Reverting to function keys on keyboard

[Crizalis]

I found a pretty decent workaround about this Fn lock issue after hunting down for a while. The workaround is sort of sophisticated, so you can give it a shot if you are really dedicated to solving this Fn lock issue.

The workaround method involves the use of a program called AutoHotkey.

AutoHotkey uses hooks to map the media function key presses back to F keys and F key presses into media functions keys to achieve the effect of "unlocking" the Fn lock.
My HP keyboard is Pavilion Wireless Keyboard 600 (black). I really like the white version of this soft & short-distance chiclet keyboard when I was trying it in BestBuy, but the white version is only sold together with the all-in-one. That means, I am using this HP keyboard with my custom desktop (non-HP brand) tower and unable to fix the Fn lock issue in the BIOS.

The attached code is written based on the association of media function keys and F keys on Pavilion Wireless Keyboard 600 only. Other models or brands of keyboards will likely to have different associations. You may look into the tutorial of AutoHotkey to customize your own code.

1. Go to https://www.autohotkey.com/download/ to download AutoHotkey.
2.Right-Click on your desktop.
3. Find "New" in the menu.
4. Click "AutoHotkey Script" inside the "New" menu.
5. Give the script a new name. It must end with a .ahk extension. For example: MyScript.ahk
6. Find the newly created file on your desktop and right-click it.
7. Click "Edit Script".
8. A window should have popped up, probably Notepad. If so, SUCCESS!
9. Copy and paste the attached code into Notepad, and save the file.
10. Double-click the file/icon in the desktop to run it.
11. Create a shortcut of this .ahk file and move the shortcut to the "Startup" folder so that the script runs automatically every time you start windows.

The drawback of this method is that I haven't found a way to revert the F6 & F7 keys. Therefore, only F1 through F5 and F8 through F12 can be reverted to achieve the effect of unlocking Fn lock by this code.

#NoEnv  ; Recommended for performance and compatibility with future AutoHotkey releases.
#InstallKeybdHook
SendMode Input  ; Recommended for new scripts due to its superior speed and reliability.
SetWorkingDir %A_ScriptDir%  ; Ensures a consistent starting directory.

; Below based on HP Pavilion Wireless Keyboard 600

; F1 | Mute 
VOLUME_MUTE::F1
F1::VOLUME_MUTE

; F2 | Volume Down 
VOLUME_DOWN::F2
F2::VOLUME_DOWN

; F3 | Volume Up
VOLUME_UP::F3
F3::VOLUME_UP

; F4 | Last Song
MEDIA_PREV::F4
F4::MEDIA_PREV

; F5 | Play/Pause
MEDIA_PLAY_PAUSE::F5
F5::MEDIA_PLAY_PAUSE

; F6 | Next song
MEDIA_NEXT::F6
F6::MEDIA_NEXT

; F7 | Brightness Down


; F8 | Brightness Up


; F9 | Search
BROWSER_SEARCH::F9
F9::BROWSER_SEARCH

; F10 | Toggle display mode for multi-screen
<#Tab::
SendInput {F10}
Return
				
; F11 | ???
<^<#F21::
SendInput {F11}
Return

; F12 | System Settings
<#F21::
SendInput {F12}
Return

[Darksmiley]

Thank you so much! That worked!

[artyom_ilyin]

OMG Thank you so much, it worked!

It's such a shame developers didn't implement FN lock feature.

[JDOUGLAS1]

Crizalis - Thank you so much for this, it's helped me a ton!  The only key that isn't working correctly is the F9 key.  Every time I press it (with the AHK script running or not) the Cortana search window pops up near the start menu.  Looking at the script, the key is remapped to "BROWSER_SEARCH".  Is there a different command that should be used here, possibly something specific to Cortana?  I've poked around on other forums & AHK community website but can't find anyone else having the same issue.  Any advice for me on this?

[BiggBakwas]

Still no solution for F7 and F8 keys?

[Sabin68]

Jdouglas1 Use this code:

; F9 | Search
+#<#F21::F9
F9::
Send, #s
Return

[BiggBakwas]

Thank you, Jdouglas1. Still no code for F7 and F8?

[Sabin68]

No, sorry. I also need the code for F7 & F8.  If you find out please share with us.

[beety]

Das einzige, was wirklich geholfen hat.

Perfekt

[Arthur-c]

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