing it.. but somehow I have the feeling you lack that choice. – NickW – 2013-06-12T15:06:25.690

@NickW: yeah, that's an option but somehow the key is working even when it don't do its complete function. When I press it the menus show the _ so the keyboard is sensing the key press ... :S – Ignacio Soler Garcia – 2013-06-12T15:09:10.217

1I'd try swapping keyboards, just to be sure. Just as an aside, it isn't a bluetooth keyboard is it? I've had issues with interference make my keyboard do very strange things. – NickW – 2013-06-12T15:11:54.960

No it's not, I had also that kind of problems with the wireless keyboard but this one is the physical one. It hasn't failed on the last week so I'll give it a chance. Anyway thanks! – Ignacio Soler Garcia – 2013-06-12T15:59:54.747

1This happens to me too, randomly stops working, I used to have another language installed but this still happens after i removed the language, sometimes a restart fixes it and another times it fixes its self. – Juan Zamudio – 2013-07-09T17:55:32.113

Well, i just confirmed is not my keyboard, AltGr is currently disabled locally on my machine but if I use Remote Desktop AltGr works on the remote desktop window. – Juan Zamudio – 2013-07-09T23:56:04.813

Answers

167

There are many blog posts out there, which try to explain what the issue could be. Many times specific programs are the cause of the problem.

For me it was a Windows Remote Desktop connection I had running, that prevented the key from working. I didn't have to close it, just opening the window and clicking anywhere inside it somehow made my [AltGR] key work again!

EDIT: It seems to the related to the full-screen mode of RDP. See this KB article.

Just try to close all your applications one by one to find out what could be the cause.

GameScripting

Posted 2013-05-31T10:13:01.670

Reputation: 1 786

8Worked for me. Really crazy, but at least for me it was enough to click on the remote desktop window and then click an open program in the remote desktop. After that it worked again everywhere, without rebooting or closing anything. – Juha Untinen – 2014-07-08T07:19:03.010

Visual Studio and Hyper V remote connection, too. – Emiswelt – 2014-08-08T15:55:09.217

That is odd, just clicking on RDC window and come back to my desktop is indeed working. I left RDC open all night and saw that ALTGR was working like ALT. Thanks for the solution :) – ilter – 2014-10-22T12:29:25.150

Why on earth is this happening? I can use my altgr again. Thanks! – habitats – 2016-01-23T18:02:42.787

1Wtf Microsoft ... I'm on Windows 10 and closing RDP worked - one should think it would be fixed by now ... sigh. – MojoDK – 2016-06-09T11:14:25.040

Saved my day :) – Pedro Simões – 2016-12-23T12:36:59.523

This problem can also occur when you have an RDP session inside another RDP session. Disconnecting from the inner session fixed it for me. – Stijn – 2017-09-28T08:44:47.210

Maybe I had a WRD active ... I don't remember. I'll check this the next time. Thanks! – Ignacio Soler Garcia – 2013-07-10T11:53:51.970

17Works for me after closing all RDP sessions, thanks. – Ezombort – 2013-07-18T12:34:19.110

1I had a remote desktop session running fullscreen on other monitor and that was causing the issue. Minimizing the remote desktop window was enough to solve the issue. The problem does not occur always when remote desktop is fullscreen. – Juha Palomäki – 2013-10-24T02:58:57.787

1It just happened to me (Winows 7). I noticed it in Eclipse, but it did not work in other programs either (like the system Run... dialog). I had a RDP window running, so I clicked inside it, tried to type to the remote system and now AltGr worked. Then I went back to a local program in there it worked too. Bizzare... – David Balažic – 2014-01-16T19:12:13.250

Same thing with Virtual PC and Eclipse... weird! – Tivie – 2014-01-29T20:55:14.440

Closing remote desktop sessions worked for me too. – Niels Brinch – 2014-03-07T12:55:44.730

Wow, I would have never figured that out. Thanks!! – GuiSim – 2014-05-09T21:17:42.447

Here it turned out to be a running VirtualBox-instance that had tampered with my keyboard setup. After shifting focus to the VM and back to the editor the AltGr-key worked as expected.

I'm running Windows 7 SP1, so AltGr acting as Alt is a problem not only on Windows 8.

mariusnn

Posted 2013-05-31T10:13:01.670

Reputation: 211

It was the cause of my problem too. As I use the VM to run a debian server, I turned off the GUI like stated there: http://www.without-brains.net/blog/2011/05/06/running-a-headless-virtualbox-in-windows/ it also increased performence a little bit.

– Salketer – 2014-01-16T08:41:59.660

Me too. Annoying how a user mode application (with half a dozen drivers, no doubt) messes up something as essential as users keyboard layout, without Windows even suspecting it or issuing a warning to the user of said layout. – amn – 2014-02-14T12:35:52.143

For me, it was caused by Hyper-V (Microsoft virtualization). When I go to virtual machine, press AltGr it works. Return to desktop, works again!

user275219

Posted 2013-05-31T10:13:01.670

Reputation: 101

Windows 7 virtual machine triggered the problem for me, and I had already closed it. But activating a linux VM and hitting AltGr there also fixed the issue, so it doesn't require correct OS to revert the problem. – red – 2014-10-28T15:19:47.163

I had the same issue and focusing to Windows Phone emulator running in the background fixed it. – juarola – 2013-12-21T00:54:43.260

My problem with this key was sometimes when I am in a remote desktop session. As in, not a problem on the host. I am seeing the problem on the client, in the remote session.

I tried the following - without luck:

Switching and clicking on the remote desktop session: Didn't work.
Minimizing the remote desktop session: Didn't work.
Restarting the remote desktop session: Didn't work, it just re-attaches to the existing session - which still has the issue.

But, minimizing all application windows in the remote desktop session and then restoring (maximizing) the window where I needed the @ key it works.

I am actually writing this entry in the remote desktop session, and the @ key works as it should.

Spiralis

Posted 2013-05-31T10:13:01.670

Reputation: 171

The questioner have a laptop, so this is not probably answer for him/her. But nevertheless:

One possible reason of AltGr problems is Gigabyte EasyTune. It adds some own shortcuts to keyboard (or something else), which causes the problem.

Atleast with nordic keyboard maps: it causes problems with '@' [AltGr+2] and '€' [AltGr+5].

With Win8.1 solution was: uninstalling of EasyTune.

SKi

Posted 2013-05-31T10:13:01.670

Reputation: 215