Laptop keyboard stopped working after connecting an external USB keyboard

Ask Fedora
1

My laptop is a Lenovo Ideapad 3 17AD05 and the external keyboard is a Game Factor KBG500.
But I do not think this is of key importance. (I can be wrong, though.)
Computer is loaded with both Fedora Linux 42 and Windows 11.
Keyboard is not recognized neither by Fedora nor by Windows.

On looking for the origin of the failure, I found out something had to to with the F7 key and a “Caret Browsing” pop up window.

It is interesting to note that with the external USB keyboard disconnected, the laptop keyboard writes a comma (,) when F7 key is pressed. So, keyboard might not be damaged or disconected.

2

According to the website this is not your first post, so you should be aware of how it works when asking for help.
It starts with a detailed hardware description, info about the used software and versions.

And of course a description of what goes wrong, but I see you already wrote that in the title.

Now nobody knows what equipment you have and nobody can give an answer to help you.
So help us here to help yourself.

2 Likes
3

No, @jandemus, it isn’t by far my 1st post.
The issue caught my off guard.
I possibly asked for help without doing a thorough research.
But in the beginning I couln’t figure out why this was happening.

I edited the post.

4

Hello Alfredo, sorry I wrote these hard lines but you do understand when somebody wants to help you (s)he needs info.
You have now given some of the info I asked for, please also give us the rest:
In a terminal type inxi -J and copy the result including the command itself in your answer, formatted with the </> button to make it readable, like mine:

inxi -J
USB:
  Hub-1: 1-0:1 info: hi-speed hub with single TT ports: 4 rev: 2.0
  Device-1: 1-4:2 info: Integrated Express ITE Device(8910) type: keyboard
    rev: 2.0
  Hub-2: 2-0:1 info: super-speed hub ports: 2 rev: 3.1
  Hub-3: 3-0:1 info: hi-speed hub with single TT ports: 3 rev: 2.0
  Hub-4: 3-2:2 info: Realtek RTS5411 Hub ports: 4 rev: 2.1
  Device-1: 3-3:3 info: Foxconn / Hon Hai Bluetooth 5.2 Adapter [MediaTek
    MT7922] type: bluetooth rev: 2.1
  Hub-5: 4-0:1 info: super-speed hub ports: 2 rev: 3.1
  Hub-6: 4-2:2 info: Realtek Hub ports: 3 rev: 3.2
  Hub-7: 5-0:1 info: hi-speed hub with single TT ports: 1 rev: 2.0
  Hub-8: 6-0:1 info: hi-speed hub with single TT ports: 1 rev: 2.0
  Hub-9: 7-0:1 info: super-speed hub ports: 1 rev: 3.1
  Hub-10: 8-0:1 info: hi-speed hub with single TT ports: 1 rev: 2.0
  Hub-11: 9-0:1 info: super-speed hub ports: 1 rev: 3.1

After that do the same with this command: inxi-Fzxx:

