HP Omen 16 — Fn+Esc no longer toggles F1–F12 mode after hiding popup

[Mohamed_Meth]

Hi everyone,
On my Omen 16 (2022 model ) I used to switch the F1–F12 behavior with Fn+Esc. It showed an HP confirmation popup with a “never show again” checkbox. I checked it once and now Fn+Esc does nothing. The only way to change the keys is in BIOS under Action Keys Mode.

Is there a way to restore the Fn+Esc toggle in Windows or reset that hidden popup setting on my pc?
Thanks.

[VikramTheGreat]

Hi @Mohamed_Meth,

Welcome to the HP Support Community.
 

Thank you for posting your query. I will be glad to help you.

I can imagine how frustrating it must be to lose a convenient shortcut like the Fn+Esc toggle on your OMEN 16. You're not alone in this, and I’m here to help you get clarity and control back.
 

💡 What’s Happening?

The Fn+Esc shortcut on HP laptops is designed to toggle the Action Keys Mode, which determines whether you need to press the Fn key to use F1–F12 or not. When you first used it, HP showed a confirmation pop-up with a “Never show again” checkbox. Once that’s checked, the toggle functionality gets disabled in Windows, and unfortunately, there’s no direct way to re-enable it from within Windows itself.

Steps to Change Action Key Behavior

Since the pop-up can’t be restored, the only reliable way to change the behavior now is through the BIOS:

1. Turn off your laptop completely.
2. Power it on and immediately press F10 repeatedly to enter the BIOS Setup Utility.
3. Use the arrow keys to navigate to System Configuration.
4. Select Action Keys Mode.
5. Choose:
   • Enabled: You don’t need to press Fn for F1–F12 actions.
   • Disabled: You must press Fn to use those actions.
6. Press F10 to save and exit.
    

You can find HP’s official guide here:
👉 HP Notebook PCs - How to lock or unlock the fn (function) key | HP® Support

I hope this helps.

Take care and have an amazing day!
 

Did we resolve the issue? If yes, please consider marking this post as "Accepted Solution" and click "Yes" to give us a helpful vote - your feedback keeps us going!

Regards,

VikramTheGreat

[Mo8799]

Hey again,
I am very well aware of the BIOS way of changing the functionality of the action keys.
But it's so much of a hassle to change it every time, as i said before it used to work with a simple bind ESC + FN to switch between functionalities.
That's what I'm looking for to solve.
What caused it to stop working...

[VikramTheGreat]

Hi @Mohamed_Meth,

Thank you for confirming that you have already gone through the BIOS method for changing the Action Keys Mode. You are correct, once the Fn + Esc pop-up has been disabled, that quick-toggle function is no longer available.
 

This behaviour is expected because the Fn + Esc toggle depends on the HP System Event Utility and the associated OSD (on-screen display) service. When the pop-up is hidden or the utility is not active, the system loses the ability to make that change dynamically in Windows. That’s why, at this point, the only reliable method is through the BIOS settings.

A couple of things you can still try:

1. Reinstall or repair the HP System Event Utility (HP Hotkey Support)
   • Go to the support.hp.com/us-en, enter your Omen 16 product number, and download the System Event Utility (sometimes listed as HP Hotkey Support).
   • Install or repair it, then restart the system. This can sometimes restore the Fn+Esc toggle function.
      
2. Check HP Omen Gaming Hub (if installed)
   • Some Omen 16 configurations expose function key customization in the Gaming Hub. Open Omen Gaming Hub > Keyboard > Function Key behavior and check if you can toggle from there.
      

Why did this issue occurred

The change is typically caused by one of the following:

• The System Event Utility service was disabled or uninstalled (often after a Windows Update or driver update).
• The pop-up was permanently disabled through the utility, which also removes the ability to toggle behavior dynamically.
• Firmware/BIOS updates may also consolidate control of the action keys strictly under BIOS to prevent conflicts.

At this time, if the Fn+Esc toggle does not return after reinstalling the HP System Event Utility, then the BIOS setting is the only supported way to switch between action key modes.

I hope this helps.
 

Take care and have a good day.

Please click “Accepted Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, as it will help others find the solution. Click the “Kudos/Thumbs Up" on the bottom right to say “Thanks” for helping!

VikramTheGreat

HP Support

[Mo8799]

Hey again,
I appreciate you trying to help me here.
I tried all of the procedures you suggested above and none of them worked. HP System Information shows me my system information; it pretty much opens that pop up every time I used the FN+ESC Shortcut.
That's not the functionality I am after, as you can see, I have unchecked that box.
Omen Gaming Hub
About that, that application is very basic, I don't see any keyboard related options other than lighting.
I also tried updating my BIOS to the latest version still the same problem.
Just a small note, I couldn't find HP System Event Utility tool on support.hp.com
I had to re-download the application from Microsoft store: HP System Event Utility 

[VikramTheGreat]

Hi @Mohamed_Meth,

Thank you for your response, 

I'm sending a private message to assist you with the next action.

 

Please check your Private message icon on the upper right corner of your HP Community profile. Next to your profile Name, you should see a little blue envelope. Please click on it or simply click on this link.

 

I hope this helps! Keep me posted.

HP Support 

[BadBoy8799]

I didn't receive anything on either of the accounts.