Keyboard Not Working in Google Chrome for Windows? Try These Fixes

Even the most popular web browser in the world experiences problems from time to time. But one issue frequently affecting Windows users is when the keyboard stops functioning in Chrome.

Issues like this can prevent you from searching and visiting your preferred websites. So, if you have this problem and are at your wit’s end, here are some valuable tips to resolve your issue in no time.

1. Restart Google Chrome

Restarting Chrome is a classic troubleshooting tip that usually takes care of any temporary issues the browser may have experienced while running. If it’s just a one-off glitch preventing the keyboard from working in Chrome, restarting the browser should help.

Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc on your keyboard to open Task Manager. In the Processes tab, right-click on Google Chrome, and select End task from the context menu.

Reopen Chrome after this and check if the keyboard works now.

2. Try Incognito Window

When you open Chrome in incognito mode, the browser operates without any of your browsing history, cookies, or extensions. This can help you determine whether the problem is caused by browsing data or extensions.

To open an incognito window in Chrome, click the three-dot menu icon in the top right corner and select New Incognito window from the resulting menu. Alternatively, you can press Ctrl + Shift + N.

If the keyboard works fine in the incognito window, one of your extensions is likely causing the issue.

3. Disable Google Chrome Extensions

A glitched browser extension could interfere with Chrome processes on Windows, causing your keyboard to stop working. Use Chrome with all your extensions turned off to check for this possibility.

To disable extensions in Google Chrome:

1. Click the three-dot menu icon in the top right corner.
2. Hover the cursor over More tools and select Extensions from the submenu.
3. Turn off the toggles next to your extensions to disable them.

   

Restart Chrome after this and check if your keyboard works. If it does, it means one of your extensions is to blame. To identify it, you can re-enable your extensions one at a time until the issue occurs again.

4. Clear Browsing Data

As you continue to use Google Chrome, the browser stores temporary files, such as cache and cookies, on your computer to improve your browsing experience. Over time, this data might get corrupted and cause strange problems.

Fortunately, getting rid of this problematic browsing data in Chrome is relatively easy. If you need help with that, check our guide on how to clear cache and cookies in Chrome and follow the steps outlined there.

5. Disable the Hardware Acceleration

When you enable hardware acceleration in Chrome, graphics-intensive tasks are managed by the GPU instead of the CPU. Although this feature helps improve browser performance, it does not always work flawlessly. Hence, it’s best to disable it if you’re experiencing issues like the one discussed here.

To disable hardware acceleration in Google Chrome, use these steps:

1. Open Google Chrome on your computer.
2. Click the menu icon in the top right corner and select Settings.
3. Use the left pane to navigate to the System tab.
4. Disable the toggle next to Use hardware acceleration when available.
5. Click the Relaunch button to apply the changes and restart Chrome.

   

6. Run the Keyboard Troubleshooter

It’s possible that the keyboard not working issue in Chrome has nothing to do with the browser. If so, you can run the keyboard troubleshooter on Windows. It will scan your system for any keyboard-related issues and attempt to resolve them. Here’s how to run it.

1. Right-click the Start icon and select Settings from the list.
2. Navigate to System > Troubleshoot.
3. Select Other troubleshooters.
4. Click the Run button next to Keyboard.

   

Follow the on-screen prompts to run the troubleshooter and check if the keyboard works in Google Chrome.

7. Disable Antivirus Program

An overly-protective antivirus program can disrupt your browsing experience and lead to problems. To investigate this possibility, you can temporarily disable your antivirus program. You can accomplish this by right-clicking on its icon in the taskbar and choosing the disable option from the context menu.

If this method gets the keyboard to work in Chrome, there may be an issue with your antivirus program.

8. Reset Chrome Flags

Although Chrome flags allow you to use various experimental features such as parallel downloading, smooth scrolling, reader mode, and more, they can sometimes cause the browser to become unstable or freeze.

To fix this, you should reset Chrome flags to their default settings. For that, navigate to the chrome://flags page and click the Reset all button in the top right corner.

Restart Chrome after this and check if the keyboard works fine.

9. Reset Chrome

Resetting Google Chrome is an effective way to resolve all browser-related issues, including this one. So, if the above solutions don’t work, try resetting Google Chrome to its default configuration by following the steps below.

1. In Google Chrome, click the menu icon in the top right corner, and select Settings.
2. Select the Reset settings tab from the left sidebar.
3. Click the Restore settings to their original defaults option.
4. Select the Reset settings option to confirm.

   

10. Uninstall and Reinstall Chrome

If resetting Google Chrome does not help, you can uninstall and reinstall the browser on your PC as a last resort. This will not only get rid of any problematic app data but also update the browser to its latest version.

1. Press Win + R to open the Run dialog box.
2. Type appwiz.cpl in the text box and press Enter.
3. In the Programs and Features window that opens, right-click on Google Chrome and select Uninstall.
4. Follow the on-screen instructions to uninstall Google Chrome.

   

After uninstalling Chrome, remove any residual Chrome files from your computer. If you need help with that, check our guide on eradicating leftovers from uninstalled software in Windows 10 & 11 and follow the steps outlined there.

Now open another browser, such as Microsoft Edge, to download the Google Chrome installation file and install the browser on your computer.

Browse With Google Chrome Again

With any luck, one of the above-mentioned fixes should get your keyboard to work again in Google Chrome. However, if none of them worked for you, malware has likely infected your Windows computer. It’s best to run a full system scan on your PC to check for this possibility.