inxi -Fzxx
System:
  Kernel: 6.17.8-300.fc43.x86_64 arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 15.2.1
  Desktop: KDE Plasma v: 6.5.3 tk: Qt v: N/A wm: kwin_wayland dm: SDDM
    Distro: Fedora Linux 43 (KDE Plasma Desktop Edition)
Machine:
  Type: Laptop System: LENOVO product: 82RG v: Legion 5 Pro 16ARH7H
    serial: <superuser required> Chassis: type: 10 v: Legion 5 Pro 16ARH7H
    serial: <superuser required>
  Mobo: LENOVO model: LNVNB161216 v: SDK0T76461 WIN
    serial: <superuser required> part-nu: LENOVO_MT_82RG_BU_idea_FM_Legion 5
    Pro 16ARH7H UEFI: LENOVO v: JUCN68WW date: 12/05/2024
Battery:
  ID-1: BAT0 charge: 59.2 Wh (79%) condition: 74.9/80 Wh (93.7%) volts: 16.48
    min: 15.44 model: Celxpert L21C4PC1 serial: <filter> charging:
    status: not charging cycles: 140
CPU:
  Info: 8-core model: AMD Ryzen 7 6800H with Radeon Graphics bits: 64
    type: MT MCP arch: Zen 3+ rev: 1 cache: L1: 512 KiB L2: 4 MiB L3: 16 MiB
  Speed (MHz): avg: 1096 min/max: 404/3201 boost: enabled cores: 1: 1096
    2: 1096 3: 1096 4: 1096 5: 1096 6: 1096 7: 1096 8: 1096 9: 1096 10: 1096
    11: 1096 12: 1096 13: 1096 14: 1096 15: 1096 16: 1096 bogomips: 102206
  Flags-basic: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 sse4a
    ssse3 svm
Graphics:
  Device-1: NVIDIA GA106M [GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile / Max-Q] vendor: Lenovo
    driver: nvidia v: 580.105.08 arch: Ampere pcie: speed: 16 GT/s lanes: 8
    ports: active: none empty: DP-7, DP-8, HDMI-A-1, eDP-2 bus-ID: 01:00.0
    chip-ID: 10de:2560
  Device-2: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] Rembrandt [Radeon 680M]
    vendor: Lenovo driver: amdgpu v: kernel arch: RDNA-2 pcie: speed: 16 GT/s
    lanes: 16 ports: active: eDP-1 empty: DP-1, DP-2, DP-3, DP-4, DP-5, DP-6,
    Writeback-1 bus-ID: 34:00.0 chip-ID: 1002:1681 temp: 41.0 C
  Display: wayland server: Xwayland v: 24.1.9 compositor: kwin_wayland
    driver: gpu: amdgpu display-ID: 0
  Monitor-1: eDP-1 model: BOE Display 0x0a9b res: 2560x1600 hz: 165 dpi: 189
    diag: 406mm (16")
  API: EGL v: 1.5 platforms: device: 0 drv: nvidia device: 2 drv: radeonsi
    device: 3 drv: swrast gbm: drv: nvidia surfaceless: drv: nvidia wayland:
    drv: radeonsi x11: drv: radeonsi inactive: device-1
  API: OpenGL v: 4.6.0 compat-v: 4.5 vendor: amd mesa v: 25.2.7 glx-v: 1.4
    direct-render: yes renderer: AMD Radeon 680M (radeonsi rembrandt LLVM
    21.1.5 DRM 3.64 6.17.8-300.fc43.x86_64) device-ID: 1002:1681
    display-ID: :0.0
  API: Vulkan v: 1.4.321 surfaces: N/A device: 0 type: integrated-gpu
    driver: mesa radv device-ID: 1002:1681 device: 1 type: discrete-gpu
    driver: nvidia device-ID: 10de:2560 device: 2 type: cpu
    driver: mesa llvmpipe device-ID: 10005:0000
  Info: Tools: api: clinfo, eglinfo, glxinfo, vulkaninfo
    de: kscreen-console,kscreen-doctor gpu: nvidia-settings,nvidia-smi
    wl: wayland-info x11: xdriinfo, xdpyinfo, xprop, xrandr
Audio:
  Device-1: NVIDIA GA106 High Definition Audio driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel
    pcie: speed: 16 GT/s lanes: 8 bus-ID: 01:00.1 chip-ID: 10de:228e
  Device-2: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] Radeon High Definition Audio
    [Rembrandt/Strix] vendor: Lenovo driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel pcie:
    speed: 16 GT/s lanes: 16 bus-ID: 34:00.1 chip-ID: 1002:1640
  Device-3: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Audio Coprocessor vendor: Lenovo
    driver: snd_pci_acp6x v: kernel pcie: speed: 16 GT/s lanes: 16
    bus-ID: 34:00.5 chip-ID: 1022:15e2
  Device-4: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 17h/19h/1ah HD Audio
    vendor: Lenovo driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel pcie: speed: 16 GT/s
    lanes: 16 bus-ID: 34:00.6 chip-ID: 1022:15e3
  API: ALSA v: k6.17.8-300.fc43.x86_64 status: kernel-api
  Server-1: PipeWire v: 1.4.9 status: active with: 1: pipewire-pulse
    status: active 2: wireplumber status: active 3: pipewire-alsa type: plugin
    4: pw-jack type: plugin
Network:
  Device-1: MEDIATEK MT7922 802.11ax PCI Express Wireless Network Adapter
    vendor: Lenovo driver: mt7921e v: kernel pcie: speed: 5 GT/s lanes: 1
    bus-ID: 02:00.0 chip-ID: 14c3:0616
  IF: wlp2s0 state: up mac: <filter>
  Device-2: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8211/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet
    vendor: Lenovo driver: r8169 v: kernel pcie: speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1
    port: 4000 bus-ID: 03:00.0 chip-ID: 10ec:8168
  IF: eno1 state: down mac: <filter>
  IF-ID-1: qtun state: unknown speed: 10000 Mbps duplex: full mac: N/A
Bluetooth:
  Device-1: Foxconn / Hon Hai Bluetooth 5.2 Adapter [MediaTek MT7922]
    driver: btusb v: 0.8 type: USB rev: 2.1 speed: 480 Mb/s lanes: 1
    bus-ID: 3-3:3 chip-ID: 0489:e0d8
  Report: btmgmt ID: hci0 rfk-id: 2 state: up address: <filter> bt-v: 5.3
    lmp-v: 12
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 953.87 GiB used: 717.62 GiB (75.2%)
  ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 vendor: Samsung model: MZVL21T0HCLR-00BL2
    size: 953.87 GiB speed: 63.2 Gb/s lanes: 4 serial: <filter> temp: 45.9 C
Partition:
  ID-1: / size: 62.44 GiB used: 26.18 GiB (41.9%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/nvme0n1p3
  ID-2: /boot size: 1.9 GiB used: 672.1 MiB (34.5%) fs: ext4
    dev: /dev/nvme0n1p2
  ID-3: /boot/efi size: 598.8 MiB used: 51.3 MiB (8.6%) fs: vfat
    dev: /dev/nvme0n1p1
  ID-4: /home size: 872.28 GiB used: 690.73 GiB (79.2%) fs: ext4
    dev: /dev/nvme0n1p4
Swap:
  ID-1: swap-1 type: zram size: 8 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) priority: 100
    dev: /dev/zram0
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 42.4 C mobo: N/A gpu: amdgpu temp: 41.0 C
  Fan Speeds (rpm): N/A
Info:
  Memory: total: 16 GiB note: est. available: 14.8 GiB used: 5.91 GiB (40.0%)
  Processes: 409 Power: uptime: 1h 42m wakeups: 0 Init: systemd v: 258
    default: graphical
  Packages: pm: rpm pkgs: N/A note: see --rpm pm: flatpak pkgs: 47
    Compilers: gcc: 15.2.1 Shell: Bash v: 5.3.0 running-in: konsole inxi: 3.3.39

You write the external keyboard gives a comma when typing the F7 key. This is of course not good. Does it do that in Fedora as well as in Windows?

I also get the same caret window so we can assume this is correct. I have never seen it before and to be honest have no idea what it is.

Please give the info I wrote here in the way that I described it. It makes it very easy to read if you do. Thanks.

5

inxi-j 

Swap: 
  ID-1: swap-1 type: zram size: 8 GiB used: 296 MiB (3.6%) /dev/zram

inxi -Fzxx 

System:
Kernel: 6.14.0-63.fc42.x86_64 arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 15.0.1
Desktop: GNOME v: 48.0 tk: GTK v: 3.24.49 wm: gnome-shell dm: GDM
Distro: Fedora Linux 42 (Workstation Edition)
Machine:
Type: Laptop System: LENOVO product: 81W2 v: IdeaPad 3 17ADA05
serial:  Chassis: type: 10 v: IdeaPad 3 17ADA05 serial:
Mobo: LENOVO model: LNVNB161216 v: SDK0R32776WIN serial:
part-nu: LENOVO_MT_81W2_BU_idea_FM_IdeaPad 3 17ADA05 UEFI: LENOVO
v: E8CN34WW date: 04/28/2022
Battery:
ID-1: BAT0 charge: 42.4 Wh (100%) condition: 42.4/42 Wh (101%) volts: 12.67
min: 11.4 model: LGC L19L3PF4 serial:  charging: status: full
cycles: 1266
CPU:
Info: quad core model: AMD Ryzen 7 3700U with Radeon Vega Mobile Gfx
bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Zen/Zen+ note: check rev: 1 cache: L1: 384 KiB
L2: 2 MiB L3: 4 MiB
Speed (MHz): avg: 1400 min/max: 1400/2300 boost: enabled cores: 1: 1400
2: 1400 3: 1400 4: 1400 5: 1400 6: 1400 7: 1400 8: 1400 bogomips: 36732
Flags-basic: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 sse4a
ssse3 svm
Graphics:
Device-1: Advanced Micro Devices \[AMD/ATI\] Picasso/Raven 2 \[Radeon Vega
Series / Radeon Mobile Series\] vendor: Lenovo driver: amdgpu v: kernel
arch: GCN-5 pcie: speed: 8 GT/s lanes: 16 ports: active: HDMI-A-1
off: eDP-1 empty: none bus-ID: 03:00.0 chip-ID: 1002:15d8 temp: 60.0 C
Device-2: IMC Networks Integrated Camera driver: uvcvideo type: USB
rev: 2.0 speed: 480 Mb/s lanes: 1 bus-ID: 3-1.1:4 chip-ID: 13d3:5415
Display: unspecified server: X.Org v: 24.1.6 with: Xwayland v: 24.1.6
compositor: gnome-shell driver: dri: radeonsi gpu: amdgpu display-ID: :0
screens: 1
Screen-1: 0 s-res: 1920x1080 s-dpi: 96
Monitor-1: HDMI-1 res: 1920x1080 hz: 60 dpi: 84 diag: 672mm (26.47")
API: OpenGL v: 4.6 vendor: amd mesa v: 25.0.2 glx-v: 1.4 es-v: 3.2
direct-render: yes renderer: AMD Radeon Vega 10 Graphics (radeonsi raven
ACO DRM 3.61 6.14.0-63.fc42.x86_64) device-ID: 1002:15d8
API: EGL Message: EGL data requires eglinfo. Check --recommends.
Info: Tools: api: glxinfo x11: xdriinfo, xdpyinfo, xprop, xrandr
Audio:
Device-1: Advanced Micro Devices \[AMD/ATI\] Raven/Raven2/Fenghuang HDMI/DP
Audio vendor: Lenovo driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel pcie: speed: 8 GT/s
lanes: 16 bus-ID: 03:00.1 chip-ID: 1002:15de
Device-2: Advanced Micro Devices \[AMD\] ACP/ACP3X/ACP6x Audio Coprocessor
vendor: Lenovo driver: snd_pci_acp3x v: kernel pcie: speed: 8 GT/s lanes: 16
bus-ID: 03:00.5 chip-ID: 1022:15e2
Device-3: Advanced Micro Devices \[AMD\] Family 17h/19h/1ah HD Audio
vendor: Lenovo driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel pcie: speed: 8 GT/s lanes: 16
bus-ID: 03:00.6 chip-ID: 1022:15e3
API: ALSA v: k6.14.0-63.fc42.x86_64 status: kernel-api
Server-1: PipeWire v: 1.4.1 status: n/a (root, process) with:
1: pipewire-pulse status: active 2: wireplumber status: active
3: pipewire-alsa type: plugin 4: pw-jack type: plugin
Network:
Device-1: Qualcomm Atheros QCA6174 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter
vendor: Lenovo driver: ath10k_pci v: kernel pcie: speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1
bus-ID: 02:00.0 chip-ID: 168c:003e temp: 39.0 C
IF: wlp2s0 state: up mac:
Bluetooth:
Device-1: Qualcomm Atheros QCA61x4 Bluetooth 4.0 driver: btusb v: 0.8
type: USB rev: 2.0 speed: 12 Mb/s lanes: 1 bus-ID: 3-2:3 chip-ID: 0cf3:e300
Report: btmgmt ID: hci0 rfk-id: 5 state: up address:  bt-v: 4.2
lmp-v: 8
Drives:
Local Storage: total: 1.38 TiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%)
ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 vendor: Samsung model: SSD 970 EVO Plus 500GB
size: 465.76 GiB speed: 31.6 Gb/s lanes: 4 serial:  temp: 27.9 C
ID-2: /dev/sda vendor: Samsung model: SSD 860 EVO 1TB size: 931.51 GiB
speed: 6.0 Gb/s serial:  temp: 23 C
ID-3: /dev/sdb vendor: Lexar model: USB Flash Drive size: 14.55 GiB
type: USB rev: 2.0 spd: 480 Mb/s lanes: 1 serial:
Partition:
ID-1: / size: 1.92 GiB used: 904.4 MiB (46.1%) fs: overlay source: ERR-102
Swap:
ID-1: swap-1 type: zram size: 8 GiB used: 298.2 MiB (3.6%) priority: 100
dev: /dev/zram0
Sensors:
System Temperatures: cpu: 59.4 C mobo: N/A gpu: amdgpu temp: 59.0 C
Fan Speeds (rpm): N/A
Info:
Memory: total: 12 GiB note: est. available: 9.58 GiB used: 4.12 GiB (43.0%)
Processes: 353 Power: uptime: 10h 35m wakeups: 2 Init: systemd v: 257
target: graphical (5) default: graphical
Packages: pm: rpm pkgs: N/A note: see --rpm Compilers: N/A Shell: Bash
v: 5.2.37 running-in: ptyxis-agent inxi: 3.3.39

Need to add i’m working from an USB live Fedora for Windows update 23H2 broke the Dual Boot by erasing the GRUB menu and I haven’t been able to restore it.

Finally, yes, in both Windows and Fedora pressing F7 key writes a comma.

6

This should be inxi -J (capital J with a space in front of it)

When you have not changed anything in the Grub files, only deleted the grub menu then I think this should bring back the menu:
sudo grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/grub2/grub.cfg

I am wondering if the fact you are working from a USB disk has anything to do with this. Maybe somebody else here can chip in.

7

Try the suggestions in https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/glossary/how-to-fix-locked-laptop-keyboard/. Note: the above link fails when I click it in Discussion, but works if I paste into a browser. Wonder if Lenovo has some web scraper blocker.

8

Here is the inxi -J instruction, @jandemus

root@localhost-live:/home/liveuser# inxi -J
USB:
  Hub-1: 1-0:1 info: hi-speed hub with single TT ports: 4 rev: 2.0
  Device-1: 1-2:2 info: Lexar USB Flash Drive type: mass storage rev: 2.0
  Device-2: 1-3:7 info: Areson Corp 2.4G Receiver type: keyboard,mouse
    rev: 1.1
  Device-3: 1-4:5 info: BY Tech Usb Gaming Keyboard type: keyboard,HID
    rev: 2.0
  Hub-2: 2-0:1 info: super-speed hub ports: 4 rev: 3.1
  Hub-3: 3-0:1 info: hi-speed hub with single TT ports: 2 rev: 2.0
  Hub-4: 3-1:2 info: Genesys Logic Hub ports: 4 rev: 2.0
  Device-1: 3-1.1:4 info: IMC Networks Integrated Camera type: video
    rev: 2.0
  Device-2: 3-1.3:5 info: Shenzhen Goodix FingerPrint Device
    type: <vendor specific> rev: 2.0
  Device-3: 3-2:6 info: Qualcomm Atheros QCA61x4 Bluetooth 4.0
    type: bluetooth rev: 2.0
  Hub-5: 4-0:1 info: super-speed hub ports: 1 rev: 3.1
9

Did you try the link @gnwiii wrote here? Do that first since the web page explains how to unlock the keyboard.

Again some questions:

Has it ever worked on this computer or did it break when Windows did its thing?
Does the external mouse still work, or is that off as well?
Since you wrote both in Windows and in Fedora it doesn’t work, I can not imagine it is caused by the OS but it must be the keyboard itself. Do you have another computer in the house where you can connect the keyboard to, or maybe a friend close by where you could try it out? Just to rule out/or rule in it is the keyboard